Both sales models can help you convert leads, but their approaches vary greatly.
In an inside sales model, reps sell remotely to a vast lead pool. In an outside sales model, reps sell to prospective clients in person.
In this article, I’ll cover what inside sales and outside sales are.
Then, I’ll highlight five critical differences between these sales models and tell you why you should combine them for better results.
Finally, I’ll answer three FAQs to clear any doubts you may guatemala phone number library have about the skills required for each sales role and the typical salary of an inside sales or outside sales position.
This Article Contains:
(Click on links below to jump to specific sections.)
What Is Inside Sales?
What Is Outside Sales?
Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales: 5 Key Differences
Sales Cycle Length
Close Rate
Maintenance Cost
Scalability
Sales Tools
Why You Should Combine Inside Sales and Outside Sales
Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales: 3 FAQs
Let’s go.
What Is Inside Sales?
Inside sales (also known as virtual sales or remote sales) involves selling products or services remotely. Your sales force would typically leverage various digital channels to reach and engage potential customers.
These channels include:
Social media
Phone calls
Video conferencing
Text, and more
Since an inside sales model doesn’t rely on in-person, face-to-face interactions, it’s convenient in scenarios where it’s just not possible to meet with the client in person — for example, during a pandemic like COVID-19. This approach is also cost-effective and allows you to sell to customers regardless of their location.
With an inside sales model, your inside salesperson can usually approach, nurture, and potentially convert a higher number of leads from the safety of their office or home.
Next, we’ll go over the basics of outside sales.
What Is Outside Sales?
Outside sales (aka field sales) involves in-person meetings with sales leads to sell your product or service.
For outside sales, your rep would normally meet the potential client at:
Their office
A restaurant
A trade show or conference, etc.
An outside salesperson usually goes out of their way for a face-to-face meeting because closing an outside sale can often depend on the pitch and the relationship that your sales rep builds with a prospective client.
Now that you have a basic idea of what inside sales and outside sales are, let’s dive into their key differences.
Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales: 5 Key Differences
While both inside and outside sales models focus on revenue generation, the sales strategy that each model uses is different.
Here are five key differences between inside sales and outside sales:
1. Sales Cycle Length
Sales cycle length is the amount of time it takes to close a sales deal.
Here’s a comparison of the sales cycle lengths of inside and outside sales models:
A. Inside Sales
Usually, the inside sales model has a shorter sales cycle.
Why?
The inside sales model is commonly used for selling things like technology solutions that solve simple problems and aren’t very expensive.
It’s typically easy for an inside salesperson to convey the value of the
