Work from Home Inside Sales Tips

Working from home as an inside sales rep is fantastic. But not because you’ll have Netflix or Xbox at your fingertips with no one around to check up on you.

Working from home gives you a chance to be HAPPIER and more productive. When you work from home, you:

• No longer have the morning commute to deal with;
• You’re always home in time for dinner;
• and you won’t have your sales manager watching your every move.

You’ll have a boost of freedom. And with an increase in freedom, you’ll need to be more responsible. If you’re not careful and you mismanage your work from home opportunity, you could find yourself being home a lot more, but without a paycheck coming in.

Speaking as someone who has built two businesses from scratch (and selling one of them for $1.2Million) I know a thing or two about working from home, and I would like to share them with you so that you may also benefit from them as I have.

Here are three rock-solid inside sales tips for working from home that will help you be happy AND successful.

WORK FROM HOME INSIDE SALES TIP #1:

Clean, quiet workspace.

You would think it goes without saying, but you want to find or create a place of work within your home – especially if you are not the only one in the house during work hours.

In my Tampa home, I set up shop in one of our guest rooms. I love it because the sun comes shining through and brightness up the room (and my mood) plus, it’s farthest away from the central part of the house where the rest of the family normally interacts.

For a desk, simple, lean, and mean is what worked for me. I found this one on Wayfair and when I walk in, sit down and fire up the laptop, I’m excited and ready to rock. A nice, clean, and quiet workspace does wonders for your mood.

WORK FROM HOME INSIDE SALES TIP #2:

A routine is critical to your success.

You have to schedule or map out and plan your day and stick with the plan, allowing a few exceptions and adjustments as needed.

There’s a peace that comes over you when you have a routine to follow that is well thought out and designed for practicality and success. And in sales, when you are at peace, you sound and act confident over the phone. Your “tone” will be that of someone that is looking to “help” not “sell” to their prospects.

Here’s an example of one of my most productive routines:

7:30 AM – 20-MINUTE PELOTON RIDE

8:00 AM – SHOWER (yes, you have to schedule your shower or you will fall into the trap of just jumping right into work)

8:30 AM – BREAKFAST

8:45 – Meditation/Prayer. I like to take 1 to 3 minutes of reading scripture to get my mind right. Not saying this is something you have to do. I’m just sharing that when I do this (and I don’t ALWAYS do it…), but when I do, I’ve noticed that I am better prepared and more at peace with whatever comes my way that day.

9:00 AM – HIT THE PHONES. First time calls, first. NO “follow-up calls” unless they were scheduled and confirmed. Otherwise, go after new opportunities first before following-up with deals that are already in the works. This way, you can always be sure of having a pipeline.

WORK FROM HOME INSIDE SALES TIP #3:

Goals.

The best way to stick to a routine is to make a list of your daily goals and objectives. You could make a list of goals and use the “routine” outline as a way to jump-start your journey into building a successful “work-from-home” pattern. But other goals should include things like “# of dials” and “talk time” for the day.

When I’m focused and consistently following patterns like the one I shared above, I usually get more done by 3 PM than I would have if I drove into the office, so it really can create the work/life balance without sacrificing production or revenue earnings.

– Michael Pedone

Michael Pedone teaches inside sales teams how to pick up the phone and close business. He is the CEO/FOUNDER of SalesBuzz.com – An online sales training company.