University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Virtual Selling
Book

Virtual Selling

A Quick-Start Guide to Leveraging Video, Technology, and Virtual Communication Channels to Engage Remote Buyers and Close Deals Fast

Jeb Blount
Wiley, 2020
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Applicable
  • Well Structured

Recommendation

With COVID-19 continuing to limit face-to-face interactions and to keep both sellers and buyers at home, sales professionals need to add virtual, or remote, selling to their skills. Sales coach Jeb Blount explains what smart virtual selling requires and how to sell effectively across a variety of virtual channels. He discusses how to “blend” your virtual selling activities with traditional, face-to-face selling to maximize sales, commissions and customer service.

Summary

When circumstances limit face-to-face selling, virtual selling becomes a vital skill.

These are tough times for salespeople. Reps are grappling with a number of negative effects from the coronavirus pandemic. With the inception of social distancing, buyers are working from home and their needs have shifted. Face-to-face selling is no longer practical for many salespeople, in particular, those in B2B sale. Virtual selling, a viable substitute, has assumed a new prominence in the time of coronavirus.

Virtual selling is necessary, as smart salespeople with an “evolve or die mentality” understand, but it is not new. Common usage deploys two terms – “virtual” and “remote” – to cover various forms of distant communication, which has existed, practically, forever. Smoke signals, drum beats, carrier pigeons, letters, the telegraph, the telephone, the fax, email, social media and instant messaging are all distant – as opposed to face to face – communication.

Since face-to-face sales have long been the norm, many salespeople are uncomfortable with distant selling.

Despite...

About the Author

The author of 13 books on sales, leadership and customer experience, Jeb Blount leads the Sales Gravy worldwide training company and the popular sales-specific website SalesGravy.com. His other titles include Inked, Objections and Fanatical Prospecting.

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