Salespeople today have more technology tools than ever before to streamline and accelerate the sales process. The tradeoff for more convenience and immediacy, however, is the reduced ability to make meaningful connections with customers. As this eBook explains, high-quality videoconferencing can help sales teams to be more nimble—without losing the human touch that is so essential to closing deals and building client relationships that last.

1. Bringing the Human Touch Back to Sales.
The Power of Face-to-Face Interaction Through Video.

2. BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES
2
More Connectivity …
Yet More Disconnect?
IN THE DIGITAL AGE, SALESPEOPLE have
more tools than ever before to connect with
clients and prospects and make the sales
process more seamless. The tradeoff for
convenience and immediacy, however, is the
reduced ability to make meaningful and lasting
connections with customers.
An email, a PowerPoint presentation, a link to
a website or video — all of these things can
be effective for sharing product and brand
information. But they do little to communicate
a salesperson’s expertise, experience or
personality, which can all have a significant
impact on whether that rep can win a
customer’s business.
Even a phone call has its limitations. It supports
conversation, but provides no window into a
person’s body language – the customer’s or
the rep’s.

3. BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES
3
Relationships between salespeople and
customers have always been integral to
successful sales and to earning customer
loyalty. People naturally prefer to do busi-
ness with people they know and like – and
trust. However, in today’s global and
digital economy, it is highly likely that the
salesperson and the customer will never
be able to meet in person.
SO, HOW CAN SALES TEAMS BRING
THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO THE
SALES PROCESS? One strategy is
to blend modern technology with an
“old school” best practice for sales
success: Reps can use high-quality
videoconferencing for face-to-face
meetings with clients and prospects.
GLOBAL SURVEY
In a global survey of 2,300 Harvard Business
Review subscribers conducted by Harvard
Business Review Analytic Services:
■■ 79% of respondents said that in-person
meetings are the most effective way to
meet new clients to sell business.
■■ 89% agreed that face-to-face meetings
are essential for “sealing the deal.”
■■ 95% said that face-to-face meetings are
a key factor in successfully building and
maintaining long-term relationships.
Source: Managing Across Distance in Today’s Economic Climate:
The Value of Face-to-Face Communication, Harvard Business
Review Analytic Services

4. 4
BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES
21st Century Sales
Success Requires
a Multi-Touch
Approach
THE COLD CALL, WHILE
IMPERSONAL – and often viewed
by customers as an unwelcome
interruption to their day – remains a
critical tool in the salesperson’s arsenal.
But savvy reps are upping their game
by using a multi-touch approach
that includes email, phone and
videoconferencing.
This scenario illustrates how high-
quality videoconferencing not only can
complement tried-and-true techniques
that salespeople rely on every day
to break in with potential customers,
but also can help reps to potentially
shorten the sales cycle.

5. BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES
5
HOW DOES THAT
TRANSLATE TO THE
BOTTOM LINE FOR
THE BUSINESS?
Research shows that
a 15% decrease in the
length of the sales
cycle can yield a 30%
increase in revenue.

6. BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES
6
Only One
Chance to
Make a Good
Impression?
Think Again
SALESPEOPLE USUALLY
HAVE ONLY SECONDS to
grab a customer’s attention –
and in today’s highly competitive
marketplace, there is no room
for error.
However, even highly experi-
enced sales reps who do ample
research about a prospect and
deliver a polished presenta-
tion can strike out. And when
pitches are delivered by phone,
it’s all too easy for a customer
to tune out (or hang up) if mes-
sages aren’t resonating.

7. BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES
7
Videoconferencing, delivered through the right platform, can give salespeople
six distinct advantages over other sales methods – including in-person meetings.
They can:
1. Shift their sales approach mid-pitch in response to a customer’s body language.
2. Launch a live product demo to help underscore key messaging, communicate
complex concepts or features more easily, and educate the customer in an
engaging way.
3. Have a “low pressure” and more personal conversation with the customer,
which provides opportunity for storytelling – a strategy sales reps can use to
take “factual, disparate information and give it context, color and meaning.”*
4. Enable a face-to-face meeting at a moment’s notice, so they can respond as
soon as opportunity knocks and stay one step ahead of the competition.
5. Reduce the risk of cancellation of in-person meetings that are set for days or
weeks after a successful break-in with a customer.
6. Check in regularly face to face with valued clients to ensure they are satisfied
and to identify opportunities for presenting other services and products to
address evolving needs.
Another benefit for sales organizations and the businesses they help to support:
Videoconferencing reduces the need for travel, which saves time and costs. It
also keeps sales teams focused and productive because there is less downtime
due to travel.
*“Sales and Storytelling with Charles Wortmann,” by Charu Sharma, The Huffington Post, Aug. 7, 2014:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charu-sharma/sales-and-storytelling_b_5653205.html.

8. BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES
8
Improving Sales – and Customer Retention – With Video
HIGH-QUALITY VIDEO­CONFERENCING can deliver an experience that is
just as engaging as an in-person sales meeting – provided the right technology
is in place to enable effortless face-to-face interactions.
Sales managers can help their teams become more effective at closing deals
and shortening the sales cycle by using a platform for video, audio, and rich
content sharing that lets them:
■■ Meet anywhere, at a moment’s notice: Look for a solution that is device- and
network-agnostic. Meeting is easy if you have technology that can connect
popular business communication tools into the same meeting, including
Lync, Jabber, room systems, browsers, and mobile devices.
■■ Execute live demos seamlessly: Often, it’s showing, not telling, that makes
all the difference in winning a client’s business. Sales teams therefore need
a reliable videoconferencing solution that will let them easily deliver a sales
presentation on their screen or upload a video that shows customers how a
product works.
■■ Worry less about security: Choose a videoconferencing solution that
provides enterprise-grade security so your sales team can be confident that
meetings and sensitive sales and customer data will be protected.
IN FOCUS: YESWARE
Face-to-face interaction is good for
sales teams, too. Find out how this
email productivity services provider is
using high-quality videoconferencing to
bridge the distance between its sales
reps working in different offices – and to
enable more productive sales meetings.

9. 9
In the digital age, a
handshake between
a salesperson and a
customer is not always
possible. But with video,
the human touch in the
sales process –
the foundation for sales
success and enduring
client relationships –
can be assured.
BRINGING THE HUMAN TOUCH BACK TO SALES

10. Get Into
Blue Jeans:
It’s a Great Fit
for Sales
Sales presentations that are high-impact and content-rich, but
as engaging as a face-to-face meeting – what’s not to like
about Blue Jeans?
Visit www.bluejeans.com/for/video-for-Sales to learn more about Blue Jeans,
the leader in video as a service, and why some of the best and brightest sales
organizations rely on us.