Внутренние продажи в компании
В продажах есть понятие «дистанционных продаж» — профессиональных продаж, осуществляемых дистанционно. В последнее время их все больше называют «виртуальными продажами», в отличии от традиционные продаж, осуществляемых лицом к лицу с покупателем. Что же такое «внутренние продажи», как вид профессиональных дистанционных продаж? И что такое «Inside Sales» и почему это не «внутренние продажи», а «продажи с душой»?
В продажах есть такое понятие, как «дистанционные продажи» — профессиональные продажи, осуществляемые дистанционно. В последнее время их все больше называют «виртуальными продажами», в отличии от традиционные продаж, осуществляемых лицом к лицу с покупателем. Что же такое «внутренние продажи», как вид профессиональных дистанционных продаж? И что такое «Inside Sales» и почему это не «внутренние продажи», а «продажи с душой»?
Что такое традиционная и виртуальная продажа?
Традиционная прямая продажа обычна для практики продавца, представляет собой прямой и личный контакт с покупателем, презентация ему предложения, работа с его возражением, оперативное реагирование на его эмоции и сомнения, корректировка предложения: уступки и (или) расширение предложения.
К виртуальным дистанционным продажам традиционно относят телемаркетинг (входящий телемаркетинг – результат воздействия рекламы, торгового маркетинга и исходящий телемаркетинг), продажи по каталогам, интернет торговлю. Все они осуществляются без прямого (глаза–в глаза) контакта с покупателем. Такого рода продажи развиваются за последние сорок лет очень активно, настолько, что руководители компаний и торговых структур часто не знают, что делать, чтобы разрешить разрушительный конфликт между молодыми, технически подкованными «выскочками», продающими по телефону, через интернет, и их более старшими коллегами, которые обладают политической властью в своих компаниях, формируют, все еще, значительный доход, осуществляя прямые выездные продажи крупным постоянным клиентам.
Что такое Inside Sales?
Термин Inside Sales, который у нас почему-то переводят, как «внутренняя продажа«, первоначально появился в конце 1980 года — как попытка выделить, в отдельный менеджмент (дифференцировать) «телемаркетинг» — продажи по телефону от более сложных продаж:
Термин Inside Sales можно с легкостью перевести как «продажа изнутри», «продажа с душой» и обозначить этим термином можно работу торгового представителя, выездного менеджера по продажам, комивояжора. К 1990 году термин «Inside Sales» стал использовался для обозначения практики традиционных выездных продаж, осуществляемых лицом к лицу, когда продавцы отправились в расположение бизнеса клиента, чтобы включиться в процесс продаж. В 2004 году, Дэйв Элкингтон и Кен Крог основали InsideSales.com — первую компанию по оказанию услуг выездных продаж для большого количества компаний, заинтересованных в обучении своих или найме сторонних торговых представителей.
Итак термин «инсайд сейз» стал обозначать НЕ телемаркетинг. Позднее, понятие «инсайд сейз» (продажи с душой, от себя) стал обозначать виртуальные и обычные продажи, но не телемаркетинг.
Что отличает телемаркетинг от инсайд сейлз?
Для начала, давайте дадим определение термину телемаркетинг. Телемаркетинг, в момент зарождения понятия — это прямая продажа товаров или услуг по телефону. Телемаркетинг — либо «телефоный дрон» ( от англ. drone — трутень), который не заканчивается, пока телефонный «террорист» не услышит от клиента «нет» семь раз, либо умные продажи с применением знаний в области психологии, НЛП.
Использование телефона в качестве средства для назначения встреч специалистами «инсайд сейз», никакого отношения к телемаркетингу не имеет. К дистанционным продажам с установлением телефонного контакта прибегают и продавцы отдела прямых продаж в том случае, когда покупатель — постоянный и осуществляет закупки товара планово и системно. В этом случае, скажем, делается телефонный звонок с напоминанием о необходимости плановой закупки, рассказом о новинках и (или) существующих специальных предложениях (спецусловиях). Если сомнений в целесообразности покупки покупатель не выдвинул, то прямого контакта с ним продавец может и не осуществлять.
Что такое «внутренние продажи» и в чем их отличие от «инсайд сейз», компании InsideSales.com?
Мы отделили менеджмент «продаж с душой» от телемаркетинга. Но все равно, менеджмент продажи остается слишком обширным понятием. Судите сами, чуть выше, мы остановились на задаче плановых продаж постоянным клиентам, но есть еще и новые клиенты, за которыми нужно «охотиться», необходимо вести активный поиск новых клиентов.
Итак, дистанционная продажа «своему» постоянному покупателю с задачами регулярных продаж, увеличения количества таких продаж и увеличения суммы этих продаж называется «внутренней продажей».
Поиск клиентов с выездом для продажи к клиенту называется активными продажами. «Активные продажи» и «Внутренние продажи» — это «инсайд сейлз» (продажа с душой, от себя) и это — не телемаркетинг.
Что такое внутренняя продажа?
Итак, внутренняя продажа это:
Вот как говорит о «внутренней продаже» словарь маркетолога: «Внутренние продажи (inside sales, продажи из офиса) — вид менеджмента продаж, исключающий поиск клиентов, при котором продавец осуществляет коммуникацию только с текущими клиентами (покупателями) компании. Внутренние продажи осуществляются из офиса, без очного контакта с покупателем (клиентом)».
Почему выделяется внутренняя продажа — как важный и самостоятельный менеджмент продаж?
Если телемаркетологи бомбардируют рынок или цепляются за клиента до момента совершения сделки, если активные продавцы до 80% времени заняты поиском клиентов (покупателей), информированием и убеждением, торговым маркетингом, если call-центр принимает входящие звонки, но не более, то постоянные клиенты остаются в той или иной мере плохо охваченными вниманием торгового менеджмента.
Основная цель внутренних продаж — увеличение суммы чека (счета) клиента и увеличение количества чеков (счетов), приходящихся на одного клиента за отчетных период. Основная задача сотрудников внутренних продаж — генерация повторных продаж, напоминание клиенту о необходимости сделать повторный регулярный заказ, предложение расширения списка товаров, которые традиционно закупает постоянный клиент.
Вторая задача внутренних продаж — повышение уровня удовлетворенности клиентов. С этой целью, сотрудники внутренних продаж, находясь в постоянной связи с клиентами, формируют упреждающее рекомендации, необходимые клиентам, точно и в срок обрабатывают операции клиентов, таких как прямые заказы, котировки, осуществляют поддержку клиента.
И обе эти задачи сильно отличаются от задач, на которые ориентированы специалисты телемаркетинга, активных продаж, call-центра. Основная цель внутренних продажа — выжать из постоянных клиентов как можно больше.
Прообраз службы внутренних продаж в компании.
Во многих компаниях есть call-центр («девочки на телефонах»), занимающиеся оформлением заказов клиентов. Некоторые компании ошибочно представляют такие входящие call-центры, как «инсайд сейлз» и как службу «внутренних продаж» — это просто служба по отработке заказов. Ничего от «продаж от души» и внутренних продаж в таких службах нет, хотя польза от таких специалистов несомненна.
Такого рода служба формируется в качестве подразделения в единой службе продаж компании, с целью разгрузки сотрудников продаж «передовой линии» (активных продаж), с целью помощи сотрудникам, занятым активным поиском клиентов, «инсайд селз» (продажей с душой). Такой менеджмент исполняет обязанности back-office отдела продаж: формирование и контроль выписки платежно-отгрузочных документов, контроль за ходом исполнения текущих сделок, предоставление технической информации и консультирование.
Такое разделение службы продаж на 2 группы специалистов: активные продавцы и call-центр является обоснованной в силу определенного этапа развития продаж и этапа развития организации (вторая стадия). На этапе механизация принимаются принципы упорядочивания деятельности, выстраивания процедур, внутренней организационной структуры компании — механические функции убираются из функционала активных продавцов. Однако, на этом этапе все еще никто сознантельно и системно не работает с постоянными клиентами. Они (постоянные клиенты) просто есть!
На этапе внутреннего предпринимательства сами специалисты call-центров начинают «дружить» с постоянными клиентами. Они начинают их активно поддерживать, консультировать, обслуживать в первую очередь, зачастую даже не информируя менеджера, ведущего данного клиента. Внутреннее осознание того, что каждый сотрудник организации должен подходить к реализации своей деятельности как предприниматель, который представляет товар на рынке полностью ложиться в рамни развития компании на этом этапе. А поэтому сотрудник call-центра уже хорошо знает своего клиента (и внутрифирменного также), его потребности и особенности коммуникации с ним.
Что же такое служба внутренних продаж в компании?
Каковы количественные критерии качества работы сотрудников внутренних продаж, работающих с постоянными клиентами? Напомню сказанное выше: основная цель внутренних продаж — увеличение суммы чека (счета) клиента и увеличение количества чеков (счетов), приходящихся на одного клиента за отчетных период. Таким образом, специалисты внутренних продаж, специализирующиеся на росте товарооборота, приходящегося на постоянных клиентов, повышающих уровень удовлетворенности постоянных клиентов от работы с компанией, на прямую повышают качество работы всей службы продаж в целом.
Зачастую специалисты внутренних продаж более осведомлены и подготовлены в вопросах специфики товара, особенностей его применения и обслуживания — во всех аспектах товарной линейки компании. Специалисты внутренних продаж — фронт, передняя линия для всех программ торгового маркетинга, ориентированных на продажу новинок, распродажи стоков, программ лояльности, продаж высокотехнологичного оборудования (сложных продаж).
Что-то в виде итога
А в Вашей компании есть служба внутренних продаж? В чем работа Вашего call-центр отличается от работы специалистов внутренних продаж, «инсайд сейлз» специалистов — продавцов с душой для постоянных клиентов?
Sales Representative, а не Sales Manager
Решил разобраться как называются продажники в американских стартапах.
1. «Sales representative» – это «менеджер по продажам» по-нашему. Он вовлекает и выстраивает отношения с нужными людьми, которые принимают решения о покупках/сделках.
2. Люди в компании, которые принимают решения о покупках/сделках называются «decision makers». По-нашему «ЛПР».
2. «Sales reps» всё время пишут этим людям в соц.сетях, отправляют им имейлы, назначают созвоны и встречи, проводят телефонные и видео-созвоны, общаются на конференциях и выставках. Как у нас говорят: «строят нетворк».
3. Основная функция «sales rep» – наполнять воронку и доводить до сделок.
4. Часто должность «sales rep» разделяется на поддолжности.
5. По месту работы: inside sales reps / outside sales reps. Внутренний рынок и за границей. Или штатные и внештатные продавцы.
6. По уровню навыков: junior sales reps / senior sales reps. Младшие и старшие.
7. По способу привлечения клиентов: outbound sales reps / inbound sales reps. Исходящие и входящие продажи.
a) Business development rep – занимается развитием всего бизнеса. Выстраивает отношения не только с клиентами, но и с другими партнёрами.
b) Sales development rep – занимается поиском и вовлечением нужных людей, чтобы BizDev’s занимались выстраиванием отношений, а не тратили время на поиск. Такой процесс «поиска и выхода на нужных людей» называется Prospecting.
c) Technical sales rep – закрывает технические вопросы в процессе продаж, проводит технические demo, составляет технические задания, технические расчёты, технические обоснования.
d) Lead development reps – «ведущий менеджер по продажам» или «руководитель группы/отдела продаж» по-нашему.
9. Иногда к «sales reps» ещё относят «account executives», но это совсем другая роль.
10. Account executive – это по-нашему «аккаунт-менеджер» или «менеджер по работе с клиентами». Он работает с уже существующими клиентами и его задача сопровождать своих клиентов по всем сделкам и растить по ним продажи.
Inside Sales Representative Job Description: Top Duties and Qualifications
An Inside Sales Representative, or Inside Salesperson, sells products or services to either consumers or other businesses. Their main duties include locating new sales opportunities through tactics like cold-calling, attending trade shows and building mailing lists, negotiating sales terms and providing product demonstrations.
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Inside Sales Representative duties and responsibilities
Inside Sales Representatives use skills in communication and sales to highlight the advantages of a product or service. Sales representatives are often expected to complete the following duties:
Inside Sales Representative Job Description Examples
Inside Sales Representative
Sharps Compliance is a leading single source provider of regulatory compliant services for the healthcare market. We focus our services on small to mid-sized generators or medical, pharmaceutical, and hazardous waste streams. Our goal is to provide the best in service at affordable rates.
Ideal candidates for our Inside Sales position will be energetic, positive, and organized professionals who are able to effectively create relationships within the healthcare market. Phone etiquette and a desire to excel are a must!
Computer Software Skills:
Inside Sales Representative
Nextday Credit: This is an Out-Bound Commission Only Position
Must Have Sales Experience With Credit Repair OR Finance Type OF Experience!
We are growing and looking for self-motivated individuals who are ready for an Excellent career assisting our clients restore their credit! By educating and assisting each client on their individual credit needs, our credit enhancement consultants are making a difference in people’s lives each day.
This position is commission only position-based
We use a New System that Works called Metro2 Compliance, it is Very Effective!
I’ll explain during our time together!
Send in your resume for an interview!
If you are upbeat, personable, can complete data entry with little or no mistakes, and like helping people achieve their goals and change their [website] this is the job for you!
Job Type: Commission
Job Type: Commission
This Company Describes Its Culture as:
Inside Sales Representative
Accredited Debt Relief is a well-established and rapidly growing financial services/debt relief company.
We are looking for experienced Inside Sales Reps / Account Executives who apply a «consultative» selling approach to their customers. This is a great opportunity for experienced Sales Agents who want to make a positive difference in people’s lives. We offer competitive base pay plus uncapped commissions and bonuses. We offer a casual, positive work environment that promotes from within and offers room for growth. ALL Leads ARE Provided! You will not need to provide or source your own leads.
Accredited Debt Relief is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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What does an Inside Sales Representative do?
Inside Sales Representatives work in either an office environment or a retail setting selling products to customers. They’re often responsible for gaining new leads and converting them into ongoing customers by building lasting connections and relationships with them. When Inside Sales Representatives gain a potential customer, they’ll research them to make customized sales pitches and demonstrate how the consumer would benefit from purchasing their product. Once they make a sale, they’ll maintain a strong, ongoing relationship with that customer to sell additional products to them in the future or to answer any questions they have while using their service.
Inside Sales Representative skills and qualifications
There are a few skills and qualifications that will assist the Inside Sales Representative in their position, including:
Inside Sales Representative Salary Expectations
Inside Sales Representative education and training requirements
A minimum of a bachelor’s degree is often required to become an Inside Sales Representative. Some organizations may choose to trade in a degree in lieu of previous sales experience. The sales needs of the company often dictates the amount of training that is required for a new candidate. You may prefer to hire salespersons with previous experience or prefer to hire and train within.
Inside Sales Representative experience requirements
The experience required of an Inside Sales Representative depends on the sales needs of the company. Previous experience in a sales position can be useful but is not always necessary. The type of product that the company sells can also dictate the required experience. In some industries, like pharmaceuticals and real estate, additional certifications and prior training may be required.
Job description samples for similar positions
If you’re looking for candidates for similar roles to the Inside Sales Representative, see our job description templates for related positions:
Frequently asked questions about Inside Sales Representatives
Who does an Inside Sales Representative report to?
Inside Sales Representatives typically work on a sales team, which is supervised by a Sales Manager. The Sales Manager oversees the Sales Representative’s performance and establishes their sales goals and quotas. If the Inside Sales Representative is having problems hitting a quota or needs guidance on a complex sale, they’ll ask the Sales Manager for guidance on strategies and best practices to follow.
What makes a good Inside Sales Representative?
A good Inside Sales Representative is proficient at communicating with customers and convincing them to purchase products. They must be confident in both their selling capabilities and the product or service they’re selling. Inside Sales Representatives should also possess effective negotiation skills to get the customer to come to the company’s terms, preferences and prices for certain products.
An Inside Sales Representative should also have impressive presentation and public speaking skills, as they regularly provide product demonstrations to potential customers. Effective research abilities are also ideal for candidates to have, as they must research potential customers and understand their needs and preferences to display the product in a way that appeals directly to the consumer.
Do Inside Sales Representatives have different responsibilities in different industries?
Most Inside Sales Representatives hold similar responsibilities of selling a product to customers. They must have extensive knowledge of their product and the industry they work in to better cater it to their target audience. Some Inside Sales Representatives work for organizations that sell products or services to enhance the efficiency and productivity levels of other businesses. If they sell a software product, they must have strong knowledge of common software and technologies used in their industry to properly demonstrate how their solution helps businesses thrive.
Other Inside Sales Representatives work in the retail industry, where they sell certain products like clothes, accessories and merchandise directly to consumers. They must understand the needs and wants of common customers to display the product in a convincing and appealing manner.
What’s the difference between an Inside Sales Representative and an Outside Sales Representative?
Though they both sell products to customers, there are still some key differences between Inside Sales and Outside Sales Representatives. Inside Sales Representatives can work either in an office or retail setting. If they’re in an office setting, they’re typically making sales from within the office over the phone or email.
Outside Sales Representatives are rarely in the office, as they’re usually traveling to other businesses or industry events selling their products to potential customers. They typically travel to meet with their customers in person at locations like the client’s offices, conferences or industry events and business lunches.
Job Description Examples
Need help writing a job description for a specific role? Use these job description examples to create your next great job posting. Or if you’re ready to hire, post your job on Indeed.
How to Hire a Inside Sales Representative
Does your growing business need an Inside Sales Representative? A capable Inside Sales Representative is responsible for customer acquisition and helps achieve revenue, profit and growth objectives of the company.
Here are some tips to help you find great Inside Sales Representative Candidates and make the right hire for your company.
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Inside Sales Representatives search for Jobs on Indeed*
job seekers clicked on inside sales representative engineer jobs
resumes from job seekers with inside sales representative experience on Indeed
inside sales representative jobs received clicks
Salary Information
*Indeed data (US) – Jan 2019
Why hire an Inside Sales Representative?
The need for new staff can affect both your existing team and your bottom line. A great Inside Sales Representative hire can help your business:
• Acquire new sales opportunities through outbound, and inbound lead follow up, emails and calls
• Responsible for determining and understanding customer requirements
• Direct qualified sales opportunities to the correct sales executives for closing them
Skills to look for in a great Inside Sales Representative
Inside Sales Representatives are a critical part of the company. It is essential to note which qualifications and skills are vital for hiring a suitable Inside Sales Representative.
• High school diploma or equivalent needed
• Proven experience of 2+ years’ inside sales experience
• Familiar with Customer management software and MS Office
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills
• Ability to negotiate, convert into the final sale and follow up with customers
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills
Writing an Inside Sales Representative job description
A thoughtful description is important for finding qualified Inside Sales Representative candidates. An excellent Inside Sales Representative job description includes a compelling summary of the role, detailed list of duties and responsibilities, and the required and preferred skills for the position.
Consider including keywords that job seekers are using to search for Inside Sales Representative jobs, such as:
• Technical Sales Representative
• Senior Representative
• Inbound Sales Representative
Interviewing Inside Sales Representative candidates
To hire a suitable Inside Sales Representative, take the time to vet candidates and asking detailed interview questions to understand their knowledge and skills.
• Expertise in coordinating, negotiating and following up with potential customers
• Proficiency in maintaining sales and customer data in customer management software
• How they’ve contributed to increasing customer numbers to help in achieving revenue, profitability and growth targets of the company
See our list of interview questions for more examples.
Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales Representatives
Inside vs. outside sales representatives: which one is better for your company?
“Better” is relative in this situation: both inside and outside sales are extremely valuable to any sales strategy, meaning your inside and outside sales representatives are too. Ideally, you should be utilizing both, but if you have to choose one to focus on due to time and financial limitations, it’s good to fully understand the details of both inside and outside sales representatives, in order to make the right call.
In this guide, we’re diving deep into inside and outside sales: why one might be more valuable for your company’s specific goals, how to hire reps, how to structure your sales team, and much more.
What is outside sales? Definition of an outside sales representative
Outside sales is the process of selling products and services in person, through face-to-face meetings. Outside sales representatives travel to meet their prospects. This can happen at industry events and trade shows, as well as the prospect’s office or a restaurant—it can even just be going from door to door. It all depends on what you’re selling, the industry norms, and your company’s strategy.
Outside sales is also called field sales. Although outside sales reps do sometimes have an office as their base, they spend most of their time in the field.
Unlike inside sales reps that may close hundreds of sales without seeing their prospect’s face, the success of outside salespeople depends on their ability to build and maintain in-person relationships with their prospects.
Outside reps build trust through the power of in-person interactions, body language and deeper human connection. Because of their proximity to the client, hiring the right kind of people as your outside sales representatives is crucial, but we’ll touch more on that later!
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What is inside sales? Definition of an inside sales representative
Inside sales is the process of selling products and services remotely (as opposed to face-to-face). Inside sales reps don’t meet their sales prospects in person. Instead, they use phone calls, emails, video conferencing and more to maintain relationships with their leads, prospects and customers.
Inside sales is also known as virtual sales or remote sales. It usually takes place from behind a desk and inside sales representatives have the benefit of being able to sell to anyone, regardless of how far away they are!
In the 1980s, the term inside sales was used to differentiate telemarketing from high-value phone sales that were typical for B2B and B2C sales practices at that time. By the early 2000s, inside sales became a term to help differentiate sales conducted from an office and sales conducted in the field, or territory.
What does an outside sales representative do?
Outside salespeople are often on the go. The core of their job is to meet their potential customers at events such as conferences and trade shows, or out in the field. Oftentimes an outside sales representative will have a territory he or she covers, where clients are met in their own offices or places of business. Other opportunities for a sale might be outside of a work setting, such as at a golf course or restaurant. It could just involve visiting businesses in your target market or that match your current customers.
Unlike inside sales, outside sales has a lot less structure. Outside sales reps set their own schedule, depending on the industry, and work in a more autonomous way. Their working hours may differ from the standard 9 to 5, depending on the types of meetings they’ve arranged.
Like inside sales, outside sales follows a sales process and thrives on activity-based selling. On top of standard sales tools (like CRM and a calendar) and channels (like email, phone calls, and text messages), they also often use tools to map their physical sales territories and routes.
Outside sales reps invest a lot of time into each lead they choose to meet. This is why it’s useful to focus on deals of larger value, especially when there’s a number of decision-makers involved. Correctly qualifying leads (and breaking up with prospects that aren’t a fit for their offer) helps outside sales reps make the most of their time on the field. In other words, there’s a lot of strategy involved for an outside sales representative, and quality of a deal is valued over quantity.
Similar qualities of outside and inside sales representatives responsibilities
Throughout their sales process, both inside and outside sales reps:
Establish a personal connection with their lead
Listen to their challenges and pain points
Present solutions relevant to these pain points
Close the deal by asking for business
The difference is that outside sales representatives most often do all this all at once during meetings with their prospective clients, while inside sales reps usually split this between dozens of email, text, and phone call touchpoints.
Because of how hands-on this process is, outside sales naturally results in a longer sales cycle, built around standing relationships with clients. Unlike inside sales, the in-person relationships that outside sales thrives on can’t be scaled or automated. However, by working with less leads at once and focusing on the individual needs of each person they meet with, outside sales reps are likely to close a higher percentage of deals in their pipeline.
To sum up outside sales, here are its benefits:
Stronger customer relationships
Higher close rate (as they focus on a smaller number of leads and spend more time and in-person effort on each)
Keeping a finger on the industry pulse
Motivated sales reps due to higher commissions
What does an inside sales representative do?
If you’re wondering “what is inside sales?”, you probably also want to know what an inside sales rep does. Inside sales reps work from their home or an office, cold calling, emailing, or reaching out in various cases to generate new leads for their sales team.
Since inside salespeople don’t meet with their prospects in-person, they need reliable tools to connect with their potential customers.
The channels they’re using for their entire sales process include:
In other words, they can take a cold lead and turn it into a paying customer without leaving their desk. They need a stable internet connection and a way to conduct phone calls with quality audio.
Inside sales reps need the skill of picking up verbal and audible cues in their sales conversations, because they usually don’t meet a client face-to-face (video chats being the exception). Without this skill, inside sales reps will struggle to move their deals forward.
Inside sales offers a more predictable schedule. Based on their sales conversations, reps can quickly identify their prospect’s position in the sales funnel. As a result, inside sales reps can plan their daily and weekly activities accordingly.
Let’s say the inside sales representative has a goal to close 10 sales. Their ideal pipeline in this case might include 200 incoming leads for this period. They know they qualify about half of all leads, which brings them 100 good leads to work with. If they usually close 10% of all their qualified leads, they know this is enough for them to hit their goal, as that’s a lot smaller of a margin than outside sales representatives are usually responsible for!
Knowing these benchmarks, what a qualified lead looks like, and expectations helps them stay on track and meet quotas.
And if you empower them with a CRM to track their efforts, they’ll be unstoppable.
Inside sales and more opportunity for optimization of funnels
As they are selling remotely, inside sales reps have the power to switch their focus from one sales funnel stage to the other quickly. Likewise, when they disqualify a lead based on the lack of needs or budget, they can move to a qualified one right away, without wasting too much time..
On top of that, they can communicate with dozens of leads on a daily basis and automate a lot of their communication.
Because they’re in an office (rather than on the field), they can get a clearer insight not only on their own results, but on the collective performance of the team. Working towards shared goals can strengthen unity and teamwork.
“The critical skills for inside sales reps include listening and rapport building over the phone or in video calls,” explains Jaakko Paalanen, Chief Revenue Officer at Leadfeeder. “Organization skills are crucial, too, since they’re probably handling a higher volume of accounts.”
These are the main benefits of having inside sales reps:
A well-defined, strategic sales process
A shorter sales cycle
An opportunity to scale
The power of teamwork
More time to focus on selling (instead of admin, travel, etc.)
The salary of inside and outside sales reps
If you’re building a team of inside or outside sales reps, you want to make sure you’re offering compensation that will attract top performers.
And if you’re the one looking for a job in such a team, or you’re already in such a role, you want to make sure you get what you’re worth.
Let’s look at some key data for several countries (accurate as of 2 December 2019).
Inside sales vs. outside sales salary: United States
Inside sales vs. outside sales salary: United Kingdom
Inside sales vs. outside sales salary: Ireland
Inside sales vs. outside sales salary: Australia
Inside sales vs. outside sales salary: Canada
Inside sales vs. outside sales salary: South Africa
Note that salaries depend on the specific country, its standard of living and market fluctuations, different situations call for and value the types of sales representatives differently.
Shane Ronan-Duggan, head of business development for Dataships, a data privacy software company, has noticed that there’s a difference when selling into different markets:
“The biggest difference I have seen is a cultural one. For instance, here in Ireland people respond better to a face-to-face meeting—maybe once in the sales cycle. When selling into the UK, however, the end-to-end process can be done completely over the phone.”
“With new technologies, face-to-face interactions can now be achieved as inside sales through video calls,” he continues. “For me, the key to being successful is training all sales people, inside or field-based, in the same sales methodology.”
Take this cultural difference into account when hiring for either inside or outside sales roles in specific countries. Use the above numbers as a baseline for their respective countries. Notice that there’s a pattern? Outside sales professionals are paid slightly more than inside reps.
Here’s the case for higher salary for outside sales representatives:
Being out on the field requires lots of adaptability from a sales rep’s perspective. The more experienced he or she is, the easier it is to handle any curveballs and unforeseen circumstances.
Based on the PayScale reports mentioned earlier, outside sales vs. inside sales commissions seem to reflect this, too. For example:
Salaries and commissions for sales reps should reflect the value of their skillset, talent and the results they create for their team.
The cost and scalability of inside and outside sales
As well as the salaries associated with hiring inside and outside sales reps, there are also costs to consider around commissions—and the growth potential that comes when hiring for these roles.
The cost and scalability of an inside sales team
With an inside sales team, your budget can go a long way. All these reps need are a computer, a solid internet connection and a CRM to help them always stay on track.
As you add more inside reps to your team, the cost of running your sales operations doesn’t skyrocket. New costs include a new hire’s salary, an additional CRM seat, and sales training.
With a bigger team that operates from your office, or even their own home if they work remotely, you can now reach more prospects and upscale your sales. On top of that, with a great CRM tool your inside sales team will be able to:
In other words, you’ll be able to multiply your sales results at a lower cost, with minimum risk.
The cost and scalability of an outside sales team
Growing your outside sales team will usually cost you more than just salaries and CRM seats, but the argument is that the payoff is exponentially higher. Also, in some cases depending on the industry, product, and stage your business is in, the cost might be well worth it.
Your field reps rely on the quality of their in-person meetings. This means that for every new rep, you must ensure the budget for flights, dinners, meeting rooms, accommodation, a company car and more.
On top of that, face-to-face conversations can’t be automated. Your rep can’t have the same conversation with more than one lead at the same time. These conversations also last longer than a typical phone call or an email exchange.
In other words, an outside sales representative can only be closing one deal at a time. They spend significantly more time switching (i.e. traveling) between two leads than an inside sales rep does.
Outside sales means managing a single relationship at a time.
If you’re selling high-ticket products or services, investing in outside sales reps can yield returns for many years to come.
“Match your offering’s lifetime value to the customer acquisition cost and make sure it’s over three times higher,” suggests Jaakko Paalanen. “If you can accomplish that ratio with a repeatable process, outside sales could work for you.”
Deeper customer relationships are often behind higher customer lifetime value and loyalty. Steven Benson, the founder and CEO of Badger Maps, a route planner app for field sales reps, describes a trick to maximize outside sales performance despite the scalability challenge:
“Identify the skills that a rep needs to be successful on your team and figure out who has the deepest expertise in each of those skills. Then, prepare your top reps to ‘clone’ themselves—in other words, transfer those skills to the rest of the team.”
Benson continues by saying that “group sessions are a great way to get everyone on the same page. Top-performing reps can show the rest of the team how to utilize their techniques as part of weekly or monthly training sessions. Make learning an ongoing part of the job and maximize knowledge retention.”
“With the right cloning strategy, your entire outside sales team will start closing more deals,” he concluded.
Outside sales is harder to scale because of the higher costs that come with hiring more reps, so this sales strategy is a smart approach when you’re aiming for slower, long-term growth. When you need to grow faster, inside sales may be a good, cost-effective initial focus. Expanding your outside sales team will suit you when you’re ready to invest more into in-person customer relationships.
The sales experience requirements for outside sales vs. inside sales
Looking for superstar salespeople? If you want to hire for specific roles in inside and/or outside sales, there’s one truth to keep in mind: all high-performing sales reps are great communicators who are driven by understanding their prospects and focused on results.
But the way they’ll have to use these skills in an inside sales model compared to the outside sales environment is quite different. Let’s look into both.
Inside sales experience requirements
When reviewing the CVs of potential candidates for an inside sales job, here’s what you’ll want to look for and ask about in your interviews.
Outside sales experience requirements
Here’s what to look for when hiring a high-performing field sales rep.
Inside sales vs. outside sales: key differences
If you want to quickly review the key differences between inside and outside sales, we’ve got you covered.
“For us at Cognism inside sales is our predominant approach, due to the locations we target and our relatively small deal size, so we build trust online,” says Jonathon Ilett, Sales Director at Cognism.
“However, outside sales is beneficial for larger deal sizes and we actively promote face-to-face engagement for these deals, so the sales team are actually doing a hybrid role: for more transactional deals, our reps use the phone or give remote demos (inside); for complex solution sales we encourage face-to-face engagement (outside).” he adds.
Again, if you’re looking for long-term large-scale growth, and can afford it, outside sales representatives might be your way to go. If you need fast results that fit into a smaller budget, you may need to focus on inside sales only.
Structuring an inside and outside sales team
Earlier, we talked about the cost and scalability of inside and outside sales teams, but what about when you need both teams to work together? How can you ensure they work in sync instead of stepping on each other’s toes?
The current impact of inside and outside sales in companies
The State of Sales report from InsideSales.com revealed that:
On top of that, the apparently clear distinction between inside and outside sales is becoming a bit blurred—outside sales spend almost half of their time selling remotely.
The same report revealed how companies approach inside and outside sales based on their size:
Your current company size may help you see which sales approach fits you better, but let’s look into ways you can combine both.
Three ways you can structure inside and outside sales
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to structuring your sales team—it will always depend on your market, company goals, industry, and many other factors.
There are only a few ways you can approach inside and outside sales for your team:
1. Separate inside and outside sales reps
In this setup, there’s no real overlap between your inside reps and field reps (outside sales representatives). Everyone works on their own leads. Each team has separate daily, weekly and monthly quotas.
If you choose to go this way, you enable everyone to do their best work without depending on the other team. You can assign leads based on their size, which is quite an expected approach in B2B sales.
You can assign small and medium-sized companies as leads to the inside sales team. These deals move through the sales pipeline faster and fit the nature of remote inside sales.
Large companies—potentially large deals—can then be assigned to field reps who can invest more time into relationship building that requires face-to-face interactions.
2. Inside and outside sales teams working together
This approach still keeps the sales teams separate—all the reps still only do inside or outside sales—but they collaborate and help each other move leads forward and close deals.
For example, your inside sales team can work with leads that are located far from your office before outside sales reps plan to visit them. Inside sales reps have a refined process to identify more specific pain points and potential objections and help your field reps prepare—or save them a trip if the lead turns out to be unqualified.
3. Hybrid sales reps that work on inside and outside sales
With outside sales teams spending almost half of their time selling remotely, a hybrid sales team seems to be the direction many sales organizations are taking.
So how do hybrid sales reps organize their time and take proper action with their leads?
When they’re in the office, hybrid sales reps make the most out of their time at their desk.
When they head out, they focus on the leads of highest value. They’re well prepared based on the pain points they uncovered when qualifying these leads, and they have a plan on how to approach them. They’re adamant about tracking their activities on the field the same way they do in the office.
Brian Forrester, the co-founder of Workshop Digital, an SEO and digital marketing agency, describes their hybrid approach to inside and outside sales this way:
“We don’t need dedicated inside sales reps and we don’t need dedicated outside sales reps, so consolidating the responsibilities allows us to operate a very lean sales team and still hit our sales goals. For our small business, this hybrid model is more cost-effective. Our internal sales are scalable as we close them entirely over the phone or via web conferencing, and we do this for about 80% of our new business prospects.”
“However, certain key accounts, as well as local businesses near Richmond, VA, require outside sales functions including more in-depth and personalized strategies and face-to-face meetings,” he added. “While we aren’t «pounding the pavement» and knocking on doors to generate prospects, some of the prospects do require an outside sales approach. We’ve become more adept at assessing those needs and layering on the right approach over time.”
The tools to empower your inside and outside sales reps
Whichever team structure you decide is right for you, you need the tools that will allow your sales reps to work at their best and collaborate efficiently.
As Stan Masseueras, Intercom’s sales director for European region explained: “The democratization of productivity and communication tools has been extraordinary over the past five to seven years. It has never been easier and cheaper to sell to, manage and support your customers wherever they are and connect with them at a deeper level.”
“We’ve evolved toward a world where inside sales reps travel to meet customers strategically and field reps are boosting their productivity by making the most out of modern communication solutions,” he adds.
Here’s a list of our tool suggestions:
Make the most of inside sales and outside sales
With everything you know about your company, lead types, deal sizes and industry, you can use this guide to identify the budget and skills you need to build a high-performing sales team that suits your business.
If you’re low on budget and want to scale, or have a shorter sales cycle, you should consider hiring inside salespeople. If, on the other hand, you sell a product or service that would benefit from face-to-face engagement with prospects, where your salespeople build long-lasting relationships, consider focusing on hiring a team of well-qualified outside sales representatives.
You may think that you would benefit most from the best of both worlds, with a hybrid sales team able to kill it on their cold calls and charm potential clients in person. The important thing is that you focus on the most valuable goals for your company and choose a sales strategy that caters to them.
