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2 of the Nation’s Top Sales Leaders Prepare Guide to Re-Entering the Sales Field in a COVID-19 World

In an upcoming white paper to be published this month by SPI, Fred Kessler (President and CSO Sales Partnerships, Inc.) and Jay Graves (Founder at Pathfinder Business Consultants and Former VP of Sales at Roche Diabetes Care) discuss both when and how sales representatives can safely re-enter the field in a COVID-19 world. 

Jay Graves, former VP of Sales at Roche & founder of Pathfinder Business Consultants, has over 15 years of healthcare and sales leadership experience.

SPI Founder Fred Kessler is an industry-recognized innovator and pioneer in sales leadership. In 2016, Fred won a Stevie Award for Sales Chief Executive of the Year in North America from the American Business Awards.

Their findings and strategic and logistic recommendations are a result of SPI’s operations in every metro market in the US, along with input from industry peers, government guidance, and directives from public health departments.

This is meant as a starting point for organizations, corporate executives, sales leaders, and sales representatives to take an evidence-based approach in deciding when and how to safely and responsibly enter the field again.

Field engagement is a crucial part of any successful sales organization and often yields better conversion rates than telephonic or digital approaches because in-person interaction allows your team to gain an immediate, real-world understanding of their customer’s environment, needs, or challenges.

But, because of COVID-19, in-field sales teams are facing unprecedented challenges not seen in more than a century as they grapple with things like when and where to re-enter the field, how to interact with customers safely and successfully, and how to adjust their field activity based on the presence of COVID in their communities. 

These are tough questions with no easy answers. 

In our upcoming white paper, award-winning sales leaders Fred Kessler and Jay Graves will break down their strategic approaches to field re-engagement during the time of COVID and answer key questions for today’s sales leaders, such as: 

  • When is it safe to go back into the field, and when should we push pause on re-entry?
  • How will my brand be impacted by going back into the field?
  • What are the nuts and bolts of returning to the field safely?
  • What training do I need to provide sales reps so they can safely resume their field activities?

While it is tempting for many organizations to jump right back into field sales as soon as the county or state says it is legally permissible, there are many considerations to weigh before re-entering the market responsibly and successfully.

Kessler and Graves will lay the foundation for how field sales leaders weigh these considerations and make critical business and health decisions on behalf of their teams.

Stay tuned for Part 1 of the white paper, which will focus specifically on how to decide when it’s safe to re-enter the field and how the decision to resume field activity might impact your overall brand. Follow SPI on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to receive a free copy of the white paper.

Founded in 1997, Sales Partnerships is the recognized market leader in field sales outsourcing and has won more industry awards than all global competitors combined. Having generated tens of billions of dollars in revenue for its clients, SPI has helped define “The Science of Sales.”