What is the Net Effect of the Migration to Inside Sales?

What is the Net Effect of the Migration to Inside Sales?: from Jonathan Farrington's Blog by Jonathan Farrington



“The growth in sales jobs, and therefore one would think, in sales training is in inside sales.  Although there is a migration to inside selling, most sales training is based on the assumption that sales calls will be face to face. Based on all the questions he gets he knows most sales training has not caught up with this trend.  Face to face selling is happening, of course, and will continue, but it is decreasing in frequency while phone and email contact is increasing even for complex sales.  Salespeople need training in non face-to-face customer contact whether on-line or phone”
This is an extract from an excellent interview Linda Richardson has just completed with Geoffrey James for May’s Top Sales Magazine, due to publish next week on May 1st. Geoffrey is a journalist in love with the field of sales.  He has focused on sales issues for a decade and currently writes a column for Inc.com where he hosts the world’s most visited blog, with an impressive 2.9 million visitors in March.  He communicates with hundreds and hundreds of salespeople and sales managers and is passionate in his views as to what’s hot and what’s not.  He is also the author of How to Say It:  Business to Business Selling (Prentice Hall, December, 2011) – so he knows what he is talking about!
His conclusions are spot on: Right now, there are huge deficiencies, and as long as sales training companies continue to promote outdated and irrelevant programs, the situation is not going to improve. The drive must come from the customer, who can no longer abdicate responsibilities to training providers. Never has a diagnostic approach been more critical.
The reality is that in days gone by – as I have said on a number of occasions in the past three years – inside sales was a stepping stone: The role involved telesales, cold calling, customer support, account team back-up etc., whilst the serious face-face tasks were left to the more senior and experienced outside sales team. I discuss this fact in detail with Dan McDade of PointClear – HERE
Now, however, inside sales is a career, not merely a stepping-stone. The skill-set required is much more sophisticated, and advanced, as they not only uncover high-value opportunities, but qualify, negotiate, and close them. They are also now taking full responsibility for account management and development – and this is particularly significant.
Of equal importance, as Geoffrey suggests, we must re-educate outside sales professionals who are migrating inside in their droves.
We all face a huge challenge, and the sooner we recognize that and get on with it, the better!
News: Talking of sales training, you can also catch my interview with Mike Schultz of the Rain Group – “95% of Product Training is Ineffective!” HERE