5 Tips to Improve Your Next Zoom Sales Meeting

Maura Schreier-Fleming
Tue, 08 Mar 2022 16:29:03 +0000

You’ve probably attended more than a few Zoom sales meetings over these past few Covid years. I’m actually one of those people who loves Zoom for its productivity. There are some people, however, who don't appreciate Zoom and who don't understand the dos and don'ts of Zoom meetings.

The following tips can help make your next Zoom sales meeting run more smoothly and be more productive.

5 ways to improve Zoom sales meetings

1. Join your Zoom sales meetings early

Do you log on at 9:59 a.m. if a Zoom meeting starts at 10? That’s too late. Think about it—you would not arrive at a client meeting late, so why go to a Zoom meeting late?

Instead of signing in a minute before the meeting is scheduled to start, sign in earlier. For my most important meetings I’m signed in 15 minutes before the start time; however, 10 minutes is adequate for most meetings. You can turn off your camera and microphone while you're waiting for the meeting to start, and if there’s any casual conversation going on, feel free to join in.

One way to be sure you sign in early is to put the meeting link in your calendar so you don’t have to email the host to provide the link. It’s a simple click to enter the meeting without having to search emails for the meeting invite.

2. Pay attention to your camera

If you'll be joining the meeting by cell phone, you must have a stand for your cell phone which will capture your entire face and avoid projecting a shaking image. Recently I was part of a team interviewing a job candidate where the candidate was dismissed from consideration because of her phone. For the first few minutes I could only see half the woman's face (the bottom half). Next, her phone was being jostled so badly it was difficult to see her at all during the interview. The other interviewer finally had to ask the candidate to please stabilize her phone.

My thinking was that this interview was an indication of how the job candidate would prepare for her sales calls. If she came to a job interview this unprepared—not good! She lost my vote for her employment.

Besides the stability of your camera, check your background. What will the other meeting participants see? Messy surroundings detract from your perceived competence, so you might have to temporarily remove some items from bookshelves or credenzas in your background. You also may want to consider using one of Zoom's virtual backgrounds if you can’t create your own background that's neutral or that supports your brand. Finally, another option is to blur your background.

3. Don't be a distraction

Close your camera if you’re going to be walking around. I’ve seen too many room ceilings and bobbing cameras instead of people sitting at their desks. Also you should certainly mute your microphone when you aren’t speaking, especially if you’re in a noisy area.

More articles from AllBusiness.com:

5 Tips for Better Online Meetings That Help Employees Feel Connected

7 Ways to Use Images to Boost Conversion Rates

5 Tips for More Effective and Engaging Zoom Meetings

11 Virtual Team-Building Activities Your Employees Will Love

5 Essential Tips to Stay Productive While Working From Home

4. Do not ignore the meeting participants

For the hosts of combination face-to-face and Zoom meetings, please restate any questions or comments coming from the in-person participants in the host’s room. Remote participants often can’t hear what's been said by those in the room with the host.

Also advise remote participants to speak up when they have questions or comments. Make a point of regularly scanning the participant screen(s) so you'll know if someone has something to say when they raise their hand or put a comment in the chat.

5. Get into the rhythm of a Zoom meeting

Some hosts will acknowledge speakers and tell them the order in which they will speak. This encourages participants to listen to each other because they know that later they will have an opportunity to speak when it’s their turn.

Sometimes it happens, though, that two people will speak out at the same time. If this happens to you, be the courteous one, back down, and simply say, “Sorry, you go.”

Here's to a better Zoom sales meeting experience

You may still think there are some disadvantages to Zoom meetings. But with your new awareness, you won’t be the one contributing to the poor meeting experience.