Strategies For Leading Remote Sales Teams

(By Choice Or By Necessity)

BOB SPINAVP Sales , Strategic Accounts at Gong

linkedin.com/in/bobspina/

Led a global team of 100+ reps and $500M revenue

Led team of 10+ enterprise field sales reps and $200M revenue

Joined as sales rep #2, promoted to VP of Sales and grew to IPO

REMOTELY And I’ve been leading teams

for my entire career.

#1

OVER-COMMUNICATEOPINIONS REALITY

Leaders act like a caddie for a championship golfer. That means helping the team:

● shake off a bad call● find a pace that works● tee up for success

As leaders, we fear these words:● overbearing● micromanager● backseat driver

#1

OVER-COMMUNICATE

TIPSHow I do it:

Daily check ins Shared doc to communicate priorities with the teamFollow-up on daily call activity

#2

MEASURE HEALTHY BEHAVIORS

... but it isn’t everything.Keeping track of leading indicators allows managers to be proactive and coach to right behaviors:

● activity● talk tracks● deal progression

Quota attainment is important...OPINIONS REALITY

TIPSHow I do it:

Follow rep activityMonitor interaction and stakeholdersMeasure talk track adoptionSpot red flags proactively

#2

MEASURE HEALTHY BEHAVIORS

#3

CELEBRATE WINS (AND FUMBLES) AS A TEAM

What you don’t want in your remote team:1. Wins going unnoticed2. Reps sitting on their hands

Optimize communication for recognition and accountability in your team.

The bull pen brings 2 critical elements for rep success:

1. Recognition2. Accountability

Recreating these remotely is hard.

OPINIONS REALITY

TIPSHow I do it:

Share individual wins Start every meeting with a round of congratsCreate an outlet to share team failsLeave no win – however small – unnoticedExchange best practices within the team to encourage peer learning

#3

CELEBRATE WINS (AND FUMBLES) AS A TEAM

#4

TURN ONE-ON-ONES INTO COACHING OPPORTUNITIES

They want:

1. Idea exchange for building pipeline2. Tactical advice3. Coaching

Reps expect more than deal reviews from their one-on-ones.

OPINIONS REALITY

TIPSHow I do it:

Ask reps to pick a call from last week to review togetherReview calls that you identifyIdentify coaching opportunitiesAsk reps to identify 3 top priorities for the week, with one of them being personal or professional development

#4

TURN ONE-ON-ONES INTO COACHING OPPORTUNITIES

#5

MAKE FORECAST/PIPELINE REVIEWS STRATEGIC

Running pipeline meetings effectively means:

1. Pulling information from different sources before the meeting

2. Thinking strategically about what to do next

In order to do so, everyone on the team should have visibility on what’s happening in deals.

For one-on-ones to be focused more on coaching means that pipeline reviews need to be run strategically...

Otherwise they can and will spill over into your one-on-ones.

OPINIONS REALITY

TIPSHow I do it:

Map out all available info on an account-by-account basisTalk about next best steps for each customerLead the team to assist each other - socialize stalled deals or objections with team, get constructive input from peers

#5

MAKE FORECAST/PIPELINE REVIEWS STRATEGIC

#6

ALWAYS BE LEARNING

Remote sales reps require more consistent training:

1. New objections appearing in calls 2. New tools being used to meet with

customers

Waiting for everyone to be onsite to perform training might seem like a logical course of action.

OPINIONS REALITY

TIPSHow I do it:

Live call reviewsIf people can’t join: share and comment on a particular call recording.Have a themed session: whether it’s listening to a podcast and exchanging notes as part of a weekly happy hour or huddling with the product team to learn about a competitor, the exchange will get the team thinking together and collaborating.

#6

ALWAYS BE LEARNING

WHY I’M OPTIMISTIC

1. We have the tools to make this work..

2. Provide reps flexibility & studies show WFH can be more productive

3. Our customers and prospects are in the same situation. Easier to build rapport plus share on a personal level

1. Working from home doesn’t work for sales teams.

2. Working remotely is demotivating.

3. New responsibilities at home make it hard right now.

OPINIONS REALITY

Start communicating now andLead from within. Empathy is an emotional and thinking muscle that becomes stronger with use

KEY TAKEAWAYS

CATHERINE STEWARTChief Business OfficerAutomattic (WordPress.com)https://catherinetaylorstewart.com/

Built the company’s GTM functions, growing Automattic’s valuation from $1B to $3B

Helped launch the Ad Tech business unit

Management consultant

THANK YOU