Managing a sales team can be challenging. But done right, it can be quite rewarding, especially for your business.
As a team leader, you’ve got your work cut out for you if you’re managing remote sales representatives from different parts of the world. You’ll need to monitor their sales quotas, deadlines, and quarter targets, all while working remotely. Then there’s the added setbacks from the global pandemic displacing sales teams and accelerating the adoption of virtual selling channels.
However, the current circumstances also provided opportunities for growth and innovation. E-commerce sites and online platforms are proving to be effective in driving sales and growing profits for most businesses. And to make the best of this scenario, an efficient remote sales team is crucial.
So, in the spirit of public service, here are our five tips for helping your remote sales teams excel:
Speed up communication.
Effective communication is always key. As a manager, you have to find ways to speed up the lines of communication amidst your team. Ideally, there should be a fast, transparent, and inclusive chain of information so everyone will know what to do.
Doing so provides direction and purpose for all tasks, deadlines, and sales targets. After all, customers will expect sales representatives to be equipped with the latest product knowledge. This would especially come in handy when social media inquiries can come flooding in at any instant.
The bottom line is, train your remote sales teams to respond promptly and proactively. Today’s e-commerce customers expect nothing less.
Provide your sales teams with the right tools.
The unprecedented and instant shift to remote work significantly affected all sales teams, be they remote or not. Since face-to-face interactions with potential clients is no longer possible, they’ve had to rely on video messaging platforms, email, and other similar applications.
If you want your sales team to get back on track in the midst of the new normal, give them the right tools. Collaboration platforms, sales enablement tools, and network access hardware, to name a few, are just a few examples and are critical to operating effectively in a remote environment.
Dig deep into buyer and seller activity – and share your findings.
Sales teams can perform better when they know which areas need improvement. This is particularly true today, not least because all the tools and metrics we need for measuring customer engagement levels and the corresponding sales figures are at your fingertips.
It goes without saying that you should closely monitor your customers’ engagement levels and purchasing activity. It also helps to review your sales agents’ performances so you can better manage, measure, coach, and empower your remote teams.
The more you know and understand about both sides of the sales cycle, the better strategies you can come up with to raise your bottom line.
Double down on relationship building.
The pandemic has made it more difficult to land new clients due to social distancing measures and constant border lockdowns. The fluctuating demand for products and services doesn’t help either.
Thus, your remote sales team’s focus should be on sustaining relationships with key, existing customers. Instead of chasing vague leads, they should invest their limited time in looking after and taking care of the most valuable customers and prospects.
Achieving this hyper-focus won’t just help your team save time. It’ll also enable them to accomplish their targets faster.
Create a new virtual selling playbook.
The transition to remote selling is inevitable. We just didn’t expect it to happen sooner. As with remote work, remote sales teams are here to stay, even after the pandemic.
Hence, now is the best time for you to develop your own unique selling strategies. Although making the jump from traditional sales to online selling can be tricky, it’s guaranteed to pay off.
For instance, you can create guidelines for your remote sales teams on topics like good video presentation skills, creating more personalised content, team selling, and achieving faster operating cadence. These provide your team with guidance and direction and also help set expectations for both sides.
Your remote sales team’s success will depend on both your leadership and your staff’s drive to succeed. While sales can sometimes depend largely on luck, having the right structure in place always helps.
If you don’t know where to start, hiring and onboarding an entire new remote sales team is another option.
Fortunately, Remote Staff has been providing AU SMEs and entrepreneurs with skilled remote staff from the Philippines. Whether you’re looking for an additional member for your growing remote sales team or require an entire new department of remote workers, we can help you find the perfect fit.
Call us today or schedule a call back and let’s get started.
Serena has been working remotely and writing content for the better part of the last decade. To date, she's written for Pepper.ph and Mabuhay Magazine, among others, and has churned out more than a thousand articles on everything from The Basics of Stock Market Investing to How to Make Milk Tea-Flavored Taho at home. Hermits, aspiring hermits, and non-hermits with interesting project propositions may email her at serena.estrella10@gmail.com.
