We have already addressed on this blog the consequences that the Covid-19 emergency has had on the sales sector: suddenly, a year ago, companies had to deal with a digitisation boost, and all customer relationship processes have become by necessity 100% online. When we talk about it, we tend to enclose this news in a time bubble, as if once the health emergency is over, everything can go back to the way it was before: it won’t be, digital sales are here to stay. This is why it is an excellent idea to focus on enhancing online sales skills: remote sales opportunities are the key to improving business and helping companies to restart in this complex period and beyond.
Remote selling: (many) pros and (a few) cons
For some, there have been limited changes in the transition from physical to virtual sales: thanks to a previous wave of digitalisation, many companies had already embraced digital ways, and some were already partially ready for the transition. However, gradually switching to remote sales methods of free will and maintaining the benefits of physical sales where needed is different from being forced to apply total remote methods overnight. This is a problem because remote sales operations have so many advantages, but also some undeniable disadvantages, and today we are forced to manage both at the same time.
A few disadvantages
One of the disadvantages most suffered in remote sales processes is the lack of direct contact: professional salespeople could write volumes on the importance of a one-to-one relationship with the customer and the weight that in-person connection has on mutual respect and trust. Sales techniques are also affected: without a physical presence, non-verbal communication – a crucial aspect of the sales process – is missing. Gestures, expressions, looks are all important factors that we have to do without today.
Another disadvantage of online sales is the lack of trust that customers put in telephone and online selling methods: showing a customer a contract or a proposal by sitting next to them and filling out documents together is a different experience than doing so by telephone or via chat. Years of unscrupulous practices in this regard have undermined the credibility of these methods, and today suspicion often permeates traditional methods of remote selling, particularly teleselling.
Finally, at a time when digital signature techniques are only at the beginning of their development and in some cases need to be perfected, there is often still little trust on the matter between customers and companies.
…and many advantages
On the other hand, these disadvantages navigate a real ocean of advantages. For example, online and remote sales allow companies to carry out operations such as finalizing contracts or changing personal data in a very short time and in an easy and fast way. Often all the operator needs is a basic knowledge of office tools.
Another amazing advantage is that of the ubiquity and optimization of resources and timing that this entails: if previously a seller had to travel to reach a customer, spending time and having a limited geographical range of action, especially in the case of small and medium-sized companies, today all these barriers no longer exist. Digital has broken down geographical boundaries, allowing sales from one side of nations, continents or even beyond, and even resources and time limits: the company no longer has to bear the huge costs of the seller’s travel because all the operations can be managed from the office or even from home, and the times are shortened. Direct contact is also easier thanks to a multitude of new channels, starting with the website and continuing with online messaging systems.
Finalizing contracts and receiving payments have also become easier: with a few clicks it is possible to take advantage of all the power of online banking and virtual payments, and identity is increasingly certain thanks to a large number of new systems developed day after day to create a circle of perfect accountability.
In short, if we can solve the disadvantages we have illustrated, remote selling today can be not only the ally alongside the restart of the market but also the key to a future without geographical boundaries, characterized by a level of effectiveness and safety unprecedented in our story.
Remote selling as an opportunity
To seize the incredible opportunities of the digital world and remote sales, the first step is therefore to minimize the disadvantages to enjoy the immense advantages. If it is arduous to settle the issue of in-person relationships – especially today with the ongoing health emergency – we can however solve and soften the problems related to the processes, exploiting the power of digital to optimize them, customize them and make them more effective, faster and pleasant for the user.
To transform remote sales from a contingency to an opportunity, therefore, the priority for companies today is to equip themselves with a new application map suited to the circumstances, consisting of innovative tools, tailored to the new surroundings. Given that the post-Covid crisis took us by surprise, but we are adaptable and resilient by nature, software companies have already begun to develop tools suitable for new needs and others have been enhanced: it didn’t take long to see the main sales channels transform and grow thanks to the power of digital. Today, companies can count on numerous types of remote sales, including:
- outbound
- inbound
- win back on the customer
- direct staff
- agents
- cross-selling
and, in just over a year, remote selling is safer, easier and more effective than ever.
OnBoarding Funnel, the platform to enhance remote sales
A tool like our OnBoarding Funnel arises precisely from the need for a more direct and effective digital sale process for everyone, from the seller to the end customer. We have focused on solving some of the major problems encountered by both sides during virtual processes, and we have created the modules and functionalities of our platform accordingly.
An example above all? The integration of OnBoarding Funnel with the eSaw digital signature which, thanks to the intervention of a third party such as Namirial, makes it possible to make the digital formalization of contracts even more secure, adding more legal value to it.
This is accompanied by the powerful Web-Assisted and Web-Self modules, which create a relationship of trust and positive interaction between the end customer and the company in the sales phase, allowing both to save time and resources in difficult documents and operations and/or unclear.
Tools like these help catch all the opportunities of remote selling and all the companies on the market can benefit from this, those of the Utility world in particular: platforms such as OnBoarding Funnel, fully integrable and communicating with the tools already owned by the company, are a must of any remote-first sales application map.
Remote selling is the best ally of companies today
Today remote selling is one of the strengths on which companies can focus and to do so a new application map is necessary. OnBoarding Funnel is part of this innovative new suite and can help to make remote sales of utility companies unforgettable. Request your free demo now or find out how to become a partner.