Inside Vs Outside Sales

Inside vs Outside Sales

Inside vs Outside differs in the way you engage a sale. Inside salespeople deal with making sales remotely from their home or work office. Here, they can use resources like Teams, Zoom, email, or a phone call to reach prospective customers. The biggest pro of this option is finding multiple customers in the time it takes to reach one when doing in-person outside sales. It is easier to track what calls go well in an attempt to reenact them and create a successful sales pitch for the company. From my experience, it would also be a cheaper option, as you have to pay mileage for most outside salespeople who need to drive a lot. The downside is the lack of personal interactions and being able to truly engage a customer like you would in person.

Outside salespeople are focused on face-to-face meetings that require key product knowledge, personality, and overall, in-person sales experience. These people excel in building relationships. This can be done over a quick lunch with a firm handshake and getting to know each other without the ability to hide behind a phone or computer. Being an outside sales intern, we had 2-3 on-site job site inspections and updates to a customer each week. Here, the customer knows we care and want to see the job done to the best of our ability while caring about their needs and updating them on any issues. Overall, outside sales are integral to acquiring and maintaining strong relationships with large accounts that you want to prioritize.