{"id":1416,"date":"2016-11-02T11:35:52","date_gmt":"2016-11-02T15:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.comblog\/managing-remote-sales-team\/"},"modified":"2023-03-08T19:40:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T19:40:03","slug":"managing-remote-sales-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/blog\/managing-remote-sales-team\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Solve the Challenges of Managing a Remote B2B Sales Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Managing
\nLast year\u2019s <\/span><\/em><\/span>Global Leadership Summit<\/span><\/a> predicted that more than half of all employees will work remotely by 2020. For companies used to having a centralized sales force, the move to a remote structure and organizational design has presented sales leaders and their front-line managers unique challenges. Here, we discuss the key challenges of managing a remote sales team and provide actionable solutions to overcome them.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Research has shown that<\/span><\/a> employees and business leaders adapt differently to remote work. Because of this difference in perspective, challenges inevitably arise. As a sales leader, your ability to manage and solve the problems of a remote team can be the difference between a cohesive team that consistently makes their numbers, and one that is isolated and disjointed. <\/span><\/p>\n

This article breaks down the most common challenges that emerge when managing a remote sales team \u2013 and provides solutions on how to solve them. <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Challenge: Lack of Face-to-Face Communication <\/strong><\/h3>\n

When you have a remote team, the critical processes of trust and rapport building can be weakened or not developed at all. \u00a0Because the primary mode of communication in a remote sales team isn\u2019t face to face, you need to plan ahead to\u00a0develop trust and rapport. Ideally, this will happen early in the relationship with your sales team \u2013 whether or not you\u2019ve inherited a remote sales team, or are in the process of building one. <\/span><\/p>\n

Solution 1: Make distance a chance to prove you trust your team <\/b><\/p>\n

Forum\u2019s recent <\/span>Global Leadership Pulse survey<\/span><\/a> revealed that trust has a direct impact on the engagement levels of remote teams. Great sales managers turn the autonomy that flexible, remote work has to offer into a chance to show your team you trust them with certain responsibilities and tasks. This leaves your sales reps feeling empowered, engaged and connected \u2013 despite the distance. <\/span><\/p>\n

Solution 2: Learn how to read between the lines<\/b><\/p>\n

Great remote sales leaders need to be highly perceptive and attuned to the emotional cues you receive from your remote reps. This means you need to learn how to spot potential or existing problems from a distance. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rely on effective questioning techniques, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n