What does an inside sales representative do?
An inside sales representative is responsible for selling services and products to clients, driving the company's revenues and increase sales profitability. Duties of an inside sales representative include developing strategic sales pitches, responding to customer's inquiries and requests, offering promotional products and discounts, researching potential clients, creating sales reports, and managing customer's possible complaints. An inside sales representative also provides strategic solutions to share with the sales team to improve their sales performance. Inside sales representatives must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to deal with customers' needs.
Inside sales representative responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real inside sales representative resumes:
- Coordinate commercial sales and manage projects with HVAC contractors for Georgia district.
- Accomplish tasks in a timely manner.Skills UsedComputer, math, reading wiring schematics.
- Generate leads through the use of Linkedin, firm websites and legal magazines.
- Manage and develop a nationwide territory through cold calling utilizing LinkedIn?, DiscoverOrg.
- Manage help desk support for company ERP system as well as employee hardware and software issues.
- Manage a team of 15-25 ISE's through effective sales coaching, call monitoring and creating sales spiff programs.
- Research and attend regular training courses to improve product knowledge and provide logistics information.
- Enter all paid invoices into Quickbooks.
- Display a professional demeanor while representing the client and BDS.
- Utilize industrial websites to find local construction jobs needing plumbing equipment.
- Report customer and store associate feedback and concerns to BDS management.
- Serve as high-performing, technology-driven sales executive for fast-pace, SaaS sales team.
- Work with QuickBooks to enter quotes and establish invoices once orders have arrived.
- Foster a deep and rich knowledge base regarding public cloud IaaS and PaaS offerings.
- Work collaboratively with project managers and engineers by processing new RFQ and sample requests.
Inside sales representative skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Inside Sales Representatives are proficient in Customer Service, CRM, and Outbound Calls. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Interpersonal skills, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Inside Sales Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 22%
Maintained a professional working relationship with existing corporate customers and established new business through personalized, quality levels of customer service.
- CRM, 6%
Maintained records of customer contact through CRM and generated reports on request for individual customers both internally and externally.
- Outbound Calls, 5%
Generate incremental revenue by inbound/outbound calls selling service agreements for ophthalmic equipment and microscopes.
- Product Knowledge, 4%
Trained, developed and objectively evaluated sales representatives in the areas of product knowledge, competitive positioning and sales execution.
- Work Ethic, 4%
Self-motivated and self-disciplined with dedicated work ethic.
- Sales Process, 3%
Facilitate successful implementation of new programs by ensuring a well-defined and efficient sales process is selected and implemented prior to launch.
"customer service," "crm," and "outbound calls" are among the most common skills that inside sales representatives use at work. You can find even more inside sales representative responsibilities below, including:
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for an inside sales representative to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to listen to the customer’s needs and concerns before and after the sale." Additionally, an inside sales representative resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "cultivated new relationships and strengthened existing customer relationships, building trust using consultative sales techniques and delivering results. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform inside sales representative duties is interpersonal skills. Inside sales representatives responsibilities require that "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be able to work well with many types of people." Inside sales representatives also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "developed a persuasive negotiation style based on interpersonal skills and advanced product knowledge. "
Physical stamina. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of inside sales representatives is physical stamina. This skill is critical to many everyday inside sales representative duties, as "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives are often on their feet for a long time and may carry heavy sample products." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "established most relationships through cold calling, referrals and physical presence at chiropractic conventions. "
Self-confidence. For certain inside sales representative responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "self-confidence." The day-to-day duties of an inside sales representative rely on this skill, as "wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives must be confident and persuasive when making sales presentations." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what inside sales representatives do: "trained and did webinars in order to build confidence in the emdeon product line. "
The three companies that hire the most inside sales representatives are:
- United Rentals218 inside sales representatives jobs
- Builders FirstSource205 inside sales representatives jobs
- Uline203 inside sales representatives jobs
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Compare different inside sales representatives
Inside sales representative vs. Business development representative
A business development representative's role is to find new business and client opportunities through market research and networking. They are primarily responsible for participating in creating strategies to enhance client relations, improve sales, and reach out to potential clients through calls, correspondence, and meetings. Moreover, it is also their responsibility to perform follow-up calls, offer recommendations, and even build rapport to strengthen client base. As a representative, it is essential to coordinate with managers and supervisors and adhere to policies and regulations.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between inside sales representatives and business development representative. For instance, inside sales representative responsibilities require skills such as "crm," "outbound calls," "salesforce," and "phone calls." Whereas a business development representative is skilled in "bdr," "account executives," "wine," and "marketing campaigns." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Business development representatives earn the highest salaries when working in the manufacturing industry, with an average yearly salary of $49,583. On the other hand, inside sales representatives are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $48,960.The education levels that business development representatives earn slightly differ from inside sales representatives. In particular, business development representatives are 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an inside sales representative. Additionally, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Inside sales representative vs. Inside sales specialist
An inside sales specialist is primarily responsible for securing sales by reaching out to clients to sell products and services. They may communicate with customers through calls and correspondence or personally recommend products in a retail store setting. Moreover, they are also responsible for responding to inquiries or concerns, identifying the customers' needs, devising strategies to find sales opportunities, and discussing products to customers. An inside sales specialist is often required to meet sales goals and report to managers should there be any issues or problems.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real inside sales representative resumes. While inside sales representative responsibilities can utilize skills like "purchase orders," "sales techniques," "strong computer," and "business relationships," inside sales specialists use skills like "healthcare," "digital marketing," "customer relationships," and "distributors."
Inside sales specialists may earn a higher salary than inside sales representatives, but inside sales specialists earn the most pay in the real estate industry with an average salary of $63,848. On the other hand, inside sales representatives receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $48,960.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Inside sales specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than inside sales representatives. In fact, they're 1.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Inside sales representative vs. Inside sales coordinator
An inside sales coordinator is primarily in charge of overseeing a company's inside sales operations, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities include managing schedules and objectives, organizing meetings and discussions, performing research and analysis to identify new business opportunities, implementing solutions on problem areas, and maintaining an active communication line within different teams. Furthermore, as an inside sales coordinator, it is essential to monitor the progress of sales and develop strategies to build positive relationships with clients, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from inside sales representative resumes include skills like "work ethic," "sales process," "excellent interpersonal," and "strong work ethic," whereas an inside sales coordinator is more likely to list skills in "counter sales," "logistics," "sales reps," and "sales efforts. "
Inside sales coordinators make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $51,619. On the other hand, inside sales representatives are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $48,960.Most inside sales coordinators achieve a similar degree level compared to inside sales representatives. For example, they're 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Inside sales representative vs. Sales development representative
A sales development representative qualifies leads at the sales funnel's initial stages. Sales development representatives need to conduct research for prospective clients and qualify the leads before handing them to the sales team. They develop sales strategies to attract buyers or solicit potential customers. They need to build relationships with their customers to determine their needs and qualify the viability of interests to drive sales. Also, they collaborate with the sales executives making certain that corporate targets and goals are met.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between inside sales representatives and sales development representatives, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an inside sales representative might have more use for skills like "crm," "work ethic," "salesforce," and "customer inquiries." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of sales development representatives require skills like "sdr," "account executives," "linkedin," and "saas. "
In general, sales development representatives earn the most working in the start-up industry, with an average salary of $54,512. The highest-paying industry for an inside sales representative is the technology industry.sales development representatives reach similar levels of education compared to inside sales representatives, in general. The difference is that they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of inside sales representative
Updated January 8, 2025
