When your hard-working sales team is based in your brick and mortar building, it can be a bit easier to manage their day-to-day activities. But for business owners who have a mobile sales fleet, it can be a bit more challenging — both in terms of setting up the team and ensuring that they are as successful as possible.
To help get your mobile sales team up and running and primed for success, consider the following tips:
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Hire People with Remote Sales Experience
When putting together your mobile sales fleet, you might be tempted to hire people with the most impressive sales stats on their resumes. Before you offer these sales stars the job, make sure that they have experience working remotely. Unfortunately, sales people who are terrific at landing deals in a traditional office or showroom environment may be less than effective on the road, so keep your eye out for resumes that include mobile sales fleet experience and go from there.
Provide Them with Always-connected Technology
It will be hard for your mobile sales team to close deals, manage invoices, email you and other important tasks if their laptop batteries conk out after a few hours and if it’s hard to get a decent signal. To prevent this from happening, invest in the best laptop platform that your budget will allow. For example, the 4G LTE laptops from Qualcomm are always-connected no matter where your team is working, and thanks to their Snapdragon platforms, the battery life is long enough to endure an entire workday, and the laptop will quickly recharge.
Offer On-demand IT Support
In addition to state-of-the-art laptops, your mobile sales team will probably also use smartphones, Wi-Fi, mobile credit card readers and a variety of other technological gadgets. While these handy devices are ideal for mobile sales teams, they can really cause problems when they decide to stop working. Provide your hard-working team with on-demand IT support that can help solve any issues as quickly as possible. You can either use your regular in-house IT team, keeping in mind that they may have to leave the office to meet a member of your mobile fleet at a remote location, or you can outsource an IT support company that can quickly send representatives to wherever your team is working.
Communicate Often and Provide Opportunities for Personal Interaction
While there are a number of benefits to having a mobile sales fleet — including a more flexible schedule for your team and being more convenient for your clients — working solo for days on end can be difficult at times. Your mobile sales team may feel isolated, and if somebody has a difficult interaction with a client, he or she may feel unsupported. To prevent these issues as much as possible, check in with each member of your mobile sales fleet on a regular basis — both at scheduled times and informally. Use text messaging, email and teleconferences to communicate with everyone and make a solid effort to get to know each member of your team on a personal level. Make it clear that if they have a challenging interaction with a client, they are welcome to call or text you at any time, and schedule meetings at the office once a week or so to see everyone in person.
As the work world becomes more mobile, remote sales teams are sure to become even more common. By hiring people with the proper experience for the job, making sure everyone has the tools they need and the IT support to get their jobs done and by communicating frequently, your mobile sales fleet is sure to be successful.
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