The challenges caused by COVID-19 launched a boom in virtual selling. How are you adapting your virtual sales coaching to ensure reps can close deals when they can’t meet with buyers in person? After all, missing the mark on training means missing revenue targets too.

Chances are good that as you read this, your office still sits mostly empty while sellers continue to work remotely for social distancing. But even though your office isn’t busy, your sales team probably still is. Sales goals don’t go away just because in-person work did.

62% of sales professionals say they’ve lost a sale because they couldn’t meet with a buyer in person.

Not only do sales teams need to keep deals rolling in while remote, sales leaders also need to reimagine how they equip reps with the training to win. After all, it adds a new dimension of complexity to deliver virtual sales coaching when you can’t physically be with reps to observe, mentor and develop.

Allego, the leader in sales enablement and learning technology, wanted to better understand how remote work has changed sales coaching. We commissioned independent research conducted in January 2021 of a random sample of 248 sales trainers and their teams to help shine a light on what’s working, what’s changing, and what’s next for socially-distant sales coaching.

Here are a four virtual sales coaching trends we found from our research:

1. Remote work has multiplied the challenges of sales coaching.

According to our research, 76% of sales leaders say that not being physically present with their team has made it harder to observe and coach. Leaders can help compensate for this complexity by conducting online training meetings, making sure that coaching materials are available to remote employees, and offering online forums where sales reps can post best practices and learn from one another.

2. New sales hires are taking longer to get up to speed.

Imagine starting a sales job and not having anyone sitting next to you show you the ropes. So much learning comes from casual conversations, lunches, and making friends with your mentors and coworkers, but all of that is on hold. Due to remote work, most sales leaders say it takes at least two times longer for new hires to be productive during the pandemic compared to when they could train in-person.

Sales leaders can give special attention to new employees by conducting more frequent 1:1s, and delivering customized virtual sales coaching any time, any place. Learn how you can step up your training for new employees via iOS or Android devices with a free demo.

3. Sales reps must master remote selling tech and habits.

Location is a non-factor now when it comes to selling. Reps have the tools to reach customers in Paris, Idaho as easily as customers in Paris, France—but only if they master video conferencing tech and etiquette. After all, nothing kills a meeting’s momentum faster than looking unprofessional from background noise, screen sharing failures, or muffled sound.

In our survey, sales reps say they need to be coached up on video conferencing mastery.

Specifically:
-Understanding how to work remote meeting technology
-How to build rapport over video
-How to read body language over video

4. Sales reps want video for better coaching

Everyone learns in their own way, but the majority of sales reps say they want to learn how to do their jobs with video more than with text. It seems only natural, after all, that as the media we consume migrates more to video, your sales training should migrate with it.

Custom video training can help fill the training gaps while sales reps go virtual as 91% of sales professionals say having video-based training has helped them become more successful while working remotely.

Time for Sales Coaching to Evolve

Being apart doesn’t mean your coaching can’t stick, it just means your coaching needs to evolve. More video, custom training, mobile reach, and extra time for new hires will make a big difference. Just a little extra training TLC will make your reps sales MVPs.

Learn More

Download the complete survey report: Virtual Sales Coaching Report: How Sales Training Has Changed

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