Inbound Sales from Coursera

In this course, you will learn how to create a successful inbound sales strategy by connecting with and earning the attention of your most promising leads. After learning the basics of inbound sales and the buyer’s journey, you will learn how to develop your buyer persona as well as find and prioritize active buyers. You’ll discover how to reach out to these leads by creating and using an outreach sequence. Next, you will use qualification frameworks to profile and identify the details of your prospects, including their CGP, TCI, and BA. The course will culminate in you applying your new knowledge to design a personalized sales presentation and a multi-step project for developing an inbound sales strategy.

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• Describe the importance of inbound sales

• Develop an inbound sales strategy

• Create your ideal customer profile

• Identify and prioritize inbound leads

• Use social selling

• Enrich leads

• Connect with inbound leads

• Reach out to inbound leads via phone or email

• Use trigger events and common connections to connect to leads

• Create outreach sequence

• Use technology to automate parts of the outreach

• Identify a prospect's challenges, goals and plans

• Understand a prospect's timeline, consequences and implications

• Profile a prospect's budget and authority

• Create a personalized sales presentation

Throughout the course, you will complete exercises that allow you to apply the skills you have learned in a practical way, such as creating a customer profile, writing emails to prospects, brainstorming a list of questions for a sales call, and creating a sales presentation. You will compile your work and submit it as a project at the end of the course.

This course is intended for anyone interested in jumpstarting their career in sales - whether you’re changing careers and looking for an entry-level role, or want to hone your skills in your current role as a sales representative. It does not require any background knowledge or experience to get started.

What's inside

Syllabus

Introduction to Inbound Sales

In the first week you will be introduced to inbound sales and the importance of having an inbound sales strategy. You will also learn how to define and evaluate the buyer’s journey to optimize your sales strategy.

Identify: Finding and Profiling Active Buyers

This week you will take an in-depth look at the first phase of inbound sales, Identify. You will learn how to create a buyer persona for your ideal prospect. You will also learn how to identify and profile active buyers and prioritize these leads. You will complete the exercise Creating Your Ideal Customer Profile, which is the first part of the project you will turn in at the end of this course.

Connect: Connecting with Leads

In the third week you will focus on the second phase of the inbound sales strategy, Connect. You will explore how to identify different points of connection with your inbound sales leads and how to create an outreach sequence. You’ll also learn how to use technology to aid in your outreach process. You will complete the second part of your final project, Connecting with Leads through Email.

Explore: Use a Qualification Framework to Move Prospects to Action

This week you’ll dive into the Explore phase of inbound sales. You’ll learn how to use a qualification framework to identify a prospect’s challenges, goals, timeline, and more to determine if your product is a good fit for them. You’ll learn how to use these qualifications to motivate your prospect to take action in the sale. You’ll also complete the third exercise for your final project, Use a Qualification Framework to Move Prospects to Action.

Advise: Create a Personalized Sales Presentation

In the final week you will explore the final phase of the inbound sales strategy, Advise. You will learn how to create a personalized sales presentation that will motivate and help your buyer achieve their goals. You will end the week by completing your final project, consisting of the exercises you did through the previous weeks as well as creating an example of a personalized sales presentation.

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Examines Inbound Sales, which is standard in the sales industry

Explores methods for finding and profiling active buyers

Develops skills to connect with and qualify inbound leads

Taught by Rachel Sheldon, who has expertise in this field

Emphasizes creating personalized sales presentations for prospects

Offers hands-on exercises to reinforce skills and knowledge

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Inbound Sales with these activities:

Follow a tutorial on how to use a CRM system

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This activity will help you to learn how to use a CRM system, which is an essential tool for any inbound salesperson.

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Find a tutorial on how to use a CRM system
Watch the tutorial and follow the instructions
Practice using the CRM system

Practice cold calling and email outreach

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This activity will help you to develop your cold calling and email outreach skills, which are essential for generating leads.

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Set up a list of prospects
Practice your cold calling script
Send out a series of email outreach messages
Track your results and make adjustments as needed

Participate in a peer practice session

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This activity will allow you to practice your sales skills with other students and receive feedback.

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Find a peer practice session to join
Prepare for the session by practicing your sales pitch
Participate in the session and give feedback to others

Five other activities

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Show all eight activities

Volunteer at a local sales organization

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This activity will allow you to gain hands-on experience in sales and network with other professionals.

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Find a local sales organization to volunteer with
Contact the organization and express your interest in volunteering
Attend volunteer training
Volunteer your time to help the organization with sales activities

Create a blog post or article on the inbound sales methodology

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This activity will help you to solidify your understanding of the inbound sales methodology and practice your writing skills.

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Choose a topic for your blog post or article
Research your topic
Write your blog post or article
Publish your blog post or article

Create a sales presentation

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This activity will help you to solidify your understanding of the sales process and practice your presentation skills.

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Identify your target audience
Develop a sales pitch
Create a presentation
Practice your presentation

Contribute to an open source sales tool

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This activity will allow you to gain experience in sales tool development and contribute to the open source community.

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Find an open source sales tool to contribute to
Review the project's documentation and codebase
Identify an area where you can contribute
Submit a pull request with your contribution

Start a sales project

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This activity will allow you to apply your sales skills to a real-world project and track your progress.

Browse courses on Sales

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Define the scope of your project
Set goals for your project
Develop a plan for your project
Execute your project
Track your results and make adjustments as needed

Career center

Learners who complete Inbound Sales will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Chief Sales Officer

A Chief Sales Officer is responsible for developing and executing sales strategies. This course may be useful, as it covers how to develop and implement an inbound sales strategy and how to use technology to automate parts of the outreach.

See salaries and explore the career path for Chief Sales Officer

Vice President of Sales

A Vice President of Sales is responsible for overseeing all aspects of sales operations. This course may be useful, as it provides an overview of the entire inbound sales process, from identifying and prioritizing inbound leads to creating a personalized sales presentation.

See salaries and explore the career path for Vice President of Sales

Director of Sales

A Director of Sales is responsible for leading and managing a sales team. This course may be useful, as it covers how to develop and implement an inbound sales strategy and how to use technology to automate parts of the outreach.

See salaries and explore the career path for Director of Sales

Sales Operations Manager

A Sales Operations Manager is responsible for planning, implementing, and managing sales operations. This course may be useful, as it covers how to develop an inbound sales strategy and how to use technology to automate parts of the outreach.

See salaries and explore the career path for Sales Operations Manager

Outbound Sales Representative

An Outbound Sales Representative is responsible for generating and closing sales leads through cold calling or emailing. This course may be useful, as it covers how to identify and prioritize inbound leads and how to use a qualification framework to move prospects to action.

See salaries and explore the career path for Outbound Sales Representative

Inside Sales Representative

An Inside Sales Representative is responsible for generating and closing sales leads over the phone or email. This course may be useful, as it covers how to reach out to inbound leads via phone or email and how to use an outreach sequence.

See salaries and explore the career path for Inside Sales Representative

Sales Engineer

A Sales Engineer provides technical expertise to sales teams and helps customers understand how products or services can meet their needs. This course may be useful, as it covers how to identify and prioritize inbound leads and how to use a qualification framework to move prospects to action.

See salaries and explore the career path for Sales Engineer

Customer Success Manager

A Customer Success Manager is responsible for ensuring that customers are satisfied with their products or services. This course may be useful, as it covers how to create a personalized sales presentation and how to use a qualification framework to move prospects to action.

See salaries and explore the career path for Customer Success Manager

Product Manager

A Product Manager is responsible for overseeing the development and launch of new products or services. This course may be useful, as it covers how to identify and prioritize inbound leads and how to use a qualification framework to move prospects to action.

See salaries and explore the career path for Product Manager

Marketing Manager

A Marketing Manager is responsible for planning, developing, and executing marketing campaigns. This course may be useful as it provides an overview of the buyer’s journey and how to develop your buyer persona.

See salaries and explore the career path for Marketing Manager

Business Development Manager

A Business Development Manager is responsible for generating new business opportunities and developing new markets. This course may be useful, as it covers how to develop an inbound sales strategy and how to create and use an outreach sequence.

See salaries and explore the career path for Business Development Manager

Account Executive

Account Executives are responsible for managing and growing relationships with existing customers. This course may be helpful as it provides an in-depth look at the Identify phase of inbound sales, which involves creating a buyer persona for your ideal prospect and learning how to identify and profile active buyers.

See salaries and explore the career path for Account Executive

Sales Representative

A Sales Representative is a professional responsible for selling products or services to customers. By learning Inbound Sales, you may be able to gain a competitive edge in this role, as you will learn how to create a successful inbound sales strategy by connecting with and earning the attention of your most promising leads.

See salaries and explore the career path for Sales Representative

Sales Consultant

A Sales Consultant provides advice and guidance to clients on how to improve their sales performance. As this course goes over Inbound Sales, it may be useful to learn about the strategies and techniques involved in this specific type of sales.

See salaries and explore the career path for Sales Consultant

Sales Manager

A Sales Manager is a professional in charge of overseeing all aspects of sales operations. This course in Inbound Sales may be useful in helping you prepare for this role, as it covers the basics of inbound sales and the buyer’s journey, along with how to develop your buyer persona and find and prioritize active buyers. You will also learn how to reach out to these leads by creating and using an outreach sequence.

See salaries and explore the career path for Sales Manager