Tips for scaling an inside sales organization?

The answer of where to recruit depends on resources you potentially have already. If you do hire outside, consider the following.

Hire people that have sold solutions similar to yours. A top rep that sold servers and storage may not be a good fit for selling IT services--it is a completely different selling environment. Also if they developed a territory or were they working in an established one. Make sure their former selling landscape was similar, i.e., tangible/non-tangible products, buyers, sales cycles, territory development and coverage, dynamics of sale, etc. That will lower your risk of a mismatch.

There are a lot of great people looking for new opportunities, so it's best to take time and make sure it's a good fit. Since you plan to do this over 6 months, you'll be able to find the right people.

I would recommend taking your best rep currently on your team and profile what qualities make them successful. And look for people that have those qualities. Build your profile around work ethic, customer commitment, professional development, and dealing with obstacles/challenges.

Love Trish's comments on this. Scaling an inside sales team assumes you already understand the customer, their needs, and the process they go through to consider and purchase. You absolutely need this knowledge before scaling.

Assuming that you do, scaling volume is all about process:

- Do you have an onboarding system for new reps, so that they understand the company, culture, customer, sales process, sales systems, etc. before they hit the phones?
- Do you have an active best practice sharing culture so that new ideas are shared rapidly among the rest of the reps?
- Do you have documented processes for how to use your sales CRM system, including specific definitions for leads and active opportunities at various stages of development?
- Does each rep have the tools they need - leads, lists, collateral, messaging, etc. - to be successful?
- Do you have a system in place to measure performance and actively manage each rep to certain tactical and closed-business objectives?

Great answers from consultants that charge good money for these answers:) Whatever you decide to do, take a stand on inside sales. If you end up hiring 2-3 and they don't have a dedicated manager, the organization will get lost in the shuffle. Build it and they will come.

Dan, Before finding the answer let me understand the question clearly . First of all you need to be specific what kind of competencies you are looking for a inside sales person. There are advantages & disadvantages in both the cases , recruiting from inside & from outside. A inside person has prior knowledge of what exactly is being expected for the said position. He or she knows the company culture. He or she also knows about the people working around & has certain amount of knowledge about his or her co worker working style. In the same time he or she might be a little sluggish that things work in a particular manner in my organization so his or her responses might not be quick or based on predictive thinking. This happens with people who stays longer with the organization, most of the time it is totally not there mistake but it happens.
A outside candidate can bring new idea's. lot of enthusiasm to his or her work. He or she can also bring good practices from his or her earlier organization. He or she would give hundred percent to there work because they have to prove themselves in the new setup. Again sometimes outside candidate might find the working culture just opposite of there earlier organization & may not adjust to the new environment.
Question is not about inside or outside candidate but it is about who fits the bill in the most appropriate manner. Who fulfills the requirements of the job in the most befitting manner irrespective of inside or outside. I would suggest you can have the mix team.

While most everyone can use a telephone - not everyone is cut out to work in an Inside Sales Call Center environment. Someone may have “The Right Stuff” to deliver great Customer Service & Support – it doesn’t necessarily follow that the same individual is also a good fit for the more demanding & sales-oriented requirements of Inside Sales.

Hiring the wrong Inside Sales Agent to begin with is the Root Cause of most Call Center Performance Issues. It’s also a significant drain on your Budget & Bottom Line, on Customer Satisfaction Ratings, and on Sales Results. Every failed hire represents wasted dollars down the drain. Not to mention the Lowered Productivity, Poor Morale & Higher Absences associated with a Poor Job Fit.

Typically there are 3 grades of Agents found in an Inside Sales Call Center: (Above Average), (Average), and (Below Average).

(Above Average) Agents seem to have “The Right Stuff” that pushes them to succeed & a natural compatibility with the duties of the position. They work hard - exceed expectations - do more than asked - achieve high-quality consistent results - can always be counted upon - need little direction & work extremely well with everyone.

(Average) Agents perform their duties adequately enough “to get by” - but no better. They are the partially competent. Generally they’re strong from a Skills standpoint but missing a key ingredient or two from a Job Fit and Sales Closing standpoint.

(Below Average) Agents are the people who just don’t fit somehow. Sometimes they’re good people in the wrong jobs. They need extra coaching & supervision just to achieve average results. Often they cause unnecessary conflict. (Below Average) Agents have the Highest Levels of Absenteeism, Lowest Levels of Productivity & Sales, Poorest Performance & Customer Satisfaction Ratings, and generally have a Negative Impact on Team Morale. They represent the real problems in a Call Center workforce. While (Average) & (Below Average) Agents may seem fully qualified at the Interview Stage – they’re a Poor Job Fit – the cost of hiring them is enormous – with little value add to an organization.

Top performing Inside Sales Call Centers drive their Revenue & Performance through superior hiring tactics. We help employers gain better insight & more accurate predictions as to which applicants from a pool of Candidates would perform up to, or beyond their established standards. You can find out about a Free Trial of SPAS Call Center Agent Pre-Employment Screening Software at http://www.telesoftsystems.ca/64201.html

Dan, I was wondering if i can help your inside sales team with potential leads to work on.
Currently we are assisting many companies in helping them generate good business accounts. Any thoughts? reply me- christina.mckay@gmx.com