Sales Leaders: Are your teams set up for success in the New Normal?

Sales just got a lot tougher. In times of uncertainty, we all have to adapt. New rules apply: work smarter, go for the "no”, "solve don't sell"... you get the picture.

But on top of the challenge of hitting targets, Sales Leaders and Senior Managers are facing an unprecedented dilemma - "how do I effectively lead & manage my teams 100% remotely?" In all my years as a sales leader, I have never had to manage in a 100% remote working environment, and I have genuine empathy for any quota carrying managers out there trying to motivate and coach their sales teams during these uncertain times. 

I recently stumbled upon a study which reported a 60% uplift in Personal Development and Leadership courses amongst mid to senior level managers. This left me wondering: is this because many are realising that managing remote teams requires an alltogether different kind of leadership quality?

One thing I believe this “New Normal” will definitely shine the spotlight on is those organisations who are still working with outdated or poorly implemented CRM data. We've all heard the old adage, "work smarter, not harder", well I read a recent Forbes article which stated that a mere 36% of a sales reps time is spent actually selling, with the other 64% taken up by non-revenue generating admin tasks! This shocked me initially, but when I pondered on it for a while, and drew on my own experience, it makes sense. Poorly implemented CRM is regularly cited as a Sales Rep's biggest frustration. This is surely only going to get worse in this new era of remote working: activity will become harder to measure, reporting will become more opaque, and accurate forecasting a nigh-on impossibility.

Navigating the choppy waters ahead.

This will be the first recession for many, and many reps may already be feeling the strain. As a leader, your ability to effectively coach and manage your most valuable assets has never been so important.

Whether people like it or not, the CRM has now taken on more importance than ever. I have seen first hand how detrimental it can be for a company to be working with outdated sales processes & workflows. Conversely, I have also been lucky enough to work at places where Salesforce has been expertly implemented around the needs of the businesses, acting as a real asset to the sales team, increasing productivity, efficiency & transparency.

Simply put, there has never been a better time to look at your current CRM processes and workflows and question whether you are set up for success in these turbulent times.

Trigg Digital are Salesforce experts. We bring a ton of in-house expertise to the table, and ultimately understand that each business is uniquely different - there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach. Trigg acts as an extension of your team, accelerating the redesign of existing business processes and implementing new and improved processes that reduce cost, improve customer satisfaction, increase revenue, and let's you focus on the job in hand: leading your team.

If you are keen to discuss how we can get your business set up to thrive, get in touch or email me at [email protected]