WHAT DOES AN INSIDE SALES SPECIALIST DO?

Published: Sep 8, 2025 - The Inside Sales Specialist manages incoming leads by qualifying prospects, providing follow-up communication, and setting appointments with the sales team. This role supports sales growth through email campaigns, marketing materials, and the use of lead-management software to track activity and conversion ratios. The specialist also oversees website content, monitors online advertising, and researches competitive activities to strengthen market presence.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Inside Sales Specialist

1. Inside Sales Specialist Duties

  • Order Management: Utilize daily ABB’s Order Management tools and Sales Tracking systems for an assigned set of customers
  • Sales Support: Provide proactive sales support for new order entry
  • Order Tracking: Order status and management, and timely responses to customer inquiries
  • Process Liaison: Act as a liaison between Sales Account Managers, Customers, and internal Technical Product Support teams to ensure a smooth sales process
  • Issue Resolution: Provide an effective resolution to any customer complaints or issues raised
  • Complaint Handling: Assist in the coordination of investigations on complaints or customer service inquiries
  • Problem Follow-up: Provide direct communication and follow-up on all problem resolutions
  • Activity Support: Support the following activities periodically
  • Proposal Review: Participate in bid proposal reviews to analyze responses to meet customer contract requirements
  • Product Investigation: Help support investigations into identified technical product problems
  • Report Generation: Provide reports to customers on outstanding orders, supplier-managed inventory, or Blanket Purchase Order status/management

2. Inside Sales Specialist Details

  • Sales Generation: Generate sales and opportunities from customer lists, national/regional accounts, and project lists
  • Goal Achievement: Drive sales to meet sales goal expectations
  • Account Coverage: Meet the call requirements of identified/targeted accounts within the defined geography
  • Clinical Selling: Utilize clinical experience, selling skills and product knowledge to probe, profile, answer questions and close the sale
  • Customer Guidance: Provide information to customers to help in their purchasing decisions for products and services
  • Sales Execution: Execute sales calls and provide clinical support based on direction from the Regional Sales Manager
  • Customer Education: Conduct educational webinars with key customers under the direction, guidance and support from the Regional Sales Manager
  • Event Support: Assist and support local or regional trade shows and peer-to-peer programs under the direction of the Regional Sales Manager
  • Customer Follow-up: Handle all customer calls/follow up on a timely basis
  • Material Provision: Provide samples and literature kits to all appropriate prospective accounts
  • Consultative Promotion: Consultative selling and promotion of products to key home health care/DMEs within the region to develop strategic partnerships that will drive growth of brands and products in the territory and region
  • Business Planning: Develop the business plan for the territory, focusing on business planning steps within the span of control, as well as the needs of cross-functional partners

3. Inside Sales Specialist Responsibilities

  • Plan Review: Regularly review and update the business plan as directed by the Regional Sales Manager
  • Team Reporting: Participate in team meetings to report on overall territory status and provide feedback
  • Data Analysis: Provide analytic insight to territory data, issues, and opportunities, utilizing all available company resources
  • Strategic Support: Provide strategic and clinical support to the region’s top quarterly business objectives
  • Data Management: Utilize and maintain data in the Salesforce automation tool and update the calendar for the designated territory
  • Record Entry: Enter documentation (pre/post-call planning, call reports, call notes, calendar updates, etc.) in the Salesforce automation tool daily and synchronize twice a day
  • Call Planning: Plan calls a minimum of 1–2 weeks in advance to maximize selling efforts
  • Expense Reporting: Complete and submit expense reports in compliance with Nutricia’s T&E policy
  • Admin Tasks: Attend to administrative duties including scheduling calls, submitting sample requests, and returning phone and e-mail messages within 24 hours
  • Budget Management: Manage budgets including sample, expense and in-service dollars

4. Inside Sales Specialist Job Summary

  • Quote Management: Handle incoming customer requests by generating and distributing quotations to business partners
  • Relationship Building: Build and maintain strong and effective business relationships with product managers and customers
  • Technical Support: Assist with customer technical queries, directly or with the support of technical consultants
  • Continuous Learning: Learn constantly by attending various IT training courses
  • Physician Relations: Building relationships with Specialty/ Infusion physicians’ offices
  • Prospect Qualification: Qualify prospects and uncover physicians’ offices' needs to influence them
  • Solution Presentation: Present solutions and key benefits of Optum to Specialty/ Infusion offices
  • Post-sale Support: Provide exceptional post-sale support to customers
  • Pharmacy Collaboration: Collaborate with pharmacy personnel to ensure that customers’ expectations are met
  • Account Strategy: Work closely with the Inside Sales Manager to develop and implement strategic initiatives with key accounts in the territory
  • Rep Engagement: Establish relationships with pharmaceutical manufacturer reps in the territory
  • Salesforce Utilization: Utilize Salesforce.com and all Optum sales/marketing tools, territory data/reports to successfully grow the book of business and achieve stated goals
  • Ethical Compliance: Uphold the highest ethical standards, comply with all UHG and government policies and regulations

5. Inside Sales Specialist Accountabilities

  • Manager Support: Engage and provide support for District Managers and coordination between customers/integrators, sales and execution organization
  • Profit Growth: Focus on increasing General Industry bookings and profit growth and driving a strong commitment to customer satisfaction
  • Customer Qualification: Support General Industry growth and market share objectives through identification and qualification of new customers and Authorized Systems Integrators using tools like Sales Drone, ZoomInfo, LinkedIn, Company Websites, Cold Calls, etc.
  • Relationship Support: Support District Managers in establishing and maintaining customer relationships with key end-user customers and Authorized Systems Integrators
  • Value Selling: Support District Managers to quantify value selling and “Why Buy FANUC” presentations to support closing General Industry sales and bookings
  • Presentation Development: Support District Managers to develop various external and internal business meeting presentations
  • Customer Engagement: Participate in End User and Authorized Systems Integrators visits and presentations
  • Financial Assistance: Assist District Managers with the financial establishment of new customers
  • Lead Follow-up: Follow up on General Industry leads from marketing and leads distributed to Authorized Systems Integrators
  • Event Coordination: Coordinate and support General Industry regional workshops, open houses, training events, school group visits and sales meetings
  • Trade Show: Support for industry Trade Shows and Authorized Systems Integrators Open Houses
  • Process Improvement: Actively participate in the ongoing improvement process for sales efficiencies
  • Practice Liaison: Serve as liaison to Headquarters and Regional offices to identify best practices and support local implementation
  • Customer Interaction: Interact with customers and Authorized Systems Integrators regularly to ensure customer satisfaction
  • Product Knowledge: Maintain strong robot product knowledge and keep up to date on FANUC product information and automation process solutions
  • Issue Resolution: Assist in the resolution of aftermarket issues in cooperation with the Customer Resource Center

6. Inside Sales Specialist Functions

  • Account Review: Reviews and contacts the targeted list of customers to establish their interests in services and to update account records in the database
  • Needs Assessment: Asks focused questions about specific customer needs (e.g., time-sensitive, large volume, etc.) to meet customers' freight needs and obtain additional business
  • Customer Listening: Listens to customers and asks probing questions (e.g., actual needs versus desires, etc.) to identify the customer's immediate/long-term freight needs
  • Funnel Management: Works the sales funnel (i.e., promised, pending, positioned, and producing) to obtain customer commitments
  • Trend Analysis: Researches and analyzes historic shipping trends to ensure the customer is asked focused questions
  • Pricing Verification: Requests and obtains competitor pricing from the customer (i.e., Customer Pricing Verification) to determine the rates required to win the business
  • Data Analysis: Analyzes customer data to determine discount percentages and services for customers
  • Pricing Request: Completes and submits customer pricing requests to the Pricing department to review, negotiate, and assess profitability
  • Rate Negotiation: Conducts negotiations with the customer and the Pricing department to reach agreeable rates
  • Agreement Review: Reviews pricing agreements with customers to ensure an understanding of discount structure, shipping terms, and accessorial charges
  • Freight Inquiry: Contacts customers to determine freight and ground needs
  • Service Matching: Matches customer needs with service offerings to successfully obtain their business
  • Lead Management: Receives customer leads from various groups and departments (e.g., Customer Service, Account Managers, Enterprise Customer Management, etc.) to identify potential business opportunities

7. Inside Sales Specialist Job Description

  • Account Probing: Probes existing accounts to identify additional departments and areas shipping less-than-truckload that could use services
  • Sales Collaboration: Works with external sales representatives to provide and receive assistance with accounts for increasing business potential
  • Issue Resolution: Responds to customer issues (e.g., billing, shipping, etc.) to clarify, resolve, and address concerns
  • Quarterly Calls: Conducts quarterly calls to assigned customers to determine customer changes (e.g., new contacts, adjusted shipping needs, reorganizations, etc.)
  • Customer Retention: Maintains customer contacts regularly to retain business
  • Follow-up Calls: Conducts follow-up calls after shipments to show appreciation for the customers' business
  • Active Listening: Utilizes aggressive listening skills to understand customers' needs and provide the best solutions
  • Department Support: Assists various departments (i.e., Services, Volume Services, etc.) during peak times to offset resource shortages
  • Program Promotion: Promotes special programs (i.e., flavor of the month) with customers to raise service awareness and uncover new opportunities
  • Service Assistance: Assists Customer Service in identifying and resolving customer needs and problems
  • Job Training: Provides on-the-job training for new ISAMs to ensure effective job performance
  • Project Support: Assists in ongoing special projects to help determine system-wide implementations for increased profits

8. Inside Sales Specialist Overview

  • Customer Contact: Act as a key contact to customers to provide information on the complete sales cycle from quote through delivery
  • Sales Generation: Contact current and potential customers to generate sales
  • Contract Conversion: Develop, sell, and convert accounts to recurring revenue service contracts
  • Paperwork Management: Ensure that all paperwork, purchase orders, rental agreements, reports, etc., are maintained to respond to customer inquiries in a timely manner
  • Process Compliance: Ensure internal process requirements
  • Inventory Handling: Handle inventory to stocking levels
  • Order Accuracy: Ensure the order process is complete and error-free
  • Peer Mentoring: Mentor peers and share standard methodologies with those less experienced
  • Phone Sales: Spend the majority of time on the phone with customers
  • Customer Requests: Handle all aspects of a customer’s questions and requests, calling on a minimum of once monthly
  • Quote Delivery: Provide written and verbal pricing quotes to customers in an organized, timely and professional manner
  • Knowledge Expansion: Attend regular training events to expand knowledge
  • Team Collaboration: Effectively collaborate with the field sales team
  • Program Training: Provide the most thorough training program in the industry and perhaps the entire sales world
  • Incentive Program: Provide the team with a base rate, in addition to a monthly incentive program that can be exceeded

9. Inside Sales Specialist Details and Accountabilities

  • Lead Response: Respond to all email and phone leads immediately and qualify the leads based on needs
  • Prospect Follow-up: Provide consistent follow-up to online prospects to set an appointment with the Onsite Sales Counselor
  • Prospect Information: Provide information and marketing material to prospects
  • Lead Handling: Respond to the sales line and voice mail for leads
  • Solution Matching: Work with the prospect to determine the best community and floor plan
  • Lead Management: Utilize lead-management software
  • Email Campaigns: Create and deliver ongoing e-mail campaigns
  • Activity Tracking: Track and report on lead activity and sales conversion ratios
  • Content Maintenance: Maintain website content and monitor third-party websites and online advertising
  • Competitor Research: Continually research the competition and their online activities

10. Inside Sales Specialist Tasks

  • Relationship Building: Build trusted long-term relationships with customers that lead to strong brand affinity and ultimately help with Philips’s MOR (Most Often Recommended) growth initiative
  • Territory Management: Effectively manage a territory of Customers and Prospects, offering products in a consultative manner, and matching customer needs with the Philips Oral Healthcare Portfolio
  • Customer Acquisition: Responsible for obtaining new customers and acting as a sole resource in the area
  • Business Planning: Create business plans in conjunction with the Supervisor to understand the territory, identify shortcomings and set strategy and gap plans going forward
  • Revenue Growth: Achieve established revenue growth expectations for dental practices within the assigned territory
  • Product Knowledge: Obtain a full understanding of the science and clinical significance behind the Sonicare power toothbrush, Zoom Whitening and Oral Care products
  • Consultative Partnerships: Build strong strategic consultative sales partnerships with Dental Professional stakeholders, including Specialists, Dentists, Dental Hygienists, Dental Assistants and Dental Team Members
  • CRM Utilization: Use the CRM system to plan the day, call Dental Professional offices, record all activities and schedule appropriate follow-up tasks
  • Marketing Collaboration: Cultivate successful partnerships with marketing teams to efficiently maximize territory coverage
  • Clinical Strategy: Strategically utilize Philips clinical information and customer technologies to enhance DP business plans and in-office plan execution
  • Practice Implementation: Effectively translate consultative practice-building techniques and in-office merchandising objectives into office-level implementation
  • Promotional Tactics: Understand and select the right promotional tactics to optimize sales
  • KPI Achievement: Achieve daily, monthly, and quarterly KPI metrics, as well as achieve sales quota
Relevant Information
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