“Working Remotely” is something which all the companies, be it startups or large corporates, are adapting to. In COVID times, everyone wants to commute less and rather prefers staying at home. And thus, the remote sales team has to rely on digital channels.

It is needless to say that this has become the new normal. Remote work environments have many benefits such as an increase in productivity and cost savings. But, it comes with a set of challenges.

Through this article, we dive into the ways to deliver stellar results with a remote sales team. The Pulse survey is an excellent way to collect data on remote sales. The information you provide will help your company make more informed decisions, grow in efficiency and effectiveness while also staying within budget constraints- all without leaving home.

What are the benefits of a remote sales team?

Increase Productivity

As per the 2020 Remote Working Statistics by Merchan Savvy, 13% of the remote employees worked more productively. This is attributed to various factors like fewer distractions, quiet work environments, and fewer breaks and sick leaves. The employees do not have work timing limitations and can work in spite of inclement weather or travel restrictions thus increasing productivity.

Saves Cost

Now, many companies are choosing to work remotely as it helps them to save costs. This can be used for recruiting more skilled employees. Thus, creating a stronger talent pool.

Empower Sales Rep

There is no one to micromanage the employees or stop by their desks asking for the status of their works. Thus, the employees are able to prioritize their tasks depending on the level of importance and urgency thus empowering the Sales Rep. This also builds trust among the employees as they know that you have confidence in their work.

How to manage a remote sales team?

1. Set clear objectives for the remote sales team

The company needs to set clear objectives so that each employee in the remote sales team are aware of the final target. This way they can link their tasks to the company goals. They would be motivated to work harder so that they can help the company reach its targets. Keep the objectives simple and specific so that the employees know it is achievable and are not overwhelmed. 

SMART goals is an effective way of goal-setting for remote employees. 

• Specify the exact result that you are looking for
• Measure the goals by defining the metrics that you will use to evaluate the outcome.
• Is this goal achievable? Has it been done in the past? Or what else might be needed to achieve this goal?
• How relevant are the goals for your organization? Would it help the company grow in the long term?
• Is the task time-bound? Are there any deadlines?

And these objectives should be constantly reevaluated by the team.

2. Organize processes 

Good and organized processes help to increase productivity and keep the whole team on the same page. In sales, a definite process helps the sales rep to easily move from one stage to another. Thus, helping them get rid of unwanted and ineffective bottlenecks. Defining a sales process would help the company filter out more qualified leads in the initial stages. And finally helping the sales team to focus their resources on these leads.

For organizing projects, companies can use project management tools.

To handle a team with 5 or fewer employees, we can use tools such as Trello. Here you can assign names, set goals, create different lists etc. It is very efficient to manage a small team and extremely simple to use but as the size of the team gets larger, it becomes more complicated to manage.

For larger teams, you can use CRM software like TeamWave. Here you can prioritize the tasks and projects and close the deals faster. Also, here you can create project templates such that you need not create the same project structure again and again and instead you can edit the template.

3. Set communication guidelines

As per the 2020 State of Remote Work, published by Buffer and Angel List, the biggest struggle that people face while working remotely is in collaboration and communication. This issue can arise if everyone in the team is not communicating in the same way. Few members might feel left out from the loop.

The biggest struggle that people face while working remotely is in collaboration and communication.

Achieve effective communication in the following manner:

• Set up company communication guidelines. Specify that discussions need to be conducted via Slack or Google Meet. And, official news can be conveyed through mails.
• The companies can set Do Not Disturb hours for the employees so that they can block some time to complete their priority tasks. 
• Communicate using the right channels. In case you just need a 5-minute call then avoid sending a long email and instead arrange for a quick call. 
• One good way of presenting new sets of guidelines is by creating a video. Presentations with visuals and audio are more effective in fully understanding the guidelines. You may use existing material and remove audio from the video, so you can insert your recorded audio. You can also use an  online video editing tool that allows people to easily remove audio from your videos with a single click.

4. Stop micromanaging and build trust

Well, it is true that managing the sales team is a tough task. The company is answerable to many stakeholders. Further, the company might incur losses if the deals are not closed on time.

But micromanaging your team constantly affects employee morale, as they start believing that you do not trust their ability to perform the tasks. You might be wasting time focussing on the wrong deal or project and in the process might lose out on other priority deals.

But micromanaging your team constantly affects employee morale, as they start believing that you do not trust their ability to perform the tasks.

So stop micromanaging, and clarify the expectations and discuss with the Sales Team as to what are their targets and what is their action plan. Have a common project management tool in place such that you can track the progress and need not constantly check with them. Provide guidance to the sales rep at each stage and advise them on how they can proceed with their meetings with the prospects and close the deal.

5. Provide online training

As the employees are not located at the same place, all employees might not be tuned in the same way. Few of them might be lacking the required skills, be it soft skills or technical knowledge. And as the employees are not able to have face to face interaction with their team members, they might feel isolated.

You can choose synchronous or asynchronous learning processes for your team.

So the best way to fine-tune them is to provide online training. You can choose synchronous or asynchronous learning processes for your team. In synchronous learning, the training activity happens for a group of people simultaneously. The employees can interact with each other and have discussions, thus helping to connect with the team in a better way. 

Asynchronous learning on the other hand is the self learning videos or classes. This can be instructor free or the instructor can review the employee by taking weekly or monthly assessments.

6. Constant evaluation and feedback with regularly assessments

Create a sense of accountability among the employees by having daily, weekly and monthly assessments. Discuss with them as to what all tasks have been completed, did they face any issues or challenges in the process, and provide feedback.

Do not hesitate to appreciate the team or employees if they have done remarkable work and on the other hand, advise them if you find that there is a scope of improvement. You can also ask them to send weekly reports to analyze the performance of the team and rework on the sales strategy if needed.

Try to automate the mundane tasks so that your employees do not feel overloaded with routine tasks and instead can focus on more meaningful work.

Try to automate the mundane tasks so that your employees do not feel overloaded with routine tasks and instead can focus on more meaningful work.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Thus, effective communication, trust, constant engagement, and investing in the appropriate automation tools are the steps needed to keep the employees motivated. This would help them achieve their targets. Encourage your team to follow the company guidelines but at the same time constantly evaluate and try to remove the bottlenecks from the process.

TeamWave, being a remote company, strongly believes that if there is an organized system in place then a remote team can be surely managed with ease.