How to Succeed Managing, Selling and Working Remotely

Morning Brew, Hubspot, Predictable Revenue and others share best practices to succeed selling and managing a remote workforce.

🧐 Remote Work. Remote Sales. Remote School?

Everyone is talking about remote work because we are all working remote. Its definitely a shift for many sellers and leaders. Even if you’re familiar with working remote - this has thrown you for a corona-curve ball. On top of that- if you’re like me and get to wear the “remote school teacher” hat congruently as well then…I feel your pain.

It may be cliche’ - but instead of ignoring what’s happening - I decided to compile what I’ve been reading. Instead of penning my own post on best practices (I’ve been both a remote sales rep as well as a remote sales leader) I thought I’d share a few of the articles and insights that hit home with me and possibly provide some guidance to you as a leader.

As we’re all trying to figure out when we can see people again - stay safe, keep selling, and stay home!

If you find this newsletter valuable, consider sharing it with friends 👊.

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STRETCH SHARES

Morning Brew’s Guide to Living Your Best Quarantined Life 😷

I’m a huge fan of Morning Brew. In fact - if you don’t subscribe - you can sign up using the link below. Each day they compile a witty, quick, easy to digest email “covering the latest from Wall Street to Silicon Valley”.

Its not a sales focused newsletter, but I’ve found it helps me stay informed on what’s going on in the world and highly relevant to most conversations I’m part of.

So naturally - I thought I’d share THIS detailed write up on Living Your Best Quarantined Life that I’ve bookmarked for easy reference. Its honestly one of the better references I’ve found -especially with what’s going on right now.

1. Stay Informed

2. Stay Productive

3. Things to do when you’re not working

Sign up for Morning Brew HERE

Remote Sales and Sales Management Tips from Hubspot👌

Hubspot recently posted a good article about remote sales and sales management including 8 Tips for Remote Sales Reps:

1. Maintain a routine

2. Have a designated workspace that is non-negotiable.

3. Take breaks.

4. Be social.

5. Send your schedule to any roommates or partners in your house

6. Reach out fast

7. Dress for success

Sales leaders now thrust into figuring out how to manage a remote team for the first time? 4 Top Tips if you’re managing a remote sales team:

1. Calendar management is key.

2. Make time for team get-togethers (may have to alter this one for a month or two)

3. Build a remote friendly culture.

4. Don’t forget about enablement, training and collaboration.

How to Unlock The Growth Potential in Your AEs 🔐

I’m sure everyone is familiar with Aaron Ross and Predictable Revenue. If not - definitely get the book as part of your “covid reading” queue. I’m also a big fan of the Predictable Revenue podcast. Lots of great guests, insights and learnings from some fellow sales leaders at solid tech companies.

I happened to listen to this one the other day with Justin Clifford at Lessonly and it resonated with me as they were talking about forecast calls, 1-1s and what impact these have especially now as we manage virtually.

No Forecast Reviews! Micro (Hygiene) + Macro (Deal progress and forecasting)

Highlights include: unlocking growth in your reps (22:16), Justin’s approach to leadership (27:04), the importance of being vulnerable (30:20), the autonomy to get your teeth kicked in (41:58), value-adding moments (57:20), how Justin does his forecast reviews (1:09:07).

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STRETCH SNIPPETS

Referencing “covid” or “coronavirus” in subject lines DECREASES reply rates by 40%

Salespeople MUST leave voicemails

(click to see 4 types of VM Scripts)

Sales Hacker @SalesHacker

Salespeople MUST leave voicemails. Agree or disagree? Lauren Bailey says YES and shares 4 types of voicemail scripts to guarantee a callback! #sales #voicemail

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STRETCH VP POST 👇

Discovery – The Most Important Stage in Sales

We’ve been talking a lot as a sales team about the discovery process and how we can perfect this stage of the sales process. What does this mean? Why is it important?

A better discovery means going above and beyond the typical BANT (or SPIN, MEDDIC - whatever) questioning by diving in deep to find out what your prospect is actually struggling with, why that’s important, how it impacts them and what that means for a potential partnership. The best discovery exposes real pain from the prospect’s current process and situation and establishes potential value and benefits your solution brings to the table.

In fact, until both customer and sales rep mutually uncover where the obstacles and hurdles are – the deal is on thin ice. In fact, my opinion is that the discovery process is THE MOST IMPORTANT stage in the sales process. THIS is where the deal is won.

In this post HERE I highlight two recent podcasts that perfectly sum up my feelings and provide amazing insights and instruction for sales teams in SaaS. So much so – that I made both podcasts required listening for my sales team and I recommend the same for any Stretch VP, aspiring VP or anyone just getting into Software Sales.

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💡Upcoming Webinars 💡

Remote Sales Practices: March 26th (TOMORROW) 12pm-1pm PDT

Running a remote sales team requires a whole new set of skills. You can't just fly by someone's desk to check in on them. There's no collective group energy of the sales floor. 

How to Lead Remote Teams: March 31st 10am -11am PDT

Hear practical guidance from the world’s leading all-remote companies on how to effectively pivot to remote work. Lori McLeese from Automattic (WordPress and Tumblr), Dave Gilbert from GitLab, and Courtney Seiter from Buffer will share how their organizations set up their employees for success while working from home.

What you'll learn from this webinar:

• Tips from the world’s largest all-remote companies on how to pivot to remote work

• Do’s and don’ts for managers of remote workers

• Guidance on addressing the isolation that can come from being remote

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Thanks for reading!

My hope is if you find this valuable, consider sharing it with friends (or signing up if you haven’t already).

— Grant 👋

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About stretch vp: confessions, learnings and insights from sales leaders in SaaS

Compiled and aggregated from a network of sales leaders in SaaS, Stretch VP showcases learnings, insights and experiences as well as best practices to overcome common hurdles, obstacles and setbacks in your quest for excellence as a sales leader in SaaS.

Are you a VP, Director, thought leader or content producer in the SaaS space? We’d love to have you contribute. Contact Me HERE.

Also… check out the blog or follow on twitter