Managing Remote Sales Teams

"Sorry for messaging." I see this phrase multiple times per day from Filipino team members. They are not apologizing for a mistake. They are apologizing for what they thought was a hassle they are bringing in. This is not about confidence. This is about culture. Filipino workplace communication emphasizes smooth relationships and deference to authority. The concept of "utang na loob" (debt of gratitude) runs deep. When someone helps you or employs you, maintaining that relationship through politeness becomes paramount. Foreign managers often misread this. They see frequent apologies and assume the person lacks confidence or feels anxious about their performance. That is not what is happening. Some examples I see constantly: "Sorry for the inconvenience" when asking a legitimate clarifying question. "Apologies for the delay" when the response came 2 hours later, not 2 days. Multiple apologies in a single message for what amounts to normal work communication. The challenge is this. Remote work requires directness. When someone hits a blocker, I need them to state it clearly and immediately. Not apologize three times before getting to the actual issue. This is what I think works: Model the behavior you want. When someone apologizes unnecessarily, respond with "No need to apologize. This is normal work communication." Reframe apologies into statements. If someone says "Sorry to bother you but I am blocked," teach them to say "I am blocked on X and need guidance on Y." Create explicit norms. Tell your team directly: "Asking questions is part of your job. You never need to apologize for doing your job." Acknowledge the cultural context. Explain that global business communication values directness and that this does not mean disrespect. The goal is not erasing cultural communication styles. The goal is helping your team understand that directness serves everyone better in remote work environments. Frequent apologies are not a performance issue. They are a cultural communication pattern that you can help reshape through clear expectations and consistent modeling.

I almost fired our best SDR last year. It wasn’t personal. He was a good guy, worked hard, and always showed up on time. But month after month, his numbers weren’t improving. Emails went unanswered. Calls never connected. Demos? Non-existent. We were both frustrated. I started to wonder if he was the problem. Maybe sales wasn’t his thing? Then one afternoon, we grabbed coffee. Instead of talking numbers, we talked openly. I asked him straight-up: “Why isn’t it working?” He took a deep breath and replied: “I’m following our playbook. I send hundreds of emails, but honestly, I’m just guessing. I don’t really know who’s ready to talk, so I try everyone.” It hit me like a ton of bricks. We’d built a system based on volume and hope, not precision. It wasn’t him. it was us. We’d given him the wrong tools, the wrong strategy. So instead of letting him go, we completely changed how we did outbound. We stopped guessing. We started paying attention to signals: Who’s visiting our LinkedIn profiles? (Tracked via Teamfluence™) Who’s engaging silently with our posts? (Tracked via Clay) Who’s spending serious time on our website? (Tracked via RB2B) Suddenly, our SDR wasn’t sending cold messages. He was following signals that said, “Hey, I’m interested. Talk to me.” Within a month, his reply rate doubled. In two months, he became our top performer. Today, he leads our outbound team. It wasn’t about effort. It was about timing and having a system that showed him exactly when to reach out and who to reach out to. Outbound isn’t about sending more messages. It’s about knowing exactly when and how to engage. If your SDRs are struggling, ask yourself: Are they failing you or are you failing them? It might change your perspective. It certainly changed ours. #Outbound #SalesLeadership #SDRlife #RevOps #LinkedInSales #SalesLessons #GTMStrategy #B2BSaaS #SmartSelling #GTMEngineering #AIOutbound #Teamfluence #Clay

I warmed up a prospect for 3 months on LinkedIn before our first call. They signed a £75K deal in 3 days. Modern selling demands a new approach: cold outreach fails, warm relationships win. Think about it... That prospect had consumed 47 of my posts. Watched my videos. Read my articles. Engaged with my content. By the time we jumped on that first call? They already trusted me. They already knew my approach. They already understood the value. I didn't have to sell them. They'd already sold themselves. Here's my framework for turning content into closed deals: 👇 1. Build trust at scale BEFORE the pitch Stop spraying and praying with cold messages. Start building relationships through value. Each post builds trust. Your insights mark credibility. Stories create connection. Your content is doing the heavy lifting while you sleep. 2. Let buyers self-educate on THEIR timeline Modern buyers don't want to be sold to. They want to discover solutions themselves. ↳ 70% of the buying journey happens before they talk to sales ↳ They're researching you before you even know they exist ↳ Your content is either attracting or repelling them Give them what they need to make informed decisions. 3. Recognize the REAL buying signals Forget MQLs and SQLs. Think about PQLs (product qualified leads) Here's what actually matters: - Multiple engagements across different posts - Bringing colleagues into the conversation - Asking specific, detailed questions - Moving from public comments to private messages These aren't leads. These are pre-qualified buyers. 4. Keep momentum BETWEEN meetings Here's where most deals die: The 167 hours between your calls. While you're chasing other prospects, your buyer is: ↳ Getting cold feet ↳ Talking to competitors ↳ Forgetting why they were excited Smart sellers stay present even when they're not there. This is where tools like Consensus come in. They let buyers explore demos on their own time. Answer their questions at 10 PM. Share materials with their team. Stay engaged between touchpoints. It's how you keep social selling momentum right through the demo stage. https://lnkd.in/ePVWw-Bi 5. Close with confidence, not pressure When trust is already built? When value is already proven? When buyers are already educated? Closing feels natural, not like a battle. The best deals I've ever closed felt inevitable. Because the relationship started months before the opportunity. Here's what this approach delivers (in my experience): ✓ Significantly faster sales cycles ✓ Much higher close rates ✓ Bigger deal sizes (pre-sold = less negotiation) ✓ Happier customers (they chose you, not the other way around) Stop thinking of social selling as "nice to have." Start treating it as your primary sales strategy. Your next big deal isn't in your CRM. They're scrolling LinkedIn right now. What content are you creating to catch them? #ConsensusPartner

If your sales cycles are longer than 4 weeks you should do this: Get yourself a digital sales room. 4 reasons why: 1️⃣ It immediately signals whether they are serious about an evaluation. If you position a collaborative workspace to make it easier for them to evaluate software and they say "no", it shows that they are likely not that serious about an evaluation. Focus on the 20% that are. 2️⃣ Buyers are crazy busy. Buying software is a time-intensive project (let's not forget they are also putting their reputation on the line). Make it as easy as possible for them to buy by giving them a single place to see and share decks, proposals, business cases etc with the team + ask questions. 3️⃣ 90% of any sale happens without you as a salesperson in the room. Digital sales rooms gives you a "look under the hood". It allows you to see what assets / materials that you've shared they are spending time on. This shows you where you need to likely focus the 10% of time you have together and shows you were things are likely to get de-railed. 4️⃣ Mutual Action Plans keep things on track Related to #2. Having a mutual action plan and an agreed upon timeline makes it easier to keep an evaluation on track and your buyers accountable. Being organized and having a plan also signals your professionalism and what being your customer is going to look like. Here's a sample digital sales room I built in Aligned. Feel free to use it: https://lnkd.in/gJEMNKiK

“A brilliant VP offended a Japanese client without realizing it.” The meeting room in Tokyo was a masterpiece of minimalism—soft tatami mats, the faint scent of green tea, walls so silent you could hear the gentle hum of the air conditioner. The Vice President, sharp suit, confident smile, walked in ready to impress. His presentation was flawless, numbers airtight, strategy compelling. But then came the smallest of gestures—the moment that shifted everything. He pulled out his business card… and handed it to the Japanese client with one hand. The client froze. His lips curved into a polite smile, but his eyes flickered. He accepted the card quickly, almost stiffly. A silence, subtle but heavy, filled the room. The VP thought nothing of it. But what he didn’t know was this: in Japanese culture, a business card isn’t just paper. It’s an extension of the person. Offering it casually, with one hand, is seen as careless—even disrespectful. By the end of the meeting, the energy had shifted. The strategy was strong, but the connection was fractured. Later, over coffee, the VP turned to me and said quietly: “I don’t get it. The meeting started well… why did it feel like I lost them halfway?” That was his vulnerability—brilliance in business, but blind spots in culture. So, I stepped in. I trained him and his leadership team on cross-cultural etiquette—the invisible codes that make or break global deals. • In Japan: exchange business cards with both hands, take a moment to read the card, and treat it with respect. • In the Middle East: never use your left hand for greetings. • In Europe: being two minutes late might be forgiven in Paris, but never in Zurich. These aren’t trivial details. They are currencies of respect. The next time he met the client, he bowed slightly, held the business card with both hands, and said: “It’s an honor to work with you.” The client’s smile was different this time—warm, genuine, approving. The deal, once slipping away, was back on track. 🌟 Lesson: In a global world, etiquette is not optional—it’s currency. You can have the best strategy, the sharpest numbers, the brightest slides—but if you don’t understand the human and cultural nuances, you’ll lose the room before you know it. Great leaders don’t just speak the language of business. They speak the language of respect. #CrossCulturalCommunication #ExecutivePresence #SoftSkills #GlobalLeadership #Fortune500 #CulturalIntelligence #Boardroom #BusinessEtiquette #LeadershipDevelopment #Respect

"Just checking in on that proposal." I sent this email the other day. My 4th "check-in" to this prospect. No response. Frustrated, I called my sales amigo: "I don't get it. Great demo, they loved our solution, but now they've gone dark." He asked a simple question: "What content have they engaged with since your demo?" I had no idea. The truth hit me: I was flying blind. I sent PDFs, presentations, and pricing. But had zero visibility into what they actually viewed. Were they showing it to others? Did they have concerns? Was anything resonating? I had no clue. Last week, I tried a different approach: After a promising demo, instead of attaching files to an email, I created a digital sales room. Inside: - Everything they needed to evaluate us - Organized by their specific priorities - Clear calls-to-action for next steps The difference was immediate: Day 1: The main contact viewed the ROI calculator twice Day 2: They shared it with their CFO (who I'd never spoken to) Day 3: The CFO spent 30 minutes on pricing information Day 4: They downloaded our security documentation Day 5: The main contact viewed implementation timeline 3 times I picked up the phone: "I noticed you've been looking at our implementation process. Any questions about that timeline?" Their response: "How did you know? Yes, actually, we're concerned about..." The objection surfaced BEFORE it killed the deal. Old school selling: Send content. Cross fingers. Guess what's happening. Modern selling: Share content. Watch engagement. Address concerns proactively. The hard truth: 90% of buying happens when you're not in the room. Are you still pretending those blind "check-in" calls are a strategy? Or are you watching how prospects actually consume information when you're not there? Stop asking prospects to update you. Start building systems that show you what's really happening. Agree?

Everyone thinks social selling is just posting on LinkedIn. My take is that's the completely wrong way to think about it. It's actually a 3-part system and most teams only do 1/3 of it. I used to do only 1/3 too, so it's all good. Here's what every sales team needs to do to win in social selling in 2025 and beyond: 1. Intent - Know who's actually interested Without proper buyer intent, you're spraying and praying like it's 2015. Use tools like Pocus, Common Room, Sales Nav to map intent signals so every seller wakes up knowing exactly who to target. And I mean TRUE intent that layers multiple signals that predict buying behavior. But here's the thing.. most tools fail because of terrible adoption. Start with 3-4 pilot reps. Let them master it first. Get results. Then roll out. You'll look like a hero when it actually works. 2. Outbound - Multi-touch + human approach A client went from 90% email-only to true multi-channel and started booking meetings across LinkedIn, phone, and email. The main mindset shift that we created was treating LinkedIn as a hub that makes everything else better. Social selling isn't just LinkedIn posts and random selfies. It's being social everywhere. • Making calls to the right people • Meeting people in person (URL to IRL). • Building in depth real relationships As a leader, have your reps send 5 LinkedIn videos daily. Even without direct responses those prospects remember that video. They'll reply to your email, visit your website and might remember your face when they pick up when you call. That one LinkedIn touch lifts response rates across ALL channels. 3. Content - Be a Curator not a Creator Not every rep needs to create content. Yep, I said it. They need to be a curator not a creator. How you implement that is creating your own Sales Team Six. 6 sellers who curate content out of 100 reps. Those 6 posting consistently is infinitely better than forcing 100 reps to post garbage. Find relevant industry content then have reps share their perspective on what they learned about it. That's it. The magic happens when all three work together: Intent tells you who to target. Outbound gets you in front of them. Content keeps you top of mind. Without intent? You're guessing. Without outbound? You're hoping. Without content? You're forgettable. This is where outbound is headed. Not more automation. Not fancier tools. Just intent + outbound + content working together. P.S. Which of these three are you most excited to implement?

I’ve built and led sales teams from scratch. And there’s ONE channel I see revenue leak over and over again... (and it’s not that £50k event you spent scanning badges at a stand…) It's here.. Yep.. surprise surprise it's LinkedIn. Every team I look at, it’s the same pattern. Strong outbound. Decent process. But then you open the team on LinkedIn… and there’s no surface area. The problem is your outbound is a single touchpoint. Your LinkedIn presence is the environment that touchpoint lands in. And most teams optimise the first and ignore the second. If you want this to actually move pipeline, it needs to be treated like part of sales execution: 1. Stop thinking “posting”. Start thinking “account exposure” Your reps shouldn’t just post into the void, they should be visible around the accounts they’re targeting. That means: • commenting on ICP posts consistently • engaging before outreach (not after) • showing up in the same feed as their prospects You’re building recognition before you ever send a message. 2. Tie content directly to live deals Most content is generic because it’s disconnected from reality. Your best content is already in your pipeline: • objections that keep coming up • questions prospects ask on calls • where deals get stuck f it’s happening 5+ times in conversations, it should exist on LinkedIn. 3. Build “minimum viable profiles” across the team You don’t need creators, you need profiles that answer, fast: • what do you understand? • who do you help? • how do you think? Recent activity matters more than old experience. If someone lands on the profile and sees nothing recent, you’re back to zero. 4. Align posting with outbound waves Most teams treat these separately. Better approach: • rep warms up a segment (engagement + content) • then outreach starts • then content reinforces during follow-ups You’re not relying on a single moment anymore. 5. Don’t isolate this to SDRs Here is the BIG mistake. Your AE gets checked before the call, your manager gets checked mid-deal, if visibility drops at any stage, trust drops with it. This needs to be across the WHOLE sales chain. 6. Measure leading indicators differently You won’t see this purely in “likes”. Look at: • connection acceptance rates • reply rates by rep • speed to first response • profile views from target accounts • conversion rate • and of course inbounds (yes DO add UTM links on each sales rep profile) 7. Prioritise comments over posts early on Everyone focuses on posting. But comments: • get you in front of the right people faster • attach you to existing conversations • build recognition without needing distribution Most teams are still trying to win inside the sequence. The edge right now sits outside of it. If your team has no presence on LinkedIn, every outbound starts from zero. If they’re visible in the right places, outbound becomes a conversion layer, not just an entry point. That’s where the difference is 👌🏼

“The only thing constant is change.” – Heraclitus But when does change become a challenge? Change is inevitable -but for many people, especially those who are neurodivergent, change is not just a shift in process. It’s a shift in energy, attention, and identity. Using Do-IT Workplace Profiler means we are continuously gathering information and can gain an in depth understanding how changes impact on work and wellbeing for neurodivergent individuals. What we have found is revealing but at the same time will be familiar to many of you. *More tech, less breathing space “Going online... more meetings conducted via Teams.” “Back-to-back virtual meetings mean no time to decompress.” *The shift to digital-first working has removed travel time—but also removed recovery time. The cognitive toll of constant screen interactions isn’t always visible, but it’s deeply felt.  *Role expansion without support “My job constantly evolves. This is a double-edged sword – stimulating but exhausting.” “New work areas eat up time I need for my core responsibilities.” *Adaptability is often praised. But unclear roles, ever-expanding tasks, and blurred priorities can lead to burnout—especially when executive functioning is already stretched. *Multiple priorities, minimal clarity “More project work than I can manage well.” “I find it hard to juggle competing demands across different teams.” When change multiplies without coordination or appropriate support provided in a timely manner, people are left trying to navigate chaos—without a map or a compass. *System stress and social shifts “New to a new role within a new team.” “Working with legacy systems that lack documentation is frustrating.” *Whether it's new people or old tech, unfamiliarity adds an invisible load. It’s not just about knowing what to do -it’s figuring out how to do it in a new landscape. What can we learn? Change isn’t the problem- it will always happen.... Poorly communicated, unsupported, and rapid change is. Especially for neurodivergent team members, it’s not just the what—it’s the how that matters. ·     ✅ Clarify roles and expectations ·     ✅ Build in recovery time ·     ✅ Involve people in the process of change ·     ✅ Ask about functioning, not just output “Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.” - Robin Sharma Let’s support people through times of change—not just at the start or finish. There is never ‘a once and done’ process!

2025 is the year to stop giving outbound so much lip service. "We need to create a culture change this year" "Pipeline generation is our #1 focus" You can't have a culture of hunters without: - Enabling the skills required to make outbound work - Participating in those enablement sessions - Making sure their front-line leaders are bought in Giving it lip service ain’t gonna cut it. It’s time to be about it instead of talking so much about it. If you’re serious about making a culture shift and turning reps into hunters, here’s what our best clients do: ✅ 1) Create the narrative A strong “why” and purpose to why outbound is so important for the future of the company’s growth. Bring reps into the vision of where the company is heading in the next 3-5 years and how their individual outbound efforts help with that. ✅ 2) Make it real for every rep Help every rep dial in their sales math—the exact number of outbound activities it takes to hit their earnings target. ✅ 3) Get buy-in from front-line leaders Front-line leaders should be participating in some of the outbound with reps. Run power hours, make calls, send emails. Do the thing with your reps, group workout style. This builds tremendous buy-in. ✅ 4) Focus on behavior change, not just activity Use conversational intelligence to measure if reps use the new cold-calling approaches. Behavior drives quality activity, which drives outcomes. Measure behavior change. ✅ 5) Align incentives There are many ways to do this. Some orgs pay a higher commission on new business. They give more inbound leads to reps who source outbound deals. ✅ 6) Public accountability Create a public leaderboard where you post # of outbound sourced deals, $ outbound sourced pipeline, $ closed/won from outbound, largest outbound deal, etc. Then talk about it in every weekly team meeting and all-hands call. Celebrate it in Slack. ✅ 7) Provide world-class enablement Up-skill your reps. They need world-class strategies and tactics to make this work. And it has to work quick. Don't expect results if all you're doing is providing a talk track and telling them to get after it. ✅ 8) Refine & adapt Last but not least—assess how the program is going and make changes as needed. Analyze what the best reps are doing. Share those best practices. Document them. Scale it across the rest of the org. ~~~ What would you add to the list?