3 Skills Inside Sales Reps Need to Maintain Client Relationships
Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a post from Tiffany Fenore, a Business Development Representative at AG Salesworks. This is her blogging debut.
There is more to being a great inside sales rep than just passing leads. In my experience, I have found that one of the most important aspects of my job is having a strong relationship with my clients. The success of each campaign hinges on our ability to effectively manage our client relationships, and in order to do so a inside sales rep needs to demonstrate three key attributes: Confidence, Communication, and Expertise.
Confidence. When clients meet a inside sales rep for the first time, they are being introduced to the new representative of their company. This means a sales rep's confidence needs to be through the roof. It is a must that you are able to prove yourself (and your results) to your client and make them feel confident in your ability to represent them professionally.
Communication. Being clear and concise to clients while still including all essential information regarding passed opportunities and market trends is key. The client is paying for our services and expects an inside sales rep to be reachable, which means that you are required to respond to their inquiries in a reasonable time frame. Also, a sales rep should never hesitate to ask questions, as this shows the client that you are working hard to master their messaging and knowledge of their company and products and/or services. Whether you have bi-weekly conference calls with a Marketing Executive or a daily back-and-forth with individual reps, it is important to understand what your client’s needs are and then deliver exactly that.
Expertise. We all know that a client knows their product and company best, and sometimes it can be easy for them to forget that we are the experts in cold calling, prospecting, and finding qualified opportunities. This again ties into the confidence of the rep to come forward and show the client that they hired us for a reason. Inside sales reps should not be afraid to throw out their own ideas and share their success as to how they were able to uncover certain opportunities. Even if those opportunities were discovered off the beaten path, and did not use traditional messaging, it’s important for a sales rep to use their expertise to find out what works, and what works well for our clients. An inside sales rep can add a lot more value outside of just passing opportunities, and they shouldn’t be afraid to share their knowledge and expertise to help clients.
Everyone knows how important it is to retain customers. Leveraging these three key aspects of the client relationship will put you well on your way to doing just that. Obviously, there are many other factors that are comprised within every engagement but I like to use these three key aspects as my building blocks for client success.
What would you add to the list?
