Let’s take a moment and think about how annoying it is to make cold calls, present awkward pitches and hope that your effort is fruitful or at least that there’s a hint of reciprocity. Well, the good news is, with inbound sales, you don’t have to do that anymore. In this game, you don’t chase; you attract. Customers notice your offerings and suddenly, you are a prospect for their calls. Funny how roles are reversed, isn't it?

Anyhow, let’s dive deeper and break down the concept of inbound sales for you. Get ready to learn more about how a customer navigates inbound sales, what stages a buyer goes through, benefits and success measures, and finally, what are the important tools you should be using.

What is inbound sales?

Let's say, you sell a CRM software. Instead of doing the boring cold calling and asking customers to buy your CRM, you can write blog posts and create a free guide on ‘’How to keep customers coming back’’. When business owners, or sales managers find your content, they realise how your understanding of customer management is right on the money. Later, when they decide to invest in a CRM, the first person they ask is you! 

However, inbound sales require a set of skills, let’s explore them. 

What are the skills to have for inbound sales?

It’s time to check if you possess the right sales skills required.

Soft Skills

1. Strong communication skills
2. Active listening
3. Problem solving
4. Relationship building
5. Sales negotiation

Technical Skills/Tools

1. In-depth product knowledge
2. Proficiency in sales tools like CRM, automation tools

What is an ideal customer journey in inbound sales?

The customer journey is one of the most important things to understand in becoming good at inbound sales.

📢 Stage #1: Awareness 

Customers in this stage are well aware of the problem they’re facing. Naturally, they are also researching and might have come across a product or service that meets their needs. As a salesperson, it is very important to understand what the customer is looking for and what their pain points are before offering them a solution.

Example: Raj, an e-commerce founder, realizes his sales team is missing follow-ups and starts researching ways to manage customer data better.

🤔 Stage #2: Consideration 

Customers are performing a higher level of research by weighing the pros and cons of their considerations. It is important that you, as a business, stand out from your competitors and put out relevant and helpful content for the customers to make the right choice.

Example: He compares different benefits of CRM solutions, reads blog posts, downloads an eBook from your site, and attends your webinar on sales automation for SMBs.

🎯 Stage #3: Decision making 

This is the final stage where customers have narrowed down their choices and are ready to make the purchase. As an inbound sales rep, try to make the sales process smooth in order to convert the lead into a paying customer. Doubts and objections must be clarified, and USPs and offers should be highlighted.

Example: After a personalized demo addressing his concerns, Raj chooses your CRM, impressed by its Shopify integration and dedicated onboarding support.

What phases do sellers go through in inbound sales?

Now that we have understood the buyer’s journey, shall we look at some inbound sales methodologies you can implement to attract more leads?

🔎 Identify 

Before you start selling anything, as an inbound sales rep, you must identify who is interested in your product. This can be done by creating your ideal customer profile (ICP), checking who engages with your social media posts or downloading a free guide, and people who are researching topics related to your profile. 

📞 Connect 

In this step, you engage with your target audience. Reach out to them via social media, phone calls or even send them an email. Remember, the key as a salesperson is to never sell immediately. Rather, your focus should be to help and build trust.

🌟 Explore & Advice

This phase is all about trying to get to know the customer, their challenges and what they’re exactly looking for by asking the right questions. Open-ended questions like “what is your biggest challenge in hiring?” can get you answers, to which you can tailor personalized solutions that set you apart from the crowd.

If the customer still seems confused, show them how your product works. Give them a demo. This way, the customer sees the value and understands how your product fits their needs perfectly.

What are the tools to use for inbound sales?

• CRM software:

At Superleap, we have built a CRM that sales teams can use to manage and track interactions with leads and customers. It aids in capturing the inbound queries, scores leads based on behavior, and automates follow-ups. A sales rep can use it to keep tabs on the leads buying journey and use it to tailor conversations.

• Email marketing tools (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign):

These platforms allow lead nurturing by automating email sequences, newsletters and personalized campaigns. It’s a great tactic to keep prospects engaged, moving them closer to making a purchase without constantly pestering them.

• SEO & content tools (Google Analytics, Ahrefs):

Google Analytics and Ahrefs are useful in identifying which content attracts most traffic and what are the keywords potential customers are searching on the web. This data is crucial to understand the kind of value prospects are seeking and prioritize them in outreach conversations.

• Social media platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter):

Social media platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter): LinkedIn and Twitter are excellent to establish brand awareness on the internet. By engaging with prospects, joining relevant conversations, and also sharing content, it helps to generate inbound interest for people to discover your brand organically. 

What are the benefits of inbound sales?

• Inbound sales produce higher quality of leads

• The conversion rate is generally higher

• It is cost effective compared to outbound sales

• It helps establish long term relationships and ROI

• Your brand awareness increases from successful inbound marketing strategies

How do you measure the success of inbound sales?

👁 Number of website visitors 

Keep tabs on your website's traffic. What is the number of visitors? Your material is useful if the number is greater. Check which blog post, guides, or ads bring maximum visitors.

🌱 Number of leads generated 

With your website's visitor statistics in hand, look for leads that show interest.

They might have filled in a form, downloaded an eBook or signed up for a demo. A lower number of leads means you need to work on your content.

🔄 Conversion rate 

How many of your leads are converting into paying customers?

If 100 people sign up for a demo and only 10 of them convert into paying customers, your conversion rate is 10%. In inbound sales, if you improve your follow-ups and more people buy, it means your sales strategy is working.

Here’s a chart showing conversion rate benchmarks for different industries.

⏳ What is your customer lifetime value? 

How to calculate CLV?

If your customer is happy with you, they will not only buy from you again but also refer you within their network, inviting more leads. A higher CLV means they see value in your product or service; however, a lower one is your sign to revisit and refine your value proposition.

Spotify inbound marketing strategy

Spotify is known for its hyper-personalized user experience, which is the foundation of its inbound marketing success.

Personalized playlists and recommendations

A weekly playlist curated for individual users based on their listening habits and preferences. This feature delights users by introducing them to new music they’re likely to enjoy. Users feel valued when they see Spotify catering to their unique tastes.

Engaging and shareable content

Campaigns like Spotify Wrapped go viral every year, encouraging users to share their listening habits on platforms like Instagram and Twitter, generating free publicity for Spotify.

They also invest heavily in exclusive podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience and Call Her Daddy, attracting a loyal audience that often transitions into paid subscribers.

Data-driven campaigns

Spotify leverages user behavior data to create relatable and humorous marketing campaigns, such as “Thanks, 2016, It’s Been Weird.”

Example: “Dear person who played ‘Sorry’ 42 times on Valentine’s Day, what did you do?”

The Result?

Subscriber Growth: Spotify had 675 million active users globally and 263 million premium subscribers as of January 2025.

Revenue: According to Statista, Spotify’s 2024 annual revenue exceeded €14 billion, with significant contributions from premium subscriptions driven by inbound efforts.

Key Takeaways

• Inbound sales attracts, doesn't chase.

• Valuable content like SEO blogs, eBooks, webinars, and social media posts attracts customers organically.

• CRM, email marketing and content tools are key to keeping track of inbound queries.

• Spotify succeeded in inbound marketing using a combination of methods.

Conclusion

Inbound sales is all about providing a seamless customer experience. By understanding them, forming a relationship and guiding them toward the right solution, you can make them feel valued and want to come back for future purchases. With opportunities flowing your way, make use of them wisely, employ the right strategies and in no time you’ll be bringing in more leads than ever. Try this for yourself today! 😉