Remote work is normal now, and most of us have got used to it. Technology makes it easy to talk and to share work. But how do you manage people you hardly ever see? If you run a remote German sales team from another country, that question comes up fast. The answer isn’t the one most foreign managers expect.
Should you worry about a remote German sales team?
Many managers worry when they suddenly have to lead people remotely. Usually, that worry comes from an old-school approach, where presence is used to imply discipline.
So is there anything to worry about? In my opinion, no.
Trust your remote sales reps in Germany
First of all, trust your people. If one of your remote sales reps in Germany constantly needs pushing, they’re in the wrong job. The best sales people motivate themselves. They have clear goals and plenty they want to achieve.
Of course, reminding people of those goals still matters. But if someone spends their afternoons on Netflix, you’ll find out soon enough. In fact, remote work made a lot of people realise they were in the wrong industry. Otherwise they might have carried on for years, wasting your time and money.
What your team needs from you
When people are working well, you don’t need to check on them every half hour. Instead, support them with the challenges they face. Be available when they need you. Above all, set aside time to coach them, so they reach their full potential.
Keep your processes simple
Sales people hate admin. Remote, it’s worse, because nobody is around to break up the day. There’s nothing more soul-destroying than winning a deal and then losing hours to paperwork. So keep admin to a minimum. That way your team spends more time prospecting and less time on tasks that drain their motivation.
Make it fun
Catch-up calls with your remote sales reps in Germany get repetitive after a while. Therefore it helps to surprise your team now and then. A quiz worked well for me, and so did a chat about future plans. Nothing work-related at all. It costs you 15 to 30 minutes, but it gets everyone going again, especially after lunch.
Know the German rules on working time
If you manage from abroad, two points are worth knowing.
First, employers in Germany must record their employees’ working hours. The Federal Labour Court confirmed that duty in 2022. Second, the Working Hours Act sets real limits: normally eight hours a day, and a rest period of eleven hours between shifts.
In practice, that means you can’t expect a German sales rep to answer emails late at night because your head office sits in another time zone. Agree core hours instead, and respect them.
Also worth noting: there’s no legal right to work from home in Germany. So if remote work is part of the offer, put it in the contract. Candidates will ask.
Hiring for a remote German sales team
Remote management gets much easier when you hire self-motivated people in the first place. If you’re building a team here, tell us about your vacancy or take a look at the roles we recruit for.
You may also find this useful: how to keep your German sales team motivated.
