By Andris A. Zoltners, PK Sinha & Sally E. Lorimer
Field sales and inside sales have traditionally had their own domains. Field salespeople did the heavy lifting, working with customers in person. Inside salespeople sold over the telephone and Web, and were responsible for the uncomplicated products, remotely located customers and simpler sales tasks, such as lead generation and renewals.
The blending of field and inside sales is driven by the digital revolution in three related ways. First, digital is powering “freemium” and subscription sales businesses, which steer customers to buy from digital and inside sales channels, rather than from expensive field salespeople. Second, digital communication tools have become ubiquitous as the quality of technology continues to soar. Finally, data and analytics are informing more decisions for salespeople, sales managers and sales leaders, for both field and inside sales.
Sales managers should consider three changes to help their organizations deal with these changes:
Flexible structures. Structures are evolving to give customers flexibility to connect using field sales, inside sales, digital channels or all three, simultaneously. The choice depends on each customer’s level of knowledge and the complexity of needs.
Waves of change in customer knowledge, markets and the digital landscape are colliding with the traditional rigidity of sales force structures. The number and mix of field and inside salespeople need to adapt almost continuously.
New enablers. As field salespeople become more data-driven, silos of field sales, inside sales and marketing are crumbling. Inside salespeople also need new tools to help them venture beyond scripted customer interactions and engage in more autonomous problem-solving. And as inside salespeople have a more direct hand in closing sales, their performance metrics and incentives must align.
Changing sales talent. Field salespeople still need face-to-face interpersonal skills. But to win in the changing world, field salespeople must also excel at leveraging data-based insights and communicating virtually, using methods, such as online video, e-mail and social selling. At the same time, inside salespeople need new skills for succeeding in customer acquisition roles. Sales force hiring and training must adapt to these new success profiles.
Andris A. Zoltners is a professor emeritus at Northwestern University. PK Sinha is a founder and cochairman of ZS Associates. Sally E. Lorimer is a consultant and a business writer.
1 comment
Thank you for sharing an wonderful post. It really helped to know the changes that every organization should know to improve sales.