If you find yourself in a position where you have to get your sales team to start selling from their homes and away from clients, there is good news. Almost 50% of sales people are already inside sales professionals so most teams have experience already selling remotely.
The transition for inside sales people will be relatively smooth. The other half of the sales force however, will have to make some sudden transitions.
Confirming meetings is nothing new for field sales reps but they will need to double down on meeting confirmations when they start selling remotely. This is because it's easier for a prospect to postpone or cancel a phone meeting versus an in-person visit. Get them in the habit of confirming and re-confirming meetings.
You or your team may already be familiar with web conferencing tools but become even more familiar. You don’t want your sellers to be caught with a technical difficulty during a sales call. Have them take the time to get familiar with all the features and set up processes.
Using conferencing tools does have advantages when compared to in-person meetings. For example, recording online meetings is a lot easier than an in-person meeting. This can help to enhance coaching and skill development of your team.
A lot of sales reps say they prefer in-person meetings because they believe they can build more human connections in-person than they could over the phone or online. While that may feel like the case, it’s definitely possible to build rapport and a real connection with someone over a phone or web conference. Your ability to do so depends on your active listening skills.
Online meetings allow you to build the same level of rapport as an in-person meeting but it is undeniable that a face-to-face meeting is more personal and intimate. Field sales reps travel and work hard to meet their clients in-person. Have them use that same level of effort into personalizing their messages.
Field reps may not be able to make it to the client’s office but taking time to personalize messages and outreach can go a long way in establishing strong relationships to make up for the lack of in-person meetings.
Field sales people are on the go most of the time. For many, it may be an aspect of their job they enjoy. The idea of selling from one location could feel restricting. Even if they're used to inside sales, it’s natural to feel isolated when selling from the same place all the time. Make sure they take frequent breaks and go for walks during the day. Staying refreshed will go a long way.
We all hope that everyone can start traveling again. Field sales reps will be back to meeting clients in full force again but for now, all teams must make adjustments. The prevalence of inside sales means teams have at least some exposure to remote selling. Use these tips to make sure your sellers transition to remote selling is a successful one.
