How Sales Teams Can Thrive in a Remote Work Environment

How Sales Teams Can Thrive in a Remote Work Environment

In 2022, the so-called new normal of remote working has become commonplace for many.

A recent study reported than more than 80% of firms have adopted hybrid working since the pandemic. Evidently, working from home is here to stay, and it has permanently changed how sales teams operate.

Sales teams need to effectively adapt to the permanent system of remote and hybrid working to not just survive but thrive. Streamlining teams’ workflows and maximizing productivity in the changing working landscape is vital to ensuring that teams can still function to a high quality whilst adapting to the new normal.

Streamline Digital Organization

With sales teams spread across the country and in some cases across the world, accessible and securely stored information is important to maximize productivity. Implementing tools and structural changes will help teams in their operations. Having accessible cloud storage aids remote working through an organized team drive. Any member of the team should be able to find any resources they might require at any time. This should also be applied to CRM hygiene. Ensuring that sales representatives are diligently logging their sales activities allows for everything to be monitored and measured.

Improving communication channels to help with collaboration and information sharing is a great way to build morale and keep motivation high. Instant messaging tools like Slack have become indispensable to allow for informal team communication. Above all, sales team leaders need to be creative and find new ways to build morale and check in with their salespeople, so they don’t feel isolated. Encouraging teams to discuss non-work-related topics via internal chat can keep motivation high and allow sales representatives to decompress slightly.

Preparation Matters More Than Ever

When approaching new business, being well-prepared is more important than ever in remote selling. When approaching prospects remotely, it’s harder to keep their attention and go that extra mile to stand out and rise above the competition.

Before any client meeting, research is essential. Be sure to look up the individual prior to meetings and tailor the agenda accordingly to the specific buyer’s persona. This will be important when engaging in a Zoom call to avoid them feeling identical to others from competitors. Also, don’t be afraid to show some personality. It’s easy to fall into patterns when conducting sales exclusively over a computer screen but taking the time to build rapport has the potential to significantly improve chances to complete sales.

The Importance of Value-Led Selling

The relationships involved in sales, although still of importance, have undoubtedly changed. It is now of lesser importance compared to the team’s ability to solve the problem facing the client, with value-led selling now being of greater necessity. The goal of a value-led selling approach is to put the needs of the customer first, guiding them through the sales process to make an informed decision to best suit their needs. To stand out from the competition and create long-term customers, representatives should be taking a customer-centric approach to the buying process. With hybrid working there is an assumption that people have more time. In fact, the opposite can be true, zoom fatigue and seemingly endless calls throughout the day mean that salespeople need to earn their time more and focus on bringing value to the table immediately.

Ensuring Best Practice

With many teams choosing to not work typical office hours, processes need to be in place to monitor their progress and operations. Sales teams should be constantly tracking key metrics including connect rates, open rates, reply rates and scheduling day-to-day prospecting efforts accordingly. But, whilst reporting on data is good, acting on reports is even better. The most obvious use is to forecast sales and revenue to inform sales planning. Furthermore, understanding the day-to-day activities of the team will suggest any downfalls or challenges within the team and sales leaders can act accordingly to boost business growth.

Ensuring best practice processes are in place is also important when considering prospective clients. If teams understand the workings of their clients, for example, if they go offline at 4pm every day, shifting admin to the end of the working day and focusing on selling earlier in the day would make for a better use of time.

Working from home has undoubtedly changed sales teams’ operations. Teams of all sizes have been struggling throughout the pandemic to navigate this new working world and adapt to the needs of today’s buyers. From cold calling, to accountability, to pipeline management, one thing is certain across the board: the old world of sales tactics is gone for good.

Author

Get our newsletter and digital focus reports

Stay current on learning and development trends, best practices, research, new products and technologies, case studies and much more.