What makes inbound sales different?

[KyleJepson]

Inbound sales transforms sales to match the way people buy. It's all about meeting prospects where they are and helping them move toward a purchasing decision. Is this different from the way you're used to approaching sales, or have you been doing sales in this way but calling it something else? Leave your thoughts in the comments about how inbound sales is similar to or different from the way you've been doing sales.

*To learn more about this, check out the Inbound Sales Fundamentals lesson via HubSpot Academy. 

[EMcintosh9]

with inbound sales, it takes the path that the buyer is the one who holds all the cards and brings the sales person to a more supportive and guiding role vs one of a more aggressive sales and demo role. in this case you are more helpnig the buyer to identify what problems they are having and whether the solutions that would best fit them is one that your copany provides.

[aimer]

Personally, although I don’t have much experience in sales, I believe Inbound is not an art of persuasion but an art of companionship. Inbound does not view customers as ‘targets to sell to,’ but as people with their own problems, needs, and aspirations. It is about listening, understanding the buyer’s journey, and providing relevant solutions and content in a way that feels natural, comfortable, and respectful.

[SolomonOzor]

What makes inbound sales different?

Inbound sales is the act of putting yourself in the shoe of the prospect, knowing their needs, challenges and providing guidiance to having a better experience.

Inbound sales is similar to my methods as I help prospects with the right path towards solving their challenges.

[SSurada]

In inbond sales customers approach you to clear something which boosts their confidence to choose your products like they either have a concern or  need a support before making their final decision to move forward towards the purchase of our product/service so if we could follow the earlier discuessed four phases n have a keen clarity regards them,understand n prioritise the customer and suggest/advice thema long with providing the solution or answwring their query and making them feel heard n valued is the keen shot in inbond like you don't need to introduce your product not explain the features that you offer along with your product nor services you can answer as per customer's priorties/requirements and query so this makes things easier and different from other prospective of sales attempts like whether it's cold calling or via anyother reach or attempts to meet the customer via marketing techniques.

[SKaur10]

Inbound sales is different because here you adjust the way you sell to match how people want to buy. Instead of just selling, you focus on understanding their needs and giving them a more personal experience. 

[MHadj]

Inbound sales is the most convenient way to help a prospect find a solution to a problem they didn't even know of.
Inbound sales makes us realize how much our product/service is needed by him/her

[FahadAli]

In my opinion, inbound sales are different because their goal is to act as a guide and help solve the client’s problems, rather than just focusing on selling. It is fundamentally different because it emphasizes being helpful and easygoing with the customer, maintaining the best possible attitude in every aspect. Inbound sales assist in building a positive and supportive relationship with the customer.

[AhmedHatem]

I think inbound sales is a great strategy as as a sales person it will require you to fully understand the produc/service you are providing which allows you to chose or tailor your offer to the leads after identifing the problems they are facing, which makes you the experts either in your product/service or in the leads problems as for sure you will go through it and study it carefully before reaching out to them.

[anxdapg4991]

This is similar to how I have approached a sale in the past. Inbound sales (for me) works better when you can fully understand the customer's situation and ideas, and be able to tailor the product to what their needs are. Over time, and with experience, the salesperson should become more accurate with what they can or should offer the buyer. 

[EJadon]

Inbound sales focuses on connecting with buyers to understand their problems and needs. It’s about building trust and showing that what you’re offering is genuinely a solution that fits their situation, rather than pushing a product on them. 

[VladTepelin]

Personally, even though I have little to no experience in the sales industry, I would say that "conventional" sales are much more cold, straightforward and product-oriented, whereas inbound sales are focused on the buyer and their needs. The seller really has to understand their context in order to correctly evaluate whether the deal should be made or not. It's more about offering unique solutions, rather than selling a product/service.

[Appy07]

i think usually sales is done by propspecting, demoing, and finally closing the deal but Inbound Sales differentiates itself in building connection with the buyer, understanding their problems, what solution they would need and prefer.

[CMburu]

Outbound sales is when you reach out to people whether they asked for it or not — cold calls, mass emails, ads. It’s very much about the seller driving the process.

Inbound sales is different. It’s about meeting prospects where they already are in their buying journey. Instead of pushing, you focus on helping — understanding what they need, answering their questions, and guiding them naturally toward a decision.

The biggest shift is that inbound puts the buyer in control. My role isn’t to pressure; it’s to align our solution with their goals and make it easy for them to say yes.

[SQURESHI2]

Inbound sales fundamentally shifts the traditional sales approach by focusing on the buyer’s journey instead of the seller’s process. Traditionally, sales has often been outbound—reaching out to prospects with cold calls, generic pitches, and a focus on closing deals quickly. This method centers the salesperson’s agenda and timing, often resulting in a pushy or impersonal experience for the buyer.

MOST SALES WERE USED TO DONE BY OUTBOUND LIKE PROSPECT, DEMO, CLOSED BUT INBOUND SALES FOCUSES ON BUYERS PERSPECTIVE SO IT CHANGES THE THE WAY SALES IT WAS.

[SalesInnovator]

I noticed in this study group there's a mix of various levels in sales and new ones from customer service. Here’s a quickway to understand the differnce.

• Inbound Sales: You're the guide; leading interested clients, understanding the needs, and working together to see if your solution is the right fit for them. 
• Customer Service: You nurture and support the customers after the sale, ensuring they are satisfied and resolving any ongoing issues.

Both roles are about helping, but at different stages. Sales explores mutual fit with new clients while in Customer Service builds loyalty with existing customers. 

I make sure to explain this to new sales people and especially ones in Customer Service considering going into sales. I've seen too many new ones fail for not understanding and accepting the difference. 

[SSchlosser]

I'm new to sales, per se, but this seems like a really intuitive and obvious thing to do. I'm glad to be learning about how people are approaching sales today, though, and am finding this course useful.

[chighsmith]

Hi @SSchlosser,

Welcome to the Community!

It’s great to hear you’re finding the course helpful and picking up new sales approaches. Everyone’s journey is unique, and your fresh perspective is valuable. Don’t hesitate to ask questions or share your insights as you continue learning!

Happy collaborating!

Cassie, Community Manager

[MRoberts65]

Inbound sales is personal - it's understanding the client, their needs, their goals -- and helping them understand their problem before moving forward to solving with a canned sales process. I think that when I started off, my natural intuition leaned toward this approach, but as we started to scale, I started to think we needed a more defined process. This feels much more natural, intuitive and helpful. 

[EVickers]

Inbound sales is all about connecting with your customers /clients and it is different coz me as a seller i focus on the needs of my clients and looking at the gaps and filling in gor them so they can have the best experience in solving theor issues and that includes creaking a proper seevice for them so they can get solutions for their challenges and be satisfied,,also i am happy to refer them to other sales people if i don't offer the service they need but am always happy when my customers are happy and that's what i aim for everytime 

[Linda26]

This is how I've naturally built my network and will contonue to do so.  I view sales as helping people achieve a desired result and if that's our solution then great otherwise I am happy to refer them on and hope they have a great experience elsewhere and hopefully they will rememeber that i helped them along the way.  I call it spreading goodwill and karma.  

[EOlowo]

What makes inbound sales different?

Inbound sales helps in providing helpful and human experiences to anyone that interacts **bleep** your company. In this modern era, technology is getting advanced and gradually buyers are losing the human experiences they get from sales people whenever they want to get a product, Inbound sales is different, because it helps us to provide more human experience to make them feel understand.

Also Inbound sales makes us to understand the buyers journey rather than focusing on the questions in the buyers minds because The buyers ust have already found their answers to their questions through the internet and your company website. 

Lastly, inbound sales help us to understand the phases of sales strategy which are : Identify,connect,explore and advise phase and help us know the experience we provide to buyers during each phase.