By all accounts, 2020 was the year that remote work hit the mainstream. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that remote work wasn’t around before the pandemic hit; some companies did offer the option of working from home as a perk to employees for quite some time before Covid-19 upended our lives.  But over the last year, with lockdown orders in place and no other alternative available, many companies saw that remote work is indeed a viable option; and in some cases an even more productive option than stringent in-office arrangements.  

And now there’s no turning back. Research shows that the percentage of remote workers will double by 2021 while some estimates predict that 70% of employees will be working from home at least 5 days a month by 2025. So far, it’s the big tech companies that are leading the remote work revolution. Twitter, Square and Facebook, among plenty of others, have all made announcements to the effect that their employees will be able to continue working remotely for the foreseeable future. 

However, not every company has the deep pockets and robust technology in place needed to set up productive work from home operations. It’s not just about the video chat software, effective work from home requires access to the same tools, technology and capabilities that employees have in the office. From CRM tools, to secure payment capabilities and all the way to multi-channel communication options, there’s a lot to contend with if you want to stay productive without going into the office.

Remote Work for Consultants

So what’s a  small company or even a one-woman-show supposed to do to jump on the remote work bandwagon? Small enterprises, SMBs and consultants all need the ability to work from home as much as the bigger fish do and technology to help them adapt to new ways of remote work. 

Consolto was built exactly for these reasons. An advanced videochat platform delivers a full package of complementary services that help consultants and small service providers bridge the digital divide and reap the benefits of remote work, while maintaining and even increasing productivity. Over the last few years we’ve spent countless hours working hand-in-hand with consultants from a range of different industries. Nearly every feature we’ve developed was designed to help specific consultants do business more effectively while working remotely.

How Consultants Use Consolto to Digitally Transform their Businesses

Real estate agents use Consolto to conduct their business remotely. Specifically, with Consolto’s high-quality videochat technology, real estate agents are able to provide clients from around the world with virtual showings. These digital tours of a property enable real estate agents to provide one-on-one, personalized showings of a property, without actually meeting prospective buyers in the flesh. 

Using Consolto, real estate agents can show more properties, save time commuting, appeal to a wider audience from anywhere in the world, and stay safety during these trying times. 

Consolto also helps real estate agents generate more website leads. Using Consolto, they can proactively reach out to website visitors browsing a listing to offer more information or to book a sales meeting. Clients can choose to interact using videochat, live chat, popular messaging apps, or schedule a meeting for a later date. 

We’ve also seen medical doctors, lawyers, life coaches, psychiatrists and other consultants using Consolto to take their business remote. It enables them to offer extended availability to their clients, so that if there’s an emergency clients can reach them in just a few clicks. What’s more, many have reported that since adding Consolto to their website they’ve been able to engage with new clientele, from across the world. Lawyers are able to instantly provide counsel to incarcerated clients; medical doctors can provide telemedicine services to clients at any location so that even remotely located clients can finally access premium medical advice without having to crisscross the world.

No matter the type of consultant, they can provide a higher level of service to their clients over video chat. Availability, prospecting, communication and client vetting are all achieved in just a few clicks. 

Online retailers, especially fashion, successfully use Consolto to provide their online customers with a more personalized service that’s eerily reminiscent of the in-store feeling. Personal shoppers and fashion reps can actually have real conversations with their prospects, to see the type of person they’re dealing with and recommend specific items that may suit them. With customer expectations reaching new levels in terms of the experience they want from their online interactions, Consolto enables online retailers to provide a warm, welcoming and intimate online experience that brings their customers back for more.

The automotive industry is also realizing the benefit of remote operations. With more and more vehicle buyers doing research online before even stepping into the car dealership, car dealers with Consolto embedded on their website are seeing revenue lifts compared to previous years. Car dealers use Consolto to engage clients while they’re researching vehicles on the car dealership website. Multi-agent capabilities enable the allocation of reps with niche expertise to man the appropriate page and provide timely, relevant advice to clients engaging with them over videochat. 

Using advanced Consolto features like file sharing and screen sharing, car dealers are able to conduct their entire business remotely. Contracts can be reviewed together, and downpayments made during the videochat. Some car dealers have even reported that they show buyers cars during live sessions, an essential tool during lockdowns or quarantines. 

Sales teams leverage Coinsolto as an entirely new channel in their communication arsenal. Instead of reaching out by phone or meeting physically, many sales teams are adopting videochat as a powerful method through which they can engage in personalized, meaningful dialog with their prospects. 

Consolto’s mini-CRM provides consultants from every industry with a centralized location to save and quickly access all the critical information from their interactions. Live video chats, messages and notes are all saved into the cloud and easily retrieved for use prior to the next session. Action items that are recorded are much more likely to be executed, and little details like a spouse’s name or prospect’s birthday are handily available.

Before We Go

Consolto is on a mission to help consultants and other small businesses make effective use of remote operations without breaking their budget. We’ve managed to pack a whole bunch of functionality under the hood of our advanced video chat platform. Consultants use Consolto to manage their entire remote workflow, from prospecting and sales, to retention and payment, Consolto’s got you covered.