Over the previous three years, the workforce has seen an enormous shift in the direction of distant work — and the gross sales trade was no exception.

Quick ahead to as we speak, and plenty of gross sales professionals are questioning if the workforce is prime for one more shift — however this time, again to the workplace.

To search out some solutions, we surveyed 100+ gross sales professionals to uncover whether or not they’re returning to the workplace or not. Let’s dive in.

The Present Panorama

This is a benchmark of the place salespeople are working proper now:

At present, working in-office is the dominant association for gross sales professionals, adopted by distant work (33%) and hybrid (26%).

There is a good likelihood these numbers will fluctuate because the yr progresses. Let’s take a pulse test on the place salespeople plan to work this yr:

Salespeople are virtually evenly divided about the place they plan to work in 2023. A 3rd plan to work distant, whereas one other third plan to work hybrid.

Hybrid work, specifically, has been choosing up steam over the previous few years, as many workplaces see it as a comprise between distant and in-office work. This was confirmed in a 2022 survey by Microsoft that discovered hybrid work fashions proceed to rise year-over-year.

Employers appear to be taking discover: 38% have upgraded their know-how to permit for extra hybrid collaboration, and 22% have lowered workplace house.

The place do salespeople desire to work in 2023?

Out of the three choices — in-office, distant, and hybrid — salespeople desire to work distant. Hybrid and in-office work are neck-and-neck for second place.

All three choices have distinctive benefits and downsides. As an illustration, with distant work, salespeople can skip the commute, work versatile hours, and execute day-to-day promoting actions with out a hitch.

On the identical time, gross sales includes a sure human aspect that may get stifled in digital gross sales. Plus, salespeople are nonetheless ironing out greatest practices and techniques for distant work. As an illustration, one examine discovered that solely 26% of patrons consider salespeople are expert at main a digital discovery assembly.

For gross sales leaders, discovering a cheerful medium between their groups’ office preferences and the enterprise’ general wants is the problem. In some circumstances, as you may see within the subsequent part, these components do not align.

Would salespeople change workplaces to work remotely?

Greater than a 3rd of gross sales professionals would change workplaces if required to return to the workplace, with a further 21% undecided.

One other examine discovered that 1 in 4 workers are actively searching for new job alternatives that present better flexibility and work-life stability — that are notable perks of distant work.

What does this imply for you?

It is no secret that worker expectations and preferences shifted throughout the pandemic, and dealing in-office is met with blended opinions.

In case you’re a gross sales chief, it is time to take inventory of how distant promoting impacts your workforce and their potential to carry out. Finally, what you promote, your trade, and your organization’s wants and priorities will vastly affect the way you construction your workforce in 2023.