Hybrid selling, at least for the purpose of this article, can be described as "an approach to the sales process that combines remote and in-person methods to maximize efficiency."
Just as a hybrid car saves fuel and offers above-average gas mileage, a sales team that properly uses the hybrid approach can optimize their efforts and minimize waste. Of course, hybrid selling offers a range of advantages to any sales team. These advantages go far beyond just "dollars and cents."
But why is hybrid selling so effective? And which hybrid sales strategies should you implement for your own business? Let's discuss the answers to these questions below.
There are scores of reasons why hybrid sales is such a potent strategy for modern business organizations. Here are just a few of the more common reasons why leaders use hybrid techniques:
The sky is the limit regarding effective hybrid strategies you can deploy! Of course, the specific ones you use will depend to a large extent on factors like the nature of your business, the size of your team, and so forth. With that being said, here are four approaches that many companies have found helpful:
Don't get us wrong: traditional marketing KPIs (like leads generated and close rate) are still crucial for reporting and analysis. But to make your hybrid model more effective, you may need to nudge your reps to focus on metrics they wouldn't normally pay much attention to.
For example, speed metrics typically play an important role in hybrid sales. After all, the average consumer doesn't want to wait very long for a quote, a consultation, or even a response to a text, chat, or email. So it only makes sense for your reps to focus on KPIs like average response time, the average time to follow-up, etc.
Strong team culture can mean an exceptional sales team and an underperforming one. Of course, fostering a winning culture within a remote team has its share of challenges. One is the energy charge that can come from meetings when everyone is in the office together.
However, there are also ways to build a strong culture via video conferencing tools. For instance, consider setting aside a day or two each quarter to brainstorm as a team. Then, take the ideas your reps come up with and incorporate them into your messaging and pitches. You want to encourage unique approaches from your team members and facilitate intradepartmental communication via live group chats or other collaborative tools.
In addition, think about regularly scheduling team-building events and activities, whether they're specifically business-related (like group training sessions, weekly updates, all-hands meetings) or are simply fun things to do (cooking classes, game show events, community picnics).
The same selling tools you need to make your remote team successful will also contribute to the effectiveness of the hybrid sales model. A full tech stack that supports the hybrid approach is indispensable. Such "hybrid-friendly" tools include:
Transparency plays a key role in a hybrid environment. Your reps need to clearly understand the parameters of their job, what's expected of them, the incentives associated with above-average performance, and the consequences of willful neglect or non-compliance.
Of course, genuine transparency requires a certain measure of courage. Your team members may not always like the honest answers they get. However, if you cultivate this quality at the top of your sales organization, the "trickle-down effect" will have a positive, pervasive influence throughout your team.
Granted, putting the four suggestions above into practice may not be easy. Nevertheless, if you do so, you'll almost certainly find that your hybrid sales model becomes more streamlined and efficient.
Would you like to learn more about why hybrid selling is so powerful and how you can successfully implement it in your sales process? Then reach out to our friendly team of experts at OverGo Studio today to start the conversation.