What Does ‘Good’ Sales Talent Look Like in 2020?

The sales landscape has transformed massively in a few months. Teams across the world have already adapted their strategies to a new generation of millennial buyers, but an unpredictable global pandemic has forced new approaches and reliance on digital sales tactics to the forefront of every plan.

Changes which would typically take months to implement have happened overnight, and while many sectors ground to a halt during the lockdown, the pressure on sales teams only increased. As businesses begin a blend of working from home and returning to the office, the skills which defined successful sales talent have evolved.

Selling has turned social

Despite the Government’s ‘Back to Work’ push, many companies in the UK such as Google, RBS and Virgin Money have no plans to reopen offices until 2021. This means the typical cold calling strategy may not be as effective as before, and salespeople need to find new ways to approach a digital-savvy millennial audience.

An estimated 75% of B2B buyers are influenced by social media, so your salespeople need to be able to reach the decision-makers on these platforms. Whether it’s through a Facebook Business Page, LinkedIn profile, or professional Twitter account, social selling provides a modern way to develop meaningful relationships with potential customers.

Finding new ways to connect with your clients is more important than ever, especially if you want to outsell your competition. At Pareto, our social selling training course is designed to help teams navigate the fine line between social selling and spamming contacts with unsolicited direct messages.

Learning to pitch virtually

As challenging conditions make face-to-face meetings less common, salespeople are finding themselves pitching from the spare bedroom rather than the board room. Gauging reactions and holding attention is more challenging through Zoom, and a new skill set is required to deliver a virtual pitch and gain commitment from prospects.

Presenting virtually means sales teams need to rely on the presentation itself. This means creating a deck of concise slides is more crucial than ever as you look to turn observers into those who can identify with the issue you’re looking to solve.

From establishing needs to proving value, there’s a unique set of skills required for delivering a pitch over the phone or in a video conference. Our remote ‘Pitching Virtually’ training course is designed to build your skills in any presentation situation, ensuring you leave a lasting impression on any audience.

Managing sales teams remotely

Working from home does have benefits, not only does it promote a better work-life balance, but also cuts out lengthy, often stressful commutes. Alongside this, it also removes the perception suggesting sales teams are only productive and focused when in the office. However, managing remotely presents new challenges as those in charge need to find different ways to keep their team motivated.

From setting clear expectations to ensuring the right online resources are invested in are essential starting points. If salespeople have clear goals, then they can proactively work towards them and utilising a secure cloud allows them to access any company information whenever they need it.

However, managing a sales team remotely requires more than just goals and tech. Communication channels need to be open to encourage collaboration on a professional and social scale. Working in an office helps build healthy relationships between team members, so managers need to find a way to keep this culture without micro-managing. At Pareto, our ‘Managing Remote Sales Teams Online’ virtual course provides leaders with the training they need to motivate world-class sales teams.

Catch up on our ‘Hiring Sales Superstars Remotely' Sales Surgery around business growth during a global pandemic and how to identify the best talent without face-to-face meetings, this webinar features insights from special sales guests from UBER Eats and Leyton.