What Is Inside Sales And How Does It Work?

Inside sales is a term used in business circles to define selling goods and services remotely using email, phone calls, video calls and social media channels. They are also known as virtual sales because the sales executive and the buyers do not meet face-to-face, and the interaction takes place with the help of a communication tool. The inside sales are completed indoors and many large businesses create call centres to handle the huge volume of incoming and outgoing calls.

They even outsource inside sales when they have a large customer base spread across the country. It is used for both B2B and B2C sales and should not be confused with cold calling. Inside sales involve contacting interested buyers who have shown an interest in buying products and services from the business. It requires using effective persuasion and communication strategies to win them over. For clarity, let us explain what inside sales are and how they work. It can help businesses use this strategy to increase revenue and grow quickly.

1. Understanding Inside Sales

Inside sales focuses on creating a virtual environment that allows sales executives to complete the transaction through the digital medium without physically meeting the buyers. They identify qualified leads and influence them to make the purchase decision. All the sales conversations occur from a designated location where the sales team leverages tech tools to connect and engage with customers.

It helps them break geographical barriers and reach a large number of targeted buyers. It reduces the expense incurred by the business in accomplishing the sales targets and makes it comfortable for the team members to operate remotely. It can be easily scaled up by increasing the team members and proves to be highly budget-friendly for new entrepreneurs who purchase a business for sale in South Africa.

2. Changes in the Marketplace

Although inside sales were limited to a few businesses in the past, they have become common after tech advancements and the pandemic. The lockdowns forced all big and small business owners to conduct sales online, including B2B businesses that involve large orders and repeat sales. Earlier, it was considered that in-person interactions help build trust. However, the pandemic has changed the way businesses interact with customers.

Entrepreneurs have adopted inside sales to cut costs. The large entities have started using automation tools to reduce the time spent in completing deals. These help to automate sending follow-up emails and maintaining records of transactions and purchase history of customers.

3. How Do Inside Sales Work?

Inside sales is a complex process that is made easy with the help of communication and sales tools. It requires building rapport with interested buyers and existing customers over a period of time and understanding their needs and pain points. The sales team is trained to communicate with the buyers in their tone and provide them with products and services according to their requirements.

The executives record the conversations in the sales software and ensure a smooth buying process for customers. They need effective negotiation skills and should be trained in using CRM software and sales automation tools. Entrepreneurs who buy a business for sale in South Africa must ensure the team members are resourceful, friendly, and inspired to achieve their sales targets.

4. The Inside Sales Process

The inside process begins with lead capture involving identifying target audience with an intention to purchase. These leads are captured with the help of CRM software. The next step is lead distribution to different team members through a centralised system to maintain transparency. The third step is lead qualification, which requires contacting only those who are most likely to purchase to reduce resource wastage.

The fourth step is communicating with the lead and then following up until they are persuaded to buy without getting on their nerves. The final step of the process is deal closure, when the transaction is completed, and the money is received from the customer.

5. Integrating Sales and Marketing

The data and insights gained through customer interactions while carrying out inside sales can help businesses improve their marketing strategy. By analysing their purchase history, buying behaviour, and needs, businesses can better understand their customers. This can help the marketing team create campaigns and content that resonate with buyers and increase conversions.

They can build the perfect buyer’s persona and create strategies to influence them through creative blogs, ads, videos, images and emails. Individuals who acquire businesses for sale in South Africa must align marketing and sales messages to build a collective impact on the buyers and make them purchase the products and services.

6. Benefits of Inside Sales

Communication tools, CRM, and sales software that reduce the duration of the sales cycle and employees’ work hours significantly reduce the cost per acquisition. It frees up the sales team’s time, which can be utilised in training and prospecting. Since the inside sales method records all the data, it becomes easier to track team members’ performance and gauge their success rate.

Data analysis also helps identify the buyer’s position in the sales funnel and use customised strategies to attract them. Businesses can assign more experienced team members for persuading buyers in the awareness stage and specialised members for buyers in the loyalty stage.

7. Difference Between Inside Sales and Cold Calling

Many people confuse inside sales with cold calling. However, they are quite different despite using phone calls to interact with customers. In cold calling, sales executives randomly call people who are unaware of the product or service being pitched. It is mostly considered spam or a scam and often results in a negative response from the prospective buyer.

Conversely, inside sales involve calling and engaging with potential buyers who have shown an interest in the products or services by clicking on links, visiting the website, subscribing to the newsletter, etc. The sales executives build relationships during the inside sales process using social media, emails and phone calls. Thus, inside sales can be adopted by budding entrepreneurs looking for a business for sale in South Africa to increase the revenue successfully.

Wrapping Up

Inside sales are effective in creating an intelligent sales process that reduces churning and increases acquisition. It helps to build long-term bonds with customers and retain them for increased revenue and continuous growth.