Over the past few months, business – and life – as we know it has changed in so many ways. At BDU, we’ve had to pivot and take some new approaches to how we do business, as well as how we support our clients and our network. We’ve set up weekly support sessions to bring the sales community together, taken our public sales classes online and moved exclusively to coaching and training clients remotely.

We’ve also learned a lot about sales, business development and ourselves along the way, so we wanted to share with you some of our most important tips and takeaways from this challenging time. We hope you’ll find them as helpful as we do, that you’ll continue to look to us for strategy and support, and that you’ll keep “squeezing the lemon”!

Part Two: What We’ve Learned About Keeping in Touch and Making Connections

Christine Miller, Sales Trainer and Coach, New England Region
One thing I’ve realized is that all appointments don’t need to take place via Zoom. Prior to COVID-19, some meetings would be scheduled as calls, while others would take place face to face. Once we all started working from home, however, it seems everyone shifted to video meetings. If you’re finding yourself overwhelmed with too many video calls, it may be time to reevaluate how you’re running things. Consider the nature of the meeting you’re scheduling and if it would typically be face to face or just a phone call. To cut down on “Zoom fatigue,” save video meetings for those that you would have normally met in person.

Tom Gill, Sales Coach and Trainer
While you can’t be with clients and prospects in person, you can still find ways to stay in touch and to network. LinkedIn can be a great tool for connecting and networking, especially when you can’t meet face to face. Also, did you know that when you join a LinkedIn Group you can send a free InMail message to group members? It’s a clever way to connect with potential prospects and can similarly help you drive engagement with thought-provoking questions and responses. For example, one of my clients recently replied to a question someone posed in a LinkedIn membership portal. They read the question a bit differently than it was intended, but their reply was appreciated and now they have an opportunity on the table to win a new client.

READ PART ONE: What Jeanne and Michelle have learned about managing time and keeping a schedule.

READ PART THREE: What Beth, Janet and Lisa have learned about staying the course.