Inside Sales to Overtake Field Sales by 2015: Are You Ready?

The number of salespeople in the U.S. is projected to shrink from 20 million today to 8 million by 2020. Although that may be a shocking statistic, it’s hardly surprising given how dramatically buying behaviors have changed.

Josiane Feigon, president of TeleSmart Communications, shared her insight into the future of sales in her presentation at the Inside Sales Virtual Summit. View “Inside Sales to Overtake Field Sales by 2015: Are You Ready?” in the YouTube video below.

Why Is Inside Sales on the Rise?

Josiane Feigon

Buyers these days. They’re too busy to keep appointments. So, field reps waste a lot of time driving to meetings that never take place.

Field sales is also more expensive than inside sales. An average field sales visit costs anywhere from $215 to $400 compared with the cost of a phone call.

Prospects now participate in sales presentations via Skype, web conferencing and video. These tools are quickly catching on and overtaking face-to-face visits and traditional meetings.

Video is hot. Buyers would much rather watch a video than read a 40-page white paper.

By the year 2020, 85 percent of the buyer-seller interaction will happen online through social media and video.

Inside sales organizations are purchasing webcams and using them to communicate with clients. New technologies reduce the need for sales reps to jump on airplanes and fly for hours to meet a prospect in person.

Inside sales teams are also taking on more responsibilities. These teams used to focus on the beginning of the sale and support the field sales team. Now, inside sales reps are handling the sale from beginning to end and are closing bigger deals than they ever have before.

Tools of the Trade

Inside sales reps are early adopters of high-velocity sales tools. Meanwhile, field reps spend a lot of time on the road. They may not have access to as many tools because they’re away from the office.

Inside sales teams use sophisticated tools that help them with the following:

• Pre-call research

• Sales intelligence

• Calendaring and scheduling

• Sales presentations

• Collaboration

• Sales quotes

• Electronic signatures

When you add all of this up, you see that inside sales reps are selling smarter. They’re selling more efficiently. Their methods are more effective for the modern B2B buyers.

Inside sales will soon surpass field sales. The only real question is: Are you ready?

Find more tips and tricks in Feigon’s new book, Smart Sales Manager.

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