14 Feb Why face-to-face sales matter & how to turn high quality leads into them

Face-to-face sales and face-to-face selling matter for B2B companies for the following reasons:

• Building Relationships: Face-to-face interactions allow salespeople to build relationships with their clients and prospects. In B2B sales, the process is often longer and more complex, and engaging with key decision-makers is crucial to success. Therefore, C-suite involvement can help establish trust and build relationships with potential clients.
• Building trust: Face-to-face interactions create opportunities for salespeople to build trust with their clients and prospects. In turn, this is especially valuable in complex or high-value sales situations.
• Understanding needs: In face-to-face interactions, salespeople can better understand the needs and pain points of their clients and prospects. They can also provide more detailed and customized solutions, which can lead to more successful sales.
• Overcoming objections: Face-to-face interactions allow salespeople to better understand and address any concerns their clients or prospects may have.
• Closing the sale: Face-to-face interactions can be especially useful when it comes to closing the sale. This allows salespeople to read body language and other nonverbal cues. This can provide important information about the client’s level of interest or receptiveness.
• Human Touch: Face-to-face interactions provide a human touch. This can be important in building relationships and creating a sense of trust and credibility.
• Feedback: Face-to-face interactions allow for instant feedback and the ability to adjust the approach in real-time based on the client’s response.

Turning high-quality leads into face-to-face sales and face-to-face selling:

To turn high-quality leads into face-to-face sales and face-to-face selling opportunities, companies may draw on a variety of strategies. These include:

• Personalized Outreach: Companies can use personalized outreach methods to engage with potential clients and schedule face-to-face meetings. These can include sending emails or making phone calls.
• Networking: Companies can participate in industry events and networking opportunities to meet potential clients and schedule face-to-face meetings.
• Referrals: Companies can ask for referrals from satisfied clients, which can lead to new face-to-face sales and face-to-face selling opportunities.
• Lead nurturing: B2B companies can use automated campaigns to nurture B2B leads and move high-quality B2B leads through the funnel. This can be done by providing valuable content that aligns with the lead’s interests and needs.
• Use of CRM (customer relationship management): Companies can use a CRM system to track leads and schedule face-to-face meetings with potential clients.
• Targeted Marketing: Using targeted marketing, companies can reach potential clients who are more likely to be interested in their products or services.

Therefore, engaging with the C-suite, stakeholders, and/or prospects in a face-to-face a positive impact on B2B companies. This reason being that face-to-face interactions are still considered an important part of the sales process, especially in B2B sales. Furthermore, InsideSales.com found that face-to-face meetings are 2.5 times more likely to result in a sale compared to phone calls. The same study found that face-to-face meetings are typically more productive than phone calls and/or emails.

Moreover, studies have shown that face-to-face interactions are an important part of the sales process. With this, the majority of B2B buyers prefer to meet with sales representatives in person. However, the ability to create a transparent environment through a virtual space is having increasingly successful results in turning leads into face-to-face sales. As a result of the current changes within the economic environment, B2B companies have managed to successfully replicate the personal touch and build trust through virtual interactions. Through this, these companies have been able to convert leads into face-to-face sales.

In turn, a virtual meeting space can serve as a stepping stone to face-to-face meetings, building trust and developing personal relationships. McKinsey & Company demonstrated the success of this approach, finding that 70% of B2B decision-makers are open to making new and fully remote purchases. By 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions are expected to occur through digital platforms, according to a Gartner study. Similarly, the Harvard Business Review found that over 70% of B2B decision-makers prefer remote human interactions. Typically, ensuring that all participants have clearly defined the purpose and objectives, and follow a clear agenda and time structure to prevent the meeting from running over time, results in the success of these virtual meetings..