Even if you have experience with remote workers, managing a remote sales team can be challenging.
With salespeople being naturally competitive and extroverted, there are several things you need to consider if you want your employees to feel engaged and inspired.
Here are 5 tips on setting up and managing a remote sales team.
1. Improve Your Hiring Process
The biggest challenge in setting up a remote sales team is hiring the right remote workers.
If you’re just starting out, make sure to hire experienced professionals who know what to do. Don’t try to save money by hiring someone who is fresh out of college.
More so than in any other field, you need experience to become a good sales rep. There is a learning curve, and unless you have the resources, tools, and someone ready to train your new hire, aim for experienced candidates.
Your team members also need to be able to work remotely.
Unlike web design or content writing which are pretty much the same whether you’re working from an office or the comfort of your home, remote selling is very different from in-person sales.
And experience and talent won’t mean a thing unless your candidate is also able to adapt to a remote work environment.
2. Build a Virtual Water Cooler
For designers and developers, working remotely is usually a perfect fit. Most of them feel more productive and motivated with fewer distractions.
For salespeople, remote work can be a bit challenging.
Every good sales rep is motivated by interaction, communication, and healthy competition. If the members of your team rarely communicate with one another, they might lose the very thing that inspires them to be better at their job.
Additionally, loneliness is one of the biggest challenges of working remotely, and you don’t want that to halt the productivity of your team.
That’s why you need to build a virtual water cooler.
In other words, you should set aside some time for your workers to relax and talk with one another. This will give them a chance to brainstorm ideas and bond with their co-workers.
Every team is different, so choose creative activities suited for your employees.
Organize frequent face-to-face meetings, lunches, online game competitions or set up a book club or a movie night.
This will fulfil your employees’ need to socialize and interact with their co-workers.
3. Set Goals
Setting goals and tracking the performance of your workers is important regardless of the type of your business. For a sales team, it’s a way to boost motivation and productivity.
Unlike some other roles, sales teams enjoy healthy competition within their companies. It motivates them to do better and gain more clients.
Organizing monthly challenges and setting up leaderboards will not only boost motivation; it will also show you who are the key employees you want to keep in your company.
Offer bonuses and rewards for the top employees and you will keep your best workers satisfied and fulfilled, while those in the lower rankings will strive to get better results.
4. Use the Right Tools
There are many tools you need to use if you’re running a remote team.
For sales teams, choosing the right CRM software (customer relationship management software) is the most important investment. Statistics have shown that CRMs can boost lead conversion rates by 300%.
This tool uses data to optimize interactions, automate communication and maintain relationships with customers and leads.
One of the most popular free CRM tools is Hubspot which offers a freemium version with different add-ons that you can get as you expand your business.
Another popular solution is Pipedrive. With payment plans ranging from $12.50 to $99 per month, Pipedrive offers countless features that can help you optimize your sales process. There is also a 14-day free trial available.
5. Build a Sales Process
For your remote sales team to consistently deliver good results, you need to set up a process that works.
A sales process is precisely this: a set of steps used to convert your prospects into paying customers.
If you organize and clearly define each step of the process, your sales reps will know exactly how to close a deal. It will also make the onboarding process easier, as your new hires will have a clear idea of what to do in different situations.
Establishing a sales process can also help you determine what’s stalling the deals and what you can do to improve.
These were our tips for setting up and managing your remote sales team. Remember – you’ll need your sales reps to be scrappy and competitive, so facilitate communication within your team and make sure they get plenty of inspiration and motivation.
And if you are looking for a new addition to your remote sales team, or if you need a Developer, Designer, Project Manager, or any other remote worker, you can find them right here on JobRack. We have thousands of great candidates for your business – click here to find out more.
