What is inside sales?

The inside sales model is dominating much of the B2B tech and SaaS space, and for good reason. Inside sales is all about handling sales remotely and using online channels to sell your products and services. 

So how does it work and why should you be using it?

In this blog, we'll be telling exploring the following:

• How to put the inside sales model into practice
• Comparison of inside and outside sales
• Key benefits and skills that lead to success with inside sales 

How does inside sales work?

Inside sales reps often work within a team of inside sales professionals. A key focus is on inbound sales and marketing through warm leads that have downloaded content or engaged across the brands communication channels. The nurturing and qualification process will see leads passed to more senior members who then follow these opportunities through the sales pipeline.

Inside sales vs. Outside sales 

The importance of a connected customer experience is growing. With 2020 disrupting and accelerating customer trends, more and more businesses are re-examining traditional sales and the needs of the customer. Businesses have needed to shift their focus to keep up-which has led to the rise of inside sales.

Now, we're not saying there are no benefits to outside sales. As with everything, there needs to be a balance. Many people still value face-to-face conversations and an in-person interaction can really add value and help build a strong relationship. Trust is a massive part of client retention and it can't always be achieved without at least some face-to-face interaction.

But with growth being a key business goal for most companies and new conversations a key metric  to track, a skilled inside sales team is the most effective way to engage with potential clients quicker and better.

The benefits of using an inside sales model 

Now that you know what inside sales is and why the majority of external trends are pointing in that direction, let's talk about the benefits of an inside sales model. 

1. It's cost effective. 
   Get yourself a good CRM system, such as HubSpot, bursting with marketing automation, social selling tools and insightful analytics and your inside sales team will be able to contact their prospects quicker and shorten that all-important sales cycle.
   
   
2. Better transparency of revenue.
   With an up-to-date CRM, it's possible to predict revenue and see how this is split across the team giving your entire company better transparency on what's coming in and where it's coming from.
   
   
3. Marketing and sales alignment. 
   Inside sales is much more closely integrated with marketing meaning they're better at working together to provide the content and conversations to fill that pipeline.
   
   
4. Coaching and collaboration. 
   Inside sales naturally lends itself to developing opportunities for growth and growth means knowledge enhancement. Training consistently across the team enables a better skilled team and reduces time onboarding new hires.

How to have success with inside sales

When you're putting together your plan for building an inside sales team you'll want to make sure you consider these points to ensure success for you and your team:

• The right software and tools  

Having a user-friendly tech stack including CRM databases, chat tools, video platforms and analytics tools are essential for your inside sales team to do their job well.

• Marketing and sales alignment

We've said it before and we'll say it again, sales and marketing need to be connected and integrated to be successful in growth. Sales need to be clear about their needs and marketing need to create content in line with that direction.

• Organisation 

Having roles and responsibilities is a big part of any job but when time and cost efficiency are at the top of the priority list, organisation is key.

• Motivation 

Any sales role can be difficult at times. Dealing with obstacles from clients and coping with lost deals isn't easy which is why it's important to stay motivated by celebrating even the smallest wins and keeping an open and honest feedback channel available.

• Training 

Knowledge is power, right? Long-term success relies on building a skilled team and continuously enhancing their knowledge as new trends and technologies emerge.