Sales Team Challenges

How to Build Pipeline and Keep Selling During a Recession [“Sales Shot” Workshop]

How to Build Pipeline and Keep Selling During a Recession

[“Sales Shot” Workshop]

KEEPING SALES MOMENTUM STRONG DURING A RECESSION

Let’s face it, it’s a nervous selling economy. So, LB brought in the big dogs to share the million-dollar strategies for selling during a recession: Doug Landis – advisor to the biggest and brightest SaaS startups, and Zach Miller – a 20-year enterprise-selling veteran. Sales leaders will learn 5 critical tactics to keep sales momentum and seller morale strong. Reps will discover 5 essential skills and techniques to protect their pipeline and commission! Bonus: Learn how and why to involve marketing and customer success in the strategy.

Share this video with every sales, customer success, marketing, and enablement leader, and book 30 minutes following to discuss your tip takeaways and how to roll them to your teams.

Watch the video replay!

KEEPING SALES MOMENTUM STRONG DURING A RECESSION

Let’s face it, it’s a nervous selling economy. So, LB brought in the big dogs to share the million-dollar strategies for selling during a recession: Doug Landis – advisor to the biggest and brightest SaaS startups, and Zach Miller – a 20-year enterprise-selling veteran. Sales leaders will learn 5 critical tactics to keep sales momentum and seller morale strong. Reps will discover 5 essential skills and techniques to protect their pipeline and commission! Bonus: Learn how and why to involve marketing and customer success in the strategy.

Share this video with every sales, customer success, marketing, and enablement leader, and book 30 minutes following to discuss your tip takeaways and how to roll them to your teams.

Watch the video replay!

Improving Sales Team Hiring & Retention [Webinar Recording]

Improving Sales Team Hiring & Retention

[Webinar Recording]

THE #1 REASON WHY SALESPEOPLE QUIT IS…

Ted Martin, Chief Revenue Office of Factor 8, gives logistics sales leaders advice on how to better retain their sales reps/brokers. He breaks down what reps say is the #1 reason why they would leave their current company and what leaders THINK would cause their employees to leave based on survey results from the Factor 8 Sales Team Retention Survey. Ted also explains how to better improve retention by incorporating ongoing training and development.

This recording is from FreightWaves’ Sales + Marketing Summit.

Watch the video replay!

THE #1 REASON WHY SALESPEOPLE QUIT IS…

Ted Martin, Chief Revenue Office of Factor 8, gives logistics sales leaders advice on how to better retain their sales reps/brokers. He breaks down what reps say is the #1 reason why they would leave their current company and what leaders THINK would cause their employees to leave based on survey results from the Factor 8 Sales Team Retention Survey. Ted also explains how to better improve retention by incorporating ongoing training and development.

This recording is from FreightWaves’ Sales + Marketing Summit.

Watch the video replay!

I’m in Sales [Live Event Recording]

I’m in Sales!

[Live Event Recording]

TEACH YOUR REPS HOW TO LOVE SALES!

Let’s get this party started right with a kickoff from one of Ambition’s faves, Lauren Bailey from Factor 8 and #GirlsClub! “LB” is talking about why she’s proud to be in sales, her personal crusade to help more people come to sales on purpose and stay, and a war that’s been brewing in our industry for a decade (and how we can win it together). She’ll make you laugh, she’ll make you cry, and she’ll try like crazy to make you swear, because, “We’re in Sales Dammit!”

This recording is from the Ambition PEAK Sales Summit.

Watch the video replay!

TEACH YOUR REPS HOW TO LOVE SALES!

Let’s get this party started right with a kickoff from one of Ambition’s faves, Lauren Bailey from Factor 8 and #GirlsClub! “LB” is talking about why she’s proud to be in sales, her personal crusade to help more people come to sales on purpose and stay, and a war that’s been brewing in our industry for a decade (and how we can win it together). She’ll make you laugh, she’ll make you cry, and she’ll try like crazy to make you swear, because, “We’re in Sales Dammit!”

This recording is from the Ambition PEAK Sales Summit.

Watch the video replay!

Onboarding Sales Reps: 10 Hacks to Improve Training + Ramp Time [“Sales Shot” Workshop]

Onboarding Sales Reps: 10 Hacks to Improve Training + Ramp Time

[“Sales Shot” Workshop]

CREATE A BEST-IN-CLASS SALES REP ONBOARDING PROGRAM

Sales Leaders, Enablement, Ops, and Training Leaders take note! Your new hire program is critical right now. It’s hard enough to find these folks, let’s ensure they stick — and perform! What if your training could take less time? What if they came out closer to quota? What if it was so good you could hire more diverse talent? It’s all possible with a best-in-class sales onboarding program!

During this fun and informative session, you’ll learn:

  • Why managers should NOT own onboarding/training (and who should)
  • Top 6 components your onboarding program must include
  • Tips to speed ramp time (especially in a virtual environment)
  • Why you need ongoing learning vs. event-based training 

This session is recommended for: Training Managers, Sales Directors, Enablement Directors, Sales Operations Leaders, Recruiting Leaders, New Hire Trainers, Onboarding Specialists, VP Enablement, VP Sales, VP Operations, and Sales Managers.

Watch the video replay!

CREATE A BEST-IN-CLASS SALES REP ONBOARDING PROGRAM

Sales Leaders, Enablement, Ops, and Training Leaders take note! Your new hire program is critical right now. It’s hard enough to find these folks, let’s ensure they stick — and perform! What if your training could take less time? What if they came out closer to quota? What if it was so good you could hire more diverse talent? It’s all possible with a best-in-class sales onboarding program!

During this fun and informative session, you’ll learn:

  • Why managers should NOT own onboarding/training (and who should)
  • Top 6 components your onboarding program must include
  • Tips to speed ramp time (especially in a virtual environment)
  • Why you need ongoing learning vs. event-based training 

This session is recommended for: Training Managers, Sales Directors, Enablement Directors, Sales Operations Leaders, Recruiting Leaders, New Hire Trainers, Onboarding Specialists, VP Enablement, VP Sales, VP Operations, and Sales Managers.

Watch the video replay!

The Ultimate Sales Rep + Manager Relationship [“Sales Shot” Workshop]

The Ultimate Sales Rep + Manager Relationship

[“Sales Shot” Workshop]

“PEOPLE DON’T QUIT BAD JOBS, THEY QUIT BAD BOSSES”

We know how tough it is to find great salespeople, so the smart leaders are asking a better question, “How do we keep our reps?” The bottom line is always the relationship between an employee and their manager. So what does the ultimate Sales Rep to Sales Manager relationship look like? Gallup reports that reps with great relationships won’t leave a company unless they’re offered over a 20% higher salary.

Watch this uber-informative session to learn 10 things you can do ASAP to boost the relationship with your reps (and reps with their managers!). We’ll hear from in-demand sellers and award-winning leaders so we can beat the Great Resignation by keeping talent longer, loving our jobs, and all making more commission.

Watch the video replay!

“PEOPLE DON’T QUIT BAD JOBS, THEY QUIT BAD BOSSES”

We know how tough it is to find great salespeople, so the smart leaders are asking a better question, “How do we keep our reps?” The bottom line is always the relationship between an employee and their manager. So what does the ultimate Sales Rep to Sales Manager relationship look like? Gallup reports that reps with great relationships won’t leave a company unless they’re offered over a 20% higher salary.

Watch this uber-informative session to learn 10 things you can do ASAP to boost the relationship with your reps (and reps with their managers!). We’ll hear from in-demand sellers and award-winning leaders so we can beat the Great Resignation by keeping talent longer, loving our jobs, and all making more commission.

Watch the video replay!

Sales Leadership Challenges

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3 Sales Leadership Challenges (and How to Fix Them)

Being a leader is hard. When faced with a new sales leadership challenge, it can often feel like you are alone on an island. Turns out, finding a group of peers that both grasp your issue and can provide valuable insight into how they have handled a similar situation is like finding a needle in a haystack. Enter Factor 8’s Executive Open Bar, a place where we can speak openly about the challenges that often accompany a C-level position. Whether we are talking about the big picture or the daily struggle, we have created a safe space to share our challenges. 

This quarter our participating executives shared some timely issues. We want to share the insights we discovered; in case you find yourself facing these same quandaries! 

  • Question 1: The company will be shifting a portion of the team from live selling to online bots. During the transition, we will need the live team to assist our customers in making the switch to digital. We are struggling with the strategy for keeping the live team members motivated when there is a foreseeable end to their position. What advice can you share about a change in strategy that results in job loss? 
    • Communicate, communicate, communicate! If we do not talk with our team members about the elephant in the room, the elephant only gets bigger. 
    • Town Meetings with the executive team can help ease employees’ anxiety. This will work best if relevant and specific information about the process is provided.
    • Money talks. Offering a staying bonus to team members can be a great motivator.
  • Question 2: With the weather getting nicer and the world reopening, we are seeing a drastic drop in staff engagement and performance. We are still 3-6 months from returning the full team to the office. What advice can you share for keeping people motivated?
    • Change up your contests. Have the quantifier be the area that your team is struggling with. So, instead of awarding for the number of deals closed, maybe concentrate on the shortest deal closing window. Instead of just measuring the number of successful call connections, break it out into two games. Measure the number of successful connections both before and after lunch. 
    • Communicate! Have an all-team meeting. Acknowledge that you know the world is exciting again. You’ve let it slide for the last 2 weeks because we know the pandemic has been hard for everyone. However, it’s time to get back to work and crush those goals! We now have just 2 weeks to (insert goal here). 
  • Question 3: We’ve reached our end-of-year goal early. The CEO is saying “sell, sell, sell” while the supervisors are sharing that we need to ease off because the workload is not sustainable. How do I have the conversation with the CEO that selling more might not be in the company’s best interest? 
    • Do your research! Before speaking with the CEO, have hard numbers on hand.
      1. What is the expense to the company of burnout? How much does turnover cost the company? 
      2. How much will it cost the company to hire/train new employees to execute additional sales? 
      3. Come prepared with a better option. For example, “If you give the team a 30% break on the new goal, here is what we will be able to do with the time ______ (train to up our game, upsell current customers, prospect larger accounts, etc.)”
    • Ask the CEO to help you find the best solution AFTER you’ve presented your research. Make finding the solution a collaborative effort. Often the CEO is looking at the big picture, not necessarily the daily details you are facing. 

I always feel so invigorated after one of the Executive Open Bar sessions! I want to thank the leaders that joined us for their openness, insight, and assistance.

If our Executive Open Bar sessions would be helpful for you, please email us at info@factor8.com for an invitation! 

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top virtual sales challenges

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Top Challenges Inside and Virtual Sales Teams Are Facing Today

Is virtual sales here to stay? YES! (although your field sales teams sure hope not…)

The truth is, virtual sales is HARD. In fact, a recent Gartner research study cited that “An overwhelming 93% of sales reps are experiencing significant virtual sales challenges.”

We hear it all of the time. Reps aren’t being taught the tactical skills to help them sell in a virtual environment. There’s a massive disconnect between where reps are experiencing challenges vs. where leaders think their reps are struggling.

So, what are reps’ top virtual sales challenges? More specifically, where are they falling short when it comes to prospecting? And, do leaders really know what skills their reps need to succeed? We wanted to know all these things and more. So, we recently surveyed thousands of sales professionals (reps, team leads, managers, directors, VPs, C-suite – you name it!) in 50+ different industries across the world to learn the top virtual sales challenges their teams are facing today.   

We began by asking what the most challenging aspects of the current sales market are. Then, we dug deeper to find out what makes those challenges, well, challenging. We asked about everything from prospecting to running sales demos to closing deals and more. Then, we compiled and condensed all of the results into our Factor 8 infographic of “The State of Virtual and Inside Sales: Top Virtual Sales Challenges”, putting the raw data right at your fingertips.

Spoiler alert! We found that reps and leaders are not always aligned when it comes to the challenges reps are facing on a daily basis. Let’s take ‘closing deals virtually’ for example, the majority of leaders that were surveyed reported that their reps struggle most with gaining referrals after a deal closes. When the truth is that most reps claim that knowing who is involved in the decision-making process was actually the hardest part of closing. 

Have no fear, there were other areas where reps and leaders were seeing eye-to-eye! Namely, prospecting. Here, the majority of both reps and leaders found having a valuable message and enticing message to be the most challenging piece of the prospecting puzzle. We get it, crafting a short and enticing message isn’t easy.

Want more insight? Make sure you grab your free copy of our survey results below!

Download your copy of
“The State of Virtual and Inside Sales: Top Virtual Sales Challenges”

Learn where sales reps are experiencing the most virtual sales challenges.

virtual sales challenges

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Top Virtual Sales Challenges [Survey Infographic]

The Current State of Virtual and Inside Sales 

Top Virtual Sales Challenges

WHAT ARE REPS’ TOP VIRTUAL SALES CHALLENGES?

We asked thousands of sales professionals (sales reps, sales managers, and sales leaders) to share the most critical pain points and challenges they are currently experiencing within their virtual and inside sales teams.

Our research has been compiled into an easily digestible visual to help give leaders a better understanding of their teams’ challenges with selling virtually.

Download our “Current State of Virtual and Inside Sales: Top Virtual Sales Challenges” infographic to glean insight into the areas that reps are struggling with most in virtual sales. You’ll learn: 

  • Overall challenges reps are experiencing with selling virtually
  • The most difficult aspects of phone prospecting
  • Top challenges with running virtual sales meetings
  • Where reps are struggling when it comes to closing deals virtually

This is must-have information for ALL leaders to gain insight into the virtual sales challenges their teams are experiencing.

Download Infographic

WHAT ARE REPS’ TOP VIRTUAL SALES CHALLENGES?

We asked thousands of sales professionals (sales reps, sales managers, and sales leaders) to share the most critical pain points and challenges they are currently experiencing within their virtual and inside sales teams.

Our research has been compiled into an easily digestible visual to help give leaders a better understanding of their teams’ challenges with selling virtually.

Download our “Current State of Virtual and Inside Sales: Top Virtual Sales Challenges” infographic to glean insight into the areas that reps are struggling with most in virtual sales. You’ll learn: 

  • Overall challenges reps are experiencing with selling virtually
  • The most difficult aspects of phone prospecting
  • Top challenges with running virtual sales meetings
  • Where reps are struggling when it comes to closing deals virtually

This is must-have information for ALL leaders to gain insight into the virtual sales challenges their teams are experiencing.

Download Infographic

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