A lot of sales is antiquated, which means it's outdated in today's digital age where the customers have the knowledge and power. It's pushy selling and it tries to force something on the customer.
Those are the old ways of sales. There are new ways to reach customers that are effective. In fact, there are now inside sales vs outside sales.
They are an effective way of reaching people through the digital age as well as in person. But what's the difference between inside vs outside sales?
What's the difference between inside and outside sales that is going to help you build a better relationship with prospects? The key is to take deep dive at both and see how these selling methods are different. Here's a guide on inside and outside sales.
What Are Inside Sales?
If you want to understand the difference between inside and outside sales, it's important to look at what's included in each one.
Inside sales are more catered to the digital age and how to reach customers. It's about trying to convert potential consumers via email, website, and other inbound digital means.
Inside sales can also be referred to as digital or virtual sales because it doesn't require a salesperson to talk to a consumer over the phone or in person.
While you may have some understanding of inside sales, it's important to look at the process of inside sales and how it can benefit your business.
The Digital Process
When a customer first comes in contact with your brand or your website, it's about building and nurturing that relationship. It's about showing them what you have to offer as a business.
From that initial contact until you make a sale, everything is about nurturing your consumers. You want to show them what you can do for them.
For instance, if you have a website visitor who fills out a form on our website, you want to ensure that you take them through your inside sales process, just as if you were talking on the phone with them.
You want to put them through your sales funnel. They may involve putting leads into your email campaign or autoresponder, then continuing to nurture them with emails and blog content.
When your leads have reached the end of your digital sales funnel, you want to try and convert them. You want to show why your product benefits them and why it helps a specific market.
Inside sales are ultimately about using your digital tools to produce leads and convert them without having consumers hop on a call.
What Kind of Sales Team Do You Need?
When you do have inside sales, you need a team that understands the digital age. You may need a website developer, a sales funnel expert and other people who understand the digital age.
You want to hire specific people who can help convert your leads into sales. Experienced inbound marketers and affiliate sales veterans are natural choices for inside sales jobs because they understand the digital customer journey.
What Are Outside Sales?
Outside sales are when your sales team actually goes out and meets potential consumers and are trying to make a sale at a meeting.
However, there's also a bit more to it than that. It's about building a relationship with clients over time instead of trying to make a quick sale.
This is when a company might need to hire more sales representatives. They need to hire sales representatives to travel and meet clients.
They also need to hire a sales representative to be a voice for the company. They have to show why a client needs that particular product or business.
Sometimes with outside sales, sales representatives are only brought on for major clients. They don't need to be used with every single sales client, lead, or prospect.
Which Selling Strategy Is Better for Your Business?
When you are looking at if inside or outside sales is better for your business, it just depends on what kind of business you have. It depends on what your clients are looking for in your business.
If you have an online business, as an e-commerce company, you might consider focusing more on inside sales. You want to drive more people to your website, put them on your email campaign, and produce a high conversion rate.
However, if you are a brick and mortar business and are trying to build a relationship with clients in-person, it might be better to focus on outside sales. You want to build that relationship and wine and dine your potential clients.
Some potential clients need more convincing if your product is worth a lot of money, which is why outside sales can help you accomplish that goal. But if you have a business that sells low-priced items, it can be a good idea to focus on inside sales.
Some older or more traditional leads may also respond better to outside sales tactics. Although they are few and far between these days, some prospects don't embrace technology or prefer face-to-face communication.
Know Your Market
Another critical part of inside and outside sales that can help you figure out which one is better for your business is knowing your target market.
You should consider creating a buyer persona. This helps you identify everything about your target market from demographics to how they engage and shop at businesses.
You are seeing what emotional triggers helps you build relationships with your target market. You are seeing what your sales team needs to do to drive in more leads and revenue.
Inside Sales vs Outside Sales: Now You Know the Difference
Ultimately, when it comes to inside sales vs outside sales, there's a lot for you to know as a business. You need to know the difference because it can help you drive in more sales.
You have to figure out the best way to engage with consumers as a business. You have to know what's going to produce the most engagement if it's' inside or outside sales. Will you choose inbound or outbound selling strategies?
If you liked this article on inside sales, you can check out more like it by visiting the Sales section of our website. At Bootstrap Business we teach you how to use inbound sales to increase lead generation, boost conversion, and supercharge selling numbers. Start selling smarter!
