Face-to-Video: Removed from Their Element, Salespeople Finding Ways to Adapt

Over the course of the past six months, COVID-19 has dealt the business community an array of challenges that have been difficult, and occasionally impossible, to reconcile. The hospitality industry, which banks on its customer community to gather en masse, has been impacted like few others. Not much farther down the list of the impacted, one might argue, is the sales universe in general, and the down-the-street representative in particular.

Of the many tools in salespeople’s arsenal, front and center are the reps themselves. Their appearance, charisma, larger-than-life personality, people-handling skills, ability to articulate value, listening skills, knowledge, empathy, relatability, fresh breath—these characteristics only begin to scratch the surface of successful sellers. The game is not for everyone, certainly not the faint of heart or the halitosis-challenged.

The fairest among them are adept at engaging a prospect, assessing needs, reading reactions, delivering a value proposition and closing sales. Whether they possess Type A personalities or are simply driven by caffeine and the art of the deal, there’s no denying their importance in the success of the business machine.

And then came March. COVID-19 took the bat out of the rep’s hands. The pandemic told them, “Take everything you know about the sales game and find a new way to express it.” A nation of salespeople was forced to earn an unofficial degree in broadcasting by taking to Microsoft Teams, Zoom or any other number of remote conferencing platforms to ply their trade. After years of honing the rhythms of in-person conversation, reps had to work on the nuances of remote conferencing. And while it was technically a face-to-face meeting, reps found the cadence of conversation to be unique and sometimes frustrating. And it only takes a moment or two of video buffering to compound that frustration.

Obstacles Aplenty

Add to that a myriad of other issues—readjusting the sales focus amid a client base that prefers payment relief over technology investment; more difficulty reaching clients whose office phones don’t redirect to personal lines; objections from a prospect pipeline that is hesitant to change vendor horses during a pandemic—and the result is extreme downward pressure to produce in an environment that is anything but accommodating.

The last six months have kept sales consultants fully engaged helping the dealer community, so we canvassed a pool of dealers for our State of the Industry report on elevating sales. We gauged how they’ve adjusted their approach and tone to engage clients and prospects. Some reps are fortunate enough to be meeting in person, but for most of the country, it’s a mixed bag of methods and success.

Geography is arguably the single-greatest indicator of activity success during the pandemic. Few other dealers can match the reach of Marco, headquartered in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with branches throughout the Midwest, Michigan and the Northeast. Steve Gau, president of Marco’s copier division, notes access to in-person meetings varies tremendously; downtown business in cities such as Baltimore, St. Louis and Detroit remains extremely limited. But the heartland business in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Iowa are at 75% to 80% percent of pre-pandemic levels.

“Most of our customers are located in smaller towns and markets, and as a result, we just haven’t had the significant impact that our counterparts on the coasts have had to deal with,” Gau said. “Downtown business has been drastically affected in the cities, because people aren’t going to work in their high-rise buildings.”

We’ve really kept our pulse on this because we’ve been trying to service our existing clients, while also monitoring our outbound activity.

– Steve Gau, Marco

Like many other dealers, Marco relies on video conferencing, and the tone of conversations is directed at dealing with lower volumes, deferred payments, and assisting clients as they deal with the ramifications of business interruption. A drop-off in education-vertical activity has been keenly felt, but Midwestern activity has “treated us well” as the pandemic has continued, Gau noted. But the range of access is remarkable. Video conferencing continues to dominate, but in the more remote parts of the country, in-person meetings are fairly common.

Late March through May represented the peak of the pandemic for Marco, and the dealer used that time to cross-train dedicated copier and IT reps. Gau noted it was a challenge initially, and the company developed its own internal marketing philosophy, One Marco, to drive home the notion that copier reps should become proficient at selling the IT portfolio, and vice versa. Using video conferencing, each rep was required to do 100 hours of cross-training, totaling 20,000 hours for the entire sales team. Reps must now hit their quota for both in order to be considered for the coveted president’s club.

Marco also mixed in some training sessions directed by industry sales consultant Kate Kingston, and added emphasis on Marco’s repeatable management strategy, aimed at account planning, pipeline management and monthly reviews.

Initially, Gau lost sleep over productivity, as salespeople are mobile by nature and highly interactive with prospects and clients as well as managers, admin, leasing coordinators and the like. Confining them to their homes (where they invariably have to deal with spouses and children)—coupled with business activity being at 70% of normal levels—lowered the likelihood of being able to perform at a level that would compensate for the 30% reduction.

“We’ve really kept our pulse on this because we’ve been trying to service our existing clients, while also monitoring our outbound activity,” Gau noted. “That’s why we doubled down on the repeatable management strategy. Are you trying to set up appointments? Are you getting into new opportunities, and are you maintaining your pipeline? We wanted reps to evaluate the percentage of normal they were at and put in the extra effort to try to maintain it. We’ve held people accountable.”

Little Dropoff

The results speak for themselves. Through August, Marco is at 90% of its hardware budget and 89% of its predictive service revenue—benchmarks that were established in November of 2019, when the talk of a possible pandemic was still at least a month away. However, Gau is not popping the champagne cork just yet.

“I’m still concerned about the fourth quarter,” he said. “It’s going to be the biggest test because Q4 is normally the result of everything that’s been developed during the year. This is where the rubber meets the road.”

One of the advantages Pearson-Kelly Technology of Springfield, Missouri, has is the relative youth of its salesforce, which can make it more pliable to the changes dictated by COVID-19 and the need for an adjusted approach. Among the initial instructions Executive Vice President Lee Flood provided was the importance of being sympathetic to clients regarding the pandemic. Respect their fears, he noted, and don’t be afraid to engage in a conversation about COVID-19.

Missouri, like many states, has its share of people on both sides of the fence. “We live in a polarizing area, with people on both sides of the spectrum. Some say it’s not a big deal while others are very concerned about it,” Flood said. “We’re open to meeting in-person in a safe way, while other organizations are adamantly against having anyone new in their office for the time being. We’re recognizing that and training on how to broach that subject in a positive way.”

In addition to using Loom and other one-on-one video conferencing options, Pearson-Kelly has brushed up on training by getting back to the basics, such as etiquette for virtual meetings. Lead-generation training has been a big focus, and the company’s marketing coordinator has helped reps improve their social media presence. Flood also notes the managed service provider has invited a variety of consultants, again stressing the basics of training.

We also wanted to help clients with their next steps of the remote office, what things they should look for, security risks to be aware of, and some of the liabilities.

– Lee Flood, Pearson-Kelly Technology

From an expectations standpoint, Pearson-Kelly altered its focus as to what “good” looks like without changing its quotas. That meant role-playing exercises and pairing the three newest reps with the company’s most veteran salespeople. The activity component saw a minor facelift; Pearson-Kelly collectively produced a video series to help hone its message to clients during the pandemic. While it was not heavy on selling particular products, they helped companies across the region make quick decisions, even if they were in a contract with another provider. Fortunately for Pearson-Kelly, somewhat normal business activities were resumed around July.

Prior to semi-normal business resumption, quotas for reps were centered on getting in front of their current clients with account reviews and check-ins. “We also wanted to help clients with their next steps of the remote office, what things they should look for, security risks to be aware of, and some of the liabilities,” Flood said. “We offered some things pro bono to open up the opportunity for conversations to be had for things that people did need to purchase during that timeframe.”

Mobilizing Forces

As it is based in Brooklyn, New York, TGI Office Automation still very much operates under tight business conditions. Once the pandemic hit, TGI dropped its current email campaigns in favor of new messaging focused on helping in any manner necessary. Sales staff were trained on conducting video meetings; product offerings focused on no-touch printing solutions, temperature-scanning kiosks, electronic signatures and other offerings to match the evolved needs of clients. TGI utilizes all the products it offers and provides biweekly webinars for a deeper dive into the technologies.

According to Vincent Colaianni, the company’s director of sales development, TGI finalized the acquisition of an IT architecture and network management specialist, iPower Technologies, and invested quite a bit of time familiarizing its sales team with the IT services that clients need. “Now they are proficient in our offering and the standard operating procedures of TGI’s new subsidiary,” he notes.

COVID-19 provided a muddied picture for setting realistic expectations, according to Colaianni, but as with any dealer, keeping reps motivated is essential. TGI measures and tracks its representatives’ connections within their base, keeping them apprised of the company’s new full line of network design, architecture, security and management services through iPower.

Back in the heartland, Advanced Imaging Solutions (AIS) of Minnetonka, Minnesota, employed a laid-back approach to making net-new prospecting calls. Stephanie Keating Phillips, director of solutions, notes that reps took a “soft introduction” approach to outline AIS’ technology stack in seeking to leverage prospects that might be looking to change providers. For the existing client base, AIS wanted to stress its availability to assist any of the unique challenges/setbacks those customers face.

“We know that in times like this, it’s not what you say, it’s how you react, and we wanted to make sure that if a client was having a tough time paying their bill or needed a device moved, they knew that AIS was there to support them,” Phillips said. “In making these calls, we found that a lot of clients were in that transition state of moving from everyone in the office to remote office, so we had great conversations about services that perhaps they didn’t have with us currently that are options for them now to make this transition as smooth and cost effective as possible.”

Like many of its counterparts, AIS quickly pivoted to temperature-scanning kiosks, which they also employ in-house. Cognizant of the varied levels of concern weighed against client desires for face-to-face engagements, the dealer also used the temp scanners to assure those who wish to have an in-person demo or meeting that it has safeguarded its office environment.

We understand that this is a difficult time for all of us to navigate through, but this, too, shall pass and we continue to send the message that now is the time to continue to build their funnels.

– Stephanie Keating Phillips, AIS

As the months passed but the pandemic didn’t, AIS totally immersed itself in manufacturer and in-house training. Konica Minolta’s All Covered IT division provided a comprehensive curriculum, including telephones and servers, that enabled AIS’ sales team to become well-rounded in the IT realm and better armed to sell the solutions.

Calming Reassurance

As sales-measuring metrics (calls, in-person meetings, demos, proposals, etc.) are difficult to grade under the current conditions, AIS has tempered its expectations. The dealer still conducts daily sales meetings, forecasts and reviews, and the expectations for call volumes and proposals haven’t changed, but the COVID curve is applied. Phillips notes the dealer has set different rep goals based on tenure and devised individualized plans for each rep.

“We adapted quickly to keep the morale of our sales staff up,” she said. “We understand that this is a difficult time for all of us to navigate through, but this, too, shall pass and we continue to send the message that now is the time to continue to build their funnels. Making the calls and putting in the time is so very important so that once we get to whatever the new normal looks like—hopefully, similar to pre-pandemic times—these reps will have all the tools necessary to continue to grow their business portfolio and continue to be successful.”

One of the keys to maintaining business continuity for Topp Business Solutions of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was to proceed as normal, given the circumstances, notes Chris Falzett, company president. Customer engagement and making concessions has been part of the formula. Additionally, the dealer immersed itself in training programs for sales, service and support functions from the onset. That the entire team bought into the “stay the course” messaging, he believes, is a product of Topp resisting the impulse to furlough team members.

“The level of mutual respect between our executive team and employees has never been higher due to our actions of simply staying calm and staying the course,” Falzett said. “It was not easy, but it was well worth the financial impact of not letting people go to create an atmosphere of calm, respect and loyalty. To say I am beyond proud of how we adjusted while staying focused and engaged would be an understatement.”

COVID-19 is not going to turn on and off like a light switch, so we have chosen to simply stay the course with our team. Every day, things begin to improve slightly.

– Chris Falzett, Topp Business Solutions

In addition to general sales training, Topp reps brushed up on their production equipment proficiency, backed by support from the dealer’s manufacturer partners. The company also onboarded a new salesman and included him in the training regimen, as Topp “made it a point to use every hour of every day to stay engaged.”

Falzett added that every day signifies a step toward the resumption of normal sales volume activity, and the traditional sales metrics bear this out. “COVID-19 is not going to turn on and off like a light switch, so we have chosen to simply stay the course with our team,” he added. “Every day, things begin to improve slightly.”

Prudent Messaging

The state of North Carolina has been mired in Phase Two of its reopening plan, which means remote working is still in effect and in-person meetings are strongly discouraged (it went to Phase Three at press time). That continues to be a challenge for Hendrix Business Systems – a leading dealer covering North and South Carolina and based in Charlotte – which has been forced to continue re-tooling its sales approach, notes Scott Whitt, vice president of sales.

Hendrix, which has long stressed customer satisfaction as a calling card, engages a “let us help” tone that has resonated with clients during the pandemic. The sales pipeline remains brisk and reps continue to “write solid numbers,” according to Whitt. Zoom meetings have been a staple of interactions with clients and prospects.

“Some reps struggled initially, but most have come to appreciate the amount of ground that we can cover via Zoom appointments, telemarketing and email campaigns,” Whitt said. “The most successful approach for us has been client analysis of their current footprint and utilization of assets. We have dabbled in some of the newer pandemic-related products, but our success has truly been centered on collaborating with our clients to build more efficient technology infrastructures for the future of their organizations.”

During the first two months of the pandemic, Hendrix sales representatives incorporated three weeks of manufacturer-provided training into their schedules. The timing was ideal, as several OEMs were updating their product lines, providing ample new ground to cover. Much emphasis was placed on bolstering rep knowledge bases on the software solutions the dealer offers—output management and document management titles, in particular.

“There’s only so much training salespeople can take before they go off the rails, so we’ve truly tried to find a good balance,” Whitt noted. “More recently, we’ve introduced a seven-week internal prospecting training platform for our existing salesforce. It’s centered on creating more pointed and penetrating initial conversations as we make our sales calls. It’s being developed and delivered by our sales management team.”

Hendrix has always followed the mantra that prospecting is the key to building a strong pipeline, and that philosophy remained unchanged during the pandemic. The key to becoming a stronger consultant for clients, Whitt observes, is understanding their needs. Prospecting shortcuts must give way to research, and that enhanced understanding of their client’s strategic requirements raises their ratio of success.

We have dabbled in some of the newer pandemic-related products, but our success has truly been centered on collaborating with our clients to build more efficient technology infrastructures for the future of their organizations.

– Scott Whitt, Hendrix Business Systems

Expectations are set on an individual rep basis, with experience and abilities factored into the equation. Initially, sales management set a minimum of 60 to 80 touches per day, but soon refocused on net-new Zoom meetings set and creating a certain amount of net-new business opportunities in Hendrix’s CRM.

“The goal is to uncover enough information from the call to ascertain what this client represents in terms of a future sales opportunity,” Whitt said. “Finding a client in the buying cycle is great, but creating an opportunity that we can track and follow to the point a sales cycle begins puts our focus on the right accounts at the right time in the future. That’s our best demonstration of success, as it builds a solid foundation for the future of Hendrix Business Systems.”