Inside sales teams are becoming increasingly more important in the world of B2B.
Before diving into our 15 actionable tips, let’s briefly touch on the growing importance of inside sales.
Compared to outside sales professionals who work out in the field, meeting with prospective clients face-to-face to broker deals, inside sales persons sell remotely from an office (or working from home). This is done through connecting via email, phone, social media, or other digital platforms.
Sales teams within larger organizations have traditionally been ruled by outside sales reps. However, we’re starting to see the balance shift, especially in recent years. The simple truth is that buyers are easing towards our now predominantly digital world. Not only are we seeing more organizations adopting a hybrid approach, we’re also seeing many of them lean towards having fully remote sales teams.
Shifting the balance
Unsurprisingly, this wide-reaching trend has only accelerated over the past twelve months.
Businesses have been forced to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic by closing offices, unable to facilitate in-person meetings with prospects. It goes without saying that this has severely limited the effectiveness of outside sales teams.
Meanwhile, remote sales have continued to create an easier, quicker, and more convenient way for buyers to gather information and place orders. In fact, statistics show that an estimated 80% of B2B buyers now prefer remote interactions, with only 20% saying they are hoping to return to an outside, in-person method of sales, even in industries such as pharmaceuticals and medical products.
Nowadays, we see plenty of overlapping disciplines and techniques shared between inside and outside sales teams. In reality, the two are beginning to merge in order to meet the rising demand of buyers wanting faster, more convenient ways of doing business.
In preparation, this blog will share 15 actionable tips to become successful inside sales reps, leveraging insights and expertise from some of the best in the business. We’ll teach you the tactics you need to help improve your results.
Let’s start by covering an essential shortlist of general inside sales tips. Here, our experts offer some useful guidance on your day-to-day activities, helping to boost your effectiveness and starting evolving your inside sales strategies.
Having shared some advice on the best general inside sales practices, let’s now focus on some more specific inbound tips. As the name suggests, inbound sales are initiated by prospects looking to solve a particular problem. They have reached out to your business in need of a solution through the products or services you sell.
Finally, let’s dive into outbound sales. This sales method requires a different approach as you actively look to reach out and engage with prospects who may not be aware of your company of what your offerings are.
Evolve your inside sales strategy
Whether you are dealing with inbound or outbound prospects, we’ve uncovered a wide range of actionable inside sales tips throughout this blog.
Chances are, a few of them have slipped your memory already. In truth, there’s a vast well of techniques, tips, and tricks out there – we’re only just beginning to scratch the surface!
Make sure you go back and take note of how each one can be a benefit to you and your inside sales strategies. Our experts have also referenced several helpful tools to help improve your messaging and effectiveness. Adapt what we’ve discussed here within your own inside sales activities and get ready to see the results.
