1. Lead generation. Have an online presentation. Prepare to speak on a topic of importance to potential customers about a challenge they all face and how you can help solve it. Then email invitations to everyone on your list of leads. As people sign up you’ll be gathering the preliminary information – names, titles, companies and email addresses, at a minimum – of the best-qualified leads from your initial list.

2. Get right to the decision maker. In a typical sales scenario a salesperson meets with a prospect who then meets with various other people in the organisation to discuss what was learned. It can take weeks for prospects to get to everyone they need to see – weeks in which you’re waiting for feedback and to move the sales process forward. Cut out all these steps by emailing prospects a rich presentation that incorporates information about how your product will benefit the prospect and, perhaps, an animated presentation of your product in use.

3. Warm up your cold calls. When you pick up the phone to cold call, have an instant meeting room ready to go. You’ve only got a few seconds to grab someone’s interest – grab it by showing instead of telling. As you discuss your proposition email the visuals to support your tele-conversation.

4. Get expert input quickly. How many times have you given a sales presentation only to have audience members ask a technical question to which you have to say: I don’t know the answer to that, but I’ll get back to you? In an online meeting environment you can call up experts the minute the question is raised, pull them into the meeting and let them address the client directly.