I didn’t like working as an Inside Sales Representative. Today, that’s the only model I believe in.
Demystifying Inside Sales.
In simple words, Inside Sales (IS) refers to any type of sales that are handled remotely; contrary to a common belief, these sales activities are carried by highly-skilled and rigorously and frequently trained professionals.
Technological developments and changes in both buying and selling behaviors have made Inside Sales the dominant approach in the technology and B2B services industries and it is likely coming to the rest of the business world soon. Here’s why.
COVID is just a catalyst.
As people got locked in for weeks during this year’s pandemic, the lines between Field Sales and Inside Sales got even more blurred as sales professionals, for the sake of business continuity, were forced into adopting new approaches and tools to get their work done.
In reality, every salesperson has also been an Inside Sales representative in the past years as most of the tasks required to close a deal and process it have been streamlined and simplified with the advent of a variety of CRM and prospecting tools that are widely available and affordable.
We’re also observing a notable convergence between what businesses are aiming at in terms of productivity and efficiency and how sales professionals perceive both their jobs and the necessity to hit the right work-life balance point.
At a personal level, I recall spending hours trying to convince my management to approve budgets for me to travel and get to meet prospects in person – it’s a given that face to face communication and handshake meetings are the most powerful and impactful way to break the ice and build a relationship with prospects and clients, but it takes its toll on almost every other aspect of the selling and buying process.
Looking back at years of selling and observing my teams putting their heart and soul into it, I realized that not only could we do a better job selling remotely but that even prospects were more inclined to expedite the process and move on to the next most important thing on their minds.
Inside Sales “thought of” advantages.
Inside Sales activities are more efficient and cost-effective than traditional field sales. In a given day, an IS Representative can connect with more prospects, follow up with more decision makers and take far more meetings (including discovery workshops and demos) than a Field Representative can (simply think about the time it would take to reach a prospect’s location, find a place to park only to realize that your contact didn’t show up at the office on that day). As a result, IS Representatives can carry out a far larger number of administrative tasks and carry an even larger sales target as well.
Having all sales teams under one (virtual) roof makes building a sales culture, collaborating, managing and enabling much easier and efficient. Salespeople are the face of your business and drive its revenue – building a cohesive sales organization is your best shot at scaling it to a point where it becomes a beautiful and well-oiled machine. A machine that makes revenue much more predictable and salespeople happier.
Finally, the IS model is one that allows an organization to ensure compliance in both processes and other key aspects such as financial risk management while allowing its leadership to capture data and insights at every stage of the sales process. More insights means better decision making and resource allocation. In a nutshell, it’s a no brainer.
And unthought of…
Businesses tend to forget about the importance of the people component in setting up a lasting positive dynamic in their sales organizations. The “money is what motivates salespeople” approach is only partially true – sales (when done well) can indeed be an extremely financially rewarding job but this one-sided reality has changed.
Salespeople, like other people and employees are looking for purpose and balance in their lives. Younger sales professionals believe in the idea that they should be able to build meaningful relationships with both their customers but also with their peers at the office (which means not spending their lives on the road), they aim at making more money by working hard but also smart and they hope that being exposed to more than purchase orders and contracts can broaden their horizons and help them in developing their careers and personal lives.
People are the key to unlocking your sales organization’s potential.
The right option of your business.
Now is the time to consider Inside Sales a viable option to scale this side of your business. It is obvious that there is no “one size fits all” approach and that hybrid sales models can also be the right solution, depending on your brand equity, your go to market strategy, the complexity of your sales cycle and the average deal size for instance.