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Remaining Effective as a Salesperson While Working Remotely

Remaining Effective as a Salesperson While Working Remotely

If recent global events have you scrambling and looking to reinvent the way you conduct “business as usual” in a remote work environment, you are not alone. Creating a plan and focusing on your ability to be flexible and adapt will represent the difference between just staying afloat and thriving in this changing landscape. Whether you already have a plan in place or are starting from square one, here are some key components to keep in mind in order to maintain productivity and keep your sanity while moving to a virtual office.

Prepare Your Day

Anyone who works from home will tell you – flexibility is definitely one of the biggest advantages to the remote working environment. But without a plan, it’s easy to get off track. Experts agree the best way to stay productive is to set a schedule. Get up and ready for work as if you were heading into the office. Set calls or video conferences early if you need the extra incentive to get going in the morning. Consider using a tool to make your daily call/meeting schedule if it helps you to stay organized and to add a level of professionalism – Calendly is popular with many sales reps. According to Salesforce, most sales reps like to make sales calls early in the day, but consider your own temperament when scheduling calls. It is wise to block off time for sales calls versus prospecting to stay in the same mindset (think: not switching back and forth).

Prioritize your daily activities. This enables you to maximize your time and effort. As a salesperson, a good first step is to identify or review your goals. This exercise allows you to lay out how you plan to reach each one, and break them down into daily, weekly, and monthly objectives. Be sure to identify items you are able to track and measure, or you won’t be able to make proper adjustments if things aren’t going as planned. Frequently assess your daily activities to make sure they are accomplishing what you set out to and make adjustments as necessary to stay on track.

Preparing the physical space from which you will do business is just as important as setting your schedule and goals. Trying to completely replicate your workspace at home isn’t necessary, but take time to remove clutter and distractions. Also, pay attention to what’s behind you – it’s what your colleagues or clients will see if you are using virtual meeting applications.

Collaboration

While flexibility ranks high on the list of advantages of working remote, isolation tops the list of disadvantages. Stay connected to your colleagues and preserve communication among team members. Without being in the same physical space, it’s easy for teams to lose alignment, but utilizing technology as much as possible creates a connected, collaborative remote working environment. Remote conferencing services, such as Zoom, allow for face-to-face meetings to move to video/webinar calls. This shift can apply for internal meetings as well as current or prospective clients.

With so many options for remote collaboration, it is also helpful to be upfront regarding preferred methods of communication. Does your team prefer to video conference, or is a call an easier option? Would your new client like to be contacted via email or do they want to set up a virtual meeting? Being flexible and prepared is key. Check out our free Virtual Meeting Checklist to ensure you are well prepared for a virtual meeting.

Down Time

With a flexible day also comes an inevitable amount of downtime. Making the most of your schedule means filling this time with useful tasks to bring you closer to your goals. Avoid time wasters like social media (some experts suggest logging out of these applications all together unless you utilize them for business). Schedule calls and check-ins during these less busy times. Make it a habit to follow up with a couple of people daily.

At least once a day, take the time to log all of your activity into your CRM. This will also help you to know that you are spending your time on the right activities by getting feedback from your sales leader based on the data. If your organization doesn’t have a process for prospecting and tracking activities, build your own.

Finally, continually improve your sales craft by seeking out (at least a little bit of) new knowledge daily – formal trainings, webinar, articles, time with a mentor, etc. Align this development with your objectives. As you expand on your sales skills, you will move closer to your goals.

Staying productive and thriving while working remotely can be as simple as setting a schedule that coordinates with your goals, keeping communication and collaboration channels open, and making sure you have a plan for your downtime. Utilizing technology effectively can ensure you not only maintain the status quo but drive revenue and sales to new levels in this environment.

Click here to learn How to Implement a Crisis Sales Plan or check out our Sales Tools for more ideas to help for sales reps in these unique times.

Contact us today at 716-508-0046 to schedule a free consultation with one of our Sales Consultants.

For help driving sales, contact me below or send a DM:

Tony Watson, CSL | PRESIDENT | 716-508-0046 | awatson@salesxceleration.com

Serving All of Western New York

Phil B.
Senior Account Manager





“Taught by one of the best sales leaders I have been around, I utilized what I learned and applied the techniques directly to my organization.

I would recommend this program program to anyone who is looking to make an impact in sales within their organization.”

Aaron W.
HVAC Sales Manager





“As someone who has attended multiple trainings in my career, I can say that this program is essential for any business that does not have a sales strategy in place and wants to grow.

It is great reinforcement for sales managers and by working with other local leaders you are reminded that you are not alone and others are fighting the same fight you are.

I highly recommend this program.”

Timothy
Sales Manager





“I personally experienced Tony’s systematic sales planning and revenue enhancement training as part of a year long Sales Leadership Exchange program. This expansive program taught me how to effectively train and develop sales staff to peak performance levels. I am confident that this method of training has significantly benefited my Team’s performance.

From effectively analyzing team needs to conducting engaging coaching sessions, Tony prepared me to excel in my role…”

Liz B.
Sales Manager





“Tony is a skilled Vice President of Sales. He has vast knowledge, based on 25+ years of experience, on all topics related to effective sales management. Tony is direct and insightful, generous with his time and talent. Tony is very professional and currently serves as a facilitator of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership’s

Sales Leader Exchange Program. Tony’s invaluable knowledge regarding process, procedures, strategy planning, measurement, leadership and accountability…”

Marcelo A.
VP of Sales Tarbell Management





“We engaged Tony’s consulting services at the end of 2019. When we started the 2020 year, we had to put our projects on pause due to the Covid pandemic. Tony was easy to work with and very flexible. He was professional and always delivered on his commitments on time. Tony helped us to structure our sales team, create a sales process from scratch, develop and implement a CRM system, introduce a performance based compensation plan for our sales force, and conducted sales training for our field sales representatives and regional sales managers…”

Connie W.





“Tony will give ANY sales team the kick they need to jump start or reinvigorate their sales efforts. He has been such a gift to numerous companies – building effective sales team and creating focused, strategic sales plans that have resulted in $100’s of millions in annual revenues. Tony is a pleasure to work with, inspires leaders and teams where ever he works, and he somehow is able to see through a myriad of complications and personalities to establish order and a focused game plan. I could not recommend him more highly.”

Kyle S.
President/CEO at STI-CO Industries, Inc.





“We worked with Tony to establish a sales process and reporting matrix. Tony has extensive experience in sales and helping companies build a more efficient, results oriented business development team. He has a creative approach that was easy to implement. Understanding that buy-in from the team is critical, he spent time with each individual to customize a sales system that was unique to STI-CO. He helped us with job descriptions, commission structure and execution strategy…”

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