Keeping an eye on the data, balancing the home office and home life, and embracing the new era of digital communications are some of the critical things that B2B sales professionals need to do post-COVID, according to Kayvon Kay of The Sales Connection.
“It may require more effort for some salespeople to stay focused, meet quotas and fulfill other professional obligations when working from home,” said Kayvon.
A recent survey conducted by Coleman Parkes Research (commissioned by Jiminy) indicates respondents agree with the renowned sales industry leader and coach. The survey, conducted in July and August of this year, indicates that almost half of the participating sales professionals found their B2B sales roles are more complex than before the pandemic. Why? The first reason is “the sudden and rapid change to the sales environment as businesses transitioned to remote work.”
According to Kayvon, the WFH business model isn’t going to go away any time soon, even for sales teams. His advice is to embrace it and move it out of an adversity mindset.
“Management successfully executed work-from-home arrangements for weeks, even months, and realized that remote work not only functions, but it can be more profitable,” Kayvon said. “Sales leaders may question if a physical location is something their reps can do without.”
When the need for in-person gatherings occurs, as they most certainly will at least occasionally, it likely won’t require year-round leasing of space, saving even more money.
Tracking performance, learning key lessons
It’s not just the field sales staff that have to work harder; Kayvon said management will need to pay more attention to performance data.
“Managers can use digital communication to coach and advise their sales reps as needed, rather than trying to arrange in-person visits,” advises Kayvon. “Embracing this digital office era is key to moving forward with success.”
(This McKinsey & Co. study agrees with him.)
Kayvon does acknowledge that there are some people who perform at their best in an office environment. Some salespeople in particular may thrive on more consistent personal interactions. Unfortunately, unless they can adapt, that personality and WFH combination can present scenarios in which job performance is more likely to be negatively impacted by remote work, and present management with staffing decisions. Can those workers be reassigned in a manner that makes good business sense? If not, how will staff reductions impact overall sales performance?
“Done correctly, reductions can bring efficiencies. It’s power of quality over power of quantity.”
Overall, Kayvon said the pandemic gave all businesses key lessons that all – from the C-suite to field staff – would do well to carry forward:
- Be prepared for the unexpected.
- Encourage collaboration and a healthy workspace.
- Renew your focus on creating a work-life balance.
- Stay true to your principles while changing your physical presence.
- Remember that happy employees and customers are key to getting back into the office, if that’s your goal.
It can be tough to find a silver lining in something as impactful as a global pandemic. It was, for most people, an unprecedented event. But Kayvon found some reminders to apply to both our personal lives and our business dealings.
“During the pandemic, so many of us were reminded of the need for empathy and grace,” said Kayvon. “Let’s take that lesson, and the strength we gained from the adversity, and apply those in our work life as well as our personal interactions.”
And getting through the other side of adversity is what successful businesses do.
