Managing Productive Remote Sales Teams
Whether you are transitioning to a full-time remote sales model or it’s your usual mode of operation, you soon realize that the change is more complex than merely handing out laptops. A new set of systems, strategies, tools, and expectations are in play when managing productive remote sales teams.
How you set up your remote sales team has a profound effect on personal productivity, the efficiency of the entire sales team, and the revenue of the whole business. (No pressure!)
Your Remote Sales Team CAN Be More Productive at Home
If you’re worried, know that there is a reason to hold out hope that this is a good thing. It is possible your new remote sales teams may actually thrive with new, more productive, and less costly sales systems in place.
In fact, you might never go back to the office desk sales model. Many studies have shown that remote workers are just as, if not more, productive than in-office teams:
- 77% of remote employees say they’re more productive when working from home. – CoSo Cloud
- A report by Aon Consulting showed that some organizations have seen productivity gains of up to 43% after adopting virtual teams. -HBR
- A study of 80 global software teams indicated that remote teams can outperform those that share an office (if well-managed). -HBR
- If they could, 99% of people would choose to work remotely, at least part-time, for the rest of their careers. – Buffer
Whether you have already switched to remote sales or being forced to sell remotely due to the pandemic restrictions, we’ve got tips on how to make your remote sales team more productive.
3 Best Practices for Managing Productive Remote Sales Teams
According to HubSpot’s 2019 Remote Work Report, communication with co-workers, feelings of loneliness, and overworking are challenges that remote workers face daily. Managing a remote sales team can be overwhelming, but these tips and best practices will help you set a foundation for success.
1. Set Goals, Organize Meetings and Stay Motivated
As you develop your remote sales team, you will need to set clear goals from the start. With goals in place, you can keep salespeople on track while working remotely and ensure that the activities you have in place support your sales goals.
You will know what to expect from your remote sales efforts, and members of the sales team will know what you expect from them.
2. Organize weekly sales pipeline meetings
Setting weekly or biweekly sales pipeline review meetings with your remote sales team has several advantages:
- You can align on the next steps that should be taken with prospects.
- You can run through the pipeline and make sure it’s all up to date by changing the stage or removing prospects that are no longer relevant.
- Any pipeline or prospect issues can be identified and discussed.
- Team members can share what’s been done since the last meeting and what’s on deck.
These meetings create transparency, foster accountability, and significantly increase communication within the team – three things that significantly impact the success of remote sales teams.
3. Create a Virtual Culture Where Team Members Can Connect
When working remotely, your sales team can easily miss the face to face connection with the rest of the team. To help alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation, introduce ways to encourage informal chats withing your team’s remote communication tools.
The first step is creating channels of communication, specifically for engagement between team members. Plan a daily or weekly recurring video call around lunch or at some dedicated point of the day, where you can chat about things that are not related to work.
An Opportunity to Create a Better System
The current business climate is putting added pressure on sales teams to generate revenue in a whole new way. However, you should see this as an opportunity to roll out new, more productive systems that keep your business going.
A productive remote sales team needs the right leadership, software tools, and processes in place to reach sales goals. There will be plenty of challenges while transitioning to strictly remote sales such as communication, social opportunities, and loneliness/isolation. But providing clear goals, practical tools, and frequent communication ensures your team is more productive wherever they are working.
