9 [MUST-KNOW!] Steps to Closing Sales from Home (Your Setup!)

These days, so many more people are working from home—and they’re selling from home. And you know what? Selling from home has some huge lifestyle advantages.

It’s much easier in many ways: The commute is amazing; you don’t have any of that wasted downtime. You can really structure your day however you want.

(Some people don’t even have to put on a pair of pants, and that can be awesome.)

Still, we want to make sure that we’re maximizing every opportunity when we’re selling from home. It’s critical that we don’t let ourselves get a little sloppier at sales just because we’re at home…and we maybe didn’t brush our teeth all day.

In this video, I’m going to show you 9 must-know steps to closing sales from home. Check it out:

Closing Sales from Home Step #1: Have your own space.

Even if you live in a studio apartment, you must have your space for closing sales at home. Don’t just work on the couch or at the kitchen table. Designate a specific area as your selling space.

If you can set up an actual home office, that’s tremendously valuable. When selling from home, we absolutely must have our own space where we go to work every day. It’s an important mental trigger for being productive at home. When you’re working, have your own space set up to sell.

Step #2: Internet speed matters.

When it comes to closing sales from home, video conferencing is key—and slow Internet speed is one of the biggest obstacles to effectively conducting any kind of video conference or even a voiceover IP phone. You must have solid Internet speed.

One of the easiest ways to find out how fast your Internet speed actually is, is to simply go to a free website called fast.com. There, you can make sure that your Internet speed is at least over 100 megabytes per second. This is going to be really important in terms of having strong video quality.

When you’re face-to-face with a customer or a prospect on a video conference, you never want to start to get fuzzy or lose the video feed.

Closing Sales from Home Tip #3: Have a light or sit in front of the window.

When you’re actually on a Zoom or video call, make sure that you have a light shining on your face—and be sure that it’s not coming from behind you, but rather from in front of you. If you don’t have a light, you can simply sit in front of a window.

Natural light can actually be some of the best light to make sure that your face looks clear and solid on video. It’s important that you have solid lighting anytime you’re on a video conference to increase your chances of closing sales from home.

Closing Sales from Home Step #4: Decent audio is absolutely critical.

Make sure that you have a solid microphone that’s giving out decent audio. You can test this by hopping onto a Zoom with a friend who can test it out for you and give you feedback on the quality of your audio. Make sure that your voice sounds clean.

There are a million options out there for solid headset microphones with an earpiece and microphone attached. Go on Amazon and just look for something that has good reviews with a USB input right into your computer.

Closing Sales from Home Step #5: Camera high, looking down.

One of the biggest mistakes salespeople make when they’re on a video conference is that they have the camera below them, looking up. This is common, particularly if you’re using a tablet or a laptop—the camera is looking up at your face, as opposed to being above you and looking down. This is not a good look.

It’s key that you have the camera high and looking down at you. It only has to be about an inch or two above your head. So even if you’re on a laptop or a tablet, prop it up on some books or some kind of table, so that way it’s looking down on you, as opposed to looking up. This makes a huge difference when it comes to closing sales from home.

Step #6: Stand if possible.

If you can stand up when you’re on your video calls, do so. This will make your presence much stronger. It will also make you feel more energetic. When you’re standing, you’re not in some kind of relaxed, chilled-out position; instead, you’re at attention and focused. It’s just as if you were at a trade show talking to someone at a booth. When you’re standing, you’re going to be much better at closing sales from home.

Home Sale Closing Step #7: Be platform-agnostic.

This is key to becoming effective at closing sales from home. You need to be competent at using Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, Google Hangouts, or any other platform that your customers may typically use. Especially if you’re not selling in a technical space, your customers might be less comfortable with Zoom.

Now, of course, in today’s world, most people are starting to learn how Zoom works, but sometimes it’s just easier to hop on a FaceTime call or use Skype, particularly if you’re selling to international people. Or use a Google Hangout, if they’ve got an Android phone.

Whatever it is, get comfortable using all of those platforms and ask your prospect, “I’m planning to send you a Zoom link, but is there another platform that you’re more comfortable with?” And if they say, “No, Zoom is fine,” okay, great. But if they say, “Actually, I’m not really good with Zoom, but I can do FaceTime,” then great, you can schedule a FaceTime instead. Use a platform that they will be comfortable with and be platform-agnostic yourself.

Closing Home Sales Step #8: Practice using your tools.

When you’re on a call with a prospect, you should never be fumbling between showing your screen and showing your face or sending a document. Make sure that no matter how you use your tools, you’re very comfortable and competent transitioning between all of those different components.

That way, when you’re actually doing it in front of a prospect, it’s clean and smooth and you’re not wasting time. Nothing will break a prospect’s attention more than you fumbling around having trouble with your own technology. Practice using your tools to get better at closing sales from home.

Closing Sales from Home Step #9: Manage your day like you’re in an office.

Working from home has some tremendous advantages. You have so much more flexibility with how you spend your time—but that can also become a burden. There’s a reason that people conduct a relatively traditional day when they’re at the office. Whether it’s 9 to 5 or 8 to 6, I challenge you to try to manage your day at home like you’re at the office.

Now, if you want to go for a run or maybe have lunch outside and then go for a long walk—great. That’s fine. Use those opportunities you would never have if you weren’t working from home. But when you’re not doing that stuff, make sure that you manage your day as if you’re at the office.

Obviously, if you have children to take care of, you’ve got to do that, but be disciplined about how you’re managing your day. This will ultimately ensure that you’re going to close more sales, not fewer sales, as a result of being home.

So there you have it. Now you know 9 must-know steps to closing sales from home. Which of these ideas did you find most useful? Share your thoughts in the comments section below to join the conversation.