The Future of Inside Sales

Things have changed drastically in inside sales today and one of the biggest changes is how much the buyer controls the buying and education cycle. It’s more and more on their terms these days. Does the “what the customer wants the customer gets” philosophy still exist. You’ve got to check out Office Max’s YouTube videos that Duct Tape Marketing is featuring and watch a customer who insists on paying for everything with his pennies, it’s hysterical.

Inside sales has come from big changes, here are a few:

From providing admistrative support for the field to now driging an integrated sales team

From being focused on the beginning part of the sales process to working on the entire sales process

From marketing silo versus sales silo to synchronizing marketing and sales efforts

From calling off list rentals to increasing lead generation and cultivation

From high efficiency versus high touch to creating multiple touch points with various messaging channels

From controlling wha the buyer knows to buyers who educate themselves before engaging a salesperson

From operational efficiency to operational optimization

From flyikng during and coordinating meeting schedules to engaging anytime, anywhere

From selling under $25K to closing up to $2million by phone

Frm product specialist to LOB specialist

From forecast probability to forecast predictability

From pipelie volume to pipeline shape and velocity

From mass prospecting that builds a linear funnel to building social networks

From managing by what your reps say to managing to what the prospect says