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2 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of InsideSales.com. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, InsideSales.com, 1712 South East Bay Boulevard, Suite #100, Provo, Utah InsideSales.com All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part or in any form.

3 Executive Summary... 4 Results... 5 Overall Respondent Demographics... 5 Figure 1: Respondent Role... 5 Figure 2: Size of Inside Sales Organization... 6 Figure 3: Geography Sold To... 7 Figure 4: Primary Industry... 8 Leaders Survey Responses... 9 Figure 5: Leadership Titles/Roles... 9 Figure 6: Top Inside Sales Challenges According to Leaders Figure 7: Top Inside Sales Challenges According to Leadership by Year Figure 9: Shifts in Resources Figure 10: Inside Sales Model(s) Deployed Reps Survey Responses Figure 11: Roles of Representatives Figure 12: Top Challenges According to Reps Figure 13: Top Inside Sales Challenges According to Reps by Year Comparison Between Reps and Leaders Inside Sales Trends Figure 14: Inside Sales Change in Headcount Figure 15: Leaders Top Sales Communication Tools Figure 16: Reps Top Sales Communication Tools Figure 17: Work-From-Home Policy by Organization Size Figure 18: Changes in Buyer Education Figure 19: Change in Sales Hiring Profile Conclusion

4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The inside sales industry is plagued with obstacles preventing companies from performing at maximum efficiency. Here, we analyze the industry s top challenges that company leaders and sales representatives both face. In an effort to reduce these roadblocks, we analyze some of the common causes, common solutions, and how some challenges relate with others on a year-byyear basis. By understanding the challenges better, weaknesses can be overcome and overall growth will take place. For the past three years that we have performed this survey, leaders have been consistent in their opinion about their top challenges in inside sales. Training and development of sales reps remains their No. 1 challenge. The reps have also been consistent in saying that finding the right quality and quantity of leads is their biggest challenge. Rank Leaders Reps 1 Training & Development Lead Quantity & Quality 2 Lead Quantity & Quality Rules & Procedures 3 Recruiting & Hiring Training & Development 4 Tools & Technologies Career Advancement 5 Coaching Coaching 4

5 RESULTS OVERALL RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS Role by Type About 57% of people who responded to our survey were sales management or leadership rather than front-line sales reps. Respondent Role 56.8% 43.2% Individual Contributor / Sales Rep Management / Leadership FIGURE 1: RESPONDENT ROLE 5

6 % of Respondents Size of Inside Sales Organization Small inside sales organizations (10 reps or fewer) were represented in a similar proportion this year as in There were fewer respondents with 11 to 50 employees but an increase of 9 percentage points of inside sales organizations with 101 to 500 employees % Size of Inside Sales Organization % % 1 6.3% 4.5% 2.7% 1 to to to to No Inside Sales FIGURE 2: SIZE OF INSIDE SALES ORGANIZATION Leadership s Top Challenges by Size of Inside Sales Organization When subdivided by inside sale organization size, we saw different top challenges for each group. Size Top Challenge 1 to 10 Lead Quantity & Quality 11 to 50 Training & Development 51 to 100 Recruiting & Hiring 101 to 500 Recruiting & Hiring 500+ Training & Development 6

7 % of Respondents Geographies Covered A slightly lower proportion of inside sales organizations in this year s survey sell to the United States than in 2015 s survey. Canada saw a dramatic increase of 13 percentage points from the previous year % Geography Sold To % 32.2% % 19.1% 16.1% 14.1% 11.1% United States All of North America Canada Europe Australia Asia South America Africa FIGURE 3: GEOGRAPHY SOLD TO 7

8 % of Respondents 4.8% 4.8% 4.8% 3.8% 2.9% 1.9% 1.9% Industries Our survey showed that the most common industry using inside sales was software, followed by manufacturing and healthcare. Over a quarter of companies surveyed were in the software industry, which is almost double the next most common industry. 25.7% Primary Industry % 1 9.5% 7.6% 5.7% 5.7% 5.7% FIGURE 4: PRIMARY INDUSTRY 8

9 % of Respondents LEADERS SURVEY RESPONSES Leadership Roles Of the leaders who responded to our survey, 65.2% of inside sales leaders were either managers or directors. This number increased 2% from the previous year. Vice presidents saw a slight increase from 2015, and C-level leaders had a decrease % Leadership Titles/Roles % % 13.4% Manager/Supervisor Director Vice President C-Level FIGURE 5: LEADERSHIP TITLES/ROLES 9

10 % of Respondents Leaders Top Challenges Leaders perceived training and development to be the most pressing challenge, followed by quantity and quality of leads, and recruiting and hiring. The only exception to this was within the education industry, which saw recruiting and hiring as their biggest challenges % 24.3% Top Inside Sales Challenges According to Leaders 20.5% % % 8.1% 6.7% 6.2% 6.2% 5.7% 5.2% 4.8% 4.3% 3.3% FIGURE 6: TOP INSIDE SALES CHALLENGES ACCORDING TO LEADERS 10

11 Rank TRENDS The top six challenges remain unchanged since 2014 for sales leadership. Training salespeople and generating enough of the right leads are still top of mind. The biggest change from 2015 to 2016 was the need to sell the value of the inside sales team. Top Inside Sales Challenges According to Leaders By Year Training & Development Lead Quantity & Quality Recruiting & Hiring Tools & Technologies Coaching Compensation Plans Employee Retention Working with the Field Social Media for Prospecting Employee Onboarding Rewards & Recognition Selling the Value of Inside Sales Developing Tomorrow's Leaders Other FIGURE 7: TOP INSIDE SALES CHALLENGES ACCORDING TO LEADERSHIP BY YEAR 11

12 How Leaders Are Addressing Their Top Challenges We asked sales leaders to share some solutions they re using to overcome these top challenges: Challenge Training & Development Lead Quantity & Quality Recruiting & Hiring Solution Implementing more coaching Using external sales training firms or accreditations Hiring sales consultants New sales development reps to focus on larger customers Building rapport New marketing leadership marketing programs and education programs Increased commission rates Exploring larger markets Hiring head hunters and employment firms Splitting roles of inbound and sales development in order to hire entry-level inbound reps 12

13 % of Respondents Shifts in Resources Over half of respondents said they would maintain the balance they currently have between field and inside resources, and almost half said they would add sales development and lead generation resources % Shifts in Resources % 1 8.8% 8.8% 7.8% Maintain balance Add Sales Development From Field to Inside Outsource add'l sales resources From Inside to Field FIGURE 9: SHIFTS IN RESOURCES 13

14 Sales Models According to sales leaders, sales development was the most used inside sales model. Team and discrete models were both very commonly used as well. Hybrid models were the least commonly used Inside Sales Model(s) Deployed % 36.9% % 24.3% 19.8% 1 Sales Development Team Discrete Inbound Sales Channel/ Distribution Hybrid FIGURE 10: INSIDE SALES MODEL(S) DEPLOYED Definitions for Sales Models: Sales Development: These reps are lead qualifiers; they set appointments for sales reps with potential buyers Team: Inside reps using an overlay quota while working with field reps Discrete: Inside reps selling without involvement of field reps Inbound Sales or Sales Support: The technical or product experts, typically an overlay resource to your sales reps Hybrid: Inside reps who sell inside and at times travel to meet clients in person Channel/Distribution: Inside reps support reseller, distributor, or a channel partner 14

15 % of Respondents REPS SURVEY RESPONSES Reps Roles The most common rep role was that of sales development followed by inside sales. Customer service reps were very rare in our survey. 45.3% Roles of Representatives % % 1 Sales Development Inside Sales Representative Account Management 1.2% Customer Service FIGURE 11: ROLES OF REPRESENTATIVES 15

16 % of Respondents Reps Top Challenges By far, the most common challenge is achieving the right quantity and quality of leads, according to sales representatives. Rules and procedures as well as lack of training were also concerns for reps. The few customer service reps who were in our survey didn t see lead quantity and quality as a problem; they saw career advancement, training, and rewards as more relevant issues Top Challenges According to Reps % % 4.6% 4.6% 3.4% 3.4% 3.4% 2.3% 2.3% 1.1% 1.1% FIGURE 12: TOP CHALLENGES ACCORDING TO REPS 16

17 Rank TRENDS While the reps opinions haven t been as consistent as those of sales leadership, the No. 1 challenge has been lead quantity and quality since Dealing with excessive rules and procedures has become a much more notable issue for reps in the last year. Top Inside Sales Challenges According to Reps by Year Lead Quantity & Quality Rules & Procedures Training & Development Career Advancement Coaching Quota Expectations Compensation Complexity Micromanagement Over Emphasis on Metrics Tools & Technology Clarity of Goals Senior Management Engagement Working with the Field Rewards & Recognition Other FIGURE 13: TOP INSIDE SALES CHALLENGES ACCORDING TO REPS BY YEAR 17

18 How Reps Are Addressing Their Top Challenges Reps who responded to our survey also provided ways they are overcoming the challenges they face most: Challenge Lead Quantity & Quality Rules & Procedures Training & Development Solution Using LinkedIn and other networking sites Cold calling Purchasing lists and referral programs Focusing on companies that can afford the services Working more closely with clients Getting management involved with the rules of engagement Trying to get managers involved with training Emphasizing to leaders the expectations to reach quota 18

19 COMPARISON BETWEEN REPS AND LEADERS In general, leaders were more concerned across the board. Lead quantity and quality was important to both leaders and reps, but even more dramatically for reps. More leaders were concerned with training and development for their reps, which was the second biggest concern for reps themselves. Comparisons Between Leaders' and Reps' Opinions Lead Quantity & Quality 24.3% 46. Training & Development % Coaching Compensation 4.6% 3.4% 9.5% 11. Tools & Technologies Working with the Field 2.3% 1.1% 6.7% 12.4% Leaders Reps Rewards & Recognition %

20 INSIDE SALES TRENDS Plans to Change Inside Sales Headcount Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they would increase inside sales headcount, and nearly one-third said they would maintain their headcount at the same level from 2015 to Inside Sales Change in Headcount No Change 31.5% Increase 63.1% Decrease 5.4% FIGURE 14: INSIDE SALES CHANGE IN HEADCOUNT 20

21 % of Respondents % of Respondents Sales Communication Tools Outside of phone and , LinkedIn was the most popular communication tool mentioned by sales leaders, followed by screen sharing and Twitter % Leaders' Top Sales Communication Tools % 27.5% 25.5% 22.5% 2 1 LinkedIn Screen Sharing Twitter Facebook Texting Live Video FIGURE 15: LEADERS TOP SALES COMMUNICATION TOOLS While LinkedIn was the most popular tool for both leaders and reps, texting was much more popular among reps than among leadership % Reps' Top Sales Communication Tools % 30.6% % 15.3% 8.3% LinkedIn Texting Screen Sharing Facebook Twitter Live Video FIGURE 16: REPS TOP SALES COMMUNICATION TOOLS 21

22 Work-From-Home Policy The most popular policy is not to allow reps to work from home unless they have a specific reason, such as a sick family member or inclement weather. In general, larger companies were more likely to have more flexible work-from-home policies than smaller companies. Work-From-Home Policy by Organization Size Reps are not allowed to work from home % Reps can work from home for specific reasons % Reps can work from home 1 or 2 days per week Reps only come to office as necessary No office - All reps work from home office % % % Over 100 Reps Under 100 Reps % of Respondents FIGURE 17: WORK-FROM-HOME POLICY BY ORGANIZATION SIZE 22

23 % of Respondents Changes in Buyer Education 77% of reps and inside sales leaders said they believed that buyers are more educated now than they were a decade ago. 18% said they believed it was about the same, leaving only 4.5% who believe buyers have become less educated in the last 10 years. 5 Changes in Buyer Education 43.7% % % 1 Buyers are significantly more educated Buyers are more educated Buyer education is the same 3.4% Buyers are less educated 1.1% Buyers are significantly less educated FIGURE 18: CHANGES IN BUYER EDUCATION 23

24 % of Respondents Hiring Profile The most popular change employers are making to their hiring profile when looking for new sales reps is an emphasis on more intelligent salespeople. Experience and digital savvy are highly desired traits in new salespeople % 43.2% Change in Sales Hiring Profile % 31.5% 28.8% % 18.9% 16.2% % % 6.3% FIGURE 19: CHANGE IN SALES HIRING PROFILE 24

25 CONCLUSION As the inside sales industry is still in its infancy, it s important to recognize roadblocks that are hindering success. The top six challenges for inside sales leaders have been consistent for the last three years of this survey with training and development topping the list. Although new technologies and strategies are being released, we don t expect this trend to change in the next few years. Interestingly, from a rep s perspective, training was only seen as the third biggest challenge. Lead quality and quantity have dominated the top of both leaders and reps challenges since the inception of this survey. Because leads are the lifeblood of organizations, we believe this will always stay near the top. With so much technology and structure being introduced into the inside sales space, for the first time rules and procedures emerged as the second biggest challenge for reps. This is a very real concern and one that we expect to stay relatively important until the market matures. For individual organizations, this data should be used as a guide. We recommend organizations survey their own teams to figure out what their top challenges are and then put an action plan together to solve them. Rank Leaders Reps 1 Training & Development Lead Quantity & Quality 2 Lead Quantity & Quality Rules & Procedures 3 Recruiting & Hiring Training & Development 4 Tools & Technologies Career Advancement 5 Coaching Coaching 6 Compensation Plans Quota Expectations 7 Employee Retention Compensation Complexity 8 Working with the Field Micromanagement 9 Social Media for Prospecting Over-Emphasis on Metrics 10 Employee Onboarding Tools & Technologies 25