Technology today allows you to shop from the comfort of your own home. No matter how big or small your desired product is, you can generally comparison shop for and purchase it from the comfort of your nice office chair. Online shopping has made shopping not only easier, but much more efficient. It’s now possible to browse several different stores or carriers of a product and compare prices in a fraction of the time it would take to physically visit each of the stores. There are even websites that help you comparison shop. Sometimes bigger purchases require that the customer have a trial or see a demo. It often takes weeks for a customer to receive a product to test out. Does it have to be this way?

Imagine going into a store to buy a new state-of-the-art plasma TV to watch the big game that Saturday. As you walk in to talk to someone about making this big purchase, you see a sign on the customer service desk that says, “Back in 42 hours, thanks for your patience!” Chances are that upon reading this message you would be anything but patient. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to not have someone respond to your simple questions about one of their products? You already have an interest to buy, but the seller seems to have little interest to sell.
This is an example that correlates directly to the world of sales. In fact, a study done by InsideSales.com found that on average, businesses take 42 hours to respond to new leads. Why would anyone let such hot leads slip right through their fingertips. Another study found that contacting a new lead within 5 minutes instead of within 30 minutes increases qualification rates by 21 times. Calling immediately is important, but how do you contact leads that quickly? Is it humanly possible?
It may not be humanly possible, but it’s certainly doable with the help of the hosted CRM and Powerdialer software from InsideSales.com. The special dialer puts the newest leads at the very top of the line so the sales reps can be talking with them in a matter of minutes. Imagine how impressed someone would be to fill out a web form and then receive a call a mere five minutes later. Their impression of you as a company is bound to skyrocket right then and there. So if the results are so desirable, what’s holding you back? Get on track and try out the PowerDialer and hosted CRM free for 10 days. Responding quicky to your leads will help you get back on the top of your game and at the head of your industry.

Let’s take a trip inside the life of an intern at InsideSales.com. A typical day could consist of anything from data entry to creation of articles and campaign strategies. Tasks can be as menial as entering data into spreadsheets or as critically important as writing emails to CEOs. What does an intern do? I believe a better question is: What doesn’t an intern do? I, as an intern at InsideSales.com will give you a little peek into my daily tasks.

I ride my bike over three miles from Brigham Young University to my internship here at InsideSales.com. Day after day, rain or shine, the long ride has helped me learn the value of hard work. I’ve learned to be open to anything and willing to contribute no matter how difficult or undesirable the task. As I’ve been consistently diligent in doing my best work, I have felt a sense of accomplishment within myself. As an intern, it’s often difficult to see the end results. It often feels like I’m not making a difference, but the approval of my own work I feel from within is enough to keep me coming back everyday.

One of the best benefits of being an intern here is simply being a part of the business environment. Even though I’m not high up in the company hierarchy, I learn so much from just hearing the business-level conversations that go on around me. There are constantly little discussions about where to go next and what needs to happen by when. It has taught me the importance of effective communication and the wide assortment of small decisions that must fit perfectly together to make a successful whole.

My internship is an unpaid, but what I lack in physical pay is made up for in real world experience. The working environment here is incredible. There’s not a single person I’ve noticed that gives anything less than their very best. When the CEO needs something done, the employees are willing to follow no matter how much extra work it means for them. There is no “I’m too cool to do that” attitude here, but instead everyone works in their separate role for the overall success of the company.

The major highlight of my experience here so far was the AA-ISP meeting held on October 12th right here at the Novell Campus by the InsideSales.com office. In the meeting, both Dave Elkington (CEO) and Ken Krogue (President) shared some groundbreaking research and strategies relating to the realm of inside sales. The tips were very simple, yet seemed to yield amazing results. One such was their suggestion to use a feature called “Local Presence” which allows callers to always appear as a local caller on the caller ID.

My advice to anyone would be to get an internship. It’s an amazing opportunity to get real world business experience while receiving course credit. There are things you learn in a business atmosphere that just don’t come in the classroom. I encourage any and all students to talk to their counselor or major advisor and see where they can fit in an internship. I can assure you that you won’t regret it!