More and more companies, especially within the B2B industry, are adopting inside sales. In fact, inside sales roles are growing 15x faster than outside sales.
We’ve discussed what inside sales is (and what it isn’t). In a nutshell, it’s sales done remotely.
So how can you maximize this growing trend within your own sales team and the whole company?
We’ve gathered 8 of the best inside sales strategies to help you get started (if you haven’t) or help strengthen your existing inside sales system.
The 8 Inside Sales Strategies that You (and Your Team) Should Have in Place
1. Invest in the right technology
The thing that makes inside sales highly feasible and attractive to business owners is the fact that it’s remote, virtual, and highly mobile. And as such, it relies heavily on technology. And this is why this strategy tops our list.
Invest in technology that will serve as your sales engagement hub, like a CRM. A powerful CRM has tools on reporting, insight, productivity, task-building, workflows, and automation. If you are to work remotely, these features are essential. You will be making a lot of calls. You will be sending out a lot of emails. Imagine being able to automate these tasks? With an intelligent CRM, you can do this... and more.
2. Optimize productivity
By productivity we don’t just mean number of tasks done. You should want sales productivity. One way to really monitor productivity is through metrics. Leverage on your sales metrics to optimize productivity. From generating leads or prospecting to meetings and presentations, sales managers should be closely evaluating each team member’s performance based on metrics they have in place.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
3. Plan your calls
We’ll say it again: you will make a lot of calls. So best to be strategic about that too and plan your calls.
- Have a smart call list
Improve your call efficiency by having a personalized call list. Your AI-powered CRM can also suggest who to call first and even the best times to call.
- Group your calls
Classify your calls and group calls of similar goals together. For example: group appointment-setting calls together, then proposal follow-up calls together, and so on. This way, your mind is not jumping from one message to another. Your mind is focused on one messaging/goal for each group of calls.
- Use voice message
Voicemail makes sure you never miss out on any call. You can also use voice message drop, which efficiently sends your own pre-recorded voice message to prospects with just one click.
- Have a callback reminder
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you have a long list of phone calls to make, and it’s just as easy to forget to make callbacks. Using your CRM, set a callback time to help remind you.
4. Follow up
Some sales reps do a lousy job in following up: they forget to follow up or they follow up too late. But a more common mistake is giving up too easily. According to MarketingDonut, 92% of sales pros give up after the 4th call, but 80% of prospects say no four times before they say yes.
You should also have a system for following up. Set up a sales cadence early on in the game. Create custom workflows, both private and public, in your CRM.
Social selling makes use of social media to connect with sales prospects. LinkedIn and Twitter are two of the more popular platforms for professionals. It’s networking but done strictly online, and on social media channels in particular.
Why is it effective? Because everyone is on social media. But before you start looking for accounts to follow, make sure that your own social media profiles have been primed for networking. Create a professional profile and start posting topics and commentaries relevant to your profession and target industries, companies, and clients.
6. Train, train, and train some more
Companies should be relentless in training their sales team members. Onboarding programs should be thorough and thoughtful. Managers and supervisors should be readily available for regular coaching. Human Resources should be proactive in finding new avenues for sales teams and professionals to learn and be trained.
The end result is that you create a culture that celebrates learning and winning. And for any sales team or representative, that is incredibly motivating and empowering. And for your organization, that mindset can translate to more sales.
7. Humanize the process
The downside to inside sales is the lack of human interaction. But not having face-to-face, direct interactions does not give you the license to lose the human touch.
First thing you should do is get to know the prospect. Never call without getting relevant information on the person you’re calling, what he does, and who he works for. When communicating with clients, don’t go straight to the sales talk. Build genuine rapport with prospects when calling them—even if it’s a cold call. Personalize your emails and always sound sincere. Actively listen to what they have to say. And always aim to know what they need, then communicate on how you can help them.
8. Be forward-thinking
Stay up-to-date on industry and technology trends. Inside sales is growing; it’s constantly changing. And it will continue to evolve for as long as technologies continue to evolve. You and your team should have the same dynamic, progressive mindset.
Main photo by Dane Deaner on Unsplash
