(PRWEB) June 15, 2012
Inside Sales is growing at 15 times the rate of outside sales (7.5% vs. 0.5%) according to a 2009 study done by SKKU and MIT in conjunction with infoUSA. A 2012 study done by The Bridge Group Inc shows the number of inside sales jobs has grown 124% from 2009 to 2011. Companies are looking to grow revenue more efficiently and to better align their go-to-market strategy with the evolving buying preferences of their prospects and clients. What worked in the 1990′s is less effective today and new approaches are better received. So here are some tips that can help build and scale a successful business to business (B2B) inside sales team.
Organizational Design
According to Yogi Berra, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” When designing your organization, start with the end game in mind. Thoughtfully document your vision, mission and strategic goals. Then select the right business model for your team. Are your representatives going to own the sales cycle from inception to close (an inside sales model), or are they going to qualify and pass leads off to another sales channel (a business development model)? Will Business Development representatives identify and qualify leads, pass opportunities to Account Executives to be closed, and then transfer the account to an Account Manager to be serviced and cross sold? The model you choose should depend on length of the sales cycle, price point, sales volume and if leads will be primarily sourced by inbound or outbound tactics. Be sure to define key roles and responsibilities including (but not limited to) inbound Market Response Specialist, outbound Business Development Specialists, Account Closers, and Account Managers. Resist implementing “Jack of all trades” and specialize roles where you can.
Hiring Practices
Get this right and you will likely build a team of individuals who will challenge each other, build upon their individual strengths, organically develop best practices and make the sales center a fun place to work. Start by defining a profile of required skill competencies for each role. Then advertise and hire to those profiles. Build attractive job descriptions and work with HR to present the companys jobs webpage as a fun and rewarding place to work. Emphasize career path opportunities. Start the applicant process with profile screening, a phone interview and then a face to face meeting. Consider leveraging third party sales personality surveys (they’re affordable) up front in the screening process and behavioral panel interviews for strategic hires. Engage and enfranchise many interviewers including company executives, business stakeholders, other managers and existing sales representatives. Create an evaluation template to consistently compare inputs from multiple interviewers. During the interviews, look for personal presence, attitude, energy, and communication skills. Evaluate candidate preparation, cultural fit, industry experience, and past sales success. Take a deep dive by asking each candidate to describe a recent selling situation, task, action and result (S.T.A.R.). Expect to receive a timely and professional follow-up note.
People Development
Consistent skills development derived from the centralized nature of an inside sales team can be a primary factor when justifying an Inside Sales Center. Ramp up your new hires efficiently by developing a sales entry training curriculum. Orient them by reviewing the curriculum and setting expectations for the completion of its components. Introduce new hires to the team with a walk-about and to colleagues in related groups so they know who to go to for what. Assign a peer mentor that each new hire can sit with, confide in and hear how it’s done. Review the Sales Process Playbook (to be discussed) with them. If the role includes servicing an active territory of clients, establish priorities and a timeline for the new hire to call all of the customers to create working relationships. Schedule regular checkpoints to track new hires progress in ramping and completing milestones.
People development is an ongoing process. Facilitate topical conversations such as competitive positioning and client buying trends. Lunch and Learn sessions can work well. Leaders or subject matter experts (SMEs) should frame discussions but allow conversations to be peer to peer and weave organically where productive.
Twelve Tips On Building A Successful B2B Inside Sales 2.0 Team by Robert Clark
