Simplify Your Sales Process Companies that sell complex products or services typically depend on a team of people to schedule multiple client visits that must be coordinated by an account-relationship manager or team leader. While proximity to the client is essential, the cost of making team sales calls often cuts into the profit margins and always stretches the sales cycle. The new online-collaboration capabilities of Web conferencing allow account managers to cut travel expenses and shorten the timeline for the sale. Here is a typical scenario: A leading medical diagnostics company has successfully demonstrated a new machine to the Medical team. Now the account manager must present a series of solutions to the CFO, the president and the medical director. The CFO has requested leasing options, the president wants another executive overview of the solution and the medical director wants to have several technical details answered. Instead of flying several people to the customer’s location – at great expense – the account manager can plan and conduct an online conference. Once logged on to the meeting Website, participants dial a conference telephone number to join the online meeting. New online-collaboration capabilities allow a geographically dispersed team of subject matter experts to present PowerPoint slides, display technical information on the customer’s screen and even review spreadsheets item by item, if necessary. A recent survey sponsored by the National Business Travelers Association found that nearly 40 percent of all business air travelers were increasingly using Web conferencing in place of some travel in 2004. This increased interest is reflected in another study conducted by Wainhouse Research, based in Brookline, MA. In the Wainhouse research, 40 percent of companies expect to increase spending on Web conferencing in 2005. The promise of such technology is obvious, but online team selling also brings new challenges. The account manager is still the quarterback, but consistent communication becomes more critical. While the team effort is intensely focused during an online conference, the energy often dissipates quickly unless the account manager holds postconference debriefing meetings to review and confirm all action items. Below are four steps that account managers can follow for effective online team selling. Ensure that the right people attend on both sides of the screen. There is an unwritten code in corporations that people like to do business with people of similar rank. If you expect your client’s CFO to attend the online conference, be sure to bring your company’s CFO. Craft a succinct, compelling agenda and specify the documents to be discussed. It is not a good idea to search for documents stored on your computer while your audience is waiting. Remember, in online meetings it is easy to lose audience attention. Make your online conference interactive. Many online-conference technologies offer the ability to use a highlighter to underline or circle information. Active participation will increase your chances of selling. Always ask your customers to collaborate, share and take action (e.g. mark up a document) during the online conference. Follow up with a conference summary. Immediately after your online team meeting, send out an email thanking your client for participating. Recap the meeting, the action items and the timeline, and describe the follow-up steps each participant will take. According to analysts at IDC, demand for collaboration products and services will jump to $6.7 billion in 2007 – a big jump from the $750 million spent in 2004. As the online-conferencing industry continues to grow, more exciting solutions will make online team selling even more productive, yielding even higher cost savings and profitability.