High Velocity Sales: Win Faster

If you’re new to the inside sales industry or are looking for a way to improve your own department, then there are a few ways to increase your sales and “win faster.”

If you’re selling remotely with inside sales, or professional sales, you may be interested in reading a new Forbes.com article by Ken Krogue, President and co-founder of XANT, which breaks down the differences between inside sales and outside sales. Read the full article, “What is Inside Sales? The Definition of Inside Sales.”

If you’re trying to foster an open, competitive sales team for B2B or complex B2C, then some of the following suggestions from Ken might help you.

Change the Environment:  Don’t keep your sales reps cooped up in cubicles where they can bury their heads down and hide behind walls. At XANT, we’ve found an open office is essential to boost productivity and sales. It’s called an open concept work environment and the increased collaboration between departments has been invaluable.

The Power Tools: If you want your inside sales department to do well then you better give them the tools to succeed. As Ken likes to say “If you’re going to build a house, use a nail gun not a hammer.”

Do research into the types of tools that are available and what would work best for your company. Technology is an incredible thing and it can turn the average sale rep into a super hero if you give them what they need.

Specialize vs Generalize: When Ford created the assembly line for automobiles he changed the way his employees worked. The same can be said when you do the same within your organization. Have your sales reps divided up into specialists who handle different steps in the sales process (like lead gen reps, closers, and account managers). A study by Dr. James Oldroyd showed that if you specialize your sales team the average close ratio will be seven points higher.

If you incorporate these three things into your inside sales department you will see an increase with sales. Inside sales is overtaking outside sales by leaps and bounds. In fact, inside sales is outgrowing outside sales by 15x. What’s more fascinating is when compared with outside sales reps, inside sales reps spend71% of their time selling remotely, while outside reps are spending 41% of their day.

What do you think? Are there ways that you know of that are changing the way sales are being made? Are there any tools that you find particularly useful? Let us know in the comments below!