Sales have gone through a fundamental change, and odds are that sales reps will come to travel less – and sell more virtually. Underlining that the future of sales will be way more remote than it once was.
In a recent study from Salesforce, including answers from 250 US. based sales representatives, it became clear that the future of sales will be substantially more digital than it was before the pandemic. In fact, more than 50 % of sales representatives in the study think that they’ll do less travelling for work in the post-pandemic world, while 46 % said they’ll “mostly sell virtually moving forward”.
This suggests that sales reps should start adapting to a permanent move to the virtual space. After all, customers are moving to the virtual space as well, and earlier Salesforce research has shown that more than 80 % of B2B customers “expect to conduct more business online after the pandemic than they did before.” Further underlining the need to adjust to, and learn to make the most of, this mode of sales.
Adjusting to the future of sales
In practice, we think that there are a few areas that sales representatives can focus on, to master this new mode of sales. Including to:
Learn new skills of the EQ variety
The human being becomes even more important when sales occur virtually, and sales representatives should look at EQ skills to bridge the distance between them and the customer on the other side of the screen. Skills that you can learn more about in our earlier article on the subject.
Master the virtual sales call
When selling remotely, it is incredibly important that sales reps learn how to best navigate and hold a virtual sales call. Where the right digital tools should be utilized, video should be standard and a clear agenda can do wonders. Points that we’ve discussed in the past, and that you can learn more about here.
Sucessfully work from home
According to the Salesforce study, the number of sales representatives who will primarily work from home is much higher than in the past. Only 43 % see that they’ll mostly be working from the office, while the same number before the pandemic was 55 %. In addition, 27 % said that they’ll primarily be working from home, a figure that is up from 11 %. Indicating that sales representatives who can quickly learn how to successfully work from home can get a competitive advantage. Where you can get a few tips from our article on this exact topic.
Want to know more about growing and closing sales in a digital and remote world? Check out our Remote Sales Hub or contact us to talk to a Remote Sales Expert.
