What is an inside sales specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Frederik Beuk,

John Cicala Ph.D.

An inside sales specialist works remotely to sell products and services to customers through phone, email, or video conferencing. They use their communication skills to understand customer needs, provide solutions, and close deals. Inside sales, specialists may also research potential clients, manage leads, and maintain relationships with existing customers. They are responsible for achieving sales targets and may collaborate with other departments such as marketing and customer service.

What general advice would you give to an inside sales specialist?

Frederik Beuk

Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Akron

The key consideration is whether you really want to maximize your initial salary. For instance, envision two job opportunities: one offering a salary of $50,000 per year, where you'd be the most junior team member, and the other providing $75,000 per year, with the caveat that you would be the sole sales representative for the firm. The optimal choice is to prioritize learning opportunities. In this context, being the lone salesperson for a company that compensates its highest-earning sales professional $75,000 might not be your superior option. Instead, seek a position that offers the greatest potential for learning. Subsequently, demonstrate your negotiating prowess, a critical sales skill, by securing a slightly higher salary. However, it's essential not to fixate on maximizing your starting salary. Your career requires a long-term strategy, and you have several decades ahead of you to maximize income.

ScoreInside Sales SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $50,944

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 5.09%

Black or African American 3.79%

Hispanic or Latino 13.93%

Unknown 3.71%

White 73.25%

Gender

female 48.03%

male 51.97%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being an inside sales specialist?

Pros

Ability to work remotely or from home
Access to training and development programs
Work with a team of sales professionals and support staff
Opportunity to build strong relationships with customers
Ability to track progress and see the results of your efforts

Cons

Requires staying up-to-date on industry trends and changes
May require extensive travel depending on the company and clients
Can be challenging to balance the needs of multiple clients at once
Can be difficult to make sales in a competitive market
May require dealing with difficult or demanding customers

Key steps to become an inside sales specialist

Explore inside sales specialist education requirements

Most common inside sales specialist degrees

Bachelor's

68.9 %

Associate

14.7 %

High School Diploma

6.9 %

Start to develop specific inside sales specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	12.62%
CRM	7.04%
Sales Process	5.09%
Work Ethic	4.70%
Product Knowledge	4.55%

Complete relevant inside sales specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New inside sales specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an inside sales specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real inside sales specialist resumes.

Research inside sales specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
Present presentations to potential clients through Microsoft PowerPoint.
Maintain and update assigned territory through SalesLogix CRM program.
Revise and update CRM database to ensure accurate customer information.

Prepare your inside sales specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your inside sales specialist resume.

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