And then COVID-19 hit.
Face-to-face meetings were out, but inside sales could work remotely and connect with buyers virtually. And 64% of B2B vendors using a remote sales model in 2020 achieved or even surpassed their revenue expectations. Read more.
Now, in 2021, as the world slowly opens up and returns to asia mobile number list some form of “normal,” business leaders have important decisions to make regarding how to approach revenue growth. It’s not as simple as either going back to the way things were or accepting that we will all work remotely and do business in a virtual, digital world.
It’s time to take a considered assessment of your options.
Your ideal revenue growth model must consider many variables, including buyer preferences, the required capital investment in technology, the cost of doing business digitally compared with using face-to-face meetings, and the estimated ROI of hiring inside sales versus field reps.
The State of B2B Sales
For several years, businesses had been moving toward parity between inside sales reps and field reps. While inside reps often played a subordinate role to the outside reps, sales managers noted two distinct advantages inside sales had over field reps:
Increased Productivity: Inside sales reps can reach many more buyers and prospects in a day than a field rep meeting customers face-to-face. On average, an inside sales rep spends 71% of the day selling, while an outside rep can spend roughly 41% of the time selling and the rest traveling.
Reduced Costs: The cost of setting up an inside rep with desk space, computer, and phone pales in comparison to the expense of keeping a field rep on the road—with automobile, airfare, accommodations, and meals. The Harvard Business Review estimated that the costs associated with inside sales were between 40% and 90% less than outside sales. Similarly, PointClear calculated that the average inside sales call costs $50, compared to $308 for an outside sales call.
