What does inside sales mean?

Inside sales is a way to make sales that includes selling things from a distance, usually over the phone, email, or the internet. Inside sales differ from traditional sales, where sales reps meet with clients in person. Instead, inside sales use virtual communication to reach possible customers. That’s precisely why it’s called an “inside” sale—the seller stays inside, like at an office or their house.

In the 1980s, “inside sales” was first used to describe digital B2B and B2C sales with high prices, apart from telemarketing and telesales. This type of business sells goods directly to customers and usually hires less expensive, less skilled salespeople who follow a planned, one-call close.

• Inside salespeople are better than telemarketers because…
• are workers with a lot of skill
• come up with their ideas
• ₷use a consultative selling method and talk to many potential customers on the phone
• Give video demos to close tough deals
• Keep an eye on deals with CRM software and analytics tools as they move through the sales process.

Make deals with many people who can make decisions

Because of technology, this way of making sales has become the rule. Calling or emailing someone is a lot easier than meeting them in person. Companies save money because they don’t have to pay for travel and lodging. And finally, this may be the most crucial thing: B2B buyers today like inside sales.

Like words

• Sales from afar
• Deals are done online

What’s the Difference Between Inside and Outside Sales?

Inside sales and outside sales are two different ways to make a sale. As was already said, inside sales reps talk to clients over the phone, while outside sales reps meet with clients in person.

Outside salespeople…

work on your own, away from the typical office setting

• go to see clients and potential clients in person
• Please get to know your clients and earn their trust by meeting them in person.
• Make sure people know how a thing looks and feels.

Outside sales are standard in real estate, auto, solar, and other high-priced B2C businesses that deal with real things. High-touch relationship management is needed for these big purchases, and the buyer is willing to spend extra time on it. In this case, the buyer needs specific help with the buying process and usually wants to see or try the product before deciding to buy it.

If you don’t need this level of consultation or visualization, inside sales techniques are what you should use. For example, it’s easy for salespeople who work from home to show off SaaS products through Zoom or review a client’s insurance policy choices in an email or virtual meeting.

How sales inside and outside are coming together

For most businesses, selling only inside or outside is not the best way. Now that we have technology, making high-ticket guided sales go more quickly is possible. And it’s possible to make sales over the phone more personal for the best customers.

As an example:

Sometimes, a B2B SaaS company only uses cold calls, email, and videoconferencing. But they will still send their top account executives for business sales, which usually bring in more than $1 million a year and require more complex relationship building.

A real estate agent could use technology to set up virtual tours and first talk with buyers before starting the process. They will also use a CRM to keep track of all the people they talk to.

At first, the hybrid sales model was more of a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it is the most popular sales model. A McKinsey study from 2022 found that two-thirds of buyers would rather deal with salespeople remotely or use digital self-service for all of the following:

Finding and learning about possible sellers

Please take a look at them

Buying things or services

Ordering again

The other third, on the other hand, liked talking to people in person. So, the hybrid model meets the specific needs of today’s buyers by combining inside and outside sales methods smoothly.

Why inside sales are essential for increasing sales revenue

In short, business done from home will continue because it works.

Here are seven more reasons why the virtual sales model works so well for businesses today:

Working well

Regarding the sales process, getting rid of needless friction during the deal cycle is the best way to make sales more efficient. Meetings, negotiations in person, trip plans, and schedules cause the most trouble. When these unnecessary steps are taken out of the process, inside sales reps can close deals more quickly.

McKinsey’s study from 2022 showed that remote sellers could reach four times as many accounts in the same amount of time as their in-person peers. Companies that use a virtual sales plan usually make up to 50% more money from sales. This is because they are more efficient.

Savings on costs

Companies can save a lot of money by going remote (where they can) since inside sales could theoretically be done anywhere with cheap technology.

An outside sales staff must spend 40% to 90% more to get new customers. The average inside sales call costs $50 per call. That number exceeds $308 for sales calls made outside the office. A lot of cash could be saved or put back into the business in other ways.

Allows collaboration between teams

To make the buying process smooth, sales teams today need to work together with marketing and customer success. This is possible with inside deals.

How?

Because their tools let them talk to each other immediately, they can quickly get the help and resources they need from other areas, such as showing prospects case studies or answering technical questions.

When sales reps learn new things, they can share those lessons with other teams to improve the company’s methods. For instance, the marketing team can use sales calls to find pain points and use those in their writing and creative ads.

It’s easier for sales managers to share success stories and the best ways to do things with their teams.

Remote buyers who record their calls can share what worked and what didn’t with their coworkers, which helps everyone learn and get better.

Getting more things done and making customers happier are all benefits of this.

Easily expandable

The fact that inside sales teams are growing 15 times faster than outside sales teams is due to the freedom of the inside sales model.

Aside from the limitations that come with being human, location severely limits the traditional sales role. Companies can only work with customers close to their sales workers, and people in charge of outside sales can only hire people who live in the area or are willing to move.

Every sales rep is on the same virtual platform, which not only makes things easier but also makes it easier to standardize, adopt, teach, and automate sales actions. This vital part of inside sales makes handling and growing everything, from sales onboarding to deal management, more effortless.

able to adapt to changing buyer habits

Because it doesn’t require face-to-face contact, the inside sales model can better deal with factors that significantly affect how buyers act.

If your business depended on sales from outside the country, COVID-19 made things much more challenging. They didn’t have the right tools and systems to change and keep making money. Companies with sales teams working from home didn’t miss a beat because they already had the tools and methods they needed to use a virtual sales model.

Meets the needs of modern buyers

The truth is that sales made in person are entirely useless. Some buyers, usually older and more traditional, would rather deal in person, but most would rather talk to you from afar.

83% of the 725 B2B buyers surveyed by Gartner in 2022 said they would order and pay for things online instead. The research firm McKinsey says that 70% of buyers are ready to spend $500,000. The number of people buying things online and spending up to $10 million went up by 83%. LinkedIn’s 2022 Global State of Sales report says that’s why 31% of sales reps now say they’ve made deals worth $500,000 or more without ever meeting the buyer in person.

Buyers also want to deal with sellers as little as possible. According to other Gartner data, three-quarters of today’s buyers would rather not deal with a rep. The journey of a B2B buyer is now primarily digital.

It doesn’t mean that the “human touch” isn’t essential; it is! But inside sales is the best of both worlds because it combines the ease and speed of selling from home with one-on-one, guided conversations with buyers.

For today’s business-to-business deals, it makes sense.

Inside sales tasks like cold calling and setting up virtual demos work well for B2B sales, which is why most sales organizations use them. Going to another office to pitch a prospect they haven’t seen before wouldn’t make sense and would be rude. At least the first few interactions with the prospect shouldn’t be anything other than a phone call, direct message, or email, whether they work in the office or from home.

A Look at the Job of an Inside Sales Representative

An inside sales rep’s job is to increase sales, find new customers, and follow up on leads. They usually do everything related to sales over the phone or in virtual meetings, from cold calling to finishing deals. More prominent companies might only do sales outreach and vetting before giving the deal to an account executive.

Some of the most essential things an inside salesperson has to do are:

Calling, emailing, and direct messaging (DM) on social media to find leads and ensure they are qualified.

giving presentations and product demos online (using screen-sharing tools)

Using CRM to keep track of sales activity and the flow.

We are working with marketing teams to find target customers and improve lead-generation strategies.

Prospects are helped through the buying process by building relationships with them.

• I was agreeing to and finalizing deals from afar.

For this job, you need to know much about the company’s sales process, how to deal with objections, and their products. Since most of their work is done on the computer or over the phone, having experience with sales or customer service could be helpful. But inside, salespeople aren’t all the same. Many of them have little to no experience with sales before they start working.

You can work from home (or anywhere else), which is a big plus for people who work in inside sales. Regarding standards, more prominent companies tend to be more strict, while startups tend to be more open to change. Most of the time, sales reps can make plans and work alone if they meet their sales goals.

Yes, Indeed says that the average pay for an inside sales rep is $57,804. OTE is usually twice that amount or more because the job is based on revenue.

How the inside sales process works

There are many steps similar to traditional sales methods in inside sales, but there is more focus on technology and virtual contact.

1. Gather Leads

The first thing inside sales reps must do is look for possible buyers. For buyers, calling anyone is not a good idea. They look for signs that a lead fits the company’s ideal customer profile (ICP).

Most of the time, they find new leads in these places:

Platforms for sales data like ZoomInfo and DiscoverOrg

Sites for sharing information, like LinkedIn (using Sales Navigator),

CRM for their business (marketers often put leads in the sales flow before sales reps even pick up the phone)

Lists of leads bought from outside sellers

marketing-qualified leads (like a customer who fills out a form on the business website to grab an ebook)

They will use these sources to find clues about a person’s possible ability to buy, such as the person’s job title, business, company size and revenue, the technology stack they use, how people behave on the company website, the content they’ve created, and so on.

2. Send out leads

The marketing team will do the hand-off for leads already approved by marketing. At this point, they may know how much the lead can spend, how long it will take for them to buy, and whether the lead has interacted with other website material.

They can send the lead to an account executive or closer if it looks “sales-ready.” Before this point, sales reps should talk to marketing about their buyer personas and the buyer journey a few times. This way, everyone knows what kind of leads they should aim for in their marketing materials.

3. Get in touch with leads.

Whether the lead is marketing-qualified or completely cold changes the whole course of the first contact.

Most of the time, warm leads can expect a call, a personalized text, or both. Initially, they were introduced because they had shown interest in the goods or at least been seen by the company.

It takes more skill to play cold passes. Finding a mutual friend and asking for a recommendation is one way to make the first contact. Another way is to get to know them on LinkedIn before making a pitch or setting up a meeting.

Most warm leads want to set up a quick call or meeting immediately. If they hadn’t, they wouldn’t have reached out to you in the first place. Cold leads don’t know what you’re selling and may not even have heard of your business. About 7% of cold emails and 2% of cold calls lead to a sale. So, outbound sellers usually call many prospects to get a few leads.

4. Get leads ready.

The seller can start sales qualification once they meet with a customer. This step helps inside sales reps determine if the lead fits their ideal customer profile (ICP), has the money to buy, and is ready to do so.

Different types of qualification systems exist, such as BANT, MEDDIC, SPIN, and SPICED. They try to figure out the prospect’s possible skills and chances of closing by looking at the following:

Pain points or needs: Does the buyer have a problem that your product can fix?

Budget: Can the prospect buy your product? Are they ready to spend money on an answer to their issue?

Decision-making power: Is the person you’re talking to the one who makes decisions, or do they have a say in how decisions are made?

When do they need a solution? Is it right now or in the future? What time do they want to buy?

During the process, they’ll track how engaged and interested each prospect is going forward. A lead scoring method is used by most businesses to figure out which leads are most likely to turn into paying customers.

5. Showing off

This type of lead is ready to buy and wants to know more about your goods. Now, the seller sets up a sales show with themselves, an AE, or both. They will also include anyone else who is needed to give more information, like an expert product team member.

The sales rep will make a customized presentation based on the prospect’s problems, funds, and needs. This usually lasts between 30 minutes and an hour and includes showing the prospect around the product (focusing on the essential features ), discussing pricing choices, and answering any questions or concerns they may have.

6. Quote or idea

No matter what kind of product or service they’re selling, the seller will either make a quote or a proposal after the show.

Sales quotes are often used for standard goods, services, and packages. One example of a sales quote would be from a CRM company with three price levels and set features.

When you have a more complicated product or service, like contract manufacturing, marketing services, or business software, you must make a sales proposal for each prospect. In this case, they’re formal documents that spell out the answer you all agreed on.

The price, payment terms, and any other details the buyer needs to know before signing will be in the quote or proposal. Depending on how the company works, the paper may need to be reviewed and approved by the deal desk team before it is sent to the prospect for consideration.

7. Finish the Deal

People selling something need to persuade the person buying it that it is worth the money. They’ll have to handle any concerns that are still there, work out the terms, and stress how great their product is.

This is when the seller should know what the buyer wants and where they are having trouble so they can change how they talk to them to fit those needs. They’ll probably also have a good relationship with them.

The inside sales rep’s job is done when everyone agrees and signs off on the terms.

The best ways to do inside sales

Along with following the inside sales process, there are a few other things inside sales workers can do to help them do their jobs better.

Use technology to make things more consistent, easier, and more automated.

Depending too much on sales technology could make the whole process look fake. Companies that don’t build relationships with their customers and prospects on a personal level will have a hard time even getting an email answer.

In light of this, sellers can use technology to:

• Make it easier to make quotes and proposals
• ₷Make approval processes for quotes and plans automatic
• remind reps of essential things they need to do
• ₷move deals around in the sales process
• Write down everything you know about each possibility.
• Before, during, or after a sales call, share personalized information.
• Make templates for email replies you send often.
• Give background information before the call, email, or meeting

Find low-hanging fruit in your marketing efforts and set up automated follow-ups and social media engagement to get the most out of your work.

Personalization on a large scale is another thing that exists. You shouldn’t send bland, pointless emails to 1,000 possible buyers, but you can set up follow-up emails and social media touchpoints to comment, set up meetings, and share materials automatically.

Find the Right Prospects

There is more than one ICP for each company, and 40% of buyers say that prospecting is the hardest part of the process. Making several buyer personas representing different parts of the company’s target market is the best way to tell salespeople whom to talk to. Include at least the job title, firmographics (business, MRR), use case for the product or service, budget, and pain points.

Finding new possible buyers is also part of the inside sales job. They’ll likely try out new areas and pitches to get this done. Tell them to share what they’ve learned with the rest of the team at the weekly meetings to make this easier.

Get to know your product inside and out.

The inside sales reps should know the product or service better than anyone else in the company, maybe only the technical teams. They need to know how it works and what benefits it offers customers and be able to tell prospects about these things. They can also use this information to ensure that their demos and presentations fit the needs of each client.

Sort out sales leads.

It wastes time and resources to move a harmful lead from one stage of the chain to the next. Regarding MQLs, which can come from many different places, inside sales teams need a good screening process. Use a sales qualification system like SPICED or BANT to ensure your reps never miss an important question or task.

Track your sales numbers.

First, figure out which sales metrics fit your team’s goals and aims. This should have the close rate, lead reaction time, call-to-demo ratio, MQL: SQL conversions, average deal size, and sales cycle length.

It is essential to keep track of these measures clearly and consistently. You can keep track of success and report on it in real-time with CRM and sales engagement tools.

Train the team all the time.e

You should use information about how well your sales team is doing to hold them responsible and see where they need more help. Keep your team up to date on their success and encourage them to work together to improve. During sales meetings, you can discuss problems, share strategies, and develop new ones to get better results.

You can also use these metrics to coach each person on your team separately. By figuring out where people aren’t doing their best, you can give them focused coaching, which will help them meet their goals and get more involved with the team.

Make the Process Better

You may use a sales technique to help your inside sales team, but the process isn’t straightforward. With their unique vantage point, sales reps can see what’s going wrong and how things can improve. By constantly asking your team for feedback, you can change the process, leading to better results in the long run.

Inside Sales Tools to Help You Sell More

CRM stands for customer relationship management.

CRM software is the hub that keeps track of and analyzes customer contacts. It makes the whole process possible by keeping track of leads, automating sales tasks, and showing the sales flow in real-time.

CRM also lets sellers keep track of information about how each customer acts and what they like. This lets them tailor their approach to each customer and continue where they left off with them.

Set up, price, and quote (CPQ)

CPQ software changes the way inside sales are done by automating difficult jobs like pricing and quoting. It eliminates mistakes by hand, speeds up quote delivery, and makes sales quotes and proposals more accurate overall. This makes sales more efficient and helps reps build trust with clients.

CPQ software also gives you a single place to change price information and product configurations. Your sales team will only discuss product packages and configurations the company can offer if you keep them up-to-date with the correct information.

The DealRoom

DealRoom is an online sales room that lets buyers and people who make decisions stay in touch by giving them a single way to talk. It works with CPQ software to make quoting, negotiating, and closing faster.

Some features are:

• Putting CRM together
• Adding DocumentSign
• Branding made just for your business
• Notifications are sent automatically on all platforms
• Reports on deal data
• Electronic signature
• Sales quotes and offers on the computer
• A chat and messaging method for real-time negotiations
• Tools for sharing documents and working together
• Insights into buyer connection
• Engaging with Sales

Software for sales interaction manages and automates sales tasks like social selling, email campaigns, and schedules. It also gives information about how prospects act and how they talk to salespeople.

This is made possible by things like:

• Follow up on emails
• Lead the score
• Keeping track of sales action
• Having the power to make customized email templates
• Reminders are sent automatically to leads and buyers to follow up
• A central hub for all forms of contact (social media, email, and phone)

Help with Sales

Software for sales teaching helps managers and sellers determine what skills their employees need to work on. Listening to and recording calls are two of the most essential tools agents use to help them make deals.

Other features of sales coaching software include scorecards and tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs), game-like elements (leaderboards, contests), interactive skill-training modules, and feedback and progress records that can be used.

Meeting over video call

No matter what, every inside sales team needs voice and video chat. Virtual meetings let people talk to each other in person while making it easy to make sales from afar.

Most companies use Microsoft Teams or Zoom to talk to customers and potential buyers. You can share your screen, record it, and chat on these sites. They let sellers get in touch with buyers and show off their goods.

Information about sales

Some companies use sales intelligence tools to find out more about leads and accounts so they can better target them. Sales reps use it to find possible leads and find out what prospects are interested in (for example, a new funding round).

Some features of sales intelligence tools are:

• Lead to improvement
• ₷Account hints
• Checking social media sites
• Alerts about company news in real-time
• Data on buyer purpose