5 Ways to Be a Better Inside Sales Rep

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest post from Chris Snell, Inside Sales Manager at Care.com.

When I was an inside sales rep, I was always concerned about who I thought was performing better than I was.  It’s not really the best way to be.  The greatest runners in the world don’t ever look over their shoulders to see who’s gaining on them, because they know that if they take their eyes from their goal, someone right behind them will be ready to overtake their lead.  Your sales career is similar.  Keep your eyes focused on whatever prize (bigger commission, promotion, whatever it may be) you’ve set before yourself, and keep running.  Here are five things you can own to help you become a better inside sales rep:  

1. Own Your Time – The overarching idea here is to be the first one in and the last one out.  The best inside sales reps know that they have to get in early to make calls before administrative assistants arrive, and know that they have to stay later to take advantage of the time when the admins leave for the day.  It doesn’t mean rolling into work 30 minutes late, talking with your co-workers, and downing a big bowl of cereal (I’ve seen it done!) before you pick up the phones at 10:30.  Tangentially, it also means knowing your target audience and when they’re most likely to be in their office versus in meetings.  You know how to figure that out?  Call and find out.  You track their time.  You build metrics for yourself surrounding when the best time is to reach them.  Own your time – your own personal time and the understanding of your prospect’s time.  The best inside sales reps do this, and you should, too.
2. Own Your Attitude – This one’s simple, folks.  Be a drama-free employee for your manager (they’ll thank you!), and bring a great attitude with you to your job every day.  I promise you: the worse your attitude is, the greater the likelihood is that you’re not performing at the level that you want to, or need to.  This is a personal one for me, too; this is a lesson that I need to remind myself, so this message is just as much for me as it is for you.  Your attitude is your choice.  EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  Are there things at work that make the day harder, more frustrating, or (dare I say) boring?  Yes, absolutely, but it’s the great inside sales reps who choose to rise above the easy option of being a negative influence on your team and choose not to gripe about those things.
3. Own Your Number – Everyone in sales has them, and if this is your chosen profession, it’s time to take ownership of it.  When you crush your number, and earn kickers and SPIFF’s because of it, that’s all you, right?  Of course!  When you don’t hit the mark, and miss your number, whose fault is that?  I’ve heard a lot of reps tell me it’s because a list was bad (that may be), or that marketing didn’t help them drive inbound opportunities (that could be), or that their territory sucked (thats also a possibility).  Those are excuses, though.  You know it, I know it, and your management team knows it, too.  If you didn’t hit your number, OWN it.  It doesn’t mean you’re a bad sales rep or a bad person because you failed.  Be accountable for it, though; make no excuses.  Celebrate the big wins, and learn from the big losses.  You’ll be better off for this, and managers will take note of this type of attitude.
4. Own Your 1:1’s with Your Manager – It’s likely that you meet with your manager on a weekly, or bi-weekly basis.  Maybe if your manager has a really large team, you meet with them once a month, or maybe you meet with a team leader weekly.  Whatever and whenever that meeting is, own that meeting.  Find out what kind of meeting your manager expects from you during that time and deliver.  If I were an inside sales rep, I’d want to know what metrics my manager wants to see and make sure that I had them prepped in time.  Does she want to know what’s in your pipeline?  Get that.  Does he want to know how many conversations you're averaging per lead passed?  Know that number for the meeting so they don’t have any prep work to do.  This goes a long way with a manager because, speaking as one myself, it makes me feel like the BDR is invested in what he or she is doing.
5. Own Your Skills Development Plan – Want to be a really great sales rep that stands out from the rest of the pack?  You have a plan.  You figure out how to be a better communicator.  You learn how to be a better story-teller.  You read about how to become a better listener because you know that skill trumps everything, all day long.  Study what other great sales reps do.  Put a plan together for yourself that maps out how you’re going to improve all of the skills you think you need to be a great sales rep.  What books should you read?  What webinars should you sit in on?  What blogs should you subscribe to?  What conferences should you go to?  When do you practice role-playing, and with whom, and how often? All of these questions (and I’m sure a ton more) need to be answered in your plan.

If you give some of these areas your attention, you can’t help but become a better inside sales rep.  I know there are a lot of other things that have worked for folks, too, so would you mind sharing in the comments below, the things you do to better your performance?  I’d love to learn (see point 5 above) from you!