I recently had the pleasure of reading a great piece from our friends at InsideSales.com titled “Lead Generation Methods Executive Summary” from June of 2013.
The article discusses a study of the effectiveness of the most common lead generation methods, based on a survey of 423 ales and marketing professionals. Nearly 50% of respondents were in the business services and manufacturing sectors, while media, software and finance were also well-represented.
It was a pleasant surprise to see that they found the use of professional inside sales was one of the most effective ways of generating leads.
“Tradeshows, email or electronic newsletters, and company websites are recognized as hghly effective at generating leads,” the summary authors write. “Inside sales, however, was the highest rated method for generating leads.”
WHY IS THE USE OF INSIDE SALES FOR LEAD GENERATION SO EFFECTIVE?
Targeted Selling
Aka the “Rifle Approach”. The use of inside sales allows companies to target and connect with the exact decision makers at ideal prospective clients versus having unqualified prospects find you via other avenues. There is a great book called Selling To Zebras that drives this point home.
More At Bats
We always say sales is a numbers game. Inside sales teams have the unique ability to cover more ground, in turn helping them uncover more and more opportunities.
Application of knowledge
Many say that the art of sales has changed due to the advancements in technology. In the old days, salesmen (and women) were the holders of the product knowledge. The internet changed that. A prospect can find 80-90% of the product knowledge online. Our job now is less education and more application. Where inside sales come in is helping them apply that knowledge to build solutions to their problems and issues.
You Can’t Tune Us Out
This may be my opinion, but I feel that with the barrage of emails, tweets, Facebook likes, and media flying in their faces every hour, most prospects are getting inundated with information. This tends to dull their interest as it is often tremendously overwhelming. That said, when a professional inside sales team connects with decision makers and conveys a powerful value proposition it is hard to tune that out.
That’s why an inside sales team is crucial for almost every organization.
Happy Selling!