Video call skills and ethics

During your business hours, you may be taking Oktium calls in turns, or at random. Please treat those callers as real customers who enter through your digital door. Just like a real customer they are “just looking”. And just like real customers, they are actually there to buy. This is your chance to start building the relationship with them.

Video Call Skills and Ethics guide

In today’s world, there is no standard of video call interaction. Salespeople are only trained and are used to communicating with customers in person and on the phone. The goal of this part is to establish video call ethics and learn what to do and what not to do.

Oktium call

When you accept the call, you have just a few seconds before you are going to be seen by a caller. So think about your video-caller as a customer who just came into your store. 

Smile, as you would to the visitor. Try to keep your device at an arms-length distance from your face to give the caller a wider field of view, instead of just your face (you can see the images you’re transmitting in the upper left corner of your screen). You may want to hold the phone in landscape (horizontal) mode for that purpose. 

“Hello, welcome to _________________my name is ______. Can you see and hear me OK? What can I do for you?”

After the initial greeting, you want to ask if the customer has ever been to your store, and if the answer is “No” consider breaking the ice by switching to the back of camera (click camera symbol on the bottom bar) to give a short tour of the showroom. You never know what might catch their attention. 

While you are moving around, do not rush. Move your hand slowly. Remember, the camera needs a few milliseconds to focus and to adjust to changing the light. You are the director, and the quality of the picture the customer gets is up to you. You are creating not only the view or the tour but the customer’s experience. 

When on video call (same goes for the phone call), it is especially important to give the caller your undivided attention. When you have a customer in your store, and, while showing them around, you excuse yourself to exchange a few unrelated words with a co-worker or a manager, the customer will stick around for a few minutes or even longer. They have products to look at, brochures to thumb, a coffee machine to inspect, and since they are already there it’s unlikely they will just walk out. Besides, even if they get upset and head towards the door you still have a few moments to catch them, apologize, and re-establish your report. 

With a video (or phone) caller you have one and only chance to keep the conversation going. They have a “Hang Up” option as well as the option of not answering your call when you call back with your apologies. So, give them your full attention. Do not diverge from the conversation. Once you pick up the call, be present and involved.

When showing the products please be mindful of the light. The less light, the worse the quality of your video. Remember, it is all about the experience. For example, if you are selling cars you may have the car you want to show parked in the parking structure with dim light. Here are a few suggestions:

There are a few accessories you may want to consider

Power bank. Your phone’s battery is affected by your phone use. Some tasks take more power than others. It’s no secret that video streaming can drain the battery faster. Power banks are great for keeping your phone going so you don’t lose the connection with your customer in the middle of Oktium call. 

Smartphone stabilizer, so your videos are not shaky and your camera does not have to constantly keep adjusting focus.

Great news is that there are gadgets that combine the two. More information here.