5 Ways Inside Reps Can Boost Hydraulics Sales

Although there is good evidence that strategies to optimize outside fluid power sales are worth face-to-face relationship-building efforts, having efficacious inside sales reps on your team should also be part of a strategy to boost hydraulics sales.

When a personalized, thoughtful approach is utilized, inside sales reps – the initial point of contact with your hydraulics business – are not only useful to follow leads quickly and effectively but can be a potent driving force to your product lines. 

To do so, let’s look at some strategies and characteristics of successful sales representatives that are vital to creating a trustworthy inside sales team. 

What We’ve Learned: A Customer-Driven Culture at HPS

Work culture is the result of the values that are being promoted within a company’s work environment.
Many sales team members will use various ranking methods based on performance metrics to create a competitive culture. But to be most effective, inside reps should be able to advocate, appreciate, and strive for excellence with integrity.

At HPS, a well-crafted culture that promotes collaboration of professionals who practice four core values:

1.  Integrity – A desire to do the right thing
2. Appreciation – Recognizing the importance of relationships with employees, customers, and contributors
3. Commitment – Advocacy for and desire to go the extra step for our customers every time
4. Excellence – Fanatical customer service

These four core values are locked in by uniquely high standards that separate us from the rest.

And to meet these values, inside sales reps need to work hard to become informed and well-calculated day in and day out.

Inside Hydraulic Sales Approaches that Get Results

Successful inside sales reps need to be just as focused on the customer as outside sales teams. To provide the best customer service, they may possess a few common traits that allow them to make smarter sales calls and make more profitable customer relationships. 

Here are five approaches that successful sales reps should employ:

1. Do The Homework and Build Trust

When buyers evaluate business solutions, they’re looking for a partner, not just an opportunity.

Opportunistic cold calls rarely lead to results. Instead, inside sales reps who dig deep into a prospect’s history and take on a well-informed advisory role will know how to meet their needs and their buying patterns. This takes a bit of trust.

Inside sales representatives should first listen and learn what pain points their prospect is trying to resolve and ask questions early and often. If given the opportunity, reps should work to understand their buyer and personalize future outreach.

To better meet the customer’s needs, reps should do their homework and develop knowledge and fluency in their organization, its products and services, and the personas and industries they serve.

Here are just a few strategies informed, successful reps often take:

• Sales training and coaching to develop skills needed to effectively engage buyers
• Analyzing changes in customers, markets, and industries to modify pitches
• Making less but more informed calls or contacts
• Creating personalized experiences based on research
• Moving on before getting too pushy

2. Leverage Technology

Great inside sales reps let the tech do the legwork. 

To get results quickly, they utilize everything from a customer relationship management (CRM) system to sales training software, automatic dialing, social media, and simple screen-sharing tools.

Sales enablement solutions improve upon this by empowering reps with the right sales assets and content across sales lifecycles. These tools combine business intelligence, content analytics, customer solutions, CRM, gamification, and sales automation and have usable and customizable dashboards and portals. 

3. Embrace Social Selling

Today’s buyers engage on a variety of channels, using social media to learn more about products, find solutions, and build relationships. 

Inside sales reps should go beyond resharing content and create genuine content that humanizes them.
Sellers who embrace social media to build authentic relationships with their network drive new revenue opportunities over time. 

4. Tap into Marketing Resources

Speaking of content, successful inside sales reps who have access to a marketing team should take full advantage of it. 

Tap into teams for eBooks, blogs, white papers to start conversations with prospective customers. Between research and marketing resources, inside reps can provide informed and meaningful talking points that can be attractive and calculated. 

5. Have Empathy for the Customer

Often regarded as the most important aspect for sales success, empathy helps prospective customers get their problems solved. 

Reps who take the time to learn about individual challenges instill a feeling of understanding when asking questions. They treat prospective customers as real people and, in turn, know how to provide personalized assistance. 

Strategies that Meet High Customer Service Standards

An inside sales rep plays a fundamental role in achieving customer acquisition and revenue growth.

To meet high standards of hydraulics sources like HPS, this role should take a personalized and thoughtful approach as a potent driving force to your product lines. 

Strategies such as building trust, doing research, utilizing technology, and being empathetic can lead to success and effective inside sales, as well as support competitive and customer-driven cultures. 

Read about our commitment to customer service and check out our Blog for more on effective inside and outside sales practices. 

Hydraulic Parts Source is a leading fluid power remanufacturer, and we’re ready to serve you. Contact us today to experience OE quality for a fraction of the time and cost by calling (888) 477-7278 or get a quote by emailing sales@hydparts.com.