Traditional team building options may no longer work as you choose to adopt a hybrid model for your sales team. Luckily, virtual team building activities can be just as effective as in-person ones.
Adopting a hybrid sales model can help your company’s bottom line, but there are downsides. Your sales team will have fewer opportunities to socialize, for example, which can make it difficult for a hybrid workforce to build the sorts of bonds that come from interacting in an office.
If you don’t get ahead of this situation, the tradeoff for the efficiency your new model brings could be your sales team feeling isolation and disconnection. This could lead to higher possibilities of conflict and reduced productivity. Fortunately, virtual sales team building exercises can prevent these difficulties.
Here’s what you need to know.
What is virtual team building?
Virtual team building requires members to participate remotely. Virtual meeting software, instant messaging, and online chat are just a few of the technological solutions that make it all possible. The importance of these exercises cannot be overstated, especially in these times when closing a sale is often a team effort that sometimes spans many departments.
Studies have shown that team building can help build trust among team members and improve your team’s overall effectiveness. These benefits can be extended to virtual sales teams, as well. Engaging in virtual sales team building can make it more likely that your team members communicate openly, solve problems, and collaborate well out on the field.
How to establish virtual sales team building exercises
The first thing you need to do when setting up virtual sales team building is to outline your purpose and goals. Is your intention to improve rapport, boost negotiation skills, or increase collaboration? Setting intentions and goals will help you choose the right activities and measure their success.
Here are a few tips:
- Take stock of the amount of time you’re willing to allocate for each activity.
- Team building exercises that require teamwork may take longer than basic introductions.
- Take your team member’s individual situations into account, as some are introverts while others are extroverts.
- Keep in mind that personalities may influence how people engage in group discussions.
At the very least, you’re going to want to allow some time for introductions and ice breakers. This will increase the likelihood of team members working together and creating a cohesive unit in which everyone has a voice.
4 virtual sales team building exercises to use now
The following virtual sales team building activities will help improve communication, trust, listening skills, and understanding among team members:
1. Four facts and a fib: This exercise is great for helping team members get to know each other because it creates an avenue through which sales team members can share their personal stories and build trust. It works well with groups of any size, and all participants need to get started are a pen and paper for each person. This game could take 20 minutes or more to complete depending on the size of the group.Ask participants to write down five things about themselves, four of which are true and one that is a plausible lie. Give enough time for participants to write before asking each to read out their “facts” in turn. The group can then try and guess which are the facts and which are the lies. The group can discuss the outcomes, including whether the truths or lie actually sounded stranger.
2. Escape room: This activity is a themed challenge event where players work together to uncover clues, complete tasks, and solve puzzles. It’s great for improving collaboration, communication, and decision-making. Escape rooms are best for teams of three or more people, and sessions can last over an hour.There are many ways to play this virtual game, depending on your version. It is always good if the facilitator takes the time to acquaint themselves with the rules and ins and outs beforehand so they can help players in case they get stuck.
3. Bling origami: This exercise is good for improving listening skills and encouraging sales team members to ask for feedback. All that is required to play is a non-video messaging service or app and a sheet of A4 paper for each sales team member. The game takes about 30 minutes.Separate your sales team into virtual pairs and email a set of origami instructions to one member of each. The person with the instructions must guide their partner on how to create the origami structure without a video. The receiver is encouraged to ask questions, offer feedback, and request clarification. Once each group is finished, the cameras come on for the receiver to show their work and see if they got things right. Shuffle the teams and ask for feedback after each session to gauge effectiveness.
4. Scrabble Scramble: This game works best over applications like Zoom that allow team members to split off into virtual breakouts. This game improves collaboration, creative thinking, and communication. Scrabble Scramble takes no more than 20 minutes and works best for teams of 12 or more in number. You’ll need a bag of Scrabble tiles and each member needs a pen and paper.Choose 2 or 3 letters randomly and assign them to each person on the team. Split the group into teams randomly and ask each to create as many words as they can in 10 minutes with the letters they have. There are some basic ground rules you should outline:
- Each letter tile can be used only once.
- Words must contain at least 3 letters.
- The plural of a word already used is not allowed: for example, either shoe or shoes.
- No proper names allowed.
Teams can swap no more than two of their letters before they begin. Teams get two points for three-letter words, three points for four-letter words, and so on . The longest word earns a five-point bonus at the finish.
Build a cohesive, world class hybrid sales team
It can take a lot of work and trial and error to bring your hybrid sales team to a point where they truly operate as one unit. That’s why MetaGrowth Ventures is in business, dedicating our time and expertise to ensuring our clients have sales teams in place that get things right. We help you staff the right personnel, train them to sell at their best, and track their progress so you don’t have to.
Stop founder selling. Create a team that works well together and meets your goals. Learn more about how our method can help you by contacting MetaGrowth Ventures today.
Written by
Joe Arioto