The difference between inside sales and telemarketing
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 9:55 am
Inside sales and telemarketing are sometimes confused, but they have different purposes.
Below we will explain the differences in more detail.
Differences in purpose
The biggest difference between inside sales and telemarketing is the purpose of the activity .
Inside sales involves communicating with customers to deepen relationships, increasing the lead's interest, and aiming to secure an appointment when the lead is ready to buy.
On the other hand, telemarketing also secures appointments, but the emphasis is on securing as many appointments as possible, rather than on the customer's interest or concerns.
Inside sales is a type of sales that promotes purchases, while telemarketing can be positioned as part of new business development sales.
Differences in performance indicators
Inside sales and telemarketing have different performance indicators . In the case of telemarketing, the performance indicator is generally the number of appointments obtained, and quantity is more important than quality.
Specifically, the purpose of telemarketing is to approach a customer with a single phone call, regardless of their consideration status, pique their interest, and secure an appointment.
On the other hand, inside sales aims to deepen relationships with customers through indirect communication, and then move on to negotiations once the customer's interest has been piqued.
Below are some examples of commonly set performance indicators:
Inside Sales Performance Indicator Examples Telemarketing performance indicators example
- Number of orders, order rate ・Call rate and number of calls
・Order amount ・Number of appointments obtained
・Number of business negotiations, rate of business negotiations ・Average call cost
・Call rate and number of calls ・Average call time
・Email open rate ・Operation rate
Time to Results
Inside sales takes a long time to produce results , whereas telemarketing produces results in a short period of time .
Inside sales communicates with customers regularly, approaches them, and deepens relationships. It takes a certain amount of time to nurture potential vp administration email database customers and transfer them over. Approaching customers is not a one-time endeavor, but is premised on long-term activity, so it tends to take time to see results.
On the other hand, telemarketing involves calling a list of customers at the same time in order to secure an appointment. Unlike inside sales, telemarketing does not involve communication to deepen relationships, and is generally conducted as quickly as possible.
Collaboration with other departments
In inside sales, we take over leads from marketing and work with field sales to close sales. Even if a potential customer is handed over to field sales, if the potential customer does not make an order, the field sales person returns the lead.
It will be necessary to work together with inside sales to re-nurture customers and hand them over when they are once again motivated to buy .
On the other hand, telemarketing is set up as a separate department in many companies.
Although their role is to hand over acquired appointments to field sales, they basically have no other involvement.
Since telesales does not involve follow-up with customers, it is generally not referred back from field sales and is treated as an independent organization.
Below we will explain the differences in more detail.
Differences in purpose
The biggest difference between inside sales and telemarketing is the purpose of the activity .
Inside sales involves communicating with customers to deepen relationships, increasing the lead's interest, and aiming to secure an appointment when the lead is ready to buy.
On the other hand, telemarketing also secures appointments, but the emphasis is on securing as many appointments as possible, rather than on the customer's interest or concerns.
Inside sales is a type of sales that promotes purchases, while telemarketing can be positioned as part of new business development sales.
Differences in performance indicators
Inside sales and telemarketing have different performance indicators . In the case of telemarketing, the performance indicator is generally the number of appointments obtained, and quantity is more important than quality.
Specifically, the purpose of telemarketing is to approach a customer with a single phone call, regardless of their consideration status, pique their interest, and secure an appointment.
On the other hand, inside sales aims to deepen relationships with customers through indirect communication, and then move on to negotiations once the customer's interest has been piqued.
Below are some examples of commonly set performance indicators:
Inside Sales Performance Indicator Examples Telemarketing performance indicators example
- Number of orders, order rate ・Call rate and number of calls
・Order amount ・Number of appointments obtained
・Number of business negotiations, rate of business negotiations ・Average call cost
・Call rate and number of calls ・Average call time
・Email open rate ・Operation rate
Time to Results
Inside sales takes a long time to produce results , whereas telemarketing produces results in a short period of time .
Inside sales communicates with customers regularly, approaches them, and deepens relationships. It takes a certain amount of time to nurture potential vp administration email database customers and transfer them over. Approaching customers is not a one-time endeavor, but is premised on long-term activity, so it tends to take time to see results.
On the other hand, telemarketing involves calling a list of customers at the same time in order to secure an appointment. Unlike inside sales, telemarketing does not involve communication to deepen relationships, and is generally conducted as quickly as possible.
Collaboration with other departments
In inside sales, we take over leads from marketing and work with field sales to close sales. Even if a potential customer is handed over to field sales, if the potential customer does not make an order, the field sales person returns the lead.
It will be necessary to work together with inside sales to re-nurture customers and hand them over when they are once again motivated to buy .
On the other hand, telemarketing is set up as a separate department in many companies.
Although their role is to hand over acquired appointments to field sales, they basically have no other involvement.
Since telesales does not involve follow-up with customers, it is generally not referred back from field sales and is treated as an independent organization.