Social distancing measures have driven a massive move to remote work, across industries. For some, the move wasn’t so difficult –creative professionals like web designers, for instance, who often work solo and from a computer, aren’t really seeing their workflow affected. Other professions, like teachers, are finding themselves grappling with a new reality: a digital classroom that looks nothing like they’re used to.
What about salespeople? An enduring cultural image is that of the door-to-door salesperson, shaking hands with strangers and closing deals in people’s living rooms or offices. Surely, they must be hard hit by social distancing? But times have changed, and now in the US, roughly half of all salespeople are “inside sales” representatives, meaning that they sell remotely by phone, email, SMS, or messaging.
You’d think that inside sales reps would have no problem being inside their own homes, but adapting to work from home (WFH) still has its challenges. In this article, you’ll learn how inside sales reps are adapting to sell during the pandemic, as well asdiscover some practical tips for doing your sales job from home during social distancing.
Staying Top of Mind in Times of Crisis
Understandably, the pandemic has sent a ripple through various industries. As an example: More businesses are working remotely, which means fewer need paper. That hurts paper suppliers. In turn, when paper suppliers buy less, it hurts paper mills. And further on down to primary industries. At each step, however,sales reps are continuing to sell.
Therefore, what becomes vitally important during times like thisis being “top of mind” for leads –the first thing leads think about when considering a product or service. To do this, sales managers leverage sales engagement software to ensure “speed to lead” (the swiftness with which a repcontacts a new lead) and “lead prioritization” (which are the best leads to contact).
Maintaining Productivity in the Home
Without the buzzy setting of an office, sales reps still need to remain motivated and productive if they’re going to meet – and exceed – quotas.To that end, for sales reps, like many remote workers, it’s important tocreate dedicated workspaces free of distraction. Setting up a desk in a quiet part of the home with a computer and phone goes a long way toward maintaining motivation and productivity.
Again, leveraging sales engagement software helps here too. Auto-dialling and auto-emailing features ensure that sales reps always have a lead to work and that they contact as many as possible in a day.
Staying Connected
Sales reps need goals, quotas, and expectations if they’re going to succeed, and they need to take notes and give updates for sales reports. This requires healthy back-and-forth communication.
One of the worst things a remote sales rep can do when working from home is to allow their lines of communication to flounder. It’s important if you’re doing your sales job from home, that you continue to ask questions, garner advice, communicate activity levels, and take thorough sales notes.
Like so many other professions right now, salespeople are adapting to work from home. They are finding ways to be top of mind, to maintain or increase productivity and clearly communicate with managers and decision-makers. It may have once been a door-to-door profession, but it’s adapting to the current work-from-home model quite well.
