Leading Sales Teams Through Covid - 15 Changes Needed to Achieve Sales Goals

By Michael J Griffin

Covid has caused changes in the B2B sales landscape. You as a sales coach or the self- directed salesperson might want to evaluate what needs to change in your sales organization to exceed your sales goals now and into 2021. Here is a list of questions you might ask to see if your sales team needs to upskill through Covid. Just answer “yes” or “no” to each then prioritize what you and your organization must do next to remain competitive through Covid.

1. Virtual Selling is here to stay. Has each of your salespeople mastered the various platform technologies and features to be professional and trusting when having virtual business discussions?  Yes or No?
2. Virtual business conversations can make customers uncomfortable. A salesperson’s VQ (Virtual Quotient) can build trust or exacerbate the customer’s willingness to talk and share openly. Have you upskilled your sales team with the VQ skills and attitudes to have a professional image when virtually meeting with clients? Yes or No?
3. Showing empathy from the heart, acknowledging customer concerns, problems and feelings can double the chances of moving the sale forward especially in crisis. Have you trained your salespeople on listening and showing empathy? Yes or No?
4.  WFH (Work from Home) may decrease sales team productivity. This means the sales coach must up their “virtual leadership” by having daily sales team coaching to keep up sales motivation and teamwork. Do you as a sales manager hold daily morning “Kick Off” virtual meetings to ensure your salespeople start the day motivated and focused? Yes or No?
5. For many younger salespeople, Covid is their first career crisis. Navigating through a crisis can cause changes in relationships, motivation, attitude, resilience and skill. Have you done any individual sales assessments or profiles to gain insight and develop more effective coaching plans to “reboard” each of your salespeople to be more effective in their resilience and skill to sell through Covid? Yes or No?
6. McKinsey research confirms the majority of B2B customers have moved to virtual platforms to evaluate products and vendors before meeting your salespeople. Do you need to work with marketing to upgrade your company website and social media presence? Yes or No?
7. Marketing must be aligned with your sales process to provide more and effective leads to prospect. Are the sales and marketing functions aligned? Yes or No?
8. Prospecting has become even more challenging. Research confirms that referrals are the best avenue to gain access to new accounts. LinkedIn premium or Sales Navigator accelerates relationship building and getting referrals. Has your sales team upgraded their LinkedIn profiles and learned how to employ LinkedIn for generating leads and getting appointments to new prospects? Yes or No?
9. Selling virtually to existing customers to expand accounts is even more crucial. Have KPI’s and processes changed to place more emphasis on “farming” key accounts to expand and keep customer relationships loyal? Yes or No?
10. Sales cycles are getting longer. Sales teams need Key Account Strategies and skills. Are you and your sales team fluent in key account strategies? Yes or No?
11. Can your sales coaches coach salespeople on moving key accounts forward? Yes or No?
12. Virtual customers are asking for more discounts due to budget cuts. Do you have a pricing, terms and conditions policy that supports salespeople avoiding discounts? Yes or No?
13. B2B Customers will attend informative but free webinars that last no more than 90 minutes. This practices the adage “you must give to get” with your customers. Have a you a regular series of webinars that educate your customers to support their success with your products and services? Yes or No?
14. Virtual Coaching can be the strongest or weakest link in your sales process. Does your company have a virtual sales coaching process in place and are they upskilling coaches to manage sales teams virtually? Yes or No?
15. Have you evaluated yourself, your life mission and goals? Is it time to move on? Start a new career or a new B2B sales position? Yes or No?

Congratulate yourself on answers you scored “yes” and prioritize the “no’s” and take action.

My sales productivity organization, ELAvate, can help you plan and execute on the changes you need to make to move your sales team to a higher level of performance in this tougher Covid world. If you wish to discuss with me at no obligation, email me at michael.griffin@elavateglobal.com for an insightful conversation. I would be honored to help!

Have a great week selling virtually!

Michael J Griffin
Founder ELAvate
Sales Productivity Consultant
6E Coach and Trainer