How to Maintain Customer Relationships While Working Remotely?

sales force • May 20, 2020

As stress over the coronavirus raised, out of an abundance of caution, MNCs across the globe solicited numerous field sales executives to begin working from home. The sales people went from knowing where they would have been every day for the following four months to scrambling to set up their next meeting… over video.

So what should sales managers do to develop their association with clients during a time when digital communication becomes the only form of communication? What do they tell their teams when they're cooped up at home? Also, how would they be there for their team without physically being there?

The following are a couple of practices that can be actualised to keep up solid client connections and build new ones, even while you are not in the field.

Listen to your team

How about we be realistic. Your team won't be contemplating how they can support their clients if they're stressed over what's going on at home.

As a matter of first importance, focus around building a comprehensive, compassionate culture starting from the top. Your team is watching to perceive how you respond. Show them you care. Open up a group call or one-on-one with a personal story and welcome them to share their own. At that point test further: How would I be able to help? What boundaries can I respect? What are the things we should all concede to as a team?

One of the principal things you should do at home is to arrange a call two times per week with your team just to talk. You could then gather your thoughts and share what you've learnt. You can likewise try welcoming people to a virtual party time. You'd be astounded to discover how pleasant it feels – even if it's only 15 minutes before a webcam.

At Unolo, we're helping our employees redefine their work through a variety of tools and channels – yet regardless of what technology you have available to you, each leader can be compassionate and listen. That creates teams who are prepared to do likewise.

Listen to your clients

Maya Angelou once said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

This is a period for profound listening. It's significant now like never before. Remind your teams to truly hear what their clients are worried about and to show that they're truly there for them.

How would you do this? Set up a virtual coffee. Discuss about what they're confronting. Conceptualise on how to work together. Propose thoughts that could take care of their issues now.

One of our clients needed a solution for contact tracing before they open their office to ensure the safety of the employees. Our team made a prototype for them in three days.That client may or may not ultimately sign a deal with us, but they’ll remember we helped them when they needed it most.

While numerous things feel dubious at this moment, people still need to do business. Agreements are still being composed. And pain points still need to be solved. Listen to your customers with empathy, and you’ll end up creating true value for them.

Be mindful of clients' time

Building connections is a key piece of sales and customer success. Of course, treating a prospect to dinner isn’t possible right now.

Once in a while, the most ideal approach to show respect is to be aware of your clients' time. Try not to let casual talks exceed its welcome. Keep plans tight and concentrated so your clients can return to their work and home needs.

If a client made time to meet with you, treat the meeting start time like a covenant. Take cautious notes, send subsequent follow-ups, and, once more, center around how you can help.

Learn together

Without a doubt, I don't have all the appropriate responses. In any case, here's one thing that is true regardless of the circumstance: We are stronger when we work together, when we double down on our relationships and our community

In light of the coronavirus, we for the first time work completely from our home. We have learnt a lot together hands down.

When we were transparent with our customers about the switch to digital, we received an outpouring of support. While we are dealing with our new virtual reality, so are our customers. Together, we hope to come out the other side – better than ever.