5 Ways to Motivate & Develop Your Sales Teams Remotely
The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown restrictions forced thousands of businesses to adopt remote working earlier in the year. Suffice to say that the work-from-home shift shocked many companies who didn’t see it coming and were therefore not prepared to have their teams operating remotely. A few months into this unprecedented setup and most executives are beginning to see that perhaps remote work isn’t so great after all because of the lack of motivation from employees. So, what can team leaders do to combat this apathy? Here are my five top tips.
1. Establish goals and cast the vision
Granted we’ve all been shaken up by the COVID situation in one way or another. Adapting to this new normal hasn’t been easy. As a team leader business continuity should be center stage. Without a goal to work towards it’s easy for everyone to become derailed and lose motivation to work.
The fastest way to get your employees up to speed with remote working is to establish actionable, time-sensitive sales goals. However, don’t simply throw milestones at them. Plan with the team so they have ownership as Eisenhower put it, “Plans are worthless, planning is what’s essential.”
2. Setup mandatory weekly meetings
Mandatory weekly meetings are here to boost morale. They should not drag on without a time limit. Short and straight to the point is usually best. Keeping them at the same time on the same day will help establish a precedent and routine. This is a moment to affirm the team, set new weekly goals, and visions. As Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
3. Adopt smart remote working ERPs
The most efficient teams are those that have adopted enterprise resource planning (ERP) suites that enable collaboration on a centralized platform. It’s important for team leaders and employees to be able to see each other online. Knowing that others are logged in and are working will encourage others on the team. There is no shortage of platforms that can facilitate this including Oracle Netsuite, BizAutomation, and Acumatica Cloud ERP.
4. Host virtual get-togethers and game nights
The sense of camaraderie that’s inherent when working in an office disappears when the team splits and people are working remotely. Not to worry, however, because you can host a virtual games night or get-together. Choose an employee to act as host, pick the games, and invite others. The task of hosting can be rotated. Encourage everyone to have a drink on hand and snacks to create a laid-back atmosphere where the sales team can simply unwind together.
5. Take a step back and cut people some slack
The US has lost more than 190,000 people as of September 6, 2020. This invariably means there are thousands of grieving families and by extension employees. And some of these grieving souls maybe people working for you. It’s a time when we could all do with a little bit of kindness and thoughtfulness towards one another. Your empathy (or lack thereof) as a leader will set the tone as John C. Maxwell reiterated, “People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.”
Armed with these five tips you’re well on your way to motivating and developing your sales teams remotely.
