Why Enterprises Must Embrace Remote Personnel
Man working remotely

Why Enterprises Must Embrace Remote Personnel

Hiring good sales professionals is hard. Getting your sales force to sing from the same hymn sheet is often even harder. This is especially apparent at startups or small businesses that do not have a small army of sales enablement professionals, training staff or field marketing organizations whose primary job is to make the sales team more effective.

That said, all businesses struggle to make the most of hiring remote sales professionals, and to even make the commitment to make remote hires. Before assuming that staying local will inevitably be safer, more cost-effective and fruitful, first consider the benefits of embracing the remote sales professional.

Top People

Sometimes the top sellers for your product live in a different geography. If you (or your hire) don’t want to take on the gamble of relocating at first, you should be comfortable having them work, at least temporarily, remotely. In this way, you’re putting primacy of their capabilities above their location. Your focus as the hiring manager ought to be on whether a candidate will map perfectly to your product, understand your buyers and have the typical experience (8-10 years for enterprise software) necessary to be effective.

Field Sales Professionals Travel Well by Nature

People who get into (and stay) in sales for their career do not typically shy away from travel away from home, sometimes for long stretches. This means that it will not be difficult to get them to come to HQ on a regular basis for training, time with their peers and the annual, semi annual or quarterly sales kickoffs and business reviews that are typical for a well-oiled sales machine. In addition, there may be businesses to approach in their geography – your coverage model may not necessitate local salespeople, but their proximity to targets where they live can be a benefit to you now, and to possible future expansion.

Opportunity Costs

Delaying a hire due to geography may mean that you’re not casting a wide enough net and all of the potential risks such delays create – by not hiring someone in Chicago on January 1st and instead waiting until your ideal candidate materializes near HQ in Atlanta on February 15th means you pretty much lost the quarter, as your new salesperson will not be productive until April.

Smart sales organizations know that productivity, diligence and quality personnel are available to them 24x7 in a shrinking world. Don’t let a hypersensitivity to a local hiring plan slow you down.


About the Author: Robb Miller is a global sales leader with 20 years of experience in enterprise software sales and marketing.