How to Lead a Remote Sales Team – A Guide for New Managers

 

Introduction

If you work in sales and manage a team of remote sales reps, you are probably feeling the pressure. Sales is one of the most challenging roles for remote workers. It’s easy to lose track of your team when you can’t see them every day. The good news is that remote sales managers have the opportunity to redefine their role so they can better support their team and lead more effectively. How do you lead a virtual team? Read on to find out how we address some of these challenges and recommend specific steps to become a more effective leader as a remote sales manager. As a remote sales manager, these tips also come in handy if you’re just starting out.

 

Be a remote sales leader, not just a manager

You have the opportunity to redefine your role as a manager and lead your team in a way that hasn’t been done before. Remote sales managers are uniquely positioned to lead more effectively by leveraging tools and techniques that allow them to focus on the bigger picture and act as a remote sales leader. At the core of this, your job as a remote sales manager is to help your team succeed. You are responsible for setting clear expectations, providing support and guidance, and tracking progress and results. You are not the person to do the actual work for your team members. Instead, you need to set clear expectations and help guide your team to achieve their goals. That’s the difference between being a manager and being a sales leader.

 

Hold Daily Standup Meetings

Daily standup meetings are a great way to keep your team accountable and ensure they are following the plan you’ve set out for them. You can either hold standups with everyone on the team at once or set up a rotation to allow each member to lead and keep the meeting moving along. If your team is using a collaboration tool like Hubspot Sales or Salesforce, you can set up a meeting space where team members can share updates, comments, and questions. If you don’t have a central place for these conversations, a shared document or spreadsheet can also work.

 

Establish Quotas and KPI’s

New managers often feel like they should hold off on establishing quotas and KPI’s for their team members. Those metrics, however, are critical for measuring success and keeping your team accountable. When you set up quotas for your team members, you are creating a specific goal for each person on the team. These goals, along with the KPI’s that each member tracks, will help you identify areas where each sales rep can improve. Your team members should know exactly how they are being evaluated so they know how they can improve. Be sure to communicate the requirements and expectations for each team member and share that information with the rest of the team.

 

Track Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

As you define the metrics and KPIs that you track for each sales rep, make sure they are relevant to the work that each team member does. For example, if your team is assigned to sell online, the number of sales made per month is a great metric to track. Make sure your team members understand what the goal is for each metric. When your team members report the metrics each month, they should also include a plan for improvement for the next month.

 

Provide 1:1 Coaching And Feedback

Sponsor-mentor relationships are critical for remote workers. If a team member is struggling with a particular aspect of their job, a sponsor can provide mentorship and coaching to help them get back on track. As a remote sales manager, you should also be providing feedback and coaching to your team members. You can’t attend weekly sales meetings to see how the team is doing or to see how each member can improve. Instead, you’ll need to rely on conversations, regular check-ins, and feedback to keep your team on track. Make sure to use the tools you have at your disposal to stay in the loop. Track KPIs, schedule regular 1:1 meetings, and offer feedback and coaching at each stage of the process.

 

Wrapping up

Remote sales managers have the opportunity to redefine their role and lead their team in a way that hasn’t been done before. You need to keep your team accountable, track progress, and provide regular feedback and coaching along the way. When you do this, you’ll find that you are more effective as a manager and your team members are happier and more engaged in their work. They can also see tangible results and see how their efforts contribute to the greater whole. If you are just starting out as a remote sales manager, these tips will help you become a more effective leader. Be sure to use the tools at your disposal to track KPIs, provide feedback, and coach your team members.