Enhancing the Customer Experience For Successful Sales Lead Generation

Sales and customer service no longer are separate responsibilities. Although there may be separate positions within an organization, ultimately sales teams need to deliver a service experience and service teams need to know how to effectively sell.

Building a highly productive sales team is essential for any business wanting to achieve sales growth. There is a reason why some organizations thrive, and it’s usually to do with high performing sales teams being closely aligned with the overall strategy and direction of the company.

Customer Experience Enhanced Sales Processes Drives Productivity

There are many ways to drive sales productivity: training, communications, planning, and a shared vision of goals and objectives are obvious ones, but critical to success – and one that’s often overlooked, is the way in which you structure your sales team.

Some organizations thrive, and it’s usually because of high performing sales and service teams being closely aligned around a clear customer experience.

These days teams need to be able to support a company’s inbound and outbound marketing efforts, as well as a range of transaction sizes. All of these have to fit a clear and cohesive customer experience and efficiently deliver it in order to create a positive connection with customers.

Teams need to be structured with separate inside and outside sales processes that have clearly defined purposes and responsibilities, but who work in partnership together in order to move leads efficiently through the sales funnel to completion.

The Need for Better Customer Experience in Lead Generation

Many organizations have realized the economical benefits of hiring an Inside Sales team. They can cover an unlimited geographical area, time zones, and in some cases can help shorten the sales cycle.

The buying process has also changed; the abundance of information readily available online, means that businesses have become more ‘educated’ and comfortable purchasing online and over the telephone. Prospective customers want to be sold on more than just a product. They care about the entire experience.

Inside/Outside Sales & Customer Experience – Roles Are Blurring

Inside sales are focused on opening opportunities and responding to inbound. Their role requires persistence, research and lead nurturing as part of the customer and prospective customer experience. It is now not uncommon for Inside Sales to close leads via the telephone, depending on the complexity of the product and transaction size.

Outside sales reps also work from the office, their role is more strategic and relationship focused, and until more recently the majority of their time was spent in face-to-face meetings.

Today, there is a changing perception about the role of outside sales, who are now spending more time (41% on average) on the telephone. How much experience training are these individuals getting? How much attention is being paid to connecting with customers not just sell a product, but solve a problem? This situation can cause inefficiencies for an organization and it does not always make best use of their sales skills.

There is definitely still a place for face-to-face meetings, but there is an entire sales process that takes place before you can even make it to a meeting. Here are just a few of the benefits to having both inside and outside sales working together:

• Efficiency: The faster you can respond to a new lead, the better chances you have to close that lead. A dedicated office-based inside sales capability will enable you to respond quicker and validate the lead further to see whether it’s worth pursuing. Targeting the right person, with the right medium, and connecting them with the right information is key to enhancing their experience during the lead development effort.

• Support & Collaboration: Even with outside sales now spending more of their time conducting sales on the phone, they still need support with their cold-calling efforts. Working in conjunction with inside sales can accelerate the sales cycle and achieve better results. A cohesive approach between different groups only enhances the experience customers receive as they see the attention you pay to ensuring that the sales process is done right.

• Clearly defined responsibilities: Clearly defined roles that are based on sales value and the complexity of the prospect’s sales cycle will not only help improve conversion rates, it allows your sales staff to do what they do best. Typically, inside sales are more focused on qualifying, prospecting and nurturing. Outside sales are motivated on closing and generating new business from referral partners, current clients, or other relationship-based activities.

In order to get the most out of your sales teams and ensure that prospective and existing customers get the very best service experience, you need to think strategically about how you divide responsibilities so that everyone is clear about their role and you get the most from your teams. In many cases, it could simply mean taking the sales resources that you currently have and using them differently, but ultimately ensuring that they focus on the same result.

At the end of it all, your sales people are service agents. They are your front-line troops, and have the most daily contact with your customers, so it’s important to think carefully about how you structure and delegate responsibility in order to maximize productivity, efficiency, and improve the customer experience across your entire organization.

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