Hey, 👋 Scott from The Sales Mastermind here.

Today’s edition only takes 2 minutes.

Storytime

In the last 30 days, I have audited six sellers across three businesses.

And a consistent mistake that has an easy fix is optimising your video meeting setup.

Best practices and examples of what I use or recommend are below. None of this email is sponsoured, and none of the links below are affiliate links.

Equipment:

• Professional Headset - sound is the most important and easiest optimisation you can make. I use a Jabra headset (Evolve2); you can also use something like a Yeti mic.
• Professional Webcam - angles matter, and your laptop camera isn't cutting it for quality. You want to place the camera just above your eyeline, slightly pointing down to frame your face from the best angle. I use an Elgato FaceCam 4k that a previous boss bought me.
• Professional Background -the things behind you either complement or distract your audience. If you have a dedicated space and can make it clutter-free and professional, great. If not, a blurred background or a high-quality, relevant virtual background that isn't distracting is the next best option. (Do not use the default moving outer space or beach backgrounds for a professional sales call.)
• (optional) Professional Lighting - Most ceiling lights will not frame you very well. A simple ring light or key light, often bounced off a nearby wall, will give you good contrast and shadows.

Monitor Setup:

• Dual monitors - You want at least two monitors. The main monitor should have the video meeting so you can always see how your buyers are reacting. Your secondary monitor has your notes and other key tabs.
• Key Tabs - At a minimum, you want your CRM notes and calendar to book a follow-up. Then the buyer's LinkedIn and website. Next, your LLM of choice (I use Gemini). And any other tools you use, such as an ROI calculator.
• Turn off Self-view - In the video meeting tool, turning off self-view lets you focus on the buyer without being distracted by your own feed.

Record your call:

• Record all your calls - here is a newsletter on why. https://thesalesmastermind.kit.com/posts/047-game-tapes
• Since that newsletter was written, the tools I recommend have changed.
• For single-person sales teams, I recommend starting with Fathom.ai
• If you have a team and HubSpot, I recommend Fireflies.ai

Last tip:

Dress to reflect who your buyer wants to buy from.

• Sometimes that means wearing a suit and tie - for example, when selling financial planning.
• Other times, it can mean wearing a professional, company-branded polo - for example, when selling sales training
• Or it can even mean a hoodie - for example, selling to tradies or other explicitly non-professional vocations

Note: This newsletter was inspired by Chapter 5 of my colleagues at MySalesCoach's book "Deconstructing Discovery" - click here if you want your own copy (again, not sponsored)

Until next week,
Scott Cowley

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