FORE! Something you don’t need to say in an arcade during a game of Golden Tee, but that’s not exactly what we’re talking about when we say “digital golf course” of course, let’s hit the links, but not exactly how you think. 😆
The physical golf course has long been a standard fixture of sales. It’s a place where sales reps and customers came together on common ground for networking, building relationships—and just having fun. Taking a client to the golf course is a way to say, “We don’t just want your business; we’re invested in you as a person.”
Then the pandemic lockdowns happened. Overnight, the majority of sales went remote, and in-person meetings were placed on hold. And although people meeting in person has resumed, the shift to remote sales teams has remained permanent for many organizations. A recent report by Prezentor found that 80% of all B2B sales are happening virtually.
There are good reasons for that shift. According to a global survey by Bain & Company with Dynata, 92% of B2B buyers actually prefer virtual interactions. Bain & Company also found that sales reps who switch to remote sales see an average of 43% improvement in revenue each and a 45% improvement in win rate.
But for all the benefits, we’ve also lost something fundamental with this shift. The element of personal connection is so much harder to establish when you aren’t face to face. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
At Performio, we help sales leaders support their teams with better technology. After working with hundreds of sales organizations, our leaders have seen numerous companies learn how to replicate the feel of the golf course in this digital era. In this article, we’ll share some of the best insights into the digital golf course from Kyle Nelson, Performio’s Enterprise Account Executive.
A trip to the golf course was never just about making a sale. Of course both sides always knew that was the underlying purpose, but they were able to suspend disbelief long enough to simply enjoy their time before getting to business.
It didn’t have to be a golf course specifically. In-person events with clients could include ax throwing, movies, sporting events, concerts, or even something as simple as sitting down for a meal or a drink. According to Kyle:
“The sales landscape and just process has really changed. We lose a lot in not having those face-to-face interactions, not being able to have a beer or have someone loosen up a little. When you’re always on Zoom with someone, it all feels so prepared, and you lose a bit of the art to it.”
And it isn’t just sentimental longing for a bygone era. In-person sales came with some practical benefits that are hard to replicate remotely.
For example, a good sales rep should pay close attention to a customer’s body language during a meeting, as it can say a lot about how they’re feeling. But body language is much harder to read through a video call—if they’re even on video at all. Kyle says:
“Sometimes people don’t even jump on camera. They don’t show their face, and they leave their mic on mute. It’s like I'm just presenting to a mirror. What are your thoughts? You’re not giving me any feedback. Being in a room and being able to read someone’s body language is so important. And being remote, you’ve lost the ability to read their facial expressions.
Even if they’re on camera, you won’t know what they’re looking down at. Are they looking down at their phone? Taking notes? Reading a book? Who knows?
It introduces so much guessing into sales nowadays when you can’t see their reaction. And that can lead to salespeople being hesitant in their presentations. They’d love to offer a better deal, but they can’t really see the customer’s reaction or understand what they value.”
Additionally, remote sales meetings are more strictly structured. Everyone has their calendar full of other appointments to make, so your call ends up being just another item to get through during the day. Customers have many more distractions to keep their mind elsewhere while you’re talking to them. The fact that meetings are often recorded can make them less likely to open up. And above all, it’s just such a less personal experience.
“When it comes to sales, personality is a big part of it,” Kyle says. “Being able to connect with individuals and make jokes is really important. But when you get on these structured calls, you feel like you have to be a businessman and not really show your personality or smile or have fun.”
Despite the limitations of remote sales, it’s still possible to build relationships in a meaningful way. It just takes a little more effort. Here are the tips Kyle suggests.
Your customers’ days are most likely filled with business meeting after boring business meeting. If you can find any way to break up the tedium and inject your own personality into a call, then yours will be the one that stands out in their mind. Ideally, they should look forward to calls with you as a respite from all the other humdrum straight-to-business meetings they have to attend.
Part of this is just making the psychological switch in your mind. It’s okay to be personal on a sales call, but it can actually be beneficial. Joke a little. Talk about mutual interests. Commiserate over struggles at work. And make sure they feel like they’re being valued as a real person. Here’s what Kyle has to say:
“You may not be on the golf course, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still have fun. It doesn’t mean you can’t still talk about the sports game or the weekend or a party that you went to. I think people need a sign that it’s okay to do that again. Just because you’re remote and you’re on Zoom, it doesn’t mean you need to be a stick in the mud.
You can still show your personality, and that’s what buyers want. Buyers want to make a personal connection. Otherwise, they’d just be buying through a basic website without any connection at all. It takes a human interaction with personality to build trust, to build a relationship. And ultimately, we have to build relationships in order to win deals. The deals I win are the ones where I’m actually able to be myself and open up.”
Just as you should inject your personality into sales calls, it’s okay to add some personality to your LinkedIn page as well. Your posts don’t have to be all business all the time.
“People are used to LinkedIn being such a boring place. Rarely is it fun, and rarely does it have a personality,” Kyle says. “My favorite people to follow on LinkedIn are those whose updates are actually fun. They’re not all just ebooks and statistics. I love when there’s actually a personality behind the posts. Not enough people do that. I think they should, especially with the ability to film yourself and take kind of a Tik Tok approach where you’re just being normal and being yourself.”
Of course this can also go too far. You still have to adhere to any HR concerns or brand identity restrictions. And you have to be authentic. You don’t want to force a “personality” so much that it comes across as fake.
But done well, taking a more personal approach to your social media can help you stand out, and set the stage for a better relationship with your customers.
A trip to the golf course isn’t just a business meeting—it’s also a gift. It’s a monetary way to show the customer that you’re invested in them and willing to do what it takes to earn their business. Same goes for taking them out for a drink. And it’s okay to replicate that approach when selling digitally.
Kyle suggests sending Starbucks gift cards so someone can get a coffee to drink while you meet on Zoom. Or a food delivery gift card, so you can replicate the feeling of a lunch meeting even when you’re meeting remotely.
While the shift has been to take sales primarily remote, that doesn’t mean every meeting has to be remote without exception. If your organization allows for it, and if the opportunity with a client arises, you should absolutely take the chance to make an in-person impression. Even a single face-to-face meeting can go a long way toward making you stand out from the crowd.
“There’s a lot of value to in-person meetings. People appreciate someone making the effort to come see them, and it can still make a major impact today—especially for bigger sales.”
If you can’t take your clients to a golf course in person, why not consider digital alternatives? Context is key here—some clients will be a lot more open to these kinds of ideas than others—but for the right person, a digital outing could inject some fun back into the process.
One possibility is playing video games or online board games with customers. Can you connect over a game of chess, Fortnite, or any other online game with voice chat? Then invite them to play with you. It can be a great way to simply bond and form relationships without the immediate pressure of closing a business deal.
Virtual reality (VR) also offers new opportunities. There are plenty of games and shared entertainment experiences you can have on there. But VR also offers some distinct advantages for certain kinds of sales in particular. Kyle offers some examples:
“Say you’re selling heavy machinery, like Caterpillar. Being able to interact with people and pull up a VR set where you can actually walk around the bulldozer or whatever the machinery is could have a lot of value. Or if you're a real estate agent, you could virtually walk them through the property.”
Entering that virtual space together could be a great way to make an impression, while also very practically showing off what it is that you’re selling.
While most of Kyle’s tips are applicable to sales reps and sales leaders alike, this one is for the leaders. If you want your reps to succeed in digital sales, then you really have to know them, trust them, and offer them flexibility to be themselves on a call.
Structure is important. You absolutely don’t want to throw that out the window. But sometimes you have to bend structure just a little bit in order to make the right impression. Sales reps aren’t going to do that if they feel like they’ll be punished for stepping an inch outside of some rigid bounds that have been put in place.
It’s important to figure out the right balance of professionalism and casualness, and ultimately you’ll have to trust your reps to make the right calls.
“I’ve had a lot of sales leaders that see the value in me because I don’t always follow the process. Because when I go outside of that process, I’m able to deliver more value. It’s important to be able to do that. Otherwise, how do you set yourself apart?
You can’t always rely on your product or service to be the difference. You need to be the difference yourself.”
—Kyle Nelson
The shift to remote sales is one of the biggest trends to pay attention to right now, which we highlighted in our free ebook, Sales Leadership Trends 2024: Navigate the New Normal. But it stands among several other key developments.
The sales landscape has gone through dramatic changes over the past few years, from remote selling to the rise of generative AI and much more. Things are finally beginning to settle into a new normal, but it’s vital for sales leaders to understand how today’s sales environment will be different than before.
We identified five key trends that are defining 2024’s new normal—along with ways to handle them. To read about them all, download our free ebook.
And to learn what Performio can do for your organization, request a demo today.