Don’t abandon the phone just yet. Apparently, trends are indicating that the shift from field sales to inside sales isn’t letting up in numerous industries. In fact, it could have your sales team reaching for the phone and other virtual tools at an increasing rate.
And it looks like the more traditional model, the one in which outside field sales reps are meeting face-to-face with prospects, could be headed for an even steeper decline in 2016. “Sales in the cloud, inside sales, is a model growing 300 percent faster than the traditional sales model,” said Ken Krogue, founder and president at InsideSales.com.
So, what does that sales model look like? Sales reps, predominately working from an office, are working independently with the responsibility of initiating and closing business primarily by phone and email.
Based on interviews of 100 VPs of sales at leading technology companies business services providers, 46 percent had recently shifted from a field sales model to an inside sales model, according to the Harvard Business Review. About 21 percent said they had shifted from an inside sales model to a field sales model. As it turns out, there were a number of factors that weighed in on a company’s decision to shift — including the complexity of the products and services sold.
Here are 3 tips for effectively winning the game at inside sales:
1. Increase Your Call Volume
One of the challenges of inside sales is the amount of calls you’ll need to make to reach a person. According to one estimate, only one in 17 calls will actually net you a conversation. Also, less than one-third of sales emails are opened. All making for a challenging situation. Increase your volume to get the results you’re going after.
2. Go Digital
Sales materials in traditional formats won’t work. Make more effective use of email, content, slide presentations, online promotions, and other digital resources to give prospects the tools they need to get closer to a “Yes.” Determine where they are in the sales cycle to ensure you’re not wasting your time and their time by going over material they have already downloaded.
3. Keep it Personal
Never mind that you may never see your prospect face to face. Developing relationships with customers is still key to gaining wins in sales. Personal touches, from keeping track of their challenges and coming back with custom solutions, can go a long way in ensuring that you establish a good customer relationship.
MonsterConnect can help you significantly increase your sales volume through our sales prospecting enablement solution. Our team can focus making sure that your reps are connecting with key decision-makers more efficiently. Find out how by requesting a demo.
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