Book: Virtual Selling

This briefing document summarizes key themes and actionable insights from Jeb Blount's "Virtual Selling: A Quick-Start Guide to Leveraging Video." The book emphasizes that virtual selling, while utilizing different tools, is fundamentally still about selling. It provides practical advice on leveraging video and other virtual communication channels to build relationships, gain trust, and ultimately close deals. Key themes include mastering the human elements of virtual communication, effective prospecting across various channels (video, phone, email, chat, text), understanding stakeholder psychology, and the critical importance of asking directly and assertively. The guide stresses preparation, authenticity, and a relentless focus on providing value to the prospect.

Main Themes and Important Ideas/Facts:

I. The Nature of Virtual Selling:

• Virtual is the New Normal: The foreword notes the shift towards virtual communication, stating, "'Virtually yours’ has taken over. By storm. Actually, by hurricane. And it’s here to stay."
• Still Fundamentally Selling: Part VII emphasizes that the core principles of selling remain the same, regardless of the medium. The title of this section, "Virtual Selling Is Still Selling," underscores this point.
• Blending Multiple Intelligences: Success in virtual selling requires a combination of innate intelligence (IQ), acquired knowledge (AQ), technology acumen (TQ), and sales-specific emotional intelligence (EQ). Blount argues that this blend "allows you to seamlessly blend and balance multiple sales communication channels. You become more agile and flex-ible. You move faster with less effort. You make a bigger impact. You become a person with whom people want to do business." (p. 36)

II. Mastering the Human Elements of Video Sales Calls:

• The Brain and Video: Blount delves into how the human brain processes information during video calls. He explains the concept of "heuristics" as mental shortcuts the brain uses when overloaded. For instance, "if you position yourself in the frame so that the stakeholder cannot see your hand gestures, their brain diverts some of its computing power from paying attention to what you are saying..." leading to snap judgments. (p. 37)
• The Amygdala's Role: The amygdala, the emotional center of the brain, plays a crucial role in determining whether a stakeholder feels safe, likeable, and willing to pay attention. "At a foundational level, your stakeholder’s amygdala decides whether or not you are safe, likeable, and worthy of attention. This happens long before the person is consciously aware of these decisions." (p. 92)
• The Five Human Elements: Chapter 15 outlines five key human elements for effective video sales calls:
• Facial Expressions: "Research conducted over the past fifty years tell us that that we can truly read a face like a book." A sincere smile is highlighted as a universal sign of friendliness and trust. "The shortest distance between two people is a smile." (p. 95)
• Posture and Body Movement: Posture conveys confidence, while fidgeting can signal insecurity. "Straight posture, chin up, shoulders straight and back. This posture will also make you feel more confident." (p. 97) Waving is presented as a "friendly, inviting, and a universal gesture that says, ‘I’m not a threat.’" (p. 98)
• Eye Contact: Maintaining eye contact (looking directly at the camera) is crucial for conveying attention and building trust.
• Voice: "What you say matters. HOW you say it matters more." Tone, timbre, pace, and inflection carry significant meaning. A "frail or nervous tone" should be avoided in favor of a "direct, intentional, properly paced tone." (p. 99)
• Listening: Effective listening is paramount. "The real secret to making others feel important is something you have at your disposal right now. It’s listening. Listening is powerful." (p. 108) This includes active listening (acknowledging, affirming, summarizing, asking follow-up questions) and deep listening (using all senses to understand the complete message).

III. Effective Virtual Communication Strategies:

• Being "Video Ready": Appearance matters in virtual selling. "A recent study from Princeton University concludes that people judge your competence based on what you wear and how you look. ‘These judgments are made in a matter of milliseconds, and are very hard to avoid.’" (p. 112) Even wearing pants is recommended due to the concept of "enclothed cognition," where clothing affects psychological processes. (p. 115)
• Leveraging Micro-Demos: Short, personalized video demonstrations (screen recordings) can effectively educate and engage stakeholders during the discovery phase.
• Personalized Video Messaging: Generic pitches are ineffective. "Your generic pitch is not personal, it’s noise. It adds no value and creates instant resistance." (p. 158) Video messaging should be personalized and focus on relating to the stakeholder's challenges.
• Mastering Telephone Prospecting: Interrupting relentlessly is presented as fundamental to building a robust sales pipeline. "No matter your prospecting approach, if you don’t interrupt relentlessly, your pipeline will be anemic. When you fail to interrupt, you fail." (p. 183) The "Five-Step Telephone Prospecting Framework" includes: Attention (using their name), Identify (yourself and company quickly), Reason (for the call), Because (a compelling reason to engage), and Ask (for what you want).
• The Power of "Because": Citing a study, Blount highlights the persuasive power of providing a reason for a request, even if the reason is seemingly nonsensical. "It turned out that just saying the word because—giving a reason—was more important for gaining com-pliance than the reason itself." (p. 192) Effective "because statements" should focus on the prospect's issues and how you might help.
• Handling Objections: The book introduces the "Ledge, Disrupt, and Ask (LDA)" framework for turning around prospecting objections. This involves acknowledging their objection ("ledge"), disrupting their expected pattern of response ("disrupt"), and then asking again ("ask").
• Effective Email Prospecting: Emails should be concise, readable, and personalized. Guidelines include limiting paragraphs and word count, using short sentences and bullet points, and bolding important information. Respectful language is crucial: "Don’t bro me until you know me." (p. 246) The "Four-Step Email Prospecting Framework" includes Hook, Relate, Bridge, and Ask.
• Engaging in Live Website Chat: Prompt responses are essential in live chat. "Do not wait more than 10 seconds to answer a chat. Leaving chats unanswered is like burning money." (p. 291) Effective chat involves active listening and thoughtful, relevant responses.
• The Importance of Asking: "Asking is the most important discipline in sales. You must ask for what you want, directly, assumptively, assertively, and repeatedly. In sales, asking is everything. When you fail to ask, you fail." (p. 341) Fear of hearing "no" often prevents salespeople from asking effectively.

IV. Understanding Stakeholders:

• Identifying Different Stakeholder Types: Blount outlines five types of stakeholders in the discovery process: Buyers, Amplifiers, Seekers, Influencers, and Coaches (BASIC). Understanding their roles and motivations is crucial.
• Empathy is Key: Sales professionals must step into their prospects' shoes to understand their challenges, stresses, and motivations. "Never forget that people meet with you for their reasons, not yours. Use your God-given empathy to sense their emotions and to consider what might be important to them or what they might be going through." (p. 194)

V. Personal Branding and Social Selling (Briefly Mentioned):

• The book includes chapters on "Personal Branding" and "The Law of Familiarity and the Five Cs of Social Selling," suggesting the importance of building an online presence and consistently engaging with potential customers. The "Five Cs" are likely Consistency, Conversion, Connection, Curation, and Creation (as indicated in the index).

Quotes Highlighting Key Ideas:

• "On one of Jeb’s visit to our home, he spotted his book Sales EQ on my nightstand. He was proud—but it was there because I am TOTALLY interested in what Jeb Blount writes, says, and does, both face-to-face and ESPECIALLY virtually—and you should be, too." (Foreword, p. xii)
• "A combination of innate intelligence (IQ), acquired knowledge (AQ), technology acumen (TQ), and sales-specific emotional intelligence (EQ) allows you to seamlessly blend and balance multiple sales communication channels." (p. 36)
• "If I can’t see your hands, you must be doing something other than paying attention to me, and I don’t like people who don’t pay attention to me.” (p. 37)
• “The shortest distance between two people is a smile.” (Victor Borge, quoted on p. 95)
• "The secret to influence and persuasion is not what you say; it’s what you hear." (p. 108)
• "These judgments are made in a matter of milliseconds, and are very hard to avoid.” (Princeton University study, quoted on p. 112)
• "Hi Julian [smile and wave hello]. Thank you for watching this short message that I made just for you. I can’t even imagine how challenging it must be in your situation with so many maintenance projects on your plate. It’s got to be incredibly frustrating. This is exactly why we should talk." (Example of personalized video message, p. 160)
• "Salespeople who don’t interrupt prospects have skinny kids." (p. 183)
• "It was a stunning finding. It turned out that just saying the word because—giving a reason—was more important for gaining com-pliance than the reason itself." (Regarding the Langer study, p. 192)
• "Awesome. If you’re getting great prices and service, you should never think about changing. All I want is a few minutes of your time to learn more about you and see if we are even a fit. At a minimum, I’ll give you a competitive quote that will help you keep those other guys honest." (Example of a disrupt statement, p. 206)
• "Don’t Target Too Many People in the Same Company at One Time" (Heading, p. 248)
• “Hi _____” says, “I’m a sales rep, please delete me.” (p. 268)
• "Listening with the intent to respond rather than to understand." (Common listening mistake in chat, p. 289)
• "Asking is the most important discipline in sales. When you fail to ask, you fail." (p. 341)

Conclusion:

"Virtual Selling" provides a comprehensive and practical guide for sales professionals navigating the increasingly virtual landscape. It emphasizes the importance of understanding human psychology, mastering virtual communication tools, and maintaining core sales principles. By focusing on building genuine connections, providing value, and asking assertively, readers can leverage virtual selling to achieve greater success. The book's actionable advice and real-world examples make it a valuable resource for anyone looking to excel in virtual sales.

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