What are Outside Sales?

Outside sales involve selling products or services through sales personnel who physically go into the field to engage with prospective customers. These professionals often operate autonomously, without the constraints of a formal office setting or team environment. Their role often requires travel to meet clients in person and maintain relationships with existing customers.

Key points:

• Field Activity: Outside sales professionals are active in the field, away from the office, working to secure business for their company.
• Autonomy: These sales roles are not characterised by typical office jobs with set working hours or a consistent office setting.
• Client Interaction: Outside sales reps spend significant time on the road, meeting clients, entertaining potential customers, and being available to assist clients as needed.
• Higher Costs: The role involves expenses such as travel (car rentals, plane tickets), hotel accommodations, and entertainment budgets.
• Cost vs. Revenue: While more expensive than inside sales due to these costs, outside sales often generate more business.
• Technological Integration: Advances in technology, such as video conferencing, are leading to a blend of inside and outside sales roles into a more hybrid approach.

Understanding Outside Sales

Outside sales employees, also known as “field sales,” often work without a formalised schedule. This flexibility can mean that a salesperson is always on call to meet customer demands.

Their work involves scheduling and adjusting client meetings, handling delays and cancellations, and managing their own travel, which can include unexpected delays. Because outside sales professionals meet face-to-face with potential customers, they must pay close attention to their appearance and be ready to entertain clients and network at all times.

Maintaining an outside sales force can be expensive due to the need to compensate for travel, housing, food, and entertainment. In some industries, outside sales are essential because customers are unwilling to move forward with purchases based solely on inside sales strategies.

While an outside sales workforce often incurs higher costs than an inside sales workforce, it also tends to generate higher earnings, often by 12% to 18%. Outside sales professionals are usually compensated through commissions on the business they bring in. Therefore, the revenue they generate must always be balanced against the costs associated with their profession.

The Key Benefits of Outside Sales

A Better Ratio of Closing

Research indicates that outside sales representatives achieve a higher closing rate compared to inside sales teams. When selling high-priced products, customers often prefer face-to-face meetings, as these interactions can be more persuasive than emails or phone calls. In-person meetings also facilitate managing complex sales processes, particularly those requiring significant client decision-making.

Higher Motivation to Make Sales

Outside sales teams often work on a commission basis, receiving additional monetary bonuses for each sale. This commission can be a fixed amount or vary with the size of the sale. Such a compensation structure highly motivates outside sales reps to maximise their sales, especially high-ticket items, as they yield better commissions.

Building Better Client Relationships

Forming strong relationships remotely can be challenging. Emails and phone calls may feel impersonal, making it harder to establish rapport. Outside sales teams, however, often develop stronger relationships with clients through in-person interactions. Activities like taking clients out for drinks or lunches help build trust and camaraderie, making it easier to close deals with clients who feel a personal connection.

Outside Sales vs. Inside Sales

When defining outside sales, it is useful to consider its counterpart, inside sales. Inside sales professionals often work within an office environment during set hours, utilising various communication technologies such as telephone, email, video conferencing, social media, and screen sharing. They rarely, if ever, travel to meet clients. However, with significant advancements in technology, there is a growing trend toward a hybrid inside/outside sales model. This approach only necessitates outside sales when essential, which can be particularly beneficial for reducing company costs.

Inside sales personnel generally work within a team and under more direct supervision. They must be adept at cold calling to generate new business and capable of explaining products or services comprehensively without relying on visual aids or prototypes. The proliferation of communication technologies has significantly boosted the growth of inside sales compared to outside sales. Estimates suggest that for every outside sales professional hired, ten inside salespeople are brought on board.

Outside sales tend to be more strategic, often involving meetings with C-level decision-makers to help devise and implement business strategies. This approach is more common when selling complex and expensive goods and services. Orders resulting from outside sales are often larger than those from inside sales. In contrast, inside sales focus more on the quantity of interactions rather than the depth of each interaction.

Conclusion

Outside sales remain a viable and effective approach in industries where personal relationships, custom solutions, and face-to-face interactions are critical. However, the choice between outside and inside sales should be made based on the specific needs of the business, the nature of the products or services being sold, and the preferences of the target market. Ultimately, the effectiveness of outside sales depends on the ability of sales representatives to build relationships, provide value, and meet the unique needs of customers.

DISCLAIMER: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to be official business advice. BARTERCARD has no business interests with any sales company.