Allego, the leading sales learning, and enablement platform provider, today announced new data illustrating the most impactful changes that virtual selling has made on sales teams, particularly when it comes to coaching. The full report, “Virtual Sales Coaching Report: How Sales Training Has Changed,” provides new insights on how sales leaders must adapt their approach and prepare their teams to succeed in the new normal.
“B2B sales are very different now than they were one year ago. In fact, the impact of the pandemic on the sales cycle will be felt long into the future,” said Yuchun Lee, Allego CEO and co-founder. “For sales teams to succeed in a virtual environment, leadership must evaluate where their teams are struggling and react accordingly. Our research identifies the specific challenges of virtual selling that are preventing sales teams from hitting their goals, further demonstrating the need for interactive sales learning and enablement capabilities purpose-built for today’s remote teams.”
Allego surveyed hundreds of sales trainers and their teams, gaining insight into the impact virtual work settings have had on the ability to coach reps, onboard new team members, and close sales. Additionally, the survey evaluated the benefits of video-based training, as well as how the shift to virtual selling impacted individual and team-wide productivity and morale. The findings further revealed the repercussions the pandemic has and continues to have across multiple industries.
Key results from the report include:
Going Remote Has Hurt Productivity and Morale
- 62% of sales professionals say they’ve lost a sale because they couldn’t meet personally with a buyer.
- 56% of sales leaders say remote work has negatively affected team culture, and 57% of sales reps say they’ve felt unmotivated working remotely during COVID-19.
Time Zones and Distributed Locations Reduce Coaching Effectiveness
- 67% of sales leaders say it’s harder to observe remote reps during calls to give them constructive feedback.
- 60% of sales leaders say it’s hard to keep their remote team current on new products, features and pricing.
Going Virtual Has Hit New Hires Harder
- On average, it takes 2 times longer for new hires to be productive during the pandemic compared to when they could train in-person.
- 49% of sales reps hired since COVID-19 say they haven’t been coached well enough on virtual selling to succeed.
New Tools Can Improve Virtual Coaching
- 91% of sales professionals say having video-based training has helped them become more successful at working remotely.
- 71% of sales professionals say team members working in different time zones makes training difficult, but 97% say difficulties can be overcome with asynchronous virtual training tools.
Survey Methodology
Allego surveyed 248 sales trainers and sales representatives in January 2021. Survey respondents were randomly sampled by an independent research firm in partnership with Lucid, a global leader in survey panel response. The margin of error for this study is +/- 6.22% at the 95% confidence level.
To view the full report or to learn more about creating a virtual learning and selling framework for your organization, visit Allego.com.
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