If your sales team is pining for the old way of selling, it may be time to help them embrace the new way of doing things. Your sales team may be waiting for things to go back to the way they were before, but the fact is that this is very unlikely to happen. The pandemic was not a deviation from the norm, but rather an acceleration of what was already happening in sales.
Virtual Selling was Already on the Way
Virtual selling was already taking off prior to the pandemic, with sales calls, emails, and virtual presentations taking the place of in-person meetings. Even as the pandemic begins to wane and some things return to normal, sales is remaining largely virtual. Buyers seem happy to purchase without in-person meetings, and managers are quickly realizing that more can be accomplished when sales are handled virtually.
Reluctance to Accept the New Normal
Convincing your sales team that the new way of doing things is here to stay can be a challenge. It is especially difficult for sales professionals that have been in the industry for many years to make such a huge change so quickly. While your sales team has probably gotten used to some aspects of virtual sales during the pandemic, telling them that this is the way things will be from now on may not go over well.
How to Manage Your Sales Team Remotely
As a manager, you face new challenges in managing your team remotely. Since you can’t walk through cubicles and see your sales team in action, you need to find new ways to monitor their progress and success.
- Slidecast sales presentations with powerful analytics can go a long way to help you see just how well your team is doing.
- Take advantage of the new freedom from commutes and large meetings to have plenty of one-on-one virtual meetings with your team.
- Be clear with your team that the new way of sales is here to stay and share with them the advantages of this new technique in sales success and the number of pitches that can be made.
- Enable people who are struggling with working from home by offering office space if possible, equipping them with technology, etc.
Embrace Virtual Sales
Making the switch to primarily virtual sales is a big change that comes with some challenges. In the end, you will likely find your sales team is more successful when they accept this new normal.
