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!