What’s the future hold for your top sales performers? If you’re a team leader, sales supervisor, or V.P. of Sales, you’re examining all the ways to support your lead people, and make it easy for them to succeed.
In the last year, we’ve seen a massive movement towards virtual sales teams. This is now evolving into hybrid work arrangements. To keep ahead of the curve, here are 3 tips to help you and your sales team sell smart in 2021.
Enable Team Performance
In the last year, we’ve had an extreme crash course in virtual working. Some experts have called it the biggest experiment of all time in remote work.
As you’ve navigated the past months, now you’re seeing a new trend: hybrid work teams. This has the potential to transform work, as we know it, according to experts in
Harvard Business Review (HBR).
More teams are working in hybrid fashion – with some days from a home office, and some days from an organization’s physical headquarters. As sales managers are finding, this can create a scheduling nightmare, without proper planning.
One of the big issues with hybrid sales teams is the perception of power. The sales staff that is working remotely may feel ‘out-of-the-loop’ because they are doing work their boss doesn’t see. This can lead to feelings of resentment, envy, and isolation.
On the other hand, workers who are onsite at headquarters may feel the reverse. They might have newer equipment and upscale technology, but they are always called on to finish tasks. Being in the line of sight can mean fewer weekends or time with the family.
As a sales manager, it’s essential to enable your sales team to achieve top performance. This can be achieved, according to the experts, by creating an atmosphere of inclusion, balance, and connection.
Simple and practical tips for a high-functioning hybrid team include:
• Include everyone
Share updates, meeting notifications, and launch schedules with everyone on the team. Make sure everyone feels invited and included.
• Balance attention
Offer equal attention to team members who are onsite, and to those working remotely. Provide ways for everyone to be able to speak directly with you, senior leaders, and team members.
• Foster connection
Pay special attention to keeping the lines of contact open and flowing. Many high-performing teams thrive on frequent communication with peers and supervisors.
Automate Top Performance
Selling in a virtual environment can be challenging. That’s why it’s imperative to automate telecom expenses and referral systems.
First, centralize all the manual chores and busy work of telecom expenses. Instead of approaching this piecemeal, look at automating telecom expense management.
Make your team more productive. Eliminate the manual work of processing invoices, allocating costs, and performing accruals into one seamless automated operation.
Your sales staff will appreciate freedom from manual expense reports. This saves your staff hours of labor and frees up their time to do what they do best: sell.
Next, centralize the process for getting referrals. Referral sales are the best source for getting faster sales, loyal customers, and long-term customers.
A Recent Hubspot report confirms the value of referrals:
• 47% of top performers consistently ask for referrals (compared to 26% of not-top performers)
• B2B companies with referrals enjoy a 70% higher conversion rate
• Referrals account for 65% of companies’ new deals
• Referral leads have a 30% higher conversion rate than any other channel
• Referred customers’ lifetime value (LTV) is 16% higher than non-referred
Referred prospects more likely to be interested, make purchases, and stay longer than other customers. Top performers rely on referrals to achieve success. Look into the best CRMs to help your sales staff succeed.
Support Personal Performance
As many sales professionals now work remotely, encourage everyone to get proactive about health and fitness. Summer is a great time to be active – and take steps to have more energy. Support your staff to reach their personal goals.
Explore ways to encourage your staff, whether working remotely, full time on-site, or in a hybrid team.
Sum Up
Use these three tips to sell smart in 2021: enable hybrid teams, automate telecom management, and support personal health and fitness efforts. You’ll support your team’s ultimate success.