5 Often-Overlooked Steps to Building an Effective Inside Sales Team

Inside sales is kind of like the Shawn Bradley of the sales industry: It shot up so fast!

In fact, it’s growing 300% faster than outside sales, which is bound to create some challenges.

I often find myself meeting with high-ranking sales executives at big companies who pull me into side rooms looking worried and pleading for help.

They’ve built their careers on the old outside sales model that dominated the industry for decades.

They’re a little overwhelmed when we talk about the core elements of inside sales:

• Specialization
• Leading indicators
• Immediacy
• Persistency
• Data-driven decisions
• Predictive sales forecasting

These sales leaders see the writing on the wall. They know that inside sales offers a more efficient and effective way to prospect and sell today.

They just don’t know how to make the transition to the new high-velocity inside sales model.

It requires a cultural change, and we all know how difficult change can be.

Here are five proven steps you can use as you work to build a high-velocity inside sales machine:

1. Find a sponsor

You need an executive sponsor who can rally various people and departments around this important change initiative.

2. Governance

Form committees that meet regularly to discuss progress and make adjustments as needed.

3. Baseline

Establish a baseline to measure against for key inside sales metrics.

4. Process map

Map your current process against your future process and highlight any necessary changes. If you don’t document and maintain your process, it will decay.

5. Levers

You must move levers to improve your team’s performance. Common levers of an inside sales model include key performance metrics like leads and calls. For example, if you generate more leads – and follow up with your leads immediately and persistently – you will start to set more appointments and close more deals.

XANT Vice President of Strategy Dave Boyce explains these steps in greater detail here: 5 Essential Change Management Principles.