In my previous article on “Top 5 Inside Sales Mistakes That Businesses Commonly Make”, I had mentioned that the first mistake is the lack of involvement of the business owners and entrepreneurs in the inside sales process. And, today I am gonna tell you Why Should Business Owners Get Involved In Inside Sales Process?
When we consult businesses on inside sales and lay out strategies to make it a success, we always recommend and make sure that the business owners or the stake holders of the business proactively participate in the process and show interest in scaling it.
Let me explain this with one of our clients’ example that we engaged in February, 2014, just to help you understand perfectly what I’m trying to say.
In Expectation of a Boon!
So, this company is an established technology services provider, founded by 5 techie-scholars operating out of US and Asia. It took the stake holders around 8 months time to bring the inside sales team to setup and function. They hired 4 inside sales reps including 1 team manager with the vision to utilize their ideas, innovations, passion and experiences to build and handle the process. Initially the process was smooth overall. Since the stake holders had realized that they lacked prior experience in Inside Sales, they chose to rely on the expertise of the hired professionals to run the process. But eventually things started going hay wire and lead generation became stagnant.
Even reps gradually became demotivated and lacked performance. I kid you not, the environment was not to be blamed. The stake holders took care of every aspect they thought would keep the environment motivating. There’s free food, snacks, employee engagement activities, ample flexibility and friendly work culture.
The stake holders did take various measures to address the increasing decline in the reps’ performance, but all in vain. Finally they approached BusinessMojos, and asked us to evaluate the affliction.
Addressing the Affliction!
After holding several discussions with the stake holders and sessions with the employees both individually and as teams, we (I and my team) found the widespread disparity in their expectations and business understanding. Although the gap was astonishing at first, we later realized the fact that the whole situation can be attributed as a result of lack of direct involvement by the stakeholders in the whole process and with the team.
The Mission Gets Going!
At first, we implemented a few changes to the overall process and strategies in place, making sure the changes show least effects on the existing process functioning. But above all, we advised the founders to get involved in the process. We made them understand the fact that, in the crucial stage of a company, where the entrepreneurs are experimenting and learning how to do inside sales successfully, one needs to be knee-deep in the sales hustle. Thus, one needs to be actively involved, and participate.
So, all we did was to get their hands dirty doing all the things themselves first and made them do the work their sales employees do. Besides, we held regular calls and progress report sessions alternatively with the co-founders, clarified their approach, their vision and eventually the business positioning. Involvement of the co-founders with the team started inculcating the right business understanding, positioning and increased accountability of the inside sales team. Gradually, the founders themselves started getting interested in the whole process as it got more transparent and focused over time. They now took adhoc mock calls with sales reps and deeply monitored the process at individual levels, thereby enabling growth and better performance over time.
In a duration of 3 months post our interaction, the process and business operations got streamlined and started generating expected results.
Inside sales is a grunt work & you’ll have to do it!
Inside sales is an engine, also called as the P2TAD. It comprises of five essential elements Process, People, Technology, Analytics and Decisions. This engine has to be rolling whatsoever, to keep the business alive. So, being a business owner, you automatically become the first driver of the engine, all-because no one else has the understanding of the bigger picture as clear as you do.
The advantage of being in the driver’s seat will give an unfiltered view of the market place that you think fits your product or service. There are ample advantages, a few of which I’m listing below.
1. First Hand Experience
You get direct access to the data such as responses, prospect behavior, lead interactions, etc. This data is of high value as it enables you to make estimates about market sentiments for your business offering/services, campaign performance, problems faced by your team and identify probable gaps in your outreach campaigns.
2. Faster Decision
It brings in agility in sales operations. As based on the first hand information you gather, you can take faster decisions such as changes to current process, positioning messaging/pitch, process, collateral or the campaign itself. This can save a lot of time and also contribute directly to the quality of leads. Typically no one else in the team would be able to take decisions and get it implemented at the pace that you could.
3. Direct Access
It helps motivate your employees, as the team gets direct access to you without any layers. Their queries and concerns can be addressed at a much faster pace most of the time immediately. On other side you get an understanding of each team member and can work on individual development; also group training. Calculate for yourself, the advantages of the direct motivation you provide to the entire team.
4. The Control
Daily involvement and regular reporting keeps the process and its operations in your control, positively. You get to know the progress of the team, the progress of each campaign, progress of the leads in the sales funnel, etc. In short, a micro-level view of the entire Inside Sales functioning. Being involved directly into the process also informs you about various functional requirements. Hence, you stay equipped and confident to handle future operational issues that might arise and scale up/down.
Now that you know about the various advantages of being in control of the entire engine, let me give you a little piece of advice to help you figure out what’s best for you:
Create an in-house sales team
If as a founder, you decide to build your own in-house sales team then make sure you get thoroughly involved in the initial sales exploration phase. Monitor the process, people and their performance at micro-level so as to know what strategies work and what doesn’t. Keep in mind, simply hiring the best industry talents won’t make it a success. But your efforts and dedication, coupled with innovative ideas and passion of the sales folks will actually do the trick.
Opt for outsourcing or extended team of experts
Many businesses that we interact with have tried setting up an in-house team and failed, the main reason being the operational difficulties. One of the biggest reason for failure was that none of the decision makers had any prior experience (one such example I already given at the beginning of the article). Did you know that 20% of companies in an effort to transform and\or reorganize their sales processes opt to outsource their sales teams? Thus, it is only wise to leave it to the experts, and maybe even learn a few things by working closely with them. If you wish to know more about it, read this article: Yes, It Is Time To Outsource An Inside Sales Team!
Outsourcing has its advantages—you get an immediate salesforce without the risks. Outsourcing allows a CEO to have a sales force with experience, a proven strategy, and connections without the costs of training new hires, salaries, benefits, or travel. It also allows for quick market penetration, direct accountability, and a guaranteed ROI.
Get Involved & Motivate
I will yet again press upon what I have mentioned earlier, Get Involved. It’s the main ingredient to inside sales success. Now to increase the probability of success a little more, add regular doses of motivation and encouragement. Along with technology, remember to enable your sales reps or the extended team with feedback and praises to boost their self esteem and morale. Trust me it does wonders!
Going a step above, by creating sales incentives, bonuses, and rewards for behaviors you want to encourage—such as lead generation, up-selling, or anything else—you can easily motivate employees to accomplish business goals that have been established. This can easily increase sales efficiency. Creating an environment of positive reinforcement can do wonders for any sales team. Sometimes, this idea just has to come from the top in order to be implemented throughout the office.
Oh before I sign off, let me tell you that if you are facing any such difficulties or if you are looking to outsource a strategic inside sales team, feel free to talk to us and let’s see what’s the best that can be done.
