What is Inside Sales? Explanation of differences from field sales and basic KPI settings

Among the sales team leaders, there are many who feel that there are issues with their sales methods and would like to deepen their understanding of inside sales, which has been attracting attention in recent years. In this article, we will introduce the outline of inside sales and the difference from field sales. We also explain tools that are useful for inside sales, so please refer to them.

What is Inside Sales?

This is a sales method in which prospective customers (leads) gathered from various activities and means such as events and walk-ins are not visited directly, but are mainly conducted remotely .
Conduct sales activities through telephone, e-mail, web conferencing system, etc. The role of inside sales varies depending on the organization , ranging from acquiring customer lists to selecting targets, following up on prospective customers, providing continuous information, and obtaining business appointments.

Difference from field sales

Field sales is a sales method that works mainly for the purpose of receiving orders from customers. It is the same as Inside Sales in that it does not limit sales methods such as visits or online, but the biggest difference is that the goal is to receive an order . For this reason, we create the necessary proposals for each customer, visit them directly and demonstrate to the people involved.

Difference from Tele Apo

A tele appointment is, as the name suggests, a business method of obtaining appointments for business negotiations over the phone . The purpose of the tele appointment is to get as many business appointments as possible.
However, inside sales have different roles depending on the organization, as described above. Rather than simply making appointments for business negotiations, such as setting business negotiations where field sales have acquired all the information necessary for accepting orders, and obtaining opportunities to introduce services to the approver , The difference between inside sales and tele appointments is the creation of business negotiations that conform to the standards .

Why is inside sales attracting attention?

With the development of various communication tools, more and more companies are paying attention to inside sales. With the increase in telework due to the new coronavirus and the expansion of subscription businesses, more and more companies are considering it.

Compatibility with expanding subscription business

One of the reasons why inside sales are attracting attention is that they are compatible with the recently expanding monthly subscription business. Subscription business allows users who are considering it to easily contract and cancel. In the past, it took a lot of time and effort to make contracts and cancel contracts to introduce systems and use services. However, the major advantage of the subscription business is that both contract initiation and cancellation can be easily completed online.

In the subscription business, it is easy to sign up, but it is also easy to cancel, so we will continue to make proposals to encourage long-term use, as well as contact with more customers and increase the number of contracts. is requested. Conventional door-to-door sales cannot be said to be efficient because having contact with many customers is costly in terms of time, distance, and transportation costs. However, inside sales are based on online proposals, so we can have contact with more customers and convey the appeal of our services.
In addition, Inside Sales can quickly respond to sudden inquiries from customers online, so it can be said that it is a good point that it can respond without missing users who are highly likely to consider .

Development of communication tools

The development of communication tools such as e-mail, web conferencing tools, and SNS, as well as telephones, is another reason why inside sales are attracting attention . Until now, communication tools have been limited and inadequate for building relationships with customers and conducting important business deals.

However, in recent years, the use of communication tools such as web conferencing tools has made it easier for important business negotiations by giving customers a sense of security because they can see the face of the sales person even online . It is possible to conduct business in the same way as face-to-face, such as being able to explain while showing catalogs and drawings. With the advent of various communication tools and their recognition and use progressing, inside sales are being considered and introduced more and more because they can be fully engaged in activities aimed at receiving orders without visiting them. In addition, the number of companies implementing telework to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus has increased, and the overall sales activities have been reviewed.

Reasons why inside sales are attracting attention

With the introduction of Inside Sales, we are able to respond quickly to customers who are interested in making inquiries whether they are online or offline, and we are able to continuously provide appropriate information to customers who have not been able to respond due to the low accuracy of the introduction. The main reason why it is attracting attention is that it will be possible to deal with many customers who could not be dealt with by conventional sales methods alone, such as an increase in the number of cases .

Effective sales activities are possible even with a small number of people

By introducing inside sales, you can approach customers efficiently even with a small number of people. In conventional sales activities centered on visits, productivity tends to be low due to the time it takes to travel to the business meeting destination and the fact that it is not always possible to win a contract on the spot. However, with inside sales, we can only visit customers who have been interviewed for the information necessary for the contract, so it is possible to maximize sales activities with a small number of people.

You can expect to improve the productivity of the entire sales department

By introducing inside sales and reviewing the role of sales activities, you can expect the effect of increasing the productivity of the entire sales department. Inside sales is not only for new customers, but it is also important to continuously approach (nurturing) customers who have been interested in us in the past, so-called prospective customers. Although I was interested in it in the past, I stopped considering it for some reason. By connecting such reconsidering customers to field sales, customers who could not be dealt with by the conventional sales department will be able to receive orders without missing out due to inside sales.

In addition, inside sales will continue to nurture customers who have stopped considering it in this way, so field sales will be able to concentrate on activities aimed at the original purpose of receiving orders . Therefore, it can also be effective in improving the efficiency of field sales activities.

Maximize the number of orders received

As mentioned above, by providing service value and optimal information to customers whose inside sales are stagnant, we can encourage reconsideration and maximize the number of orders. It is said that about 10% of the newly received lead information are in the purchase stage, and most of the customers are in the interest/consideration stage. Therefore, rather than simply setting up opportunities for business negotiations with new customers, we will continue to provide and understand the appeal and value of the company and services to customers who are expected to be able to solve their problems with the services we provide. Increase orders by receiving. This is the effect of introducing inside sales.

Tips for successful inside sales

In inside sales, it is important to set appropriate KPIs and continue improvement activities . Without concrete indicators, members cannot act appropriately, and not only will it not lead to orders, but it may also affect the entire organization, such as early turnover due to a decrease in motivation.

Set appropriate KPIs

For inside sales KPIs, it is necessary to set indicators for both quantity and quality based on the concept of quantity and quality conversion. Common volume indicators include the number of calls, the number of connections, the number of emails delivered, and the number of deals won. These quantitative KPIs are important not only for individual activity management, but also for confirming whether you are approaching high-priority leads. In particular, when the number of connections is low compared to the surroundings, it is possible that you have approached leads other than those with a high probability of winning an order, and it is necessary to proceed with the confirmation and coordination of the corresponding leads with the person in charge.

Next, quality-conscious indicators include the number/ratio of acquired business negotiations that are effective for winning orders, and the number/ratio of orders received from them. The purpose of qualitative KPIs is to check and understand the lead management skills of members, whether they are listening, making suggestions, and approaching at the right time by managing the numbers that inside sales have contributed to orders. In addition, the number of orders is an essential indicator for motivation management because it is easy to understand the degree of contribution to the organization. One point, if inside sales were to supply appointments to field sales, this qualitative KPI would also affect field sales skills, so it should be noted that it does not depend on inside sales skills unilaterally. Is required.

Standardize your approach

A key to inside sales success is standardizing response speed, phone calls, emails, and other activities to lead status . Although the telephone is the most basic approach to inside sales, there are many cases where we are not contacted due to meetings, vacations, etc. Therefore, by arranging the activity contents of the approach by telephone and e-mail according to each lead situation, it will lead to stable contact with customers and the number of business negotiations.

For example, standardize activities for the entire team, such as making one phone call and sending an email if no contact has been made, approaching a customer who has downloaded a service document a total of 6 or more times, and responding to an inquiry customer within 5 minutes. By doing so, it is possible to eliminate inadequate responses and omissions and lead to stable results.

Visualize the customer’s situation and change the approach

By “visualizing the situation” after approaching the customer , it becomes possible to carry out activities that lead to results.
For example, for customers who are still at the information gathering stage, we send examples and samples of other companies in the same industry by e-mail. It will be easier to dig deeper into the situation if you listen to the differences from the current issue.

In addition, if you are interested but do not have enough time, you can invite them to your company’s event where you can understand the service content, deepen your understanding of the service, and follow up after participating to acquire business negotiations with a higher probability of receiving an order. can also be expected.
In this way, by recording and visualizing the customer’s situation at any time, it becomes possible to change the behavior from inside sales appropriately according to the customer, resulting in an appropriate approach to receiving orders. We will continue to be a team that can continuously

summary

Inside sales is a sales method that is necessary for maximizing sales efficiency by continuously disseminating appropriate information to customers to whom we have been unable to respond until now.

Now that the way of working is being reviewed, I would appreciate it if you could refer to it to promote sales more efficiently.