How To Become An Inside Sales Representative
An inside sales representative calls prospective customers or engaging with existing ones through email, phone, social media and other methods to sell their companies products or services.. The term “inside sales” refers to the act of conducting sales through remote channels. This is opposed to “outside sales” which involve going to the customer and conducting the sales transaction face-to-face.
As an inside sales representative, your job is to call or email prospective clients. However, your work is more than telemarketing although it cannot be denied that this is the precursor to inside sales. You won’t be making single calls to a list of consumers. Rather, your job as an inside sales representative is to develop a relationship with potential clients by making multiple calls in order to close a sale. You won’t be handling small ticket business-to-consumer transactions like telemarketers but as an inside sales rep, you will try to close medium to large business-to-business and business-to-consumer deals.
Cold calling prospects is still a part of your work as an inside sales representative. However, you won’t be doing this randomly and calling just anybody. Rather, you will be armed by additional information that will direct you to the people to contact. The list may include former customers who might be interested in your particular offer based on their history of past purchases or visitors who responded to the call-to-action in your website. You may also be asked to talk to prospective leads before a sales manager is sent it to close the final sale.
To succeed as an inside sales representative, you need to be a very engaging communicator. You have to know the sweet spots of a particular client so that you can drive the conversation and ultimately make the sale. This entails doing a bit of research so you can get to know your potential client more intimately. You also need to know the product or service you are selling like the palm of your hand so that you can give answers when clients ask. Finally, you should be persistent. You won’t always make a sale each time you call and there may even be dry spells when all attempts will seem futile. You just have to learn from each experience and strive to do better next time.
Why Become An Inside Sales Representative
One reason to become an inside sales representative is that you genuinely love to sell. The challenge that comes with persuading the person at the other end of the line to listen to what you have to say and ultimately getting him to buy from you is something that only a few talented individuals can do. As far as earnings are concerned, sales representatives also stand to earn good money since they may also earn commissions on top of their monthly salaries. As businesses continue to utilize sophisticated tools to reach customers remotely, there is bound to be demand for inside sales representatives.
Inside Sales Representative Work Environment
Inside sales representatives can be found in a wide variety of industries, including wholesale, manufacturing, computer, retail and other companies. Their work is typically done in an office where they are surrounded by telephones, computers and other equipment which they use to get in touch with clients. Inside sales representatives work long hours and will need to make repeated calls before they can make a sale. The job can be stressful since many companies require their sales representatives to meet a quota to be able to keep their jobs.
Inside Sales Representative Salary
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not have salary data specifically for inside sales representatives. However, it does have salary information for the broader educational category of sales representatives in various industries. The mean annual wage for wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives is $68,880. Telemarketers earn $25,830 while all other sales and related workers are paid $34,330 annually. There is a wide difference in the earnings since compensation methods vary from one company to another.
Inside Sales Representative Career Outlook
The job outlook of sales representatives in general is expected to be good in the next few years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that in the ten-year period covering 2012 to 2022, the employment rate of wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives is expected to reach 9 percent, a rate that is about as fast as the average for all job types. Job prospects are even better for sales representatives of wholesale electronic markets which is set to rise 30 percent in the same time period.
Inside Sales Representative Degree
The minimum degree requirement of inside sales representatives typically depend on the type of product that they are selling. If these are nonscientific products, a high school diploma would generally be enough to qualify. However, for scientific products like medicines and medical equipment, a bachelor’s degree is the general requirement for an entry-level position. Inside sales representatives are usually given training on the job.
