What is B2B Inbound Sales?

B2B inbound sales is the process of identifying, nurturing, and advising leads that have shown interest in a company’s products and/or services. Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) usually execute the B2B inbound sales process which is a major component in a lead generation strategy.

Identifying Inbound Leads

Sales and marketing teams need to be able identify leads that have shown purchase intent in their company’s products and/or services. Signs of purchase intent include digital interactions such as marketing website page views or form fills, or non-digital interactions such as phone calls or interactions at an event. Sales and marketing teams analyze leads have shown purchase intent to decide whether or not to pursue this opportunity.

Nurturing Inbound Leads

This is sales and marketing team’s opportunity to connect with leads by a process called lead nurturing. Lead nurturing is the process of educating and advising leads on a company’s products and/or services in order to move leads through the sales pipeline. Sales and marketing teams nurture leads by targeted digital advertising, website personalization, email nurture campaigns, social media marketing, etc.

Advising Inbound Leads

Sales teams should serve as an advisor to inbound leads by helping leads navigate through the buying process. Sales help leads navigate the buying process by asking constructive questions and educating leads about products and/or services in the industry. Sales teams ask constructive questions and gather information to understand the lead’s challenges and goals. This information will give sales teams the ability to suggest the a solution that fits the lead’s goals.

B2B Inbound Sales Tools

There are a wide range of B2B inbound sales tools that help sales and marketing teams with their inbound sales process. There are B2B inbound tools help with every part of the inbound sales process including, identifying, nurturing, and advising leads. For example, there are B2B inbound sales tools that assist sales with appointment setting, capturing form fills, discovering purchase intent, firmographic data research, etc.