Experiences and challenges of remote sales work: case: Company X

Abstract

The thesis was commissioned by Company X, an environmental technology company based in Helsinki, Finland. With this study, the company had a goal to gain insights about the experiences of the remote sales team, identify possible challenges the team had in remote sales work, and understand the communication in remote sales. The purpose of the research is to understand the thoughts and feelings of the virtual sales team members regarding remote sales work from different angles. The research was conducted by interviewing all the five members of the remote sales team. The interviews were recorded, transcribed into text and then analyzed for the thesis. The research was conducted using qualitative research methods and semi-structured interviews. The research method was chosen based on the group size of the interviewees, and by the company’s desire to understand the underlying feelings and experiences of the team. The interview method was chosen as it provided enough structure to research the common themes within the remote sales team but had also the possibility to spontaneously deepen the questions and gain more insights during the interview, bringing new insights and perspectives. The results of the research study show the challenges, opportunities, and development points experienced by Company X’s remote sales team. The remote sales team members feel a sense of purpose and enjoyment in their work, but they also face challenges with communication, understanding of the sales process, and temporal and geographical distance. The conclusions of the study reveal that the theoretical framework supports the chosen research method. The findings of the study are in line with earlier works on the topic and similar themes have been identified by other researchers. The study gives relevant information for the commissioning company to support the remote sales team and develop the remote sales processes.