The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented global reach – locking down hundreds of millions of people, and leaving no industry, business, or sales organization unaffected. In the scramble to adapt to the so-called “new normal,” outcomes such as social distancing, working remotely, stock market volatility, spending cuts, and uncertainty have rendered useless the 2020 go-to-market plans for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) companies alike.

To ensure we are delivering the most current market insights to you, we will be reaching out each week to sales leadership professionals to better understand the extent of the impact. To that end, we initiated our Brooks Sales Leader Survey in mid-March 2020, reaching out to 84 professionals in sales leadership positions to gauge the most pervasive challenges. 

As you are reading this blog, it is our hope that you are both safe and healthy, and also following the guidelines for helping to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. For the majority of workers, this likely means that we are now working from home – carving out a corner of our living space to continue to MAKE a living.

In our new normal of Zoom calls and Slack messages, sales managers are grappling with an essential truth: How do I keep my now-remote employees productive and engaged? And, in particular, how do I bridge the distance between us with the kind of curated connection that keeps us communicating with purpose?

Seemingly overnight, the business world, as we know it, has changed, albeit temporarily. However, it’s hard not to imagine that some of these changes might become permanent. People, undoubtedly, will find more ways to be productive in a more virtual workspace – and, as I write this, I and my team are still trying to figure out the rules of engagement.

As sales professionals, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what the selling landscape will look like, both in the near, and long term. But two things are certain: We need to find ways to maintain some level of productivity during these heady times of social distancing and economic turmoil; and, though it’s hard to picture now, eventually, the threat will pass, the clouds will part, and we will need to be ready to resume activities in the new normal.

Ask most sales professionals when they last took time for themselves, and you’ll likely be met with one of three reactions: A pregnant pause while they try to remember; a scoff about the preposterous nature of the question – or simply a blank stare.

When last we met, we discussed the importance of embracing change as a means of improving your sales throughput – and further, that integrating new sales strategies is an exercise rooted in patience, and not in quick fixes.

My particular interest around this topic, understandably, is based on observations I’ve made after years of leading our IMPACT Sales training program here at The Brooks Group.

My goal, then as in now, is simple: Get the Sales Training lessons to stick – PERMANENTLY. We’ve trained tens of thousands of sales professionals, and we find that most go charging out of the training room, ready to take on the world. But without a committed, top-to-bottom plan where change is supported and committed to for the long haul, it’s inevitable that the lessons become undone.

Technology has made it a difficult time to be a human during online communication – advances like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and bots have mitigated the need for organic beings to be involved in many aspects of the selling paradigm.

Fortunately for those of us who walk upright, humanity is still critically important – particularly given the importance of consultative selling as a means of resonating with buyers.

So, you’ve embraced the concept of consultative sales training; you understand your responsibility as a trusted advisor to be attentive and to put your client first, and you’re ready to take your new mandate to the field.

But, before you go charging into the unknown, one last question: Are you truly an expert on your client’s business and industry? I mean, have you REALLY taken the time to understand the landscape?

Working Remotely From Home

The Coronavirus and COVID-19 infection have thrust us all into unfamiliar, if not uncharted, territory. Along with other mandated changes to our daily lives, the requirement to implement “social distancing” measures, to avoid the spread of the illness, carries with it some of the most draconian of implications.

The world, today, doesn’t just seem different – it is different. With daily reminders of the power of the Coronavirus, and its companion COVID-19 infection, to bring markets, enterprises – and yes, even normal daily activities – to a sudden, shuddering halt, we are all looking for a way to navigate this new reality.

Consultative selling is not just the domain of the outside sales professional. In fact, if your entire organization is not focused on assisting the buyer in discovering their needs before pitching the deal, you’re missing a critical component to your contemporary sales approach.

There are many ways for things to just “happen, like magic,” with little or no effort. Take the Ouija board for example, which can reveal all with just a board and a pointy plastic device. Or the sleight of hand mysteries of magicians like Doug Henning, David Copperfield and Criss Angel, who have walked on water and made iconic landmarks appear and disappear. Heck, even the wave of a white-tipped black magic wand can often be enough to produce small items from thin air.

Though it’s likely true that the CEO of your business bears the most responsibility, headaches, and bottles of Advil, I came across a definition of the term “business development” recently that, taken literally, would give any CEO a run for their money.