{"id":10997,"date":"2021-12-21T12:44:33","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T12:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viralmango.com\/?p=10997"},"modified":"2023-10-31T12:18:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T12:18:30","slug":"inbound-vs-outbound-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/viralmango.com\/blog\/inbound-vs-outbound-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Inbound vs Outbound sales: Which one to choose?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

You might have heard a lot about inbound and outbound sales. However, inbound vs outbound sales can be a tough battle when choosing one among them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At some point, each corporate firm is confused about which approach to choose for its business. Whether to build an outbound sales team, an inbound sales machine or develop a hybrid method.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If you’re one amongst the confused lot, then this article is for you. First, let’s learn about what are inbound and outbound sales.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What is inbound sales?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"Inbound<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Source:<\/strong> Freepik<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Inbound sales are the results of leads generated by marketing activities. It happens when a customer voluntarily reaches out to the company for their product or services. The activities that might trigger the customer\u2019s mind are a free eBook or infographic<\/a>, a webinar, etc.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Let me make it easy with an example – Imagine if you’re a seller of services that solves some technical problems of a buyer. Those individuals with the same technical issues look for a solution and reach out to you to buy it. The customer directly reaches out to the salesperson to purchase the product in this scenario. This is called an inbound sale. Large-scale companies primarily use the inbound sales process to generate revenue and achieve their goals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What is outbound sales?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

On the other hand, outbound sales happen when a salesperson starts communicating with potential buyers from their end. The contact medium is via cold calls or cold emails to potential customers. Contact details are mostly taken from a prospect list created with an email finder<\/a> or a phone directory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It follows the method of lead generation, which in other words means prospecting. It is a way of collecting contact data of potential clients. Leads can be generated from various sources like web directories, LinkedIn, using prospecting tools straightaway on the company’s website or social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Inbound vs Outbound sales: the various stages of methodologies?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When analysing inbound vs outbound sales methodologies, there are some key differences! Let’s read about them!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Inbound<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Source:<\/strong> Pixabay<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Stages of inbound sales methodology<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Identify potential buyers<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The first step is to look for your ideal buyers and what type of problem they are facing. The strategist first identifies the problems and then converts them to leads. For instance, you are selling a writing tool that helps in writing content five times faster. Here you need to think about what kind of questions you can pose to the audience.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Like are they looking for a tool to speed up their writing process? Are they exhausted with a high percentage of plag in their content? And more! All these questions help you build a buyer\u2019s persona<\/a> and identify potential customers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Connect<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

After identifying the lead, the next step of inbound sales is to connect with the users and find out if there is a goal or challenge that should be emphasised. If a buyer gives a positive signal, then they become potential leads. You can connect with them by writing an article or making a video that would provide a solution to their problem.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Explore<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The next step of the inbound sales strategist is to explore the challenges of the qualified lead and the various solutions that can be provided to accomplish that challenge. As in the above example of a writing tool, you can introduce your writing tool to the customer in the explore stage.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Advice<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The final step of the sales process is to advise the prospect why this solution is apt for their problem. If a purchase is made, the prospect becomes a customer or client of the company. Now in the last example of selling a writing tool, we can advise the customer to buy our tool or schedule a demo or a call, if required.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Stages of outbound sales methodology<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Generating lead<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It is the process of collecting contact data of potential new clients. Leads can be generated through several channels like Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter, and web directories.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Cold outreach Method<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It comprises cold calling and cold emails. Cold emails are more popular these days. You should try to make your letters consistent, short, personalized, and owing to your lead\u2019s pain points. Furthermore, don\u2019t forget to introduce a CTA in every letter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Qualification of leads<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A lead can be converted into a prospect when they are willing to take your sales call after receiving your message. This is known as the fundamental aspect of the sales funnel in which an outbound salesman creates a product presentation<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Deal closure<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This happens when a deal is about to close and a prospect is ready to convert into a client. You must be determined to acquire them as customers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Supporting customer success<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Now it\u2019s your turn to fulfill your promises up to the customer\u2019s expectations. You can also ask the customer to refer your company to a colleague or a friend after attaining their trust.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Inbound vs Outbound sales: How to increase conversions?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Inbound<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Source:<\/strong> Pexels<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

How to increase inbound sales conversion?<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Make a score of the lead<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Lead scoring helps determine where the lead falls on the scale of interest to buy your product. This will help you decide which lead needs some nurturing and which are ready to flourish. For instance, someone might have signed for your email newsletter, which means they need more nurturing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

On the other hand, someone who’s asked for a demo is more likely to be your customer and is highly interested.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Adjust your CTAs<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

CTA is one of the most indispensable aspects of inbound sales conversion. If your CTAs are right, then more customers will be prompted to click on them to know more about your products and eventually buy them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Some of the brands think CTAs are not that important and can be done afterwards. That is where they lack and end up writing a boring copy like “Buy now” or “Click here”. So place your CTAs carefully.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Do lead distribution wisely <\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Once you’ve chosen high-quality leads interested in buying, you must send them to the right sales representative who can indulge and answer their queries; this is known as lead distribution.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Flawless lead distribution makes sure that you do not waste opportunities, while sales representatives can quickly provide the information needed to solve major weak points.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Optimize your landing pages<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If your web page fails to grab the client’s attention, then everything else in the lead converter process will be of no use. One should follow these techniques:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n