With inside sales growing fifteen times faster than outside sales in the US, there’s little doubt that inside sales representatives are in high demand these days.
In fact, according to a SalesLoft infographic, for every outside sales rep being hired, there are ten inside sales reps being brought into the company. That translates to roughly 800,000 new jobs for inside sales reps every year. But what is an inside sales rep exactly?
An inside sales representative is defined as a salesperson who works inside an office and does not visit prospects in person.
Traditionally, they did business over the phone—telesales—but technological advancements now allow them to work via email, Skype, and all the other online communication services.
Forbes contributor Ken Krogue notes that inside sales reps are best referred to as ‘remote’ reps.
Key Takeaways:
- Growing Demand for Inside Sales Representatives: Inside sales is expanding rapidly, with a significant increase in job opportunities, indicating a shift towards remote sales strategies over traditional face-to-face interactions.
- Role and Skills of Inside Sales Representatives: These professionals work primarily from an office or remotely, utilizing technology to communicate with prospects and clients. Key skills include research, rapport building, communication, interviewing, and time management.
- Benefits of Inside Sales: Inside sales offers numerous advantages such as cost efficiency, broader reach, enhanced productivity, use of advanced technology, data-driven sales processes, faster sales cycles, flexibility, and environmental benefits.
- Inside Sales vs Outside Sales: Inside sales involves remote selling methods and typically has shorter sales cycles and lower costs compared to outside sales, which relies on in-person meetings and has longer sales cycles.
- Importance of Inside Sales Representatives: They play a crucial role in achieving a company’s customer acquisition and revenue growth goals, making them indispensable in the modern sales landscape.
The Rise of the Inside Sales Representative
Inside salespeople have always been synonymous with telemarketers, who became ubiquitous in the 1970s.
Telemarketers were commonly used to describe people selling products and services over the phone, and they developed a terrible reputation for interrupting everyone’s daily lives.
In the 1980s, the term ‘inside sales’ started to gain traction and separate itself from telemarketing.
Inside sales started referring to more complex phone-based business-to-business and business-to-consumer selling practices. Unlike telemarketers, inside sales reps did not rely on full-on sales scripts as they had the training, acumen, and ingenuity that telemarketers usually lacked.
Inside sales reps also focused on big-ticket items and tended to earn much more than telemarketers.
In the past, inside sales reps could only use office phones for calls, but now they close deals using mobile devices or while working from home. This change has helped them reach more leads and have better conversations using real-time data. As a result, the growing inside sales industry is now more common than traditional in-person outside sales.
The Responsibilities of the Inside Sales Representative
What does an inside sales representative do?
Well, he or she plays a fundamental role when it comes to achieving a company’s customer acquisition and revenue growth goals. They make a dozen or more calls per day in the hopes of closing sales with qualified prospects to achieve the company’s quarterly quotas.
According to Workable, other responsibilities include the following:
- Sourcing new sales opportunities via inbound leads and outbound cold calls and emails
- Researching accounts to identify key players and generate interest
- Maintaining a constantly expanding database of prospects within one’s assigned territory
- Partnering with other channels to build a pipeline and close deals
- Performing online demos to prospects
- Routing qualified opportunities to sales executives for further development and closure
Inside Sales Representative Skills
Unfortunately, not everyone has the skills to become a successful inside sales representative.
Aspiring inside salespeople should possess specific characteristics to do the job effectively – from generating qualified leads to connecting with prospects.
These skills help them achieve their ultimate goal: making sales for the company.
The following skills are deemed instrumental to an inside sales rep’s success:
1. Research skills
Inside sales reps do not just pick up the phone and call the next number in line without a concrete game plan. They conduct pre-call research to know something about their prospects and their business needs, increasing their chances of success.
A couple of important things to research before the call include gathering relevant background information on the prospect and any social network connections, such as LinkedIn.
It’s crucial for inside sales reps to have a solid understanding of the product they’re selling. While it may seem obvious, having **deep product knowledge** is what sets top-performing reps apart from others. By researching and grasping the product ahead of time, they can clearly explain how it functions, the benefits it provides for the client’s business, and its attractiveness to the client’s target customers.
2. Rapport building skills
Just because inside sales reps don’t meet customers, face-to-face does not mean they should be complacent when it comes to building rapport with prospects. On the contrary; building rapport has become more important than ever as it is harder to build a connection with someone over the phone or the Internet.
Some reps research beforehand so they can establish common ground between themselves and their customers, while others simply have the natural ability to create instant rapport by establishing a solid sense of credibility and integrity. Whatever method is used, building rapport is a crucial step in the direction of making a sale.
3. Communication skills
In inside sales, it is not so much about what the representative says, but how they say it. Customers don’t just listen to the content of the pitch, but also to tone, volume, and pace. In fact, statistics from Sandler Sales Training show that as much as 38% of communication relies on the speaker’s tonality, while a mere 7% favored content.
Inside sales reps should know how to mirror the prospect’s tone and style of talking so that the customers can identify with them. However, they should also learn how to let their personality shine through, so the prospect knows he or she is speaking to a human being, not a robot!
4. Interviewing skills
An inside sales rep should learn how to ask the right questions. Good questions can keep prospects engaged in the conversation and provide valuable information that can be used to advance the sale.
Successful salespeople do not share all of their products’ benefits and capabilities right away. Instead, they focus on asking questions about their customers’ business pain and problems before offering their product as a potential solution.
Smart questioning can also lead to more information about the customer that can be used later on to push for a sale. Inside sales reps usually find out about the prospect’s budget, needs, and buying process just by asking the right questions.
5. Discipline and time management
Though most inside sales reps work standard office hours, some of them are simply much more productive than the others. The difference boils down to time management and discipline.
Considering that most inside sales representatives are paid on a commission basis, it is imperative to make as many sales as possible in the amount of time available; otherwise, they end up with lower pay.
They should know which prospects are worth following up and which ones are just wasting their time so that they can get the most out of their eight-hour day.
These days, any company looking to grow its revenue would do well to invest in quality inside sales representatives. Not only do they drive company sales, but they are also highly cost-effective alternatives to much slower-moving, traditional face-to-face encounters.
What Are the Benefits of Inside Sales?
Inside sales, which involves selling products or services remotely, typically via phone, email, or online platforms, offers several benefits:
- Cost Efficiency: Inside sales reduces costs associated with travel, lodging, and other expenses typical of face-to-face meetings in outside sales. This makes it a more economical option, especially for smaller businesses or startups.
- Broader Reach and Scalability: Sales representatives can contact a larger number of potential clients in various geographical locations without the need for physical travel. This allows for easier scaling of sales operations and the ability to tap into new markets.
- Enhanced Productivity: Sales reps can manage their time more efficiently, as they spend less time traveling and more time reaching out to prospects. This can lead to a higher volume of sales calls and meetings each day.
- Use of Advanced Technology: Inside sales heavily relies on technology such as CRM systems, auto-dialers, email automation, and virtual meeting platforms. These tools can enhance customer relationship management, lead tracking, and overall efficiency.
- Data-Driven Sales Process: The use of various software tools allows for the collection and analysis of detailed data on sales activities and customer interactions. This data can be used to refine sales strategies and improve conversion rates.
- Faster Sales Cycles: Given the immediate nature of communication in inside sales, the sales cycles tend to be shorter. Decisions and closures can happen more rapidly compared to outside sales where setting up meetings might take longer.
- Flexibility and Adaptability: Inside sales teams can quickly adapt to changes in the market or business environment. They can also easily switch between different product lines or marketing strategies.
- Enhanced Training and Monitoring: It’s easier to train and monitor inside sales staff as they work from a central location. This also fosters a collaborative environment where sales representatives can learn from each other.
- Work-from-Home Opportunities: Inside sales roles often offer the flexibility to work from home, which can be an attractive perk for many employees and can broaden the talent pool for employers.
- Environmental Benefits: By reducing the need for travel, inside sales is a more environmentally friendly approach, contributing to lower carbon emissions.
Overall, inside sales offers a cost-effective, scalable, and flexible approach that leverages technology to streamline the sales process and reach a broader audience.
Inside Sales vs Outside Sales
“Inside Sales” and “Outside Sales” are two distinct approaches to selling products or services, each with its unique characteristics and strategies.
Inside Sales
- Definition: Inside Sales involves selling products or services remotely, typically from an office or call center.
- Methods: Utilizes phones, email, and digital communication like video calls and online presentations.
- Target Market: Often focuses on smaller deals or clients who prefer digital communication.
- Sales Cycle: Tends to have a shorter sales cycle due to more immediate communication methods.
- Costs: Generally lower overhead costs as travel and face-to-face meeting expenses are minimal.
- Scalability: Easier to scale as it requires less physical presence and resources.
- Training & Skills: Emphasizes strong communication skills, ability to use CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software, and adaptability to technology.
Outside Sales
- Definition: Outside Sales involves in-person interactions with clients, often at their place of business or in field locations.
- Methods: Involves traveling to meet clients, attending trade shows, and conducting on-site demonstrations.
- Target Market: Usually focuses on larger clients or industries where face-to-face interaction is crucial.
- Sales Cycle: Can have a longer sales cycle due to the time involved in setting up meetings and building in-person relationships.
- Costs: Higher expenses due to travel, accommodations, and entertainment for clients.
- Scalability: More challenging to scale quickly due to the time and resources required for personal visits.
- Training & Skills: Requires excellent interpersonal skills, a high degree of self-motivation, and the ability to read client cues in a face-to-face setting.
Key Differences
- Interaction Mode: Inside Sales is digital/remote, while Outside Sales is in-person.
- Sales Cycle Duration: Shorter for Inside Sales, longer for Outside Sales.
- Costs: Lower in Inside Sales due to reduced travel, higher in Outside Sales.
- Client Relationships: Inside Sales relies on technology-mediated relationships, whereas Outside Sales focuses on personal connections.
Choosing the Right Approach
The choice between Inside and Outside Sales depends on the nature of the product/service, target market preferences, and the company’s sales strategy.
Some businesses find a hybrid model effective, combining elements of both to maximize reach and efficiency.
Wrapping Up
The evolving landscape of sales has significantly elevated the role of inside sales representatives.
With their growing prevalence, outpacing outside sales by a substantial margin, these professionals have become pivotal to modern business strategies.
Inside sales representatives are not only crucial for driving sales and fostering customer relationships through remote channels, but they also bring a range of benefits including cost efficiency, scalability, and the effective use of technology.
Their ability to adapt, coupled with a diverse skill set, positions them as essential contributors to a company’s success in a digitally-driven market.
As the face of sales continues to evolve, the importance and impact of inside sales representatives will undoubtedly continue to grow, marking a transformative era in how businesses connect with their customers.
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