Strategies for Diverse Suppliers Engaging in Virtual Environments - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Strategies for Diverse Suppliers Engaging in Virtual Environments

Humanizing your Interactions & Prospecting 3-Part Maintain virtual Business Strategy for Etiquette Engagement Ready, Set, Prepare

Part I Humanizing Your Interactions & Prospecting Stay engaged by any means necessary! 4

Overcoming the impact of physical distancing • Maintain Face to Face Interaction • Negotiation Humanizing • Critical updates • Continue to Develop our relationships • Do your homework Interactions • Replace networking • Realize that out of site could mean out of mind • Stay in touch • Anticipate needs, reach out

Turn to help from technology such as…

Your camera is your gateway!

Close up Options of Virtual Platforms • Zoom (Top Free Features) • Zoom is idea for anyone who works remotely or has remote team members; your own meeting room • Host up to 100 participants • 1 to 1 and/or group meetings • Unlimited meetings • Private and group chat • Host controls

Close up Options of Virtual Platforms Cont. • Microsoft Teams (free) • Includes Microsoft Teams. Included. • Maximum number of users. Unlimited. • Unlimited chat messages and search in Teams. Included. • Guest access to Teams • File attachments in chat • File sharing within teams and channels • Collaboration on Office documents in Teams • 250+ integrated apps and services for Teams.

What need can you meet? What problem can you solve? Knowing the best medium of Humanizing communication • Email our • Phone Prospecting I’m glad you • Chat or Text asked! • Virtual live • In person • Printed document

Use Verbal and non-verbal cues • Pushback from camera • Helps build trust • Show hand gestures • If you’re “thinking,” display thinking gestures Digital Body Display Active listening traits Language • Nodding your head • Tilting to side • Smile • Chat in chat box but don’t interrupt • Um hm • ‘Yeah,’ or ‘I hear ya’ • Use ‘attentive body language’

Part II Virtual Business Etiquette Remember, they can see you, don’t check your teeth in the camera!

Virtual Meetings vs. Virtual Face to Face

Virtual Business Etiquette How to maintain our professionalism in a virtual environment • Appearance & Physical presence • Business or business casual attire • No jeans up top • No busy jewelry • No t-shirts with fancy wording • Waist up proper attire

Virtual Business Etiquette Cont. • Background noise… • Dogs barking • Children playing • Foreground vs. background • Internet connection • Lighting • House or cell phone ringing

Internet connection – buffering, poor connection, dropped call Linguistic barriers – language accents, use of idoms, slang etc. Types of Environmental – what’s around you Noise Physical – standing desk causes excessive moving Paralinguistic – tone, pitch, rhythm element & nuance of your speech

Virtual Business Etiquette Cont. • Pay attention—Be actively present during the meeting • Mute your mic if not talking • Don’t take calls while in meeting • Don’t handle your cell phone • Looking forward at all times Example: Joy Reid

Be Prepared for anything • Conference calls • Video calls • Group business meetings • Multiple attendees on one call

Part III Ready, Set, Prepare The best way to communicate you are nimble, agile and flexible is to come prepared for anything!

• Know your customer • What do they purchase • Who are their current suppliers Ready, Set, • What challenges are facing them now; and in the future Prepare • What unique needs do they have Cont. • How can I add value • What is my competitive advantage • How you can impact their bottom- line

Use virtual meetings to check in … What should we start What should we stop What should we continue What is upcoming that we doing? doing? doing? should prepare for?

Ideas for virtual engaging by any means necessary • Have a ‘Virtual Happy Hour—it’s 5 o’clock somewhere’ • enjoy a coffee and chat • Have a glass of wine together • Shoot the breeze • Let your kids pop in the view of camera • Catch up on industry developments Virtual Happy Hour • Get to know one another • Start a bucket list

Top 6 Rules for virtual presence: • Be aware of your video settings • Make sure your room has great Become a lighting (I use side lighting) • Your wall art and decorations should Virtual be appropriate for work Conference • Mute your microphone ‘Baller’ • Be sure to introduce yourself if there’s no camera in group meetings • Become one with the camera—look into the eye like it’s your best friend

Whenever Even if you not you’re speaking alone Mute your Microphone Background Allows you noise is privacy disruptive

Don’t forget your video is on Be aware of Video angles can be distracting your video settings Not too low Be sure that camera Not too high is… That you are centered properly Remember attendees can see everything

Overhead lights are great Lighting from a side lamp Make sure your room is Natural lighting from Dressing appropriate window attire well lit If wearing a collared shirt—choose light Brighten up yourself pastel colors Be careful with ‘waist up only professional attire’ camera could fall

Your wall art and Does your camera show Limit the amount of Pay attention decorations should be too many items on your clutter or coffee mugs in appropriate for work desk? view to what is behind you Meeting at kitchen table? Hint: Set up shop in a Move dishes and other room that you wouldn’t non-essentials from view mind others seeing

In a group call While in a without video? group, turn off Introduce yourself microphone until before talking speaking One-on-one Look into the Smile, and be & Group camera—make eye attentive—others Video contact are still seeing you checklist The chat box is Don’t talk over your friend, others consider typing comments

Here are other ways Free tools Improve your Free incentives On-line Stay in touch available now virtual presence from business Resources with existing technology can memberships connections: *Constant Contact help *Mail Chimp

Questions and Answers

Contact Us The Supplier Diversity office is located within the Procurement Department in Suite 330 Harbourt Hall, 615 Loop Road, Kent Ohio 44242. General Office, Email: procurement@kent.edu Phone: 330-672-2276 Fax: 330-672-7904 Veronica Cook-Euell , M.A., MBA, M.Ed. Supplier Diversity Program Manager 330-672-9195 vcook3@kent.edu

Links to more information • https://www.owllabs.com/blog/video-conferencing-tools 10 Best Video Conferencing Tools to choose from. • Free virtual meeting platforms • Microsoft Teams - https://products.office.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/group-chat- software? • ZOOM - https://zoom.us/ • Slack - https://slack.com/ • Uber Conference - https://www.uberconference.com/ • Go To Meeting - https://www.gotomeeting.com/