Introduction

Effectively working from home is a very necessary skill to have these days! While it seems like a luxury situation to be in, it definitely comes with it’s own set of challenges. You may have found yourself coming to this realisation recently with the sudden lockdowns due to COVID-19. At Dynamo Selling, we have pivoted by providing sales training and sales coaching online via live webinars and live zoom sessions.

Our students are loving participating in sales training from the comfort of their own home, provided they don’t have distractions around them! We’ve also found, by hosting our sales training workshops online, we can record the session and provide the recording to our students for future reference or to pass on to colleagues who missed the live sales training workshop.

There are definitely some great benefits to utilising technology when working from home! While it’s going to take some adjusting to get used to this new normal, here are some of our top tips to fast track your success in productively working from home.

Set up your office space

Whether it’s converting your spare bedroom into an office or finding a nook in your home that fits a desk, having a dedicated workspace is important when working from home. Creating this space for yourself will help you to separate your home time from work time and reduce distractions.

By keeping your workspace dedicated to work, your mind will start to get into the rhythm of working when you sit down at your desk. At the end of the workday, it’s easier to switch off if you can close the door (or your laptop) and step away from the space that you’ve spent all day working in. 

Create your own work-from-home routine

I’m sure you would have your own routines when it comes to making your movements to and from your workplace each day. Often when we work from home these routines can be overlooked as there are a lot less steps to get to and from your workspace.

While ditching the commute can be a blessing and save you time, it’s important to have a routine to help your body and mind switch from home life to work life and back again at the end of the day.

It could be a single action or a set of actions that form your routines from having your morning coffee outside to going for a walk to even preparing your lunch at the start of the day so that it’s ready for you at lunchtime. The routines will be unique to you and significant in helping you in switching between work mode and home mode.

Reduce distractions

This is the biggest challenge our sales training students have highlighted to us when working from home! It can be so easy to be tempted to put on a load of laundry, grab an extra snack or organise something you’ve been meaning to get to for a while.

These ‘quick’ tasks can end up blowing out and before you know it you are further off track than you intended to be. Steer clear of completing personal tasks during work time.

If there’s something important that keeps popping into your mind, write it down so you can address it at the end of the work day or during a designated break time. This will help you to stay focused and on track. 

Another way to stay focused is by writing down the top 5 most important tasks or goals for the day. Focus on completing these tasks before anything else and use your top 5 as a guide when you do find yourself getting off track.

It can be easy to lose sight of what’s most important when you’re not surrounded by your team or colleagues who are also working towards similar goals. 

Communicate effectively + build relationships mindfully

When we work from home it’s clear that we lose a degree of communication with our team, colleagues and clients that we would have had in an office setting. We need to be mindful of this shift in communication and make the necessary changes to how we interact.

Sometimes effective communication is a detailed email, sometimes it’s scheduling a video call, and sometimes it’s picking up the phone.

It’s important to ask yourself what the most effective and efficient way to communicate when it comes to the work that we’re currently completing and how are we keeping all parties involved and up to date while being mindful of each person’s time. 

Another thing to consider is relationship building with your fellow team members, colleagues and clients. Working remotely means that we lose the opportunity to run into each other throughout the day or have ‘water cooler chats.’

It can be easy to underestimate the importance of touching base with each person we work with but those who keep this front of mind see significant differences in their working relationships compared to those who let their relationship-building slide. 

Staying on top of your mindset + health

There’s no doubt that working from home is a big change and can take some getting used to. As you learn what works best for you and what routines you need to have in place, keep in mind that it’s going to take some time to adjust to your new way of working.

Be patient with yourself if you’re not as productive on your first day working from home as you would be working at the office. Make sure to take designated breaks throughout the day to reset and consider going for a walk for some fresh air.

Working from home can feel isolating so consider phoning a friend or team member during your lunch break. Become aware of how the changes could be affecting your mindset and health. 

Keep learning + upskilling

A great way to stay engaged and productive while working from home is to make an effort to continue learning and building on your current skill set. It could be an online course or masterclass specific to your role or industry, sales training on how to have more impact over the phone or on video calls, or it could even be online training to learn how to be more effective and productive working from home!

Learning new skills and information can help you feel more inspired and confident with the changes happening around you. 

While you may feel like you’ve suddenly been thrown into working from home, it is very important now and into the future to master working from home effectively and productively.

Working from home is quickly becoming the norm and a lot of people and organisations are finding that having their teams work from home to be more productive and cost effective for the long term. 

When it comes to making sales, if you are finding yourself struggling to perform as effectively while working from home consider taking part in our virtual sales training.

We recently ran our sales training for NESA and Professionals Real Estate and were blown away by their success and the feedback we received. You can find out more about this course by clicking here.

Learn more about our sales training solutions.