august 7, 2012 the top problems of the inside sales...

AUGUST 7, 2012

THE TOP PROBLEMS OF THE INSIDE SALES INDUSTRY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INSIDESALES.COM RESEARCH DIVISION PERFORMED BY KYLE DAVIS

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THE TOP PROBLEMS OF THE INSIDE SALES INDUSTRY

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Copyright © InsideSales.com 2012

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 either the prior written permission of InsideSales.com. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, InsideSales.com, 34 East 1700

South, Suite A113, Provo, Utah 84606.

© 2012 InsideSales.com

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part or in any form.

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RESEARCH PAPER


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY VS FULL REPORT

The Executive Summary of The Top Problems of the Inside Sales Industry includes the methodology used to conduct this study, the top problems for sales managers, and the top problems for sales reps. For $295, you can access the full report, which includes everything in the Executive Summary plus each question broken up by industry, region, inside and outside the US, company size, as well as interviews done with InsideSales.com executives on how to minimize these problems.

METHODOLOGY

A survey was sent out in January of 2012 to members of the sales industry worldwide; however, most respondents were concentrated in the United States. Of the 608 respondents, 350 were sales managers and 258 were sales reps, as shown in Figure 1. Each participant was given a list of issues chosen by sales managers and sales reps where he or she was allowed to select all the problems he or she faced. If a problem was not on the pre-compiled list, a text field was provided where the issue could be described.

Respondents to the Survey

© InsideSales.com 2012

350 58%

258 42% Sales Managers

Sales Representatives

Figure 1

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TOP PROBLEMS FOR SALES MANAGERS

Figure 2 shows what inside sales managers consider to be their top problems.

For a summary of what was marked in the “Other” category, refer to Appendix A.

As shown in Figure 2, “Finding Good Leads” is the most common concern among sales managers, followed by “Hiring the Right People.” The least common concern is “Using the Right Equipment.”

TOP PROBLEMS FOR SALES REPRESENTATIVES

The following chart shows what inside sales representatives indicated as challenges they faced. For a complete list of what was put in the “Other” category, refer to Appendix B.

Top Problems of Sales Managers Multiple Selections Allowed


56.9% 48.3%

41.1% 36.0%

20.9% 14.0% 9.4%

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Figure 2

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Problems Faced By Inside Sales Representatives Multiple Selections Allowed


46.1% 41.5% 35.3%

20.2% 13.6%

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ABOUT INSIDESALES.COM

The InsideSales.com platform accelerates efficient lead response management and qualification. Key features include: PowerDialer, integrated with the InsideSales CRM or the Salesforce® CRM; ResponsePop, the ability to respond to web leads in under 10 seconds; automation of standard sales functions, such as the ability to leave a voice message or email with the click of a mouse or through one or more pre-defined trigger events, otherwise known as sales workflow automation; extensive sales analytics that enable visibility down to the sales rep level. ResponseAudit is a unique service offered by InsideSales.com for analyzing a sales team's response time and persistence to an Internet-generated lead (request a free ResponseAudit at www.responseaudit.com). A brief list of our enterprise clients includes: ADP, BMC Software, Cisco, Dell, Gannett, and Marketo. To learn more, visit www.InsideSales.com.

http://www.insidesales.com/lead_response




http://www.insidesales.com/outbound_power_dialer.php

http://appexchange.salesforce.com/listingDetail?listingId=a0N300000016ay4EAA

http://www.insidesales.com/web_form_callback.php

http://www.insidesales.com/elf



http://www.insidesales.com/hosted_crm.php

http://www.responseaudit.com/

http://www.insidesales.com/

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APPENDIX A – SALES MANAGER RESPONSES

The following table is a list of all sales manager open text responses.

Additional Problems Added by Sales Managers

Concern %

Motivating 1.7%

Contacting leads 1.4%

Better Software 1.4%

Managing 1.1%

Generating leads 1.1%

Business changes 1.1%

Following-up 1.1%

Inside/outside sales cooperation 1.1%

Time management 0.9%

Closing 0.9%

Performance monitoring 0.9%

Lead conversion 0.9%

Administrative work 0.9%

Reporting 0.9%

Managing data 0.6%

Lack of customer info 0.6%

Defining roles 0.6%

Goal setting 0.6%

Education 0.6%

Rep responsibilities 0.6%

Work ethic 0.3%

Thinking creatively 0.3%

Retaining clients 0.3%

Loss of resources 0.3%

Preserving margin 0.3%

Accountability 0.3%

Ego of certain reps 0.3%

Cold calling reluctance 0.3%

Internal support issues 0.3%

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Unrealistic and inconsiderate customers 0.3%

Health insurance issues 0.3%

Managing delivery problems 0.3%

Confirming value 0.3%

Internal support issues 0.3%

Unclassifiable/blank 0.6%


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APPENDIX B – SALES REP RESPONSES

The following table is a list of all sales rep open text responses.

Additional Problems Added by Sales Reps

Concern %

Specific problems contacting leads 2.3%

Lead generation 2.3%

Communication problems 1.9%

Pricing 1.9%

Creating demand 1.6%

Administrative work 1.6%

Showing value 1.6%

Training 1.6%

Time management 1.2%

Compensation 1.2%

Lack of customer info 1.2%

Qualifying leads 1.2%

Operations 0.8%

Data 0.8%

Competition 0.8%

Organization 0.8%

No real leadership 0.4%

Shortening the sales cycle 0.4%

Relationships with outside sales person 0.4%

Cold calling 0.4%

Lack of technical support 0.4%

Inside staff over worked 0.4%

Unfairness with lead distribution 0.4%

Creating change 0.4%

Social media support from management 0.4%

Not understanding the product 0.4%

Product quality 0.4%

Badly designed CRM tools 0.4%

Overhead of internal reporting systems 0.4%

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Unclassifiable/blank 1.9%


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APPENDIX C – MARGIN OF ERROR

SALES MANAGERS Figures 20 and 21 show the margin of error for sales manager’s concerns.

Margin of Error for Sales Manager’s Concerns

Concern % Margin of Error (+/-)

Finding Good Leads 56.9% 5.2%

Hiring the Right People 36.0% 5.0%

Making Sure Information is Reported Correctly 14.0% 3.6%

Properly Training Reps 48.3% 5.2%

Compensating Sales Agents 9.4% 4.3%

Using the Right Equipment 20.9% 4.4%

Employee Turnover 41.1% 5.2%

Other 23.4% 3.1%


Upper and Lower Error Limits For Sales Managers


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Figures 22 and 23 show the margin of error for sales reps’ concerns.

Margin of Error For Sales Rep’s Concerns

Concern % Margin of Error (+/-)

Making Contact with Leads 46.1% 6.1%

Accessing Decision Maker in Company 41.5% 6.0%

Knowing who to Contact and When 35.3% 5.8%

Inaccurate Lead Information 20.2% 4.9%

Lack of Product Knowledge 13.6% 4.2%

Other 29.5% 5.6%


Upper and Lower Error Limits For Sales Reps


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