In 1954, an unknown Johnny Cash played for Sam Phillips, a record producer and founder of Sun Records in Memphis. Phillips was very busy - he had discovered Elvis Presley a year earlier – and let Cash know that he had one opportunity and a very small amount of time. Cash started the audition with a gospel song that he had written. Phillips was unimpressed with his sound. Not because his voice was bad, but because his song was dull – Cash sounded like every other song writer in the Mid-South.
Since he was standing in front of him and he had a few more minutes, Phillips didn’t end the meeting. Instead, he challenged Cash. In the Cash biopic film, Walk the Line, Phillips is scripted as testing him with: “If you had time to sing only one song – one song that would let God know what you felt about your time here on Earth. What would it be?” According to legend, that was the moment that Johnny Cash became Johnny Cash. He ripped into Folsom Prison Blues, and Phillips heard a sound that was slower and sharper than he had ever heard, and lyrics that illustrated pain in a soothing and almost refreshing way. Sam Phillips was engaged … and we know what happened after that.
Now, imagine if that audition was performed via Zoom in 2020.
There would be no second chance for Cash. No way for him to read Phillips’s emotions and demeanor. Phillips never would’ve picked up on Cash’s raw talent because he would’ve been checking email 30 seconds into his first song. Meeting over. No Ring of Fire. No Ira Hayes. No cover of Hurt. No Johnny Cash.
If you thought it was hard to shift your customer’s attention to gain their engagement at the opening of an in-person presentation, then you’ve realized by now how difficult this challenge can be in the virtual world. Especially today. Now that everyone has been through five gazillion webinars, they’ve heard the standard openings so often that it’s become white noise. Within 90 seconds, most of your audience is placing their lunch orders on their phones.
If there is one thing you must do on your next virtual sales call, make sure you shift your audience’s attention to you, immediately. If not, you’re done. Stop wasting everyone’s time and cancel the call. Seriously. If your audience isn’t engaged in the first 90 seconds, cancel the call – everyone will appreciate it and you’ll save an hour of your time.
How can you shift their attention through a webcam? Below are a few thoughts.
- Above all else, do NOT make the opening about you. If slide 2 is a picture of the front of your office and a timeline of your company’s history, then delete slide 2 and never show it again.
- Send the audience a survey a few days earlier and share the results to open the virtual sales call.
- If your sales call is with a customer or potential customer, then list their specific problems and confirm that you’re correct. If this is the very first call and you don’t know their problems yet, then try another method.
- Start with a poll question. If your virtual call services doesn’t have this feature, then use Slido and have them answer from their phones. (Check out slido.com for more info).
- Start with a riddle that is relevant to your story. I love the elephant in Denmark riddle (google it). I’m usually able to make it relevant to most topics.
- Don’t show any slides for the first few minutes. Use a white board behind you and write out a story. Make sure your webcam and lighting is placed properly so the audience can see you.
These are just a few ideas. Think creatively and get them engaged. Your number one job is to make sure your customer has shifted their attention to you within the first 90 seconds of a virtual call. Unlike an in-person meeting, you can’t get them back after you’ve lost them.
