Greater numbers of outside sales agents transitioned indoors over the past decade. This forced the world of inside sales to create more room. The definition of inside sales has seen a variety of definitions since the 1980s. Ken Krogue of Insidesales.com now explains: “Inside sales is professional sales done remotely… it is remote sales.”
As the definition changes and the pool widens, inside sales training must adjust too. Advancements in technology change how agents make calls and managers do their job. In order to rise to the top or maintain your current standing, you need to stay up to date.
We monitored our agents during the first half of 2017. Then we collected these five top inside sales training tips to keep your company at its best:
1. Training never ends.
Remember that inside sales training never ends. Best practices change with little notice. Different industries need varied approaches. And your company goals shift as time passes.
Conducting regular inside sales training sessions keeps agents up to speed. Hold practice sales calls. Overview past calls with prospects or clients. Update agents on company progress towards Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
2. Use technology for effective inside sales training.
The capabilities of technology surpassed what we ever envisioned even 20 years ago. In the call center industry, technological advancements help managers assess performance. If you aren’t making use of the tech that’s available, you’re already behind.
Every call center needs to access to their call recordings. Use call recordings for inside sales training purposes, with both new and current agents. Without recordings, you lose opportunities to correct mistakes when they arise.
Live Agent Monitoring gives you access to your agents’ active calls. With Live Agent Monitoring, you can:
- Listen in without the agent knowing
- Whisper to agents without the person on the other end of the call hearing
- Barge into and take over calls
These features provide the chance to train agents live. Correct or make impromptu adjustments without the prospect or customer knowing what happened.
3. Track daily calling statistics and measure KPIs.
Keep an eye on daily calling statistics. Ensure a minimum quota to provide top inside sales training. Without establishing a baseline, you won’t know whether agents are succeeding.
Setting up KPIs KPIs keeps your company on track over the long run. They motivate your entire workforce to operate at their highest individual caliber. KPIs also give agents a bigger-picture goal to aim for outside of their regular daily quotas.
4. Conduct brief, hyper-focused inside sales training sessions.
Break down large monthly training sessions that seem to go on for hours. Replace them with shorter, weekly inside sales training sessions. Keep agents’ attention in brief, hour-long training periods rather than exhaustive day-long sessions.
Before you hold the training session decide on a few main points to cover. Help them retain the training with a hyper-focused approach. Don’t overwhelm them with information overload.
5. Acknowledge agents’ good work.
Most people recall criticism quicker than they do praise. This doesn’t mean that compliments fall flat, though. Everyone appreciates recognition. Appreciation goes a long way. Let your agents know they did a great job with their rebuttals or congratulate them on a large sale. When you do this, you encourage them to outperform their last attempts.
A great idea is to dedicate a part of your inside sales training to employee recognition. Inspire them to surpass their potential by praising them in front of the team.
Start using these inside sales training tips today!
Put these techniques in place immediately. Give yourself time to figure out which approach works best for your business. Provide consistent, focused training. Use advanced technology. Track your call center statistics. Encourage employees to perform their best. Using these inside sales training tips will elevate your center to the next level.
