An entire generation of ambitious young salespeople are being taught poor habits in remote sales roles.

The best way to establish your career in sales is in person, in an office, preferably surrounded by other people who are doing the same job as you.

Before all you remote work warriors jump on my case, this message is for those who have less than 5 years selling experience or those who are leading teams of new-ish salespeople

As you gain more experience and move upmarket, it's very common to have a remote sales position. This was true even before 2020. Enterprise sales often involves face-to-face conversations which requires the salesperson to travel. Being in a centrally located office isn’t necessary for someone who needs to spend 20%+ of their working hours on the road.

But for those of you just getting started, or more importantly for those of you LEADING a team of young salespeople, ‍consider the environment that you are building for your sales team.

Remote work is here to stay. Nearly half of all sales teams are using a hybrid model (combination of both remote and in-person), so it’s time to get your plan together for how to run a remote team.

You owe it to the aspiring young salespeople on your team who need a platform to grow in their career.

Why is remote work bad for inexperience salespeople?‍

At any level, sales is a numbers game.

You need "at bats". You need a high volume of customer interactions. Getting the energy to pick up the phone yet another time is tough, especially when you are surrounded by distractions. Walking the dog, taking a long lunch, taking another walk to clear your head, working out, talking with your roommate, TikTok, you name it. All of these things impact your effort levels when you are working from your kitchen counter.

When you are in an office surrounded by other people doing the same job that you have, you aren't going to be distracted by everything around you. You are there to work, to get more reps, and to improve your skills.

You are also surrounded by people who want to see you succeed. People that you can compete with and learn from. The mentor relationships you develop in the office can transform how quickly you develop as a salesperson. This cannot be overstated.

And finally, it's fun! You win together. You see others celebrating and it motivates you to get better or work harder.

If you have the option to go into an office and be around a team, do it. But for many of you, this option isn't available to you.

How to get the most out of your remote sales team

Remote teams can work, but it’s tough to execute well. The sales leader shoulders the burden of engaging their team and building a coaching culture that overcomes the lack of organic interactions.

There are many examples of world-class sales organizations that are 100% remote. Is your company one of these organizations? The chances are slim.

Like a standard bell curve distribution, the top 20% of sales leaders will run their teams well regardless of whether they are in person or remote. Similarly the top 20% of reps are going to ramp quickly and develop skills even if they are working from home.

Be honest with yourself about your ability as a leader and each person on your team’s skillset. Understand that the odds are stacked against you when you are running a remote team so you must be deliberate in how you coach and develop your salespeople. This is imperative.

If you are running a remote sales team, here's how to establish the right skills for your team:

1. Run a daily standup. 15 minutes. Every day at the same time. I like running this meeting in the morning because it signals an official start to the workday. This meeting is simple. Each person takes 30 seconds or less to update on 3 things: what did you do yesterday, what are you doing today, where are you blocked?

2. Celebrate each win publicly. Get in slack or Microsoft teams to note every opportunity created and every deal closed. Get the team to recognize the right behaviors and they will want to emulate those behaviors

3. Daily call camps. Every ramping sales rep should have a venue where they can bring recent sales calls to be reviewed by a group that includes a manager and some peers. These call camps are like cheat codes for sales development. You listen to the call and give feedback on how the call went. Coaching is at the center of sales success. It's more difficult to find organic opportunities to coach your sales team, so you have to manufacture them.