In-depth Story on Inside Sales Careers

Many people get confused when they come across the question – “what is inside sales?” If you’re one of them, read this blog to get a brief insight into inside sales and its various strategies.

Technology has transformed a lot in the past two decades. It has altered the way we see things and it has changed our expectations about the future. Moreover, the change has been a significant impact on how business works. Businesses have taken cover and found a new place: the internet. Like every critical element of our lives, technology has changed the face of sales. 

Both businesses and customers have grown comfortable with sales inside an office. Companies have started to create a workforce that discovers prospects inside four walls. Also, customers are pretty much pleased with that too!

With inside sales, businesses put more effort than just selling their products. They want to make customers happy by empathizing with their problems and needs. Simultaneously, when inside sales kicked their way up, the significance of customer support also grew humongous. 

So what exactly is inside sales? Let’s dig in

What are inside sales?

Inside sales connect with prospects via calls, emails, or other online channels instead of physically meeting them. In inside sales, technology and the medium of connection play an essential role.

They are the first members to connect with prospects, understand their demands, answer their questions, and qualify them as leads. Moreover, they take the marketing team’s leads forward and ensure the product satisfies their needs.

Inside sales vs outside sales

The prime difference between inside and outside sales is evident. In outside sales, you must travel to places to meet prospects/customers. On the other hand, inside salespersons work remotely or inside the office to deal with prospects via calls, emails, or other mediums. This method of sales saves a lot of expenses for a business. 

According to the report from Harvard Business Review, inside sales reduce the cost of sales by 40-90% compared to outside sales.

Read: Click

Key mediums of inside sales

There are three main mediums for inside sales agents. 

1. Emails
2. Calls
3. Virtual meetings

Let’s understand the significance of these three mediums in present sales:

Emails

From marketing to support, email has been a giant tool. The marketing team drives multiple campaigns to locate possible customers, and the inside sales team connects with them to ensure they are fit for the product. 

The survey states that about 73% of 18-24-year-olds use their phones to check email. 

They can reach prospects at any time. Moreover, now that emails are on mobile, it has become extremely easy to reach prospects. 

Calls

Calling has seen remarkable growth in the past two decades. Earlier, the traditional rule was to give a cold call to ask if prospects were available in the office to chat face-to-face. Now, the tables have turned it’s all about selling your products right from calls. 

Isn’t that an enormous change?

Virtual meetings

Calls and emails are indeed missing a significant element which is visuals. In the last few years, video conferencing has become a huge hit. As experts stated that businesses have grown to be global; so are the tools. Video conferencing tools like Zoom, GoToMeeting, or Adobe Connect have been great resources for inside sales representatives.

Reps can give demos virtually to their prospects and explain how their product works with screen sharing. As a result, it is the easiest way to ensure your prospects understand the products thoroughly. 

The Sales Career Path

Sales travel every business and every industry. Small businesses need salespeople, as do giant enterprise companies. An array of roles and responsibilities fall within sales, but the core of all sales careers are the same. Choosing a career path in sales relies on your experience, company, and industry. 

Inside Sales Rep

Inside salespeople are the go-to for prospecting, nurturing, and converting leads remotely in an increasingly digital world. They count on email, phone calls, videos, and virtual meetings rather than face-to-face interaction. The motive is to build relationships and forward people through the sales funnel. 

Inside sales reps need several skills to land clients from afar. These skills include good verbal and written communication skills, the ability to cold-call prospects, and a deep understanding of the products or services offered.

Moreover, educating the prospects and following up once a sale is closed to maintain customer satisfaction and encourage repeat buyers. Simultaneously, inside sales reps possess a hybrid compensation package that includes a base salary and commission. According to Glassdoor, the average base salary for an inside sales rep is $42,932, and the average commission ranges from $2,000 to $27,000.

Sales-adjacent roles

In addition to the more common roles along a sales career path, there are also a few other jobs that sales reps and managers encounter another professional journey, including: 

• Customer success/support – The customer success or support team generally includes technical experts to address customers’ post-sale technical needs. These individuals identify patterns, promote product needs, identify process improvements, and work directly with customers to help them fix issues.

• Solutions/value consulting – The professional services and education team are involved with clients at every step of their journey. The motive is to transform processes, innovate sales, drive change, and comprehend and embrace the product. Furthermore, they supply a simple, standardized, and predictable approach to execution that contains best practices for optimal success.

• Sales Enablement – Individuals on the sales enablement team are accountable for designing, implementing, and evaluating a world-class, role-specific onboarding program to draw top talent and decrease ramp time.

• Revenue Operations – A team maximizes revenue by ensuring all information, insights, and trends aligned with the organization’s goals and strategies. They drive efficiency in all departments to boost revenue growth.

• Marketing – Marketing teams bring new prospects and develop valuable sales collateral to close more deals. They craft target messages to reach customers better and identify which actions lead to the best results.

Read: Click

Making a Career Change to Sales

Are you considering a career change to sales from another domain? Lucky for you, entry-level sales roles only sometimes demand specific degrees or experience. The skills you gain from a job in finance, marketing, management, public relations, or customer service can be sufficient to convince employers you’re right for the role. 

Moreover, get an online internship from ULead in sales and marketing. Leadership is the most sought-after skill by all companies, and Ulead is the place to be if you see yourself as a corporate leader in the future. Empower students to become industry-ready through courses and internships. Apply now!

To make the switch, you need to investigate the roles you’re after to find what the hiring managers want. They seek candidates who are great at communication, relationship building, problem-solving, working independently, organization, and self-motivation. If you’re coming from a role with a steady paycheck, a pure commission-based salary may seem too stressful and risky. You can ease into sales with a hybrid base pay plus commission salary to prove you have what it takes while giving yourself some wiggle room.

Inside sales is a deep-sea containing myriad tips & techniques. The learning in this field is endless. All you have to do is monitor your actions and reactions very closely. Once you find your pace, endless opportunities are waiting for you.