You want your entire sales team to not only deliver but crush the quotas given to them. However, due to the current pandemic or even some restructuring, you have a remote sales team stationed all around the country or in some cases, around the world. Managing any sales team isn’t as easy as it sounds. It is even more difficult when that team is remote. Communication can be challenging and that can lead to mistakes. Here are five tips to help you successfully manage a remote sales team. Let’s begin!
Develop Trust
Trust is something that is built over a period. When you are unable to spend as much time together as you would in a physical office, it takes even longer to achieve. In most sales teams, individual success on deals might get more attention than the collaborative work it took to make it happen. This can be a source of mistrust, unhealthy competition and internal conflict. To avoid this, take steps to promote teamwork by providing regular feedback, balance out team and individual recognition and clarify roles and responsibilities. All of this is best done through constant communication.
Promote Engagement
To be successful you require high levels of engagement as engaged employees are more likely to be productive. You should reduce frustrations and choke points by making it easier for people to do their jobs. If possible, streamline the entire sales process by differentiating things such as prospecting from actual sales.
Set Expectations
Getting wires crossed is a common theme of remote management. Information can slip through the gaps or become misunderstood. Not only should you communicate what your expectations are to the entire group, you should also set concise expectations with every remote salesperson in the team. This should be followed up by ensuring these expectations are clearly defined in your chosen task/project management app.
Manage Sales Activities
The most ineffective way to do this is to simply provide a target to your salespeople and expect them to deliver. This is not enough. To properly manage a remote sales team, you will have to keep track of their activities. You can use specific software to aid in your management, such as a map to track the visits your sales reps make, a time tracking tool to ensure you and your team are always on top of your opportunities and projects and of course a simplified CRM suite.
Implement Processes As Tasks
Having processes implemented can help with the direction and structure of your team. This ensures that work gets done even when your remote sales team members are spread across various time zones. While all remote sales teams may have some sort of direction, the aim is to get them to follow these. One thing you should not do is place your work flows in a shared folder, expecting everyone to not only read but implement them. Rather, have them defined as a task.
I hope these tips help you to better manage your remote sales team. If you know someone that could benefit from this article then please do forward it onto them.
