Ask NCET: Virtual events and hiring salespeople

Have a business or technology question?  Send it to ask@NCET.org and if selected, NCET’s panel of business and technology experts will answer it in our monthly column.

I have an event coming up that we can’t do because of COVID. What should I consider when trying to decide if we can go virtual?

Wes McQuillen

Wes McQuillen

Not everything translates well to virtual – if most of your typical attendees consider the value of their ticket to be in the food, alcohol, or dancing, people may not be interested in a virtual version. If, however, it’s an event more focused on education, networking, speeches, or live entertainment, a virtual version can be a fun and engaging change that still performs well.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Does my staff / team of volunteers have tech skills?

  • Are my attendees open-minded, or do they prefer the same routine every time?

  • Are my attendees fairly tech-savvy?

  • Is the value of my ticket price primarily based on tangible, physical assets and experiences?

Pros of a virtual event include things like:

  • Higher attendance with no travel expenses

  • Flexible / scalable

  • Lower overhead expenses

  • Robust data capture

Cons include:

  • Lack of tangible human interaction

  • Pandemic fatigue / lack of enthusiasm

  • Distractions / fragmented attention

  • Confusion / learning curve to participate fully

Even so, a lot of the cons can be mitigated against.

Events that I have seen translate most successfully to virtual have been expos, conferences, classes, awards ceremonies, live music, and networking mixers. Things that haven’t been a good fit: dinners, galas, dances, retreats / team building exercises.

Wes McQuillen is Principal of ALTER Strategies (www.alterstrategies.co) and NCET’s VP of Email Services for Tech Wednesday. ALTER Strategies offers alternative (and virtual!) marketing approaches for the hard-to-advertise – age restricted, highly regulated, and stigmatized products and services.

Should I Hire A Salesperson?

Jon Edmondo

Jon Edmondo

Jon Edmondo

This question always leads me to another question. Well, do you want to make money? If you’re interested in growing your business and you’re not 100% online, then yes, you should hire a salesperson. As Thomas Watson from IBM once said, “nothing happens until a sale is made.”

Most business owners see salespeople as an expense for the business, rather than as an asset. Salespeople grow revenues for your business, and the better the salesperson you hire, the more business they should bring in – as long as you provide them with the tools to do their job effectively.

Salespeople don’t just sell; they’re also learning about customer’s needs and wants. This can help you better position your company to be successful in the future. Many times, new products are born from salespeople bringing a customer need back to the business and the design team creating something to solve their problem. In my business, there have been several times that a customer need turned into a great new market opportunity for our company’s products and services.

Salespeople can also help you understand where you can improve processes or product design. They’re usually pretty astute businesspeople that can see where internal processes are holding back the growth of the business or where a slight redesign can make your product more desirable.

Take some time to learn more about how to hire the right salesperson and compensate them well. If they’re making money, you’re making money!

Jon Edmondo is Director of Sales for iGraphics LLC (www.igraphicspp.com) and NCET’s VP of Tech Wednesdays. Jon helps OEMs with industrial label solutions to brand their products and inform their customers. 

NCET is Northern Nevada’s largest member-supported non-profit that produces educational and networking events to help people explore businesses and technology. (www.NCET.org)

Chris Ewing