What is “Inside Sales?” | Definition & Important Skills
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More and more, we see modern day businesses use inside sales strategies and techniques for sales and marketing operations. As stated by Insidesales.com, a company website for an Enterprise Sales Engagement platform, 47% of businesses today engage in inside sales practices.
So, if you are interested in joining this revolutionary movement and starting a career in Inside Sales, you will be happy to learn you could pursue this profession in many industries, such as:
But these three industries are not the only places you will find inside sales representatives. Essentially, inside sales professionals can thrive in any business that sells a product, especially those that do not need a face-to-face demonstration in front of a lead or customer.
Therefore, whether you are interested in launching a career in inside sales, or are a growing business that needs to manage those rising leads and sales with technology, keep reading. We are sure you will find some valuable information to help you decide your way forward in this path.
Our article mainly explores the field of inside sales, the advantages of this selling approach that is popular in the new remote working world, and some career advice for those seeking to become inside sales representatives.
All right, let’s get started!
What is “Inside Sales?”
It’s the process of selling business products and services via:
Essentially, any type of remote sales can be considered inside sales when customers do not purchase products or services from a business in person. For this reason, as you can imagine, the only way to make inside sales processes successful is through advanced technology and software that connects leads and customers to businesses.
What is “Inside Sales” vs. “Outside Sales?”
Now that you know what inside sales are, your next question is probably, “What is the difference between inside and outside sales?“
With traditional outside sales, a sales representative will usually travel to an agreed-upon location to meet a lead or customer to make or close a DEAL in person.
Advantages of “Inside Sales”
So, why was there a need to branch off from outside sales? Well, there are benefits for engaging in inside sales practices, too.
Inside sales methodologies are versatile and flexible. They rely on technology to close deals, allowing sales representatives to perform most of their tasks from an office or anywhere in the world as long as they have their common tools, which include mobile devices, access to emails, video calls, and customer relationship management (CRM) software. This is essential in today’s attractive remote-first way of working for digital nomads in the business world.
Here are a few other ways sales representatives and businesses can get an upper hand in the market with the help of inside sales:
- For one, this model is cost-effective for companies. Inside sales practices generally have lower overheads. For example, inside sales representatives do not have travel expenses to claim when selling products and services. So, all the other costs that accompany traveling for work, like transportation, accommodation, and food expenses, also fall away.
- While we are discussing reducing costs for businesses, we should mention other savings that will arise from inside sales practices, specifically shared resources. Let us explain further. Imagine all your inside sales representatives working in a single place, like an office building. They will collectively be able to use the same information and tools. Alternatively, if your employees work remotely in different locations, you can still save on shared resources since they will all use and follow a streamlined selling process established by your technology and software.
- Although there are many more advantages, the last one we want to mention from observation is that companies that use inside sales tactics seem to grow their presence quickly in new geographical territories. This is powerful, especially when you consider that the company does not need to move employees to new locations, as they can still accomplish tasks remotely thanks to technology.
What is an “Inside Sales” Representative, and What Do They Do?
These professionals are experts at selling company products and services remotely through communication platforms. Within their role, sales representatives do their bit to manage the online sales process for their team thanks to their knowledge in technology and skills in selling effectively. Inside sales representatives will typically perform all the tasks in sales from engaging with the customer at the very beginning to finalizing a sales deal, all with the use of technology and software.
Tools Used for “Inside Sales”
So far, you might have gathered that technology and software are an integral part of the inside sales profession. If you are looking for a job in the inside sales field, knowing how to use a few popular tools can make your resume stand out. For example, Salesforce is the world’s leading CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software at the moment. Therefore, it’s no surprise it’s a powerful platform used by inside sales teams to:
The benefit of understanding Salesforce for Inside Sales roles is that it has a lead tracking feature. It helps inside sales representatives capture lead data from multiple sources. Then, they can track and manage the lead data easily on a single CRM platform. This is one tool to improve your workplace productivity and show managers that you never overlook a potential sale.
However, there is also Salesforce Sales Cloud. It’s the the dedicated platform from Salesforce designed for sales operations. It would be wise to also upskill in learning how to use this platform if you want to apply at big companies that use it.
And if you are a business that needs to streamline operations, Sales Cloud is a popular option. This CRM platform is like no other since it can speed up sales, marketing, and customer service processes with advanced automation tools. Make sure to check out the Salesforce Sales Cloud Pricing to get an idea of how much you need to budget for it.
Another supercharged skill to add to your resume is understanding our Titan CLM software. The best part about our products is that you do not need to write any code to streamline or scale your work processes. As Titan is the #1 fastest-growing tool on the AppExchange marketplace, it’s worth picking up some skills with our intuitive platform that integrates directly into Salesforce.
For example, Titan CLM makes common inside sales tasks easier thanks to tools that can automate whole processes. Take a look at what sales representatives can achieve with Titan CLM:
By removing these manual administrative and data-entry tasks, inside sales representatives can rather spend their time on more creative and high-level tasks, like selling the company’s products and services. And, if you want to close deals faster, we can recommend learning how to use Titan Docs. It helps to boost sales with Doc Gen capabilities in Salesforce.
Important Skills for Inside Sales
Besides these tools to perform the administrative parts of your job better and faster, there is a human aspect to excelling in the inside sales profession.
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.
Dale Carnegie Writer & Lecturer.
A lot of skills required for inside sales have to do with understanding people’s emotions, beliefs, and ways of thinking! Here are a few skills that will help you shine in the sales industry:
| Inside Sales Skills | Description |
|---|---|
| Listening | Number one on our list of skills for an inside sales representative is listening. If you can really hear what a customer is saying, you will be able to understand what they need and then hopefully sell it to them. This skill is a good one to build close relationships with customers so that you can close deals quickly. |
| Building Rapport | The next skill that makes inside sales representatives successful is the ability to build rapport. This skill is useful when interacting with customers to create positive connections. When there is a good rapport built by inside sales representatives, customers can trust the company which leads to repeated sales of products and services. To build good rapport with a customer, an inside sales representative can do what they can to make the relationship comfortable and ensure that their is mutual understanding of the sales agreement. |
| Having a Strategy | Being able to strategize is an essential skill for inside sales representatives. They would use strategies for various plans, like sales goals or when they need to manage resources. |
| Being Reliable | Our last point is that inside sales representatives need to be reliable. This characteristic builds trust in business relationships and boosts sales for a company. |
Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman – not the attitude of the prospect.
W. Clement Stone Businessman, philanthropist, and author.
Don’t Miss Out on New Opportunities
Thanks for reading our article about inside sales. We hope we have inspired you to take that leap and start a career in this era of inside sales, sign up for software that could speed up your sales processes, or hire those valuable inside sales professionals. For more Salesforce insights and tech-related discussions, make sure to follow us via one of our social media links below.
See you soon!
Disclaimer: The comparisons listed in this article are based on information provided by the companies online and online reviews from users. If you found a mistake, please contact us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are inside sales tasks?
They are the remote activities performed by an inside sales professional. These tasks include actions to drive sales for a company or even manage customer relationships. Inside sales tasks are the ones that contribute to the success of a sales team and are performed with technology and software, like closing deals over a phone call or email.
What are the qualifications for inside sales?
As an inside sales position can occur across many industries, the type of qualifications needed to apply for the role are varied. However, there are some common skills and experiences you can obtain to join this profession. Here are a few criteria that managers look for when hiring an Inside Sales professional:
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A High School Diploma
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A Bachelor’s Degree in business, marketing, or communications is preferred but not always required.
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Work experience in sales, customer service, or the tech industry.
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A possession of communication, persuasion, and negotiation skills.
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Be a great listener and can solve problems while managing their own schedules.
Is inside sales hard?
It can be a difficult profession. Many times customers or leads will reject a sales pitch. However, if you are a resilient person, you will by nature be focused on your sales targets. You can then leverage your strengths and unique talents to find the right customers that want to purchase your services and products.
What is another name for an inside sales representative?
You could use the term Sales Development Representative or even Business Development Representative. These titles are often shortened to SDR or BDR online.
