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February 2, 2013
The Silver Bullet for Sales Ops to Drive Revenue and Lower Costs
By: Patrick Seidell
I hear this lament often from Sales Ops leaders. The highest priorities on your plate are often about reacting to the sales team. Compensation disputes, monthly reporting, new rep on boarding, SKO planning, forecast re-do’s, etc., etc.
It’s time to initiate a strategic effort that won’t just maintain revenue but will grow it. Bring the strategic value that you know you can deliver.
Deploy or Expand Inside Sales
Deliver a silver bullet that will lower cost of sales. You’ll also give your field sales organization the time to acquire more new accounts. Done right, deploying or expanding inside sales will improve revenue and reduce costs.
If you already have an inside sales team I’ve still got the goods for you today. Push them higher up market and expand the team.
Have you been listening? A major buzz is around inside sales and it’s been getting louder because the strategy works. Your customers have evolved to this point. More buyers prefer this approach today than they did just two years ago.
Download the SBI webinar “Designing Inside Sales” by clicking here.
Here are just a couple of proof-points on inside sales from our clients:
Notice that I illustrated “service” companies? That’s because these examples represent sales processes that are typically more complex. If you think your products or services are too complex for Inside Sales, think again.
Inside Sales within the US has grown 24% since 2011. 71% of all companies surveyed in 2012 stated they will expand inside sales in the next year.
I’m not talking about teenagers selling magazines part-time. That’s dead. I’m referring to professionals with years of strong experience selling highly complex solutions – on the phone.
One additional key fact to consider – before the average sales rep contacts a customer, they are almost 60% through the decision process. Buyers are gathering the information on their own. Without your field sales rep doing anything. In the final analysis, it is about the money.
If an inside sales rep can deliver the same info and insight as an outside rep at 60% of the cost per revenue generated/managed, what are you going to recommend?
Raise Your Game
Let’s sum up why you need to do this:
Get Started
It’s not easy to get inside sales initiated. Here’s what you need to do:
Here’s a schematic for the steps to take:
This might seem easy. Give them a telephone, assign them some accounts and you’re off! Do it without a plan and experience, and you’ll fail.
Take a look at our “Designing Inside Sales” webinar by clicking here.
Reach out to the experts to get started. But make sure that the resource you’ve tapped will execute for you when it counts. With the right partner, you can deliver lower costs and increased revenue.
Prior to joining SBI, Pat has held key positions within Sales Operations, Sales and Marketing management. Most recently, Pat held the role of VP Sales Operations and Enablement with an industry leading IT Services company with nearly $1B in annual revenues. He has led several transformation projects spanning Sales, Operations and Product functions for several Fortune 1000 companies. Pat has directed several large projects to evaluate marketing content and product portfolio to align offerings and messaging to achieve revenue growth goals.
Pat has deep experience across several verticals, including Logistics, IT Services, Media, Market Research and Consulting.
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