The different inside sales jobs include business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) as well as those that involve outbound or inbound phone calls or both. Some inside sales jobs require customer counter service and/or outside travel, while other types do not. In addition to sales and customer service tasks, some of these positions require pricing and expediting orders.
In some companies, it's the responsibility of the inside sales representative to arrange for the shipping of his or her customers' orders. These representatives must arrange delivery with a courier service or with in-house shippers. If customers need fast delivery, the representative must try to do his or her best to get the order there faster. If this is impossible, he or she must follow up with the customer to explain the situation.
While all inside sales jobs tend to involve customer service, some are more sales focused than others. For example, an inside sales position may have a strict quota for the representative to achieve or a percentage of which to grow his or her account by each month. Many of these inside positions have a pay structure of a base salary plus commission. An inside sales job may also include a bonus for beating the quota or bringing in new leads or accounts.
Job responsibilities may vary greatly between entry-level and senior inside sales positions. Sales quotas may be higher and senior representatives may help train entry-level inside representatives. In some companies, a senior inside sales representative may be promoted to serving outside clientele. In other inside sales jobs, such as account manager positions, a representative may be given the company's most profitable clients to serve.
In an inside sales job that involves serving customers at a counter, the representative may alternate between this task and making or receiving telephone calls. Outbound inside sales jobs involve the representative making calls to customers to promote products or services. Inbound telephone calls refer to the customer calling to place an order, make an inquiry or get an update on his or her account.
In B2B sales positions, the inside representative speaks with business owners or employees to recommend products the company is likely to need or want. In B2C inside sales work, the representative deals mainly with consumers and the orders may be much smaller. If the company has an account set up, a business may have a standing order to be filled regularly. It's typically the representative's responsibility in inside sales jobs to follow up and make sure that any order, whether B2B or B2C, was delivered promptly.