Ask the Experts - Building Inside Sales

(This post is part of an ongoing series of Ask the Experts questions, put to members of LinkedIn's Inside Experts Group - request to join here.  Whether you are a member or not, please share your thoughts and experiences by posting comments!)

Mark Moore is a member of the LinkedIn Inside Sales Experts Group.  He is about to start a new venture and has a 2-part question to pose to Inside Sales practitioners.

Background:
Mark is creating an inside sales group for a technology company.  The focus is on the SMB - selling products/services, maintenance renewals & education/training. 

Question:
What pitfalls/wins others experienced that he could avoid/emulate in establishing the group? (whether with compensation, metrics, quotas, or even just the basics such as databases and CRM software)

This is a very broad question so to narrow it down, please provide the following:

1. What is the one thing that you did right when you were building your group that you would always do again?
2. What is the biggest mistake you, or your company made, that you would never repeat?

Thanks in advance for your answers and for participating in the discussion!

Want to learn more about building an Inside Sales team? Download the free ebook Building Inside Sales: Your Roadmap to a Best Practice Group.