Have inside sales taken over the world? Look at some of the big plays, and you’ll see the answer. In recent years, AstraZeneca exchanged a field sales team for a 300-person inside team, and IBM accelerated its high-quality inbound lead rate with renewed investment in inside sales. Some industries are reporting that 55 percent of their sales originate from inside teams.

This groundswell of activity is in response to the converging influence of competition, budgets, schedules, and advancements in sales and marketing automation. Business development reps can now reach more customers with the cost efficiency that comes with audio and video solutions. Traditionally, many businesses relied on face-to-face meetings to win the sale. However, in response to the global economic downturn, many companies turned to inside sales as a more affordable way to reach customers. In fact, according to McKinsey, Cisco Systems “reduced travel costs for sales specialists by 50 percent globally, saving millions of dollars a year.”

However, as the race to the customer heats up, sellers risk losing their focus. The customer must still be part of the inside sales equation. Making this happen requires an inside sales approach that keeps the customer’s needs central to the conversation. Discovering these needs is becoming more difficult, though. Heightened competition is forcing businesses to leverage more nuanced differentiators. Therefore, uncovering this information requires a thoughtful approach. Here are three ways sellers can unlock the potential of inside sales with a consultative style.

Balance Questions With Insights.

Sellers must ask questions to understand customer needs. Knowing these needs allows a seller to position a solution effectively. As the seller asks more questions, however, the customer can become exhausted or even feel interrogated. For this reason, it’s important for sellers to balance questions with insights. This exchange creates a more cooperative dynamic in which the relationship can develop into a partnership. Moreover, offering relevant ideas helps the seller establish credibility.

This skill is particularly crucial in inside sales, because it’s too easy for a customer to disengage over the phone. In addition to offering insights, sellers should remember to provide the rationale for their inquiry. This approach signals to the customer that the questions are thoughtful and designed with a specific intention in mind.

Let Feedback Guide the Process.

Clear customer feedback is the single most powerful tool for winning the sale. When sellers successfully elicit feedback, they gain insight into where their proposed solution might be lacking. These comments provide the seller with an opportunity to course correct, if necessary, rather than discover too late in the conversation that they’ve missed the mark.

Seeking feedback can also enable the seller to float ideas. As the breadth of the customer’s challenges comes into focus, sellers may discover that they can expand their offering. This approach is preferable to more aggressive selling. Easing into ideas works by putting the priming bias to work; the customer will become more open to an idea with repeated exposure. Most importantly, asking for the customer’s perspective demonstrates the seller’s commitment to a collaborative, consultative process.

Resolve Objections.

If sellers can resolve objections, they can close the sale. Objections often occur when a customer faces a new idea that runs counter to his or her established line of thinking. In most cases, the objection doesn’t result from the characteristics of the new idea. Instead, the objection arises from the simple fact that the idea doesn’t fit within the customer’s frame of logic. Sellers can manage this challenge by being mindful of defensiveness. When a customer objects, many sellers default to defensiveness. This response only serves to heighten the customer’s objection.

Sellers must remember to take the time to defuse feelings of defensiveness by making sure that the customer knows that they’ve been heard. The customer needs to know that they’re working with someone who understands their concerns and needs. Even if the seller is unable to fully resolve the objection, he or she should be able to keep the customer engaged in the conversation.

The advent of inside selling tools has presented sellers with enormous opportunities. However, tools are only as effective as the hands that they’re in. Sellers can turn volume into value by applying a consultative approach to their inside sales strategy. Doing so means coming prepared with industry-relevant insights, requesting feedback and efficiently resolving objections.