What are Inside Sales? A Beginner’s Guide

The 2019 sales market expects you to step up your game in the inside sales process right now.

Why?

Because, Inside sales is growing 15x faster than outside sales and if you want to capture and convert qualified leads faster than your competitors, you have to invest in the right solution.

Which is exactly how inside sales will help you.

What does the road map cover?

• How can you describe Inside Sales?
• How can Inside Sales benefit your current business?
• How Inside sales is growing its presence in the 2019 sales market?
• Tips for beginners on getting started with Inside Sales

Let’s jump right in.

How can you describe Inside Sales?

As Close defines it, ‘’Inside sales is the act of identifying, nurturing and turning leads into customers remotely’’.

In simpler terms, inside sales refers to selling through different mediums such as calls, emails, social media, presentations and any others so that sales reps can easily convert their potential prospects into leads.

Insides sales has a similar meaning just like telemarketing but they are different in many ways.

For instance, ideally, sales reps in telemarketing sell to their customers on a face to face basis and follow a particular script to convey the message. On the other hand, inside sales are more trained and organized where they use their sales script as a guide instead of reciting it.

Another example of inside sales is the job that the current sales person conduct. For instance, those who make calls from their office or when working remotely, all fall under this definition.

Inside sales is grasping higher popularity in 2019 because the process is being managed in a way that is proved to be apt for the current sales market.

The proof?

Let the next category explain you.

How can Inside Sales benefit your current business?

Inside sales successfully replaces the traditional form of sales.

During the previous years for a sales rep to capture clients, they had to visit every door step to make a sale.

But today, inside sales changes that theory and the many theories that have been formed throughout the years.

Let’s take a closer look:

1 . Inside sales process demands the research of clients in a more detailed manner before even dialling the number. Right from the latest trends to understanding the solution being offered, a sales rep has to be knowledgeable.

2. Inside sales makes capturing clients easier. Before sales reps would meet a client and try capturing them via their face to face meeting. In inside sales this process is simpler. You research about your clients, contact them via a phone/ email or social platforms, hear their issues and place your solution accordingly to help them out. 

3. Through constant follow ups, you will be able to win your leads trust which is the most essential factor when converting them as qualified leads for your business.

4. Earlier sales pitches were written to be read accordingly when selling to your leads but in inside sales, the more personalized your script is the better are your chances to connect with your leads.

5. Inside sales training is given a high priority so that the sales reps working in this process can function efficiently.

With so many benefits in hand, inside sales is providing all the potential required to achieve your sales goals much quicker and more conveniently. 

The reason for its growth is what the next category will be speaking about.

How Inside sales is growing its presence in the 2019 sales market?

Before this question can be answered, let’s take a tour to understand how sales were in the previous years.

For instance:

If you had to sell a product to a client, you would have to:

• Meet them for a face to face discussion
• Prepare a script
• Sell them with the one script you have in hand
• If they are not convinced, you would just walk away
• Interrupt their time to grasp the attention of what you have to offer
• Sell them without understanding the key factor of what they like

Doesn’t the above example look like a misfit?

Imagine this happening in 2019, do you think that this type of process which is referred to as outbound sales work?

Let’s break down the reasons why this type of process can’t retain a hold in the 2019 sales market:

• Your prospects are well aware of what solution is available in the market, thanks to the online social world.
• The minute prospects realize that you are conducting a cold call, the call drops.
• Zety states, ‘’75% of buyers would rather not meet face-to-face.’’
• Salesforce claims, ‘’79% of business buyers say it’s absolutely critical or very important to interact with a salesperson who is a trusted advisor.’’

Now you can answer the question, do you think this process can work in 2019?

The 2019 sales market requires sales reps to perform quicker and smarter. With the technology growing in abundance and getting more easier, inside sales seem to be the right fit to cater to such a market.

The main difference why inside sales should weigh more on a scale is because it grows along with this changing technology.

In simpler terms, when technology introduces an easier platform to make lives easy, inside sales pull it and shapes it in a way that could help detect potential leads.

For instance, the use of CRM. Today almost half of the sales office uses this tool to keep track of their leads. 

Not only does it set reminders for constant follow ups, it also helps you analyze what actions need to be taken next which is a crucial factor during the conversion of a lead. Zety mentions in its article, ‘’50% of teams using a well-integrated CRM see improved productivity.’’.

Another example is the use of social media, one of the best places to retrieve information about prospects. With an active social account, a sales rep like you can easily interact and attract your ideal target audience and plan ways to win their trust to invest in your solution.

One more ideal example to list here is data analytics. With this tool, you can easily spot the answers to questions such as:

• Why should my prospect buy my solution?
• Which prospect is the right fit for my solution?
• What is my prospect looking for?

Imagine if you have all this information in hand, how much time would you save to find your right audience. This is exactly why inside sales is the real deal in 2019.

Check also our : Callback Apps for Travel Agency

See it in this way:

Today you have prospects who are wiser and know what their needs are. They don’t need you to tell them what their needs are, instead they expect you to satisfy the need they have.

You don’t have time to waste around to find your prospects. You must find them before your competitors do.

The 2019 sales market is huge and moving at a rapid pace. 

For instance today:

• The sales reps working in inside sales are more knowledgeable when compared to the past. Today they have all the information required to plan a strategy that will give them the expectations they are seeking. For instance, they can find their target audience with the data they collected from their surveys.
• There are several tools available in the market today that help sales reps to capture the attention of their leads quicker, one such is limecall widgets.
• With the world going digital where you can access anything you want from a click of a button, your prospects prefer to be communicated the way they like it. West stated, ‘’65% of customers prefer phone calls, 55% favor email, 48% go for online chat.’’

As you can see that your today’s prospects depend highly on the connectivity of the digital world where inside sales play a high impact in catering to them. 

What are the best practices which you can follow?

The next category will guide you through.

Tips for beginners on getting started with Inside Sales

1. Generate organic leads

Many companies prefer buying leads because they believe that it is an easier way of taping leads quicker. What they forget is paid leads may come in abundance but it may not add the value a company expects from having them.

If you want your brand to go, it is important that you generate leads organically. It isn’t a difficult task to conduct. You just need to regularly follow the below steps to help grow leads that will make an impact in your brand growth:

• Be active on your social media accounts, ensure that your constantly engaging and communicating with your leads to build better relations and trust. (We will explain in detail later)
• Use keyword research medium which your leads always use to find out about their needs. When you keep track of it it becomes easier to tap your leads. Enforce more action in your SEO teams to view better results
• Interact and share relevant content to your leads so that you are able to attract your target audience better. Create videos, publish posts, share blogs so that your leads are able to connect better with your solution.
• It is important to identify which are the target audience which is perfect for your brand’s solution. Once you are aware of your type of leads, you can create efficient strategies to attract, tap and convert them.

2. Use a good CRM tool

Zety states in its blog, ‘’CRMs can boost sales by 29% and productivity to 34%.’’

The reason?

When compared to spreadsheets, CRM’s are a thousand times better.

Let’s understand this with an example:

This is a sample spreadsheet where you enter information about all your prospects. You enter in all the details and save it every day. But did you know that by managing such a spreadsheet you stand under several risks?

Using such a process to fill in your details isn’t a wise decision because:

• There is no security. Anyone can access this file on your desktop and make changes to it.
• It becomes tough to keep making pointers and changes on it manually.
• Spreadsheets are apt for just storing information, to call would be another task.
• The information being viewed can be confusing due to the huge amount of information being saved.

To eliminate such a hassle and to make things easier when it comes to quick follow ups and capturing potential leads, switch to storing information via a CRM.

The images above are exactly what a CRM looks like. It is a convenient platform that lets you function everything you need to do all in one place.

For instance:

• Keep a track of your follow ups with the CRM alerts
• Type in information regarding your leads
• Categorize your leads according to the calls being conducted
• Safeguard your lead details with an access security which only you will be having.

As mentioned earlier, 2019 demands work to be running at a faster pace, if you are going to be working the traditional ways, it becomes tougher for you to indulge in achieving your sales target.

3. Be active on your social accounts regularly

Forbes states, ‘’Sales reps who use social media as part of their sales techniques outsell 78 percent of their peers.’’

It’s really simple.

If you’re not on social media, you will never be able to tap your leads quicker and if you don’t constantly engage with your leads, your connection with the leads will soon grow distant.

Let’s understand this with an example, what happens when you have an active social media account:

• You can easily share information such as your company blogs, posts, and messages across the platform to pull your target audience’s attention.
• You can join places where your target audience visits often such as groups so that you can win them over with your experience. One similar example is joining groups on Facebook or Linkedin.
• Kredible states, ‘’Fifty-three percent of decision makers have eliminated a vendor from consideration based on information they did or did not find about an employee online.’’
• Scribd states, ‘’Brand messages are re-shared 24 times more frequently when posted by an employee versus the brand’s social media channels.’’

What happens when you don’t have an active social media account:

• You tend to sell slower because you’re using the traditional methods of capturing leads
• You will be missing out on your tapping your target audience in places they often visit
• You will be unaware of what your target audience requires which is bad because their needs keep fluctuating.

The best place to interact and engage with the types of leads is LinkedIn. Being the platform for the B2B audience Linkedin is your source to help you find your potential prospects.

How can you do it?

Let the below steps help:

1. Create/ Frame your Linkedin account in a way that your prospects understand who you are, what you do and how you can help them.

This is a sample profile on LinkedIn. When your prospects want to see who you are, they will visit your profile. This is a golden opportunity for you to tap them on arrival.

Ensure that the below pointers are listed in your profile:

• A small introduction about you
• Where do you work?
• Your achievements in terms of achieving work goals?
• What is your main focus?
• How do you want to help prospects?

Once your account is created, it’s time to follow the below instructions to remain constantly active:

• Share stories and blogs which will grab your target audience’s interest. Social media today states, ‘’Content shared by employees receives 8 times more engagement than content shared by brand channels.’’
• Join groups and participate in various topics
• Comments on others post and share your viewpoints
• Share your insights with like minded people through their posts comments or personal messages
• Get in touch and connect with people who you believe can be a great asset to your business
• Like others post as well as share them and tag them. When you do this you get noticed better and you form better relations.

4. Use your lead engagement tools efficiently to sell better

Inside sales as mentioned above isn’t limited to just phone selling or email, there are more ways you can sell to your prospects. But did you know that even today, phone calls and emails are still being used to close deals?

Studies have shown that, ‘’92% of all customer interactions happen over the phone’’ and ‘’Email is almost 40 times better at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter’’.

Keeping this in mind, the following tips can help shape your inside sales process better.

For instance, before you call your prospect, there are a few important factors that you need to keep in mind:

• Always ensure that your walking when you talk because this makes you sound more active, more attentive and helps you explain better.
• Always have your script in front of you, use it as a guide and not as a script to be read. Remember in 2019, your prospects want to feel connected and should be able to trust you. If you’re going to sound robotic over call, chances are you may fail in converting them as a lead.
• Some calls may not be successful, that shouldn’t pull you away from your aim. When you feel low or demotivated, speak to your peers or watch some motivational videos to get you to pump back up again.
• Remember that your selling to your prospects not just your brand but your solution. They should hear every detail your product is about. Conduct every research about the product so that you can sell better when you’re on call.
• Listen carefully to what your prospects have to say and sell your solution accordingly to them.
• Have a confident and positive tone so that you can reflect the same on your calls.

If you wish to communicate with your prospects via email, keep these factors in mind:

• Never overcrowd your email, mention the message you want them to read.
• Keep the message short and simple to understand.
• Put a call to action option in the end so that it triggers your prospect to revert the email.
• Keep the email more personalized than the usual standard ones.
• Ensure that the purpose of the email is highlighted.

If you focus more on emails to communicate with your prospects, you can use the help of OutreachPlus. This is a tool that helps you to draft personalized emails with a guarantee to receive emails in return.

To keep a track of the emails you sent, you can utilize Mailchimp.

The reason?

• It gives you all the insight you require to grasp your leads. 
• Keeps a track of how many emails were sent, opened and replied too.
• Frame your next email actions according to your leads actions.

During the traditional days, selling a product required the sales reps to follow a standard sheet and speak in a particular tone. If the customers neglect them, they continue to move further.

But in the 2019 sales market, things have changed.

Prospects have become harder to convince and above all are knowledgeable when compared to the past.

You have to be well prepared when addressing them. 

5. Conduct regular sales activities

Managing inside sales comes with a lot of responsibilities which require your attention.

For instance:

When you make calls, you need to have adequate research about the prospect you’re dealing with such as their role, their name, how they are helping their brand and to go and many more.

As inside sales deals with conducting calls to tap and convert prospects into leads, it requires a lot of other works that need to be conducted in order to complete the process.

Ensure that the below checklists are completed whenever you function with this process:

• All follow ups need to be completed in order to grasp a potential lead. Brevet states, ‘’80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls after the meeting’’.
• Use tools that help you capture your leads quicker such as the ones mentioned above. ‘’30-50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first’’.
• Stay updated with the changing trends in the industry so that you can easily slide in your product to sell better.
• Increase your research, keep a track of your industry more closely, study your leads needs better.
• Have a training session monthly so that you can brush up your skills better. Learn from your peers or experienced seniors who can guide you towards perfecting you.

An online article claimed, ‘’46% of fast-growing tech companies use inside sales’’. This clearly states that inside sales is here to stay and it is already being considered as an impactful tool by strong companies.

Which means, it’s time you get started.

Did Inside Sales grab your attention?

What is your opinion about inside sales and do you also believe that it can make an impact in your current business growth?

We would love to hear all your opinions.

The demand for Inside sales as you have witnessed above is shaping the way sales is being performed in various companies.

With the outline provided in this article, we hope that you have received the path which will help you incorporate and achieve the targets your business aims to win.

From investing in a tool that will ease your sales process to learning how you can structure yourself during communications, which factor drew your gaze twice to start implementing today?

Check Limecall Pricing Now! and Choose our Callback Software.