Are you ready to take your company to the next level? You might be thinking about hiring a sales team or expanding your current sales team to drive more revenue. But what if your entire workforce is scattered throughout different cities and states. How can you have a centralized sales team when they’re all remote? It could seem like an impossible task, but with some prep work and dedication, you can create a successful remote sales team. Here are the top 5 tips for managing a remote sales team:
Plan communication and onboarding processes before hiring
Before you even hire a remote sales team member, you need to plan out how communication will work between team members. Will you use a communication tool like Slack? Will you have a set time and date each week for call-outs? You should also define your onboarding process for new employees. You’ll want to be very specific about what tools and resources they’ll need to complete their tasks. If you don’t have these processes outlined from the beginning, you could run into issues with training and onboarding. This will not only frustrate your current employees, but it could also jeopardize your ability to scale your remote sales team.
Hire based on culture fit, not just skill set
Before you start hiring anyone, you need to make sure you’re bringing on people who align with your company culture. If you’ve got a set remote sales team, you’ll want to make sure they’re all on the same page. You can do this by creating a sales culture deck before you start interviewing. A sales culture deck is basically a visual way of describing what your company’s culture is like. You can use it to outline your values, goals, and any other information you think would be helpful for potential employees. During the interview process, make sure to ask questions about the person’s sales experience, as well as how they view sales in general. You don’t want to hire someone who is far from your company culture.
Make video conferencing a priority
As important as in-person meetings are, video conferencing is definitely a priority for managing a remote sales team. And if you’re hiring a remote sales team, you probably don’t have an office that everyone can meet in. You can use tools like Zoom, or join an online meeting software like ClickMeeting. Make sure to set up regular check-in meetings with your remote sales team members. You can use these meetings to discuss goals, provide feedback, and get an idea of how the team is feeling. You can also use these meetings to create a stronger relationship between your team members.
Hold team meetings, but also check-in with individuals
While you should definitely hold team meetings, you also need to make sure you’re keeping up with individual team members. This will help you stay connected with your team members and make sure they’re on track with their sales goals. You can use a tool like Boss Assign to create check-in call sheets for your remote sales team members. This will help you stay on top of who you need to check in with each week. You should make check-ins a regular part of your team meetings. This will help keep you and your team members accountable.
Celebrate wins – you’ll need it!
If you don’t celebrate your successes, you’re going to go crazy! Managing a remote sales team is a challenging task, so you need to celebrate any wins you have. This will help keep you motivated and keep your spirits up when you’re feeling discouraged. It’s also a good way to keep your remote sales team engaged. If you know they’re getting recognition for their hard work, they’ll want to keep doing a good job. You can host a team meeting and use a program like Co-Host to share stats with your team. Or if you’re feeling extra ambitious you can even throw a party! There are plenty of ways to celebrate your wins, you just need to make sure you do it.
Conclusion
Managing a remote sales team is challenging. You need to make sure you’re properly communicating with your team members, and keep track of their progress. You will also need to celebrate your wins, as these are few and far between as a remote manager. To successfully manage a remote sales team, you need to plan out your communication and onboarding processes before hiring. You also need to hire individuals who align with your company culture. Make video conferencing a priority, and hold team meetings while also checking in with individuals. Finally, you need to celebrate your wins – you’ll need it!