Inside Sales Strategies: How to Sell Remotely and Effectively

What is an Inside Sales Strategy?

Before diving into the strategies, let’s first understand what inside sales are.

Inside sales involves selling remotely, typically over the phone, email, or video conferencing, without ever having to meet clients face-to-face.

For instance, we at LaGrowthMachine almost exclusively perform inside sales since we’re a SaaS company. This involves:

• Outreach to segmented sales leads to introduce our services.
• Qualifying said leads by evaluating their responses.
• Offering demos via screen sharing or video calls.
• Following up with prospects to close the sale.
• etc.

The same goes for most other products or services that can be sold remotely.

How does it differ from Outside Sales?

On the other hand, outside salespeople meet with clients in person to make sales.

They perform the same tasks -or very close to it, but in a more physical environment. They meet with clients face-to-face to demonstrate their product and close the sale.

This distinction is important because the strategies for selling remotely differ greatly from those used in outside sales.

However, it’s worth noting that inside sales is not for every company out there. Depending on the industry you’re in, the structure of your company, your goals, and about a thousand other factors, you may need to do both inside and outside sales.

In any case, let’s look at some of the advantages and challenges associated with inside sales!

Why do you need to know about Inside Sales Strategies?

There are several benefits to implementing inside sales strategies in your sales process.

Your sales team is effectively applying your whole sales workflow from the comfort of your offices (or even your home if you’re working remotely!).

This means all the costs associated with traveling to clients get eliminated, all barriers to entry disappear, and you can reach more potential customers quickly.

Let’s check these benefits more deeply one by one:

Cost savings

As we mentioned, one of the main advantages of implementing inside sales is cost savings.

Companies don’t have to spend on travel expenses and accommodation costs for their sales team.

The savings that come from eliminating the costs associated with travel can be significant and give you a competitive edge in your industry.

Increased hiring opportunities

But it can go even beyond just reducing travel expenses and office space. Inside sales also allows for greater flexibility in hiring and managing your sales team.

With this medium, you can hire talented sales professionals from anywhere in the world, without the need for them to relocate or commute to a physical office. This opens up a wider pool of talent and gives you the opportunity to build a diverse and highly skilled sales team.

This kind of flexibility goes both ways! It is also a great hiring differentiator from the employee’s perspective. Meaning that offering this as a company can be an awesome selling point to potential candidates.

Greater efficiency and productivity

Furthermore, due to the aforementioned benefits, you will also experience greater efficiency and productivity.

Since inside sales involve fewer expenses and a more flexible hiring process, it allows for quick onboarding sessions, a quicker ramp-up for the sales team, and faster results.

By leveraging technology, you can automate repetitive tasks, such as data entry and follow-ups, freeing up more time to focus on building relationships and closing deals.

Scalability

The ability to scale your sales efforts is another advantage of inside sales strategies that complements the previous one.

Because inside sales strategies require a lower budget and allow for quicker ramp-up times, you are able to quickly respond to the demands of your market and scale your team accordingly.

This is especially useful if you are looking to expand into new markets or to take on more clients from different industries.

Whether you need to haphazardly hit a sales target, or consistently grow your customer base in the long run, inside sales strategies will give you the flexibility and scalability to do so.

The common challenges of Inside Sales Strategies

While inside sales offers many benefits, it also comes with its fair share of challenges:

Communication challenges

One of the main challenges is building rapport and trust with prospects without meeting them in person.

Establishing a strong connection remotely requires excellent communication skills and the ability to convey your value proposition effectively.

This can be the case for your leads, as well as your colleagues! Sales can seem to be an individual sport. However, that only applies to the actual action of selling, so only one part of the whole process.

In reality, being in sales requires a lot of teamwork and collaboration.

It is essential to understand that everyone plays an important role in the sales process, and it’s only with a well-oiled team that you will be able to succeed.

Motivation challenges

Another challenge is staying motivated and disciplined while working remotely. It’s easy to get distracted or feel isolated when you’re not in an office environment.

However, with the right mindset and self-discipline, you can overcome these challenges and thrive in the world of remote selling.

One way to stay motivated and disciplined is to establish a daily routine. Set specific goals and tasks for each day, and create a schedule that allows for focused work time as well as breaks.

This will help you stay on track and maintain productivity throughout the day.

Additionally, finding ways to stay connected with your colleagues and team members can help combat feelings of isolation.:

• Regular team meetings
• Virtual coffee chats
• Collaboration tools
• etc.

These can all contribute to a sense of camaraderie and support, even when working remotely!

5 Inside Sales Strategies to generate leads and close deals

Now, let’s dive into the strategies and techniques that will help you generate leads and close deals in 2023 and beyond.

These strategies have been proven to be effective and have helped us and our customers achieve great results.

Strategy 1: Personalization is key

When selling remotely, it’s crucial to make your prospects feel valued and understood.

Take the time to research each prospect and personalize your communication. Reference specific pain points or challenges they may be facing, and offer tailored solutions that address their unique needs.

This can be easily done through proper sales segmentation. Segmenting your leads based on factors such as industry, size, or location allows you to create more personalized messaging and offers.

Personalizing your approach will not only make prospects feel heard and appreciated, but also shows them that you have done your research and are offering solutions tailored to their needs.

Strategy 2: Leverage technology

Technology is your best friend when it comes to selling remotely.

And it makes sense – digital tools and platforms help you automate tedious tasks, such as data entry, lead qualification, sales outreach, etc.

This allows you to focus more on the customer experience, build relationships, and close more deals.

Utilize sales automation tools such as LaGrowthMachine to streamline and optimize your sales process. From lead qualification to automated outreach and follow-ups – LaGrowthMachine has you covered!

Strategy 3: Use templates and scripts

One of the best ways to save time and improve your efficiency in inside sales is to use templates and scripts for your emails, calls, and demos. Templates and scripts help you structure your communication, deliver your value proposition, and handle objections.

However, templates and scripts are not meant to be used verbatim. You should always customize them according to your prospect’s situation, needs, and pain points. Use templates and scripts as a guide, not a crutch.

Strategy 4: Follow up consistently

One of the most important inside sales strategies is to follow up consistently with your prospects until they are ready to buy or opt out. According to a study by Marketing Donut, 80% of sales require five follow-ups after the initial contact, but 44% of sales reps give up after one follow-up.

Sales follow-up shows your prospects that you care about their needs, that you are persistent, and that you have something valuable to offer them. It also helps you stay on top of their mind and build trust and rapport.

However, following up is not just about sending generic emails or calls. You need to follow up with a purpose, a value proposition, and a clear call-to-action. You also need to vary your follow-up methods and use different channels, such as email, phone, social media, etc.

Strategy 5: Track and measure your performance

The last but not least inside sales strategy is to track and measure your performance. Tracking and measuring your performance helps you identify what works and what doesn’t, what areas need improvement, and what goals you need to set.

Final Thoughts

Inside sales is a powerful and cost-effective way to sell products or services remotely. By leveraging technology and following the best practices, you can generate more leads, close more deals, and grow your business.

It does come however with its challenges, so make sure you account for those!

With the right strategies and tools, you can overcome these challenges and build a successful inside sales team.

Happy inside selling! 🙂