Remote work has become the norm and is here to stay. Ninety-eight percent of remote workers say they want to continue remote working even after the pandemic.
When your sales teams are left to work from home alone, it’s natural for them to lack motivation.
There are no quick coffee breaks or water cooler conversations. Loneliness is a significant problem for your remote sales team. How do you keep them motivated so that they give their best performance?
Studies show that employees perform 20 percent better when motivated. And having highly engaged employees can increase your company’s profits by 21 percent. What can be better than a sales incentive program to encourage sales teams?
Let’s discuss eight unique incentive ideas that can ignite the passion in your sales reps.
1. Embrace Automation and Tech Tools
Seventy-one percent of sales reps said manual data entry consumes most of their productive time. Why don’t you automate the repetitive tasks? That will save time and energy to be devoted to other essential work.
A sales-focused CRM like Close will help skyrocket your sales team’s productivity. It will give you an overview of all your team's tasks, and you can organize and schedule calls, emails, and reminders.
Every team member will have access to all the processes. Thus, automation will lead to better coordination within your sales team. It’s a lifesaver when everyone is working remotely.
Using automated tools also improves communication with your team members and customers. They receive the necessary reminders and follow-ups without any manual effort, reducing the burden on your team and boosting their productivity.
You can try out Zapier and other automation tools to reduce the burden on your remote sales team.
Are you curious about the tools used by sales pros? Explore our handpicked selection of sales productivity tools in our guide.
2. Streamline the Workflows
Remote sales teams often experience work delays due to communication gaps and other issues, such as lack of coordination. Streamlining the workflow will give everyone an idea of their responsibilities and reduce unnecessary delays.
You can automate mundane tasks and delegate essential duties to team members. For instance, instead of taking on all the managerial responsibilities yourself, you can involve the employees in the process. That will foster healthy relationships and boost the team's morale.
Delegating your key responsibilities will also reduce your burden. Thus, you can focus on other crucial tasks.
Remote working also loosens the bond between team members. To lift their spirits, you can encourage collaboration among the members. Assign tasks that require them to discuss over audio or video calls. That will strengthen their bond and also increase your sales team’s productivity.
When people come together, they will get creative and bring new ideas. That will also reduce the monotony of remote work. Thus, streamlining your workflow will benefit you more than you can imagine.
3. Conduct Team-Building Activities Virtually
So what if your team does not meet face-to-face? You can still organize fun-filled activities online to boost their morale. Moreover, it will strengthen the relationships among team members, improving your company's overall performance.
Holding regular virtual team retreats or meetups is an excellent idea. You can keep them for light conversations outside work or hold quizzes and competitions. That will be a welcome break for everyone, and they will also get to interact with each other.
You can organize an online storytelling workshop for your sales team. People will enjoy it. Moreover, they will learn to tell enthralling stories to connect with customers and boost sales.
Encouraging healthy employee competition is a superb way to foster team spirit. Sales leaderboards are an effective way to do it. Your team will feel motivated and give their best performance.
The performance of your company depends on your sales team’s efficiency. And how will your team become efficient without team-building activities? Employees will form friendships and cooperate When they get to know their colleagues. That will make the work process as smooth as butter.
4. Provide Valuable Courses and Training
Employees love to upskill themselves for professional improvement, but they aren’t getting enough opportunities to do so. According to the American Psychological Association, only 44 percent of US employees are satisfied with their development opportunities at work. So, why not give them some exciting courses and training sessions?
A course to improve communication will boost their confidence, which will also impact your sales. You can also consider giving them training videos on customer satisfaction and retention. For example, if your business is very customer-facing, like in the case of eCommerce, inculcate employees with a customer-centric mindset.
The training your salespeople receive depends on the products they sell and should be specific to their industry. For example, a salesperson should learn how a subscription model works before promoting a product that requires a subscription.
Without this knowledge, the salesperson may state inaccurate information or choke up when asked a simple question. Both these scenarios risk turning the customer off because the customer doesn’t trust the salesperson.
Gifting online courses to your employees has numerous advantages. They don’t have to go anywhere. These courses can be watched anytime from the comforts of their home. Plus, they will also increase your team’s work satisfaction.
Apart from professional courses, you can offer them personal development opportunities. For instance, you may:
- Give them access to an online art class
- Offer time management classes
- Give them free access to fitness training for a month
After all, happy team members would be an asset to your company. They will become loyal and motivated employees, helping your organization’s growth.
5. Offer Cash Incentives or Prizes
What can be a better motivation than money? After all, that’s what people work for.
Many companies offer performance-based bonuses to their employees. That motivates the team members to work harder to achieve specific goals.
Announcing cash prizes for top performers in the team is an excellent option. It will promote healthy competition among the team members. Moreover, each member would try to better their performance, leading to overall improvement for the team.
Maintaining a leaderboard will help you systematically organize your cash incentives. It will also let you set a commission structure so that the employees get a specific amount for reaching a particular goal, such as converting a certain number of leads or hitting a sales target.
Pro Tip for Sales Managers
All work and no play can make everyone dull. But what if work looks like play? Gamification is a unique way to spark life into the mundane work atmosphere.
You can arrange sales competitions for your sales team members and offer them cash rewards. This will make the process enjoyable and increase your team’s productivity.
Gamification has numerous benefits.
- It promotes healthy competition
- A sales rep can track their performance in comparison to others
- It’s a welcome change from the monotonous routine at work
- It keeps your employees motivated
- Your team can meet the sales goals faster
Thus, the goal is to give them cash incentives and make the process fun.
Check out Steli Efti's guide on How to get your sales team to meet their sales quota every single time.
6. Focus on Setting Flexible Goals
Setting rigid goals can make life stressful for employees. They may remain anxious to achieve those goals, which can affect their performance at work.
However, employees will perform much better if they create their own goals. That’s because every employee has unique strengths and weaknesses. Flexibility will let them set their goals depending on their abilities, increasing their chances of reaching those goals.
Flexible sales goals would also eliminate your employees' stress and anxiety. Research shows that improved mental health leads to better work performance. When you keep track of key sales KPIs, including rep activity metrics and overall conversion rates, you can better adjust your goals to current facts, not simply winging them.
Flexibility also allows your team members to make changes if needed. For instance, emergencies and other life events allow them to adjust their goals accordingly.
7. Evolve the Strategy for the Remote Model
Remember, your employees are not working from the office. So, you have to evolve your strategy for the remote model.
Asking your team to work from 9 to 5 is not a good idea. They might have other distractions at home. So, it’s better to let them choose their work hours.
Letting your employees choose their work hours will boost their productivity. They will know when they can give their best performance. Some people work better early in the morning, while others are night owls.
Sales managers should be more interested in the results. The amount of sales an employee makes matters. Whether they work from 9 to 5 or 5 to 12 won’t affect the organization.
Flexible work hours will also give your team members a sense of autonomy. Freedom and independence work better than any other motivation hacks. When you let them take control, they will take your business to great heights.
You should also ensure your employees can access all the necessary tools at home. A lack of proper tools can frustrate your employees and affect their performance, so you have to see that they are equipped with everything they need.
Here are some things sales reps will need-
- Access to proper communication
- Collaborative tools
- Data sharing tools
- A performance-tracking tool
An all-in-one CRM will eliminate the need for tools, making your life easier.
As the pandemic ends, you can also create a hybrid work culture. This will allow you to strike a balance between office and virtual work.
8. Build Better Relationships
Building strong relationships will give your employees a sense of belonging. Thus, you will attract loyal team members who will work hard to achieve the sales quotas.
Working together at the office makes it easier to build relationships. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have an excellent professional relationship with your remote workers.
How Can You Form Strong Relationships with Your Remote Employees?
- Use technology—Move beyond texts and emails. You can use several online platforms to communicate better with your team. The pandemic saw an increase in the use of Slack. You can also use Google Meet to connect with your employees over a video call.
- Listen and empathize—The pandemic has locked people inside their homes, moving them away from fellow humans. Loneliness and isolation can take a toll on people’s mental health, which will affect their work.
Being a patient listener will help form strong bonds with every employee. When they trust you, they will put in their best efforts.
- Celebrate with them—Celebrate the small wins of your remote workers. It might even be a personal achievement outside of work. For instance, an employee might have won a fitness competition or a reality show. Don’t hesitate to appreciate and encourage them.
These tips will help build a healthy relationship with your whole team.
Having a good relationship with each employee also has other benefits. Since you will know them personally, you will understand their ikes and preferences. That will help you in giving them personalized incentives.
Boost Sales with Motivated Sales Teams
More sales is the end goal of your business. A motivated sales team can work wonders for you. You don’t have to worry, even if you don’t meet your team. Technology can bridge the gap between you and your remote sales team. So, apply the above tips without further ado and watch your sales boom.
Hiring the right sales team also makes a lot of difference.
Set your remote team up for success with the remote sales guide from Steli Efti:
