You’re struggling to manage a virtual sales team. What are some best practices for Sales Operations?

1 Establish clear goals and expectations

One of the first steps to manage a virtual sales team is to set clear and realistic goals and expectations for each member and the team as a whole. You should communicate these goals and expectations regularly and provide feedback and recognition. You should also use a CRM system or another tool to track and measure your team's progress and results. This way, you can identify any issues or gaps and address them promptly.

3 Foster communication and engagement

Communication and engagement are essential for any sales team, but especially for a virtual one. You should foster a culture of communication and engagement among your team members and with other stakeholders. You should schedule regular meetings and check-ins with your team, both individually and collectively, to discuss goals, challenges, best practices, and feedback. You should also encourage informal and social interactions among your team members, such as virtual coffee breaks, happy hours, or games. This can help build trust, rapport, and camaraderie.

4 Provide training and development

Managing a virtual sales team also requires providing training and development opportunities for your team members. You should assess your team's skills and knowledge gaps and offer relevant and timely training and coaching. You should also leverage online learning platforms, webinars, podcasts, or other resources to help your team learn new skills and techniques. Additionally, you should create a career development plan for each team member and help them achieve their goals and aspirations.

5 Align with other departments

Finally, managing a virtual sales team means aligning with other departments in your organization, such as marketing, customer service, product, and finance. You should ensure that your team has access to the information, resources, and support they need from other departments to perform their tasks and deliver value to the customers. You should also coordinate with other departments to align your strategies, goals, and metrics. This can help improve efficiency, consistency, and customer satisfaction.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?