The sales force is not unlimited nor does it have time to waste. For this reason, in an ideal world, marketing works on the top of the digital funnel, generates leads based on fairly large audience segments and then narrows the field through nurturing activities (marketing automation). In this way , it is possible to present sales only and exclusively with contacts that , based on their online behavior and the relationship that has been created with the company at that point, have a solid possibility of making the purchase . Sales do their job well and the entire company obtains a significant return.
Without synergy between marketing and sales, the project does not work
The ideal world does not exist. If the company is not adequately structured to best manage a digital project. In fact, it often happens that (cold) leads are directly, or after a screening (nurturing) based on online behavior, entrusted to the salespeople, who must contact them, evaluate whether to continue with the relationship, set an appointment and so on. In the real world, therefore, often the leads do not pass through that strong filtering activity that allows sales to focus only on the best ones. Results:
. There are too many leads
Sellers have little time and are unable to contact them in a timely manner: when – and if – they do, the potential customer has lost interest or is already in contact with competitors.
. “Cold” Leads
Salespeople are used to in-person meetings (where possible), in-depth and australia telegram data detailed. They want to understand how to improve the customer's business with their solutions, which requires not only knowing the product and the sector, but also having time to dedicate to the potential customer. When faced with " cold " leads , however, contact must be rapid, because it is necessary to quickly understand whether to continue with the relationship or not. Moral: contacting large quantities of leads is not the (typical) job of a salesperson in a tech company.
Salespeople are starting to distance themselves from digital projects, and this is the most serious consequence. They are used to much higher conversion rates than those of online lead generation and they need someone to do a screening before they intervene, otherwise the conclusion they reach is that “ lead generation doesn’t work ”. The rift between marketing and sales is becoming ever deeper.
Inside Sales as-a-service, or how to create synergy and results
In this scenario, the key role of the Inside Sales as-a-service service comes into play, which we offer to tech companies as a complement to digital marketing projects aimed at creating commercial opportunities. In digitally mature companies, Inside Sales is a key figure. After lead generation and a strong, more or less automated nurturing activity, it is the figure who gets in touch with the leads already “ worked on ” by marketing to carry out the famous screening and also set up any appointments for sales. Its role is fundamental because it acts as a coordinator between two divisions that often operate in silos and are therefore poorly suited to the frenetic digital world. In other words, Inside Sales adds to all the previous automated activity (marketing automation) the preparation and human sensitivity to understand whether that lead is really worth the sales force's time or not. Inside Sales is not a team of people who set appointments, but professionals who are able to evaluate whether a contact - based on all the information in their possession and direct communication - could be a concrete opportunity or not.
