2020 was a year of change and challenge for all of us. COVID-19 brought unique challenges, but it also brought some great opportunities, particularly for individuals in inside sales roles. Traditionally, inside sales has been more of an account management and customer service role. That all changed for sales leaders last year. Contemplating how to react to COVID-19, sales leaders knew taking care of their people and customers must be the top priority.
Sales meetings became virtual, where they were once face-to-face. Outside sales professionals quickly found their role feeling a lot more like inside sales, with the majority of customer communication via phone, email and video calls. Inside sales professionals in many organizations have been given a fantastic growth opportunity to move from a customer retention/account management role to a business development/ active selling role, and in doing so, also gained the opportunity to grow their skillsets and income potential. Inside sales has become a critical component of the sales function.
In an April 2020 survey, McKinsey & Company reported that almost 90 percent of sales have moved to a video conferencing/ phone/web sales model. While there is still some skepticism, more than half of the individuals surveyed believe this is equally effective or more effective than the sales methods used prior to COVID-19.
Trends in sales organizations
- More digital selling: Even before the pandemic hit, most inside and outside salespeople were using some form of digital selling. This has escalated in response to COVID- 19 and, in particular, it has highlighted video conferencing as a viable and cost-effective way to connect with customers. One of our clients, who we have been partnering with to grow their inside sales team, reported that most of their selling is now done via phone and video conferencing. Typically, they only meet in-person with their customer as a final step to close the deal.
- Fewer outside salespeople, more inside salespeople: In the past few years, the growth in number of jobs for inside sales and customer service personnel far outpaced the growth in outside sales roles.
- New success profiles for inside sales and outside salespeople: The shift toward virtual selling requires inside sales and outside sales to partner much more closely than in the past. Teamwork and collaboration will become key traits hiring managers look for. The old method of selling primarily through relationships will give way to a more solution- oriented, team-based approach.
The numbers don't lie
A growing reliance on selling through inside sales techniques makes financial and business sense:
- Inside sales cost less and increase efficiency: Research shows that, overall, companies with sales teams primarily made up of inside salespeople show a 9.8 percent higher quota attainment versus those made up primarily of outside salespeople.
- Inside sales gives the opportunity for scalability: Access to digital selling tools such as video conferencing, customer relationship management automation and structured email programs will allow inside salespeople to streamline and automate workflows, increasing productivity and allowing scalability without necessarily increasing head count.
Another one of our clients implemented this sales model in 2019. Their president reported sales leads are up significantly, and they have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars on their travel budget with no effect on revenue. They have essentially stopped attending trade shows and apply the budget from that to their web-based strategy. In his opinion, companies are unlikely to go back to the way they operated before the pandemic.
Tobias Lutke, CEO of Shopify, put it well: "The future we imagined for 2030 has been pulled forward to the present." This emphasis on digital selling is a tremendous opportunity for inside sales professionals to grow in their careers, for outside salespeople to take advantage of new technologies to streamline and automate their sales processes, and for sales leaders to find the best way to structure their sales organization for success.
For more information about BIC Recruiting, visit BICRecruiting.com, call (281) 538-9996 or email hkassu@bicrecruiting.com.
