Inside sales – And why B2B start-ups cannot look the other way.
Sales is the most fundamental aspect of any successful business. It is no surprise that for most people, it is also the scariest. What makes it worse, is that the world of sales keeps changing every few years. Understanding and leveraging a well-defined process, advancements in technology, your customer’s expectations on how they want to be sold to, etc. then become key drivers in determining how great you and your start-up will be.
Of course, sales can be outsourced too, especially if you are early on in the process. Even then, you need to understand if that is the right strategy for you. In this blog, we dig into the ‘process’ aspect of the mystery that is inside sales.
HISTORY OF SALES:
Once upon a time, when there was no internet, computers, or technology.... Sales reps, field sales reps, or outside sales reps (as they are called today), used to make in-person meetings with prospects and clients. Deals took months to close, and years to deliver. These reps were supported by back-end sales ops people who helped them complete their daily tasks.
Prospects had come to terms with and started expecting continuous nagging of the sales reps. You were not serious if you did not call every other day to follow up.
Over the past several decades, however, the traditional sales organization structure has undergone a significant change. Sales organizations are transitioning from a field sales model to an inside sales model, where inside sales reps work independently and are directly responsible for their own targets.
In order to understand the magnitude of this change, an MIT Lead Management Study identified that inside sales hiring is outpacing traditional (or outside) sales hiring 15:1 in the last few years!
WHAT IS INSIDE SALES?
Simply put, inside sales is sales that is managed remotely. It involves high-touch transactions over some form of outbound communication to identify, nurture, and convert leads to actual paying customers. Contrary to telemarketers, inside sales reps are highly trained, adept salespeople possessing acumen and ingenuity.
Inside sales reps rely on software and technology to drive outbound, give presentations, and perform most of the functions traditionally handled by reps in the field.
How effective is inside sales vs. outside sales/telemarketing? 78% of decision-makers polled have taken an appointment or attended an event that came from a cold outreach. In fact, according to an SBI report, 70% of your customers don’t even want an in-person meeting.
The historical disposition of in-person meetings is also being offset by how customers are buying today. They are smarter and better informed. Information about you and your competitors is not only easier to find, but available in greater detail than ever before.
In addition, technology has become a way of life and completely disrupted the buying process. Via the Internet, customers can research products, prices, and opinions faster, and with better efficiency.
WHY YOU SHOULD EMBRACE INSIDE SALES?
ACCELERATED GROWTH
Inside sales is instrumental in the structured and predictable growth of any business. By using well-defined processes and latest sales technology, a sales rep can achieve targets repeatably and you as a business can make informed decisions.
82% of the top sales professionals described sales technology as “critical” to their ability to close deals as a part of inside sales and 46% of high-growth tech companies are growing via inside sales (vs. 21% using outside sales) (according to a Harvard Business Review)
When the sales department meets goals for a quarter, you can add another team member (or multiple people) and raise the goals accordingly.
COST SAVINGS
Inside Sales drastically reduces the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), which increases your profitability. Reduced costs would result in you offering a better and more attractive price point to your target market which again feeds into accelerated growth
EFFICIENCY
your Customer is evolving faster than you are, and they are time-starved, and so are you. By moving to an inside sales model of execution, your company and the sales reps can save time and become up to 150% more efficient.
You can either sell more or cover a larger prospect base, assuming you have several different types of ‘ideal’ customers.
CULTURE AND COLLABORATION
Great working culture is the cornerstone of high performant teams in sales. Working together from within an office acts as a catalyst and a binding agent for shared goals and objectives. It also further reinforces and reminds sales reps to work as a team, and share a higher purpose other than their own personal benefit.
Also, if your business offers a technical or a complex B2B/B2C solution, enhanced collaboration as a result of working together as a team can result in faster closures and better results.
WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT?
It is fairly clear that the future of sales will involve heavy use of technology and that inside sales can bring real value to your customers and your business if done with proper research and careful customization.
Inside sales has been around long enough so that to succeed, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. But you have to be willing to embrace inside sales as a concept and use of a defined process and technology to enable it.
Understand current trends and the fact that sales is ever-evolving. And that what works today, might not be as effective tomorrow.
AND IF YOU NEED HELP IN TRANSITIONING FROM WHERE YOU ARE TODAY TO A PREDICTABLE, REPEATABLE SALES-FIRST STARTUP, OR JUST WANT TO SAY HI, WE ARE ALWAYS A PING AWAY!
I’d love to hear what sales model you follow in your company and if you see things changing too? Share your comments below! Thanks to our friends over at Harvard Business Review, MIT, and Discovery Org for the numbers.
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