Inside sales departments are taking on a larger role as distributors seek to capitalize on the economic recovery
The challenging economy has caused many businesses to rethink their sales strategies, and perhaps nowhere is that more evident than the distributor's inside sales department. An evolving role in recent years, inside sales is taking on more importance in many distribution companies as managers seek to turn ordertakers into order makers in search of new business. A shift in the way customers want to do business and an overall slower sales environment are driving the trend.
As an example, downsizing at many customer locations has caused purchasing departments to shrink, giving the remaining purchasing agents little time for face-to-face interaction with outside salespeople. They're turning to inside sales instead, explains Chuck Connors, veteran industry salesman and president of hose and accessories distributor Omni Services based in Worcester, Mass. The result is a heavier reliance on inside sales for key customer relationships that foster solution-based selling.
"We see our inside sales staff as one of the strongest departments in our company—and as one of the best resources," Connors explains. "The real relationships are often with the inside salespeople. So much of that has shifted to the inside, and you've got to have a real good system in the channel for handling that."
As inside reps become more proactive and build key relationships with customers, outside reps can focus on building business with new customers and opening new markets—which can add up to a winning strategy in today's slowly recovering manufacturing environment.
As distributors struggle to create the kind of inside sales environment Connors describes, they're faced with some important questions, says sales consultant and author Tom Reilly, president of Tom Reilly Training in St. Louis, Mo. First, they must determine the function of their inside sales team. Second, they must ask whether or not they have the right people in place to do the job. For companies looking to turn their inside sales force into a proactive sales center, the answer to the second question may be hard to swallow.
"A high percentage of those already in place do not have the personality to do outbound sales," explains Reilly, who is also Industrial Distribution's Strictly for Sales columnist. "And many companies don't have the right sales management structure in place. They don't have the disciplined standards of performance that says ‘you'll make 10 outbound calls each day, and we're going to be monitoring, training and coaching [you].' They don't have those things in place to get it off the ground."
But companies like Omni Services are making the switch. Connors says skills training and coaching are key elements of Omni's inside sales program, which also sets quotas on the number of times an inside salesperson will travel with an outside sales rep on sales calls. Inside salespeople are being trained to deal with the same kinds of objections and issues outside salespeople encounter in the field—all in the name of customer-centric, solution-based selling.
"Inside salespeople need to get in the channel with the purchasing person," Connors adds. "Because we're not effective until the purchasing person views us as part of his service.
"The true measurement of success for Omni comes when the purchasing people emotionally view our salespeople as being members of their staff. Inside salespeople must be seen as being purposeful."
Golfers and caddys
Long gone are the days when inside salespeople played a supporting role to the outside sales reps' lead. As Connors explains, there are no more "golfers and caddys." In today's world, everyone's a golfer.
"Years ago, you used to put [someone] inside because they didn't have the qualities to go outside," he says. "That's changed. The quality of the person on the inside is a big factor these days."
Reilly agrees and says the process begins with a thorough job analysis followed by an accurate job description for your inside sales department. Will the reps be responsible for developing existing business? Calling on new customers? Opening new markets? Will their job consist mainly of prospecting? Will it be some combination of these?
"I would be crystal clear on what the objective is," Reilly says.
Next, determine what reps need to do to meet those objectives. For example, do they need to make 50 outbound calls per day? Will they be required to make field calls with outside reps? If so, how often? Then, determine the skill sets needed for the job and figure out whether or not you have those skills in house. If you don't, recruiting is next on the list.
Finally, determine the management structure needed to coach your inside sales team. Will the manager monitor calls? Will he or she conduct weekly sales meetings? How will he or she deliver feedback?
Omni's inside salespeople attend regular sales meetings where accounts are reviewed in light of the rep's goals and the company's expectations. Inside reps are taught to pay attention to customers' buying patterns, for example, with an eye toward what customers are buying and how frequently they are buying it. For example, if an inside sales rep notices that a customer submitted 10 purchase orders for similar products in one month, he or she can suggest consolidating those purchases to save money.
"Instead of just sitting back and waiting for the game to come to them, we're coaching them to take the game to the customer," Connors explains. "They're going to help the buyer, or the purchasing person in the supply channel, by watching trends."
The inside/outside connection
As inside sales reps take on a more prominent role, the relationship between inside and outside sales can become even stronger. Many distributors pair inside and outside sales reps for support on mutual accounts or territories—and that's not a bad model, Reilly says.
"A good inside sales rep can really provide a lot of direction for the outside rep," he says.
And a good inside sales team can help improve a company's overall sales efficiency. Reilly advocates freeing up the outside sales force by slicing off the bottom 10 percent of their customer base and giving it to inside sales.
"There are [good] opportunities there if you have a good inside sales rep who will make outbound calls," he says.
Connors has a similar philosophy. As inside sales reps become the go-to source in customers' purchasing departments, outside sales reps' time is freed up to develop new customers and new markets.
"You've got to pave new roads and go make it happen," Connors says. "Our outside staff should be trailblazing with new customers and new markets.
"That said, we still have strong relationships between our outside sales reps and our existing customers. But a lot of that has shifted, and the inside person, as I said, is just as much a golfer as the golfer—there's no more caddy. These days, the customer is running lean, the distributor's inside and outside staff is lean, so you've got to focus and have the appropriate energies in the appropriate places."
And much of that comes back to the customer, who is, in the end, still king.
"It truly is a different type of inside sales work these days," Connors adds. "And you need to treat it that way. If you treat all customers the same way, you may not have the appropriate sense of urgency required. And the purchasing agent may say, ‘this isn't the right company for me.'"
As inside sales reps take on a more prominent role, the relationship between inside and outside sales can become even stronger. Many distributors pair inside and outside sales reps for support on mutual accounts or territories—and that's not a bad model, Reilly says.
"A good inside sales rep can really provide a lot of direction for the outside rep," he says.
And a good inside sales team can help improve a company's overall sales efficiency. Reilly advocates freeing up the outside sales force by slicing off the bottom 10 percent of their customer base and giving it to inside sales.
"There are [good] opportunities there if you have a good inside sales rep who will make outbound calls," he says.
Connors has a similar philosophy. As inside sales reps become the go-to source in customers' purchasing departments, outside sales reps' time is freed up to develop new customers and new markets.
"You've got to pave new roads and go make it happen," Connors says. "Our outside staff should be trailblazing with new customers and new markets.
"That said, we still have strong relationships between our outside sales reps and our existing customers. But a lot of that has shifted, and the inside person, as I said, is just as much a golfer as the golfer—there's no more caddy. These days, the customer is running lean, the distributor's inside and outside staff is lean, so you've got to focus and have the appropriate energies in the appropriate places."
And much of that comes back to the customer, who is, in the end, still king.
"It truly is a different type of inside sales work these days," Connors adds. "And you need to treat it that way. If you treat all customers the same way, you may not have the appropriate sense of urgency required. And the purchasing agent may say, ‘this isn't the right company for me.'"
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