Using Desktop Sharing Tools to Drive Sales Success

In the traditional sales model, presentations are made in				presentation or project demonstration, regardless of
person at the client's place of business. Today,				the geographic locations of the potential clients, thereby
however, rising fuel costs have translated into higher				saving both time and travel expense.
airfares and gasoline prices. As a result, the travel
budgets of companies around the world are straining				Presentations and Product Demonstrations: By
at the seams. Similarly, company executives are				enabling prospects to view the sales professional's
recognizing that traditional business travel consumes a				computer screen, desktop sharing allows the
significant amount of a salesperson's time, thereby				salesperson to easily present information about the
negatively impacting employee productivity. Both travel				company and its products and services. The
costs and a salesperson's time increase the cost of				salesperson can also turn over control of the desktop
on-site meetings, and represent resources that could				to a participant, allowing him or her to try the product
be better leveraged to generate additional sales. As a				or browse through various parts of the presentation.
result, businesses are increasingly seeking less				This hands-on experience gives the prospect a clear
expensive technological alternatives to on-site sales				understanding of the benefits of the product or service.
presentations.
				Building a Virtual Bridge: When some members of a
This paper explores computer desktop sharing				potential client's company can attend an in-person
solutions as a means of leveraging resources to drive				meeting but other key personnel cannot, desktop
sales success. Specifically, this paper addresses four				sharing allows those who can't be physically present to
questions:				participate in the meeting to attend from a remote
				location.

What is desktop sharing and how does it work?				Cold Calling: During cold calls, the sales professional
What are the benefits of desktop sharing?				can quickly initiate a desktop sharing session and invite
How can desktop sharing tools be used in sales?				the prospect to review the company profile and view
What features should an effective desktop sharing				slides or other information about the product or service.
tool include?

Although business travel and on-site sales				Immediate File Sharing: During an online meeting,
presentations are sometimes necessary, many on-site				desktop sharing allows the sales professional to
pitches can be replaced by online presentations at a				provide potential customers with any material they
fraction of the cost. Effectiveness and efficiency				may request. This capability communicates efficiency
increase, positively impacting both the sales				and a commitment to customer support.
professional's and the client's bottom lines.
				Closing the Sale
Desktop Sharing: A Simple, Innovative, Technological
Tool				Desktop sharing is a powerful tool for closing sales
				and shortening the length of the sales cycle and
Desktop sharing is an innovative software program				increasing revenue streams.
that allows one or more people in remote locations to
view the primary user's computer screen. Using a				Document Collaboration: Desktop sharing streamlines
Web-based interface, the user can show others any				the process of working on proposals and contracts,
document or application that is open on his or her				since it allows both the salesperson and the client to
desktop.				modify proposals together in real time.

Desktop sharing is initiated when the presenter invites				Team Leader Involvement: A salesperson's upline or
others to participate in a session. The presenter begins				supervisor can sometimes be instrumental in closing a
the session, and participants join via the Internet, using				sale. Desktop sharing solutions enable sales team
a unique session ID. During the session, the presenter's				leaders to join a sales presentation without ever
screen - including mouse movements, documents, and				leaving the office, thereby enhancing the interaction
applications - is visible to the participants. The				and increasing the client's level of satisfaction.
participants simultaneously interact with the presenter
by phone or audio conference call.				Client Authorization: When a sale hinges upon the
				go-ahead from a potential client's higher-level manager,
The Benefits of Desktop Sharing				desktop sharing solutions can smooth the way to
				closing the deal by allowing managers to attend
By delivering sales presentations online, desktop				meetings without ever leaving the office. In addition, the
sharing allows sales professionals to increase the				flexibility inherent in the tool makes it possible to initiate
effectiveness of their presentations while leveraging				or reschedule a presentation at a moment's notice.
their time to reach more clients and prospective clients.
				Customer Support

Through the use of desktop sharing technology, sales				Once the deal is closed, desktop sharing tools can be
presentations are amplified with visual components.				utilized to enrich the relationship with the customer.
The instantaneous, real-time delivery of documents,
slides, or software applications allows for better				Transitioning to Customer Support: Desktop sharing
communication and increased flexibility in addressing				can become a bridge to provide the customer with the
the specific needs and concerns of the customer.				support needed to implement the company's product
				or service. For example, desktop sharing can be used
As a Web-based tool, desktop sharing enables the				to introduce the company's customer support team
sales professional to make a presentation instantly to				and walk the customer through the support services
anyone, anytime, worldwide. Because a session can				offered.
be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection,
traveling to a customer's place of business isn't				Follow-Up Meetings: Desktop sharing can also be
necessary. This not only represents a significant				utilized to conduct follow-up meetings, during which the
savings in travel costs, but also a tremendous savings				sales staff can stay in touch with new customers. A
of time, allowing the salesperson to exponentially				series of weekly conferences, for example, can go far
increase the number of sales presentations he or she				in demonstrating a company's commitment to their
can initiate.				new clients.

Desktop Sharing in Sales				Customer Retention: Similarly, desktop sharing can be
				incorporated as a way of keeping in regular contact
Lead Generation				with existing customers. Inviting customers to
				educational seminars, new product launches, and
Many companies have found that desktop sharing				company news events are just three of the ways
quickly becomes a critical tool to generate leads.				that desktop sharing can help ensure customer
				satisfaction and pave the way for future sales.
Breaking Down Geographic Barriers: As part of the
salesperson's repertoire, desktop sharing provides				Features of Effective Desktop Sharing Products
sales professionals with the ability to schedule online
meetings with larger groups of prospective customers,				There are a number of desktop sharing solutions in
regardless of their geographic location. Web				the marketplace. To ensure maximum accessibility and
conferencing allows companies to gather leads in new				security, you should consider a number of factors
markets without incurring the travel expenses				when selecting a desktop sharing program.
associated with reaching these prospective customers.
				In order for clients and potential clients to embrace
				participating in a multimedia sales presentation, there
Passive Lead Generation: Companies can, through				cannot be any barriers to accessing the technology.
their websites, offer visitors the opportunity to register				From a technological perspective, this means that the
for informational online meetings or for the launch and				desktop sharing product should enable participants to
demonstration of a new product or service. Potential				connect through corporate networks, firewalls, and
customers self-select as leads through the registration				proxy servers. They must also be able to connect
process. The data collected from registrants and from				using a variety of operating systems, such as
those attending the online meeting can be used by the				Windows, Mac, and Linux. Similarly, customers should
company's team of sales professionals to convert				not be required to install software in order to
leads to customers. When a company archives their				participate in sessions.
informational meetings and educational seminars on
their website, potential customers can register to				In order to facilitate spur-of-the-moment presentations,
download or listen to the information, which generates				participants should be able to connect using any
additional passive leads.				Internet browser and without having to register or
				submit any personal information. The desktop sharing
Existing Customers Become New Leads: Desktop				interface should be intuitive and easy to use.
sharing allows new products, services, or specials to
be shown in order to upsell or cross-sell existing				From the presenter's perspective, a desktop sharing
customers. Current customers make excellent				tool should allow him or her to show his or her
prospective customers for new products, and desktop				computer screen without first having to upload the
sharing enables a salesperson to upsell or cross-sell				content to a presentation server. Likewise, he or she
without having to make an on-site sales call.				should be able to hide confidential screen areas and
				have the ability to pause transmission in order to
Educational Seminars Hook Prospects: Online				browse through confidential files. In order to facilitate
meetings can also be utilized as a non-sales marketing				discussion, the participants should be able to highlight
tool to present live educational seminars to potential				items on the presenter's screen.
customers, who then become qualified leads. In
contrast to online meetings that introduce a company				Finally, a desktop sharing solution should have strong
or a specific product or service, the topic of an				security features. Transmission should be encrypted to
educational seminar serves to address a common				the best practices standard, and connections to
challenge faced by the company's potential customer				individual sessions should be made using unique,
base. For example, a company that provides shopping				random session IDs.
cart software might hold an educational seminar on
cost-effective marketing techniques to drive traffic to				Leveraging Resources to Boost Revenues
e-commerce sites. The information gleaned from the
attendees of these lead generation seminars can be				With tight travel budgets and time at a premium, using
passed on to the sales team, which can convert sales				innovative tools to conduct remote sales presentations
by using the collaboration features offered by desktop				can leverage both your time and the time of your
sharing.				clients. Desktop sharing solutions can reduce routine
				business travel costs and increase productivity. The
Qualifying Leads				result is the ability to reach more prospective clients
				and an acceleration of the sales cycle. When sales
When marketing tools, such as white papers,				presentations can start with a click of the mouse and
recordings of product demonstrations, and customer				reach customers and potential customers around the
testimonials, are posted on a company's website,				world, the result is an increase in the bottom line.Mark
potential customers self-select by downloading or				Patrick Zondler is responsible for software
accessing the materials. This process begins the selling				development and global operations at a software
process prior to a sales team member contacting a				company that develops simple, easy-to-use, secure
prospect.				business communication tools for small and
				medium-size enterprises. Mark developed the
Similarly, an online meeting utilizing desktop sharing				technological vision for and defines the long-term
technology can drive prospects to download or				development plan. He has several years experience in
access supplemental materials that can further pique				developing and operating Internet software systems.
their interest and speed up the sales cycle.				Prior to BeamYourScreen, he co-founded Allegro
				Solutions, a Singapore-based software firm specializing
Sales Calls				in dynamic price negotiation and online auction systems.
				Mark also worked in the consulting divisions of IBM and
Desktop sharing is most useful during sales calls, and				PricewaterhouseCoopers. He studied business
represents a tremendous savings of resources. The				administration in Germany, Singapore and France.
salesperson can invite one or more prospects to a

Quartet Mfg

Using Desktop Sharing Tools to Drive Sales Success

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