{"id":344328,"date":"2025-12-14T22:33:59","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T22:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/four-inside-sales-rules-that-beg-to-be-broken-selling-power\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T22:33:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T22:33:59","slug":"four-inside-sales-rules-that-beg-to-be-broken-selling-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=344328","title":{"rendered":"Four Inside Sales Rules That Beg to Be Broken \u2013 Selling Power"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By Ed Shineman<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Sometimes, hard-and-fast rules for inside sales teams can get in the way of doing what\u2019s best for customers and sales results. Here are some traditional inside sales dogmas that are worth challenging based on real case examples from my personal experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rule #1: Inside sales reps must not visit customers.<\/b><\/p>\n

Winnie was responsible for teleselling customer education courses to installed base IT accounts. She discovered a fluke 90-day airfare promotion that let a Chicago customer fly course participants to Hawaii for $75, negotiated a rock-bottom corporate rate at a Waikiki Beach hotel, and positioned it as a combination training\/reward event.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her customer was so delighted they invited her to attend their national conference as a guest of honor. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Winnie\u2019s supervisor was aghast. \u201cHer call metrics will go in the tank while she\u2019s away. Plus, I don\u2019t have a dime in the travel budget for her.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But he relented, and Winnie was the star of the event \u2013 singled out as a supplier who was willing to go the extra mile for her customers. Breaking the no-travel rule was good for business, and recognizing Winnie was an inspiration to her inside sales peers.<\/span><\/p>\n

(I\u2019ll address another good reason to break the inside sales no-travel rule later.) <\/span><\/p>\n

Rule #2: Large deals always belong to the field sales team.<\/b><\/p>\n

Fred was assigned to pursue small accounts and larger accounts the field sales team had worked over and determined were \u201cpoor potential.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Fred didn\u2019t let this assessment prevent him from giving these lost causes his best efforts; and, what do you know, he surfaced a $270,000 opportunity, got the decision makers on board, and set to work developing a proposal\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

At which point the field sales rep who had originally given up on the account cut in: \u201cThanks, Fred; I\u2019ll take over now. Large deals are my responsibility and I can see you\u2019re over your head. When the deal closes, I\u2019ll see if I can get you a finder\u2019s fee.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, the sales VP intervened: \u201cFred has obviously developed a close rapport with this customer, and it would be foolish to change horses in midstream. Let\u2019s all unite in providing Fred with the support he needs to develop the proposal and close the deal.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no telling where a sales conversation will go, and arbitrary turf constraints shouldn\u2019t get in the way of serving customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rule #3: Inside sales and field sales responsibilities should be kept separate.<\/b><\/p>\n

Newly appointed to lead a troubled sales organization, I ambushed my inside sales team with a surprise operating review. \u201cAny big deals in the pipeline?\u201d One intrepid rep piped up: \u201cI\u2019ve just scored a big win against the competition.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And who was the competition? His sales counterpart in the field! <\/span><\/p>\n

Potential channel conflict is just one reason some sales leaders prefer to create a firewall between inside sales and field sales teams. Another fear is that blending the two groups will result in diluted accountability and \u2013 horror of horrors \u2013 double-counted revenue.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this silo approach to sales deployment couldn\u2019t be more wrong. <\/span><\/p>\n

When two sales teams play independently in the same account sandbox \u2013 no matter how concretely roles have been defined \u2013 hard feelings and a lack of trust are bound to be the result.<\/span><\/p>\n

The solution: Align your inside sales organization with your field sales organization and be sure your field team is invested in the success of their inside sales counterparts. <\/span><\/p>\n

If your field team is organized by account or industry, mirror that with your inside sales team \u2013 even though it may seem more convenient to assign reps by time zones, area codes, or an alpha sort. \u00a0Reinforce collaboration by populating field account manager goal sheets with a corresponding inside sales line item. Consider adding overall account plan achievement as a line item in evaluating your inside reps.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, while inside sales and field sales units will likely have their own report-in structure, be sure both groups ultimately report to the same leader. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Inside sales is a lot more rewarding when reps have an ownership stake in accounts and work in tandem with a buddy in the field. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rule #4: Inside sales units can\u2019t perform traditional field sales jobs. \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Once upon a time, inside sales jobs were limited to low-ticket transactions that could be completed in one call. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, thanks to Web conferencing, document sharing, and other virtual collaboration tools, almost no sales job is too demanding to be performed remotely. However, don\u2019t assume the same skill set required to book service renewals or set appointments applies when inside sales units take on more complex sales responsibilities. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s examine a few traditional field sales jobs that might benefit from an inside sales approach and identify where the talent requirements differ.<\/span><\/p>\n