Inside Sales: The Real Revenue Generators

The secret’s out: Inside sales teams are driving business-to-business sales in the 21st century. Rapidly changing dynamics have made inside sales teams the real revenue generators in today’s top sales organizations and have changed the way sales are done.

In this troubled economy, many heavy hitters in field sales are choosing inside sales as their new career track. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, there are now 3 million B2B salespeople in the country.

But selling at this level is more than an art; it’s a science. These reps are not a bunch of boiler room jocks out to make a quick buck on the phone. They’re well-educated, articulate, and tech-savvy men and women who thrive on the excitement and energy of selling their company’s solutions.

Here are the 20 qualities that make them unstoppable:

1. Time control: They know how to invest in both proactive and reactive time demands.
2. Calm and competitive: They study the odds and know what it takes to win.
3. Fast and fearless: They learn and move fast, rebound from rejections quickly, and bravely rely on their creative approaches.
4. Dedicated discipline: They pound it out and make their calls every day.
5. Maximum momentum: Their pace is consistent, solid, and balanced on a daily, monthly, and quarterly basis.
6. Techno-centric: They understand and use proven tools instead of looking for shortcuts or creating their own.
7. Strategic planning: They take time to understand their territory and accounts to determine how to best penetrate the market, whether it’s small and medium-size business or enterprise.
8. Solid partnerships: Everyone wants them on their team because they know how to create, manage, and align with partners.
9. Power player: They aim high and can sniff out a "no-po" (those without the power) immediately.
10. Accurate forecasting: You can always count on them to provide solid numbers; there are never any last-minute surprises by sandbagging.
11. Coachability: They are committed to improving themselves and interested in learning, developing, and growing personally and professionally.
12. Resourceful navigation: They know how to move through the internal and external system to get answers and complete tasks.
13. Pain identification: They know how to uncover a potential need and expose it so the urgency for a solution becomes greater.
14. Sales intuition: They have the sales gene; it’s in their DNA, and their instincts are usually right.
15. Razor-sharp questioning: They have a questioning intuition so their timing is synchronized, their listening is sharp, and they establish excellent rapport.
16. Tough marketing: They no longer just rely on marketing for leads, campaigns, and product information. They know how to create their own “lite” version.
17. Professional team player: They are not greedy and make choices to benefit the team by sharing knowledge and mentoring others.
18. Exceptional writing skills: Whether they craft a quick proposal, an e-mail blast, a rejection response, or a clever subject heading, their writing abilities clearly and effectively communicate their intentions.
19. Pitch perfect: They make sense when they present the solution; the product and technical knowledge is clear and has value.
20. Cha-ching! They bring business in and consistently exceed quota.

Josiane Feigon is president of TeleSmart and a blogger on inside sales. She is a leading expert on inside sales teams and management talent and is the author of Smart Selling on the Phone and Online.