The phenomenon of remote working just keeps gaining momentum. Just about every industry is adapting this remote work (especially given the crisis in the world right now). And, sales are no different.

The term “Sales” has traditionally been related to the activity of a salesperson going from door-to-door and trying to sell something. So, If you tell an old school salesperson that you’re doing or planning to do remote sales, they’ll probably think you’re not making sense.

“Really? You’re saying you want to sell to people without seeing them face-to-face? That won’t work properly. You’re wasting your time.”

Well, the truth is: it’s highly effective. And it’s taking sales over by storm.

Here are some benefits of the remote Selling because of which it has gained vast popularity over the past few years:

While the benefits are very clear, there are significant challenges in converting a on-the-field sales team to a remote sales team. We’ve compiled a handy guide for you that will make you more successful at it.

Guide to Remote Sales

Set up a Virtual system for Remote Sales

The first step to run successful remote sales is to set up a virtual system or procedure that handles the end-to-end cycle of selling and buying. It could be a website, selling through a phone call or video call– depending on the type of product that you are selling. This system/process should be capable of handle everything including:

• Virtual business prospecting

• Remotely conveying the company brand

• Introducing the product to the customer

• Getting the customer in touch with a sales rep

• Navigating through the sales process virtually

• And, finally making a sale or closing the deal

Prepare your sales reps for remote selling

Whether you are dealing with a group of new sales reps or experienced ones, it is important to provide them the training to sell remotely. Because virtual selling requires a special set of skills. So, here’s a checklist that will help you to prepare your reps to master their remote selling game:

• Win the Trust: The first and foremost thing that your reps need to get right while selling remotely is– to win the trust of the customers:

  • A customer is likely to buy from you only when he has a good connection with your sales reps and finds them trustworthy. Here is how you prepare your sales reps to ensure that:

  • Ask them to connect over a video call with the customers more often instead of connecting over a phone call. Being face-to-face with the customers helps in building a personal connection and setting a warmer tone.

  • Train them to strike a balance between formal and informal conversations during their video calls. Small talk always helps in establishing a connection remotely.

  • Ask them to use more of chat conversations than emails in order to exchange any information. This provides a dynamic and faster way to communicate.

  • Have them practice talking in a soft voice so that it sounds polite over the voice or video call to the customers. Ask them to communicate everything that they are doing during a call– even if they are thinking or checking some information. This ensures that even when there is a pause in the conversation, it doesn’t come across as the sales rep being rude.

    Pro Tip: - Ask them to communicate everything that they are doing during a call– even if they are thinking or checking some information. This ensures that even when there is a pause in the conversation, it doesn’t come across as the sales rep being rude.

• Strategic Questions: The next thing that they should be trained on is to ask strategic questions during the call to uncover customers’ needs. Make them clearly understand what kind of questions are appropriate to ask. Train them on when and how to ask those questions. This helps in steering the sales conversation to match the customers’ interests.

• Demonstrate Product: The next crucial thing that a salesperson needs to master while selling remotely is– demonstrating the products. This decides whether the customer is going to buy from you or not. Train your reps to give a proper demo of the product to the clients. They should be able to communicate efficiently everything from features to benefits to use-cases, etc.
  
  Especially when the product is something that a customer would like to purchase based on its touch and feel, then the sales reps need to demonstrate aspects such as– product’s color, finish, etc as well. For example, if they are selling a black iPhone online, then they should mention what shade of black it is. Is a matte black or a jet black?
  
  Also, ask them to show the product clearly in the video call to the customer. This helps the customers to make an informed decision and increases their trust in your company and your sales reps.

  Pro Tip: - Ask them to ensure that the product is clearly visible to the customers in the video call. The customer should be able to see all the look and feel aspects of the product clearly through the video. This helps the customers to make an informed decision and increases their trust in your company and your sales reps.

  
  

  Improve the call effectiveness of your sales reps using SmartWinnr’s video coaching.

• Handling Objections: Handling objections remotely is even more challenging than handling them face-to-face. So, salespeople should be equipped with good training to effectively handle objections remotely.
  
  Have them practice handling various types of objections though mock video calls. Coach them on improving their approach to handling objections. And, turning customer’s objections into sales opportunities.

  Learn How SmartWinnr’s video coaching helps you to coach your remote sales reps virtually to handle objections efficiently.

  Also Read: 10 effective techniques to overcome objections

  Train your sales reps to be extremely patient while addressing the concerns of the customers during a call. Ask them to connect through a video call while negotiating terms and conditions or pricing. This will help in establishing a personal connection while navigating tricky situations.
  
  

  Pro Tip: - Train your sales reps to be extremely patient while addressing the concerns of the customers during a call. Ask them to connect through a video call while negotiating terms and conditions or pricing. This will help in establishing a personal connection while navigating tricky situations.

Making a Virtual Sell

Last but not least: making a virtual sell. This is the most crucial step. After all, this is where all the hard work is going to pay off.

So, here are certain things that the sales reps need to do in order to make a sale or close a deal virtually:

• Procure all the contract papers that are needed for the sale.

• Procure digital signatures from both the parties on all the documents to seal the deal (You can sign the papers and send the scanned copy to each other)

• Getting the correct product delivered to the customer on-time.

• Setting up the product for use (if required)

• Following up regularly with the customer to provide support

• Try to re-engage them to upsell/cross-sell

What are the top selling skills that will help your remote sales team?

7 Selling Skills that are Essential to Ace Remote Sales

Do you want to create a remote sales playbook?

Read the forecast of sales experts about sales in 2021

Searching for sales training for remote sales?

Looking for a detailed new hire remote onboarding plan?

How SmartWinnr can Help?

SmartWinnr is an easy-to-use mobile platform to help your remote sales teams stay up-to-date with the latest product knowledge, market information, competitor information, selling techniques, and more.

Organizations all over the world are using SmartWinnr to empower their remote sales teams. Interested to learn how? Talk to us today!