Lori L. Harmon - 42 Rules for Building a High-Velocity Inside Sales Team. Actionable Guide to Creating Inside Sales Teams that Deliver Quantum Results

Actionable Guide to Creating Inside Sales Teams that Deliver Quantum Results

By Lori L. Harmon
and Debbi S. Funk

E-mail:
20660 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 210
Cupertino, CA 95014

Copyright 2014 by Lori Harmon and Debbi Funk

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher.

Published by Super Star Press, a THiNKaha imprint
20660 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 210, Cupertino, CA 95014
http://42rules.com

First Printing: January 2014
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-60773-115-3 (1-60773-115-0)
eBook ISBN: 978-1-60773-116-0 (1-60773-116-9)
Place of Publication: Silicon Valley, California, USA
Library of Congress Number: 2013956413

Trademarks

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. THiNKaha nor any of its imprints, can attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Warning and Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible. The information provided is on an as is basis. The author(s), publisher, and its agents assume no responsibility for errors or omissions nor assume liability or responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the use of information contained herein.

Praise for This Book

Lori and Debbi prove that they know how to build a high-velocity inside sales team. They make it clear that building an inside sales team is not a one-size-fits-all process. Although every team has to have some common key elements like tools, systems, and processes, it takes a strategic approach to put it together and build a successful team.

John Stringer, CEO, Producers Forum, Former CEO, Wyse Technology

Inside sales is a category that a few years ago did not exist. Now the hiring of inside sales reps versus outside sales is 10:1. In order to build an inside sales team properly, you need to know how. 42 Rules for Building a High-Velocity Inside Sales Team outlines the process that will enable you to create a competitive differentiator that will deliver revenue and value to your company significantly faster than traditional sales models.

Lars Leckie, Managing Partner, Hummer Winblad

I have found it extremely important to coach, inspire, and mentor your employees to maximize their individual success and that of the team. In 42 Rules for Building a High-Velocity Inside Sales Team, Lori and Debbi do a great job coaching managers through building a high-velocity inside sales team. They point out the importance of taking the time to work with individual reps to help each of them achieve their career goals.

Robert Fioretti, Business/Success Coach, Co-author, Discover Your Inner Strength, Keynote Speaker and Owner of Infinite Possibilities LLC

In todays economy, innovation isnt just for products; it extends to your distribution model. Inside sales is leading the way in terms of innovation and breaking the traditional sales rules. 42 Rules for Building a High-Velocity Inside Sales Team gives you the knowledge to successfully execute an innovative sales channel strategy.

Dr. Cheemin Bo-Linn, President, Peritus Partners, Former Vice President, IBM

Being strategic about how to leverage an inside sales channel has never been so critical. This is a timely book. Lori Harmon and Debbi Funk understand how to effectively build high-velocity inside sales teams.

Mark McLaughlin, CEO, Palo Alto Networks

Lori and Debbi have written a comprehensive guide for building a high-velocity inside sales team. Until now, this information has never been consolidated into a single, easy-to-read handbook. In about an hour you can find out the key elements required and steps to take to build an effective, productive, fired-up inside sales team.

Shelley McNary, Senior Director of Inside Sales, Coveo

At a time when executives face increased pressure to generate more revenue at a lower cost, Lori Harmon and Debbi Funk show CEOs and sales leaders how to build a cost-effective, highly productive sales model.

Sally Pera, CEO, Association for Corporate Growth, Silicon Valley Chapter

Companies that excel at growing recurring revenue significantly outperform their competitors. In fact, over the past year, these companies grew revenues 20 percent faster and enjoyed 25 percent higher profit margins than their Fortune 1000 peers. Inside sales is the perfect channel for managing your recurring revenue stream. 42 Rules for Building a High-Velocity Inside Sales Team is the how-to guide for building high performing in-house teams to deliver these outstanding results.

Christine Heckart, EVP, Strategy, Marketing, People & Systems, ServiceSource

Mentoring and coaching by a front-line manager are critical to the success of your inside sales team! Lori and Debbi describe the importance of this process and other key management aspects of leading a high-velocity inside sales team.

Ingrid B. Steinbergs, Worldwide Vice President, Inside Sales, HPSW, Hewlett-Packard Company

Inside sales is exploding in growth and the learning curve comes with that. This complex and always changing profession needs direction and thats why 42 Rules for Building a High-Velocity Inside Sales Team is a perfect guide. Lori Harmon and Debbi Funk bring their 40+ years of combined knowledge of leadership and subject-matter expertise in developing this book. You are in good hands with their recommendations and my first rule is to READ IT!!!

Josiane Chriqui Feigon, President and CEO, TeleSmart Communications

Having witnessed Lori and Debbi manage their inside sales teams, its fabulous to see that they have encapsulated their own success factors in such a great and easy how-to book.

Ron Sacchi, Business and Organizational Change Consultant

42 Rules for Building a High-Velocity Inside Sales Team is one of those rare books that give you actionable strategies, steps, and examples that will help define your approach and, ultimately, the value of your inside sales team. This is a must-read!

Sally Duby, Vice-President of SMB Sales, Microsoft, Former President Phoneworks

This easy-to-read book nets out the key factors you need to know for setting up, leading, and optimizing a high-performance inside sales team. Read it and prosper.

Jill Konrath, Author, SNAP Selling, Selling to Big Companies

42 Rules for Building a High-Velocity Inside Sales Team is a great resource! Its a truly useful book for executives and sales leaders looking to assemble a high-velocity inside sales team. Inside, youll learn from real-world experiences, what it takes to create a successful inside sales team.

Jill Rowley, Social Selling Evangelist, Oracle

Dedication

For our families who have supported us during the book-writing process, even when it meant sacrificing time with them.

Acknowledgments

Writing a book is both a fun and fulfilling experience. It also happens to be a lot of work! It is not a project that we could have done by ourselves.

Without the mentors that gave us our first opportunity to work in inside sales, this book would never have come about. For Lori, that was Dick Lewis, who believed in her and gave her a number of professional opportunities, including leading her first inside sales team. For Debbi, this was her father, the late Ralph Soden, who supported her leaving the family business to pave her own way as an inside sales professional.