What do you do if your sales team needs coaching, but you're all remote?

COVID-19 forced most of us to learn "how to" reimagine so many things. With remote working being one of the biggest, we had to understand this new ways. For me, it was no struggle at all! I found the upside of being able to be close and around many colleagues nationwide, and if it hadn't been for the pandemic, I'm sure it would have taken us a lot of time. Being remote might not be as great as being physically present buy for sure it has a lot of advantages.

Destination or the journey?Outcome or the process? Future or the present moment?In this VUCA world, we could use the case study method to work on a problem- Define your case^What is the situation? ^Who is involved? ^What do you hope to accomplish? ^What barriers exist to obtaining a positive outcome? ^What are some of the solutions to the problem that you have been considering? ^When we are working on the case study method, there could be a vast difference between one person's resolution technique vis-a-vis another! Where is this difference coming from? It is because of the values, attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, mindset, skills & abilities that varies from one individual to the other! Remember victory belongs to the most tenacious! Go Win!

- Try to be optimistically realistic in order to 1) keep your team motivated as they feel they can reach their goal while 2) pushing them to achieve as much as they can i.e. keep it realistic but don’t make it easy, encourage them to stretch and achieve more every day. - Size the opportunity and gauge how much of it you can try to capture in a given period of time. If you can’t be accurate, go with your best educated guess and feel free to make changes as you learn more. - Adapt and update goals as you learn more and things change (market, trends, macroeconomic factors, internal strategy etc.). Don’t overdo it though. - Consider adapting goals differently for different teams. - Be transparent on the goals, their measurement and why.

In the realm of remote sales coaching, we're not limited by distance; we're empowered by our determination to excel despite it. Embrace the digital landscape as a canvas for innovation and growth. Rally your team around the shared goal of continuous improvement, leveraging virtual platforms to foster collaboration and skill enhancement. Remember, the strength of our bonds transcends physical proximity. Together, we'll conquer any challenge, turning remote obstacles into stepping stones toward collective success. Let's harness our resilience, adaptability, and unwavering commitment to greatness. Our potential knows no bounds, even in the realm of remote sales coaching!

In a remote environment, the saying "you were given 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason" is more applicable than ever. Members of the leadership team need to be prepared to not only keep the lines of communication open, but also find ways to encourage engagement from their employees so that they have the opportunity to LISTEN. Not all salespeople are jockeying for the microphone, so this can be challenging with some employees. This requires a purposeful strategy from leaders to build relationships and trust with the individual members of their teams. Ask yourself this: how much do you really know about the people that work for you? This requires an investment of time & effort from both leaders and the organizations they serve.

Conduct regular one-on-one or group coaching sessions using video conferencing tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet. These virtual sessions allow for face-to-face interactions, enabling you to observe body language, provide real-time feedback, and foster a more personal connection with your remote team members. According to a study by Harvard Business Review, companies that implemented virtual coaching programs for their remote teams saw a 19% increase in overall team performance and a 25% improvement in sales productivity.

Implement a system for providing regular feedback and recognizing achievements or milestones within your remote sales team. This can be done through virtual one-on-one meetings, team meetings, or dedicated recognition channels. According to a study by the Harvard Business Review, employees who receive regular feedback and recognition are 14.9% more likely to be engaged and productive in their roles.

- Peer-to-peer coaching sessions are a great way to up-skill and engage your team. Different verticals or regions might excel at different things and you can encourage subject matter experts to coach their peers. For instance, someone who is great at automation or 1:1 customer calls, could share their relevant knowhow and best practice. - Regular, scheduled sessions for business updates and knowledge-sharing work great, and can help build a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration. Perhaps a monthly session with key business updates by vertical or location and highlights (wins, things that worked great) and lowlights (opportunities for growth, learnings). - Share wins & tips, document learnings & resources for future access!

Foster an environment where team members can learn from each other's experiences, successes, and challenges. Encourage them to share best practices, successful sales strategies, and insights through virtual team meetings, collaborative platforms, or dedicated chat channels. Research by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) suggests that peer learning can boost overall team productivity by up to 14% and improve knowledge transfer by 35%.

Many companies are fully remote. I’ve been running revenue operations in fully remote companies for the last seven years. The key is opening up the lines of communication. As a leader, being accessible to your team is critical. Everybody has different communication styles, so it’s important to understand each team member’s needs. For example, if a one on one coaching session requires a screen share, then maybe the two of you or sharing a zoom meeting. I also like to do walking meetings because it gives an opportunity to have a more casual discussion while outdoors walking and can be a good opportunity to provide feedback with an open discussion. Leveraging tools, such as Slack or internal chat tool the team uses is important.