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The Corona Virus pandemic is indeed holding the world hostage and now more than ever, sales managers need to adapt to ways of how to manage sales teams remotely.
Just because the physical meeting is minimal, it does not mean people do not want services. Therefore, if you can manage sales teams remotely and have them going about their activities, there will be next to no difference to when the world was open to movement and not in COVID-19 Quarantine and lockdown.
Say bye to the office cubicles because you won’t need them in a minute and get to manage your sales team remotely. The numbers are in favor of this change:
“As of 2019, the amount of companies with a remote workforce is getting larger. 66% of companies allow remote work, and 16% are fully remote.”
With the advancement of technology, sales teams working remotely is possible. You can have your sales teams happier and more motivated when working around spaces they consider private – with only one goal, deliverables.
“A Stanford University research study found that employees are 13% more productive when working remotely. “
The big advantage of having remote teams is savings. Office overhead is a massive expense to cover; office space becomes ostentatious and you can do away with it.
Tips To Help You Manage Sales Teams Remotely
It is no walk in the park. Like assimilating to a new habitat, it takes time to get comfortable with the surroundings but hey, it can be done. As sales managers, you can employ these tools and manage sales teams remotely, and reap hugely.
1. Embrace Technology
The first thing you and your sales team need to understand is Technology is going to come into play more often than not.
And yes, even salespeople need technology. Many parts of the sales process are becoming automated, thus quicker and easier for your salespeople to complete.
One quick realization is that Salespeople need CRM. As a sales manager, you will be able to keep up with the steps taken by your team, without necessarily physically being in the same room.
The key to bringing technology into your sales team’s efforts is to ensure it works seamlessly with the tools and systems your team already has set in place.
Also key is to always be on the lookout for the latest developments to ensure your team continues to be as productive and efficient as possible.
When time is money, your sales team must find effective CRM strategies to work more efficiently and boost productivity.
Enter Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Fortunately, CRM performs data analytics to map patterns and predicament trends, line up leads, improve efficiency, and track customers. And given that salespeople have been collecting information about their clients, it helps streamline the entire sales cycle.
CRM is an amazing tool to help you manage sales teams remotely and the most difficult part of integrating sales with CRM is deciding to adopt CRM. Going forth, it is a smooth ride. Salespeople often see CRM as another tool, as more work and just another way for their bosses to keep track of their work.
Most companies work in the cloud. Storage providers, like Google or Box, allow your employees to log in securely and view any data. It seems cloud computing has diminished the need to have remote workers on a virtual private network (VPN) but they can still be set up for additional access, security, and control.
Time-consuming tasks such as order processing and preparing quotes are automated. A steady flow of new prospects filters into the pipeline, increasing time spent selling, and arming sales reps with the info they need to close a higher percentage of deals.
2. Use Video
Quick question – why are sales managers so traditional and conservative? Many find it cumbersome to incorporate usage of video into their work yet this feature will make their work a lot easier.
Just as much as you want your team to be using video in sales prospecting, embrace it too. Use it to reach out to your sales team, inspire them, and go on to teach them how to ue=se the same tools to introduce themselves, provide additional content, or to recap your connect, discovery, or qualification call.
3. Lead, Don’t Manage
The sales team is only as good as its leader. A motivated and results-delivering leader will inspire those under him to step up their efforts.
Here are a few strategies to improve as a sales leader:
Practice active listening. During sales rep 1-on-1 or even team meetings, don’t do all the talking. Ask your team questions and repeat what they said to determine if you’re understanding their issue or question correctly.
Communicate your expectations. According to the Sales Benchmark Index, over 74% of sales managers admit they have poor communication skills. Talking to reps in person is often more effective than email messages. However, if you do communicate via email, keep messages short and bullet-point style, and limit your message to two action items.
Empower your team through the right tools. Invest in tools such as a sales CRM to assist with organization and productivity. 66% of sales leaders said their reps have continuous visibility into their performance — but 32.1% indicated that reps are only getting performance insight on a weekly or quarterly basis. Ensure that your reps have access to daily activity progress in your CRM.
4. Encourage competition
A little racing never hurt anyone. It should be a motivator to come out on top.
Here’s how you can make this possible:
Define a clear goal – Depending on what it is, whether you want to improve customer service, increase sales volume, or simply survive a seasonal slump, you must first clearly communicate the objective of your content to your sales team.
Keep it simple – Try to focus on one goal during your competition. Also, make sure the rules are easy-to-understand so your salespeople can easily participate.
Have fun. Chances are most of your salespeople have a natural Competitiveness. Encourage friendly banter around the competition to make it more fun and interesting. All you are doing is tailored towards building the company and yourself – ensure to enjoy all of it. A less suffocating environment is bound to help your team improve sales performance.
Keep hype up about the competition by posting news and sending out updates via email. Whoever ends up winning the competition, be sure to recognize and reward them for their accomplishment. 5. Build Trust The goal is to have the closing rate is as high s possible but this is not a license to police salespeople. Sales managers seeking to manage sales teams remotely ought to trust their reps in making their judgments. It gives them a sense of autonomy and, hence, not feel micromanaged. Simultaneously, regular communication builds trust between the manager and remote team members. Weekly calls enable remote employees to catch up, generate ideas, and share success stories. 6. Regular Training Invest in the skills of your sales team. It is clear sales managers are busy people, and will not be in the field all the time. This calls for regular training and revisions. This will help the salespeople weed out irrelevant practices in their schedules and work plans. Also, many things change in every field and these can be properly addressed in these regular training sessions, aimed to improve sales efficiency. In fact, companies who provide solid coaching to their team see a 16.7% growth in their annual revenue This will throw more confidence out in the field to act with the utmost freedom after the training. Summary The effects of COVID-19 are adverse on very many processes but life has to go on and we have to adapt to what is the new normal. At MonkeyPesa, we are huge believers that technology is going to set those that embrace it far apart from those waiting to grasp at it in later stages. From CRM, Sales, Use of Social Media, and even sales – technology can streamline it all. MonkeyPesa is here with a ready-made CRM Software that helps streamline everything from Leads to Deals, Accounts, and contacts. MonkeyPesa is genuinely built for Sales teams. It is simple but well streamlined and organized. This CRM Software allows for the integration of services like Email Marketing, SMS, and Social Media marketing and customer support, all in a single business system. You can contact us on or by a phone call or WhatsApp +256757537658 Subscribe to the YouTube Channel for News and Shows on Tech and Business in Africa https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm2GHNQ69dtHScOcC2ngqJw