For everyone out there working from home and missing that face-to-face interaction with your clients, using free services such as Zoom and Google Meet are excellent ways to stay connected. These services provide free video calling for small and large groups of people. If you have been hesitating, stop and give one of these services a try. It’s FREE!
It’s quite easy to use this technology to your advantage. Instead of taking your customer to lunch or coffee, see if you can have lunch or coffee delivered and present during lunch. Send them a sample kit and set up a virtual meeting to demo the items. If you are stumped on proper virtual meeting etiquette, take a look at these best practices.
Prepare Material in Advance
Just as you would in any other meeting, make sure you have all your material ready to go before the meeting. This could be showcasing virtuals of products with your client’s logo, or a personalized video demonstrating the key features and benefits of a product. If you are just starting out with virtual meetings or presentations, I recommend enlisting a colleague or a family member and practicing your presentation to make sure that there are no technical difficulties. All in all, preparation is critical in virtual meetings.
Check Your Audio and Video Equipment
Going back to Practice, Practice, Practice, do a trial run before your meeting to make sure that your camera and microphone are working. The last thing you want to find out is your microphone does not work five minutes before the call! Make any technical adjustments if needed.
Lighting
PLEAAAAASE don’t sit with your back to the window. Your camera will focus on the light outside instead of your face. Don’t get caught in the dark!
While it’s unnecessary to install TV-studio lights in your home office setup, doing a few tweaks to your lighting can have a dramatic impact on your appearance and presentation. By adding a lamp in front of you or sitting with your face towards the window can significantly improve your lighting in most cases.
Limit Distractions
Our homes are loud, noisy places. We have dogs barking, kids running around, spouses also on zoom meetings, lots of noise! For your next meeting, find an audibly and visually quiet spot in your home. Your attendees will greatly appreciate it!
Hit the Mute Button When Not Speaking
Furthermore, pressing that mute button when you aren’t talking is a great courtesy to the person presenting. By muting, you are giving that person control of the main stage, sharing their ideas. People would rather listen to that person than your dishwasher running in the kitchen! Just remember to unmute when it’s your turn to talk!
Try to Avoid Talking Over Another
Because of network latency, it can be tricky not to talk over another person. Zoom has an excellent feature called “Raising Your Hand.” Just like we did back in the classroom, this will inform the host that someone has something to say. This is an excellent way to organize quality discussions during a meeting.
Be Aware You are ON Camera
You WILL be on camera, sometimes front and center! While I don’t recommend wearing a fancy suit or a lovely dress, make your presentation appropriate to your audience. Comb your hair, put on a clean shirt, and use your big girl/boy voice! Your customers WILL notice and appreciate your effort.
Follow Up
While the meeting itself is over, the work has just begun. After your meeting, always take a few moments to thank those who attended your session, recap the products you presented, custom marketing materials, and answers to any unanswered questions. Give your participants the chance to reach out to you if they have any questions or requests for any custom marketing materials.
If you need some innovative, great products to share, Toddy Gear is jam-packed with them! Please take a look at the latest PPE we are currently shipping. We are all in this together to help us grow the business and #slowthespread.