Inside Sales Is Metrics-Challenged
In this newsletter
Inside sales organizations are quadrupling their sales teams this year. According to Inside Sales Remote Sales Industry Research, by 2012 companies will be adding inside sales departments at a rate of 7.5% per year! Inside teams are chartered with more revenue responsibility than ever before, and the good news is that spending is up — about $2 trillion in cash is held by US corporations and $2 trillion in cash in US banks.
Good timing! Inside Sales departments are stocking up on lots of bling — shiny jewels like dialers, email drip marketing, sales intelligence tools, and social monitoring tools. At the same time, they’re ripping out landlines in exchange for Skype or VOIP, they’re using Smart Phones, iPads, and Social tools in their prospecting efforts.
Could the Phone Be Going Away?
Today’s intrepid Customer 2.0 sees the phone as a rude annoyance, an intrusive and disruptive interruption. If you catch them off-guard with a cold-call, it rattles these mini-control freaks out.
When over 80% of them trust recommendations from their peers, they’d rather check you out before they take your call. Which means chances are, they’re not going to answer their phone.
But what metrics should you measure if the phone may be dying a slow death?
Help! Inside Sales is Metrics-Challenged
The phone isn’t going away completely anytime soon — but it can no longer stand on its own. In an era where we must either “engage or die,” as Brian Solis says, inside teams must change their tired and predictable ways of measuring productivity.
It’s the beginning of a new month and new quarter — time to consider measuring something new. The metrics of the future are here!
7 Tips for the Metrics of the Future
- # of inbound calls per day. The goal is to generate enough interest from lead nurturing email marketing campaigns that you receive phone requests from your prospects. Why? Because they have self-educated and they’re ready to talk.
- # of LinkedIn discussions per week. First, invest time in a well-populated, active, and relevant LinkedIn group in your sector. Then write such thought-provoking, insightful, fresh content about your space that you earn credibility and become involved in the inner circle of prospects listening for trigger events.
- # of new LinkedIn contacts per week. You continue to spread your network and connect with more Power Buyers each week.
- # of web-conferencing iPad presentations. It’s time to take visual responsibility and throw yourself into video. Reserve a web presentation and prep your — very short and visually enhanced! — PowerPoint slide deck for an 8-minute presentation.
- #of triple-threat introductions. The phone can no longer fly solo in today’s Sales 2.0 environment. It needs a little help from its friends: phone + email + social media friends. This triple threat strengthens and rounds out your prospecting efforts.
- #of meetings and appointments scheduled. Don’t just send an Outlook meeting request that suffers from “failure to launch.” Create a bigger virtual meeting/appointment “cocktail” style — without the booze. Make it fun, flashy, and hard to refuse.
- # of meaningful conversations. Even the most slippery prospects crave a deep, meaningful, honest conversation — especially the power buyer. It gets lonely at the top! Schedule these on a weekly basis and then use your best C-level skills. Don’t hang out in your easy self-selling utopia: take the time to talk about them, ask questions that dig for their pain, and listen to what they have to say.
Smart Selling Service Offerings 2011: TeleSmart provides a wide assortment of service offerings, ranging from on-site training to virtual webinars. Our training is all about inside sales — combining phone, online, and sales and social tools productivity. Watch Josiane’s video and invite her for the following:
- Building a Sustainable Sales Training Culture - Audit Report
- 2-Day On-Site Training
- 1:1 Productivity Coaching
- Subscription Smart Shots Webinars
- Sales Kick-offs and Conferences
