Terms

Outside Sales

Outside sales involves sales professionals who operate in the field, meeting with prospective and existing customers in person to generate business. These representatives typically work autonomously outside of a formal office, traveling to maintain client relationships and close deals.

Key Responsibilities in Outside Sales

Outside sales reps are the face of the company, tasked with building relationships and driving revenue out in the field. Their role is highly autonomous, requiring a blend of strategic planning and on-the-fly adaptability.

  • Prospecting: Actively seeking out and generating new leads and business opportunities in an assigned territory.
  • Relationships: Building and nurturing strong connections with existing clients through face-to-face meetings and regular check-ins.
  • Travel: Managing their own schedules and travel logistics to meet with prospects and customers in person.
  • Networking: Representing the company professionally and entertaining clients to foster goodwill and uncover new opportunities.
  • Closing: Guiding prospects through the sales funnel, negotiating contracts, and ultimately closing deals to meet sales targets.

Essential Skills for Success

Success in outside sales hinges on a unique combination of soft skills and self-discipline. Reps must be adept at navigating complex social situations while managing their own time and priorities to effectively build relationships and close deals.

  • Autonomy: Thriving independently with minimal supervision and managing a personal schedule.
  • Communication: Excelling at face-to-face interactions, building rapport, and presenting solutions clearly.
  • Resilience: Handling rejection and navigating unforeseen challenges like travel delays or cancellations.
  • Adaptability: Adjusting sales strategies and pitches to meet the specific needs of diverse clients.

Outside Sales vs. Inside Sales

While both roles aim to drive revenue, their methods and environments differ significantly.

  • Outside Sales: Reps work in the field, meeting clients face-to-face. This approach builds deeper relationships and is ideal for complex, high-value sales involving C-level decision-makers. However, it is more costly due to travel and entertainment expenses, making it a strategic choice for enterprises with larger deal sizes.
  • Inside Sales: Professionals operate from an office, using phones and digital tools. This model is less expensive, highly scalable, and efficient for transactional sales. It's often preferred by companies looking to reduce costs and manage a high volume of leads remotely.

Tools and Technologies Used

Outside sales reps rely on a suite of digital tools to stay organized and effective on the road. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are essential for tracking leads and managing client data. Mobile apps for route planning and expense tracking streamline daily logistics, while sales enablement platforms provide access to crucial materials anywhere.

Career Path and Opportunities

A career in outside sales offers significant growth and high earning potential, often through commission. Reps start by mastering a territory and building a client base. Success leads to positions focused on larger, more strategic accounts.

Experienced professionals can advance into leadership roles like sales manager or director. Others may transition into strategic account management or business development. These field-honed skills are highly transferable across many industries.

Frequently Asked Questions about Outside Sales

Is outside sales still relevant in a digital-first world?

Absolutely. While digital tools are crucial, face-to-face interactions remain unmatched for building deep trust and closing complex, high-value deals. It's essential for enterprise sales where personal relationships with key decision-makers are paramount.

How is performance measured beyond just closing deals?

Key metrics include new leads generated, pipeline growth, and the number of meetings secured. Performance is also gauged by client retention rates and the strategic value of new accounts, reflecting the quality of relationships built in the field.

What's the biggest challenge for outside sales reps today?

The main challenge is cutting through digital noise to secure face-to-face meetings. Reps must prove their value immediately to justify a prospect's limited time, competing against the convenience of virtual interactions and automated sales funnels.

Other terms

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Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable (AP) is the money a company owes its suppliers for goods or services bought on credit. It's listed as a current liability.

Accounts Payable

Ideal Customer Profile

An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a detailed description of the perfect, hypothetical company that would get the most value from your product.

Ideal Customer Profile

User Interaction

User interaction is any action a user takes within a digital interface, like clicking a button, scrolling a page, or filling out a form.

User Interaction

Video Email

Video email involves embedding a short video directly into an email. This lets recipients watch your message without leaving their inbox.

Video Email

Customer Lifecycle

The customer lifecycle is the journey a person takes from first becoming aware of your brand to becoming a loyal, repeat customer.

Customer Lifecycle

Master Service Agreement

A Master Service Agreement (MSA) is a foundational contract that sets the general terms for an ongoing business relationship between two parties.

Master Service Agreement

Content Syndication

Content syndication is the process of republishing your web content on third-party sites to reach a much wider audience.

Content Syndication

Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is a self-serve online library of information about a product, service, department, or topic.

Knowledge Base

Sales Pipeline

A sales pipeline is a visual representation of where prospects are in the sales process, from the first contact to the final sale.

Sales Pipeline

Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty is a customer’s devotion to a brand, shown by their repeat purchases and engagement, driven by positive experiences and trust.

Customer Loyalty

Draw on Sales Commission

A draw on commission is an advance payment a salesperson receives against future earnings, which is later repaid from earned commissions.

Draw on Sales Commission

Responsive Design

Responsive design is an approach where a website's layout adapts to the user's screen size, providing an optimal experience on any device.

Responsive Design

Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is the set of marketing tools a company uses to sell products, defined by the 4Ps: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

Marketing Mix

Segmentation Analysis

Segmentation analysis is the process of dividing a broad market into smaller, distinct groups of consumers with similar needs or characteristics.

Segmentation Analysis

Customer Journey Mapping

Customer journey mapping is the process of creating a visual story of your customers' interactions with your brand across all touchpoints.

Customer Journey Mapping

Progressive Web Apps

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are websites that look and feel like native mobile apps, offering features like offline access and push notifications.

Progressive Web Apps

Funnel Analysis

Funnel analysis is a method for understanding the steps users take to complete a goal, revealing where they drop off in the conversion process.

Funnel Analysis

Unit Economics

Unit economics are the direct revenues and costs of a business calculated on a per-unit basis, revealing its fundamental profitability.

Unit Economics

Vertical Market

A vertical market is a niche where businesses cater to a specific industry or group of customers with specialized needs, not the mass market.

Vertical Market

Ramp Up Time

Ramp-up time is the period a new hire takes to get fully up to speed and become a productive member of your go-to-market team.

Ramp Up Time

Lead Qualification

Lead qualification is the process of determining which prospects are most likely to become paying customers based on predefined criteria.

Lead Qualification

Lead Scoring Models

Lead scoring models rank prospects by assigning points for their behaviors and demographics, helping sales teams prioritize their outreach.

Lead Scoring Models

Page Views

Page views count the total number of times a page on your website is loaded. This metric is a key indicator of your site's overall traffic.

Page Views

Sales Operations

Sales Operations, or Sales Ops, streamlines sales processes, manages tools, and analyzes data to help sales teams sell more effectively.

Sales Operations

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

Total Addressable Market (TAM) represents the maximum revenue a company can earn by selling its product or service in a specific market.

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

ABM Orchestration

ABM orchestration aligns marketing and sales actions across channels to deliver seamless, personalized experiences to high-value accounts.

ABM Orchestration

Data Encryption

Data encryption translates data into another form, or code, so that only people with access to a secret key or password can read it.

Data Encryption

Database Management

Database management is the process of organizing, storing, and maintaining data in a database to ensure its accuracy, security, and availability.

Database Management

Value Chain

A value chain is the series of business activities required to create and deliver a product or service, from conception to the final customer.

Value Chain

CRM Data

CRM data is the information businesses use to manage customer relationships. It covers contact details, purchase history, and communication logs.

CRM Data

HTTP Requests

An HTTP request is a message sent by a client, like a web browser, to a server to ask for a resource, such as a web page or an image.

HTTP Requests

Firewall

A firewall is a digital barrier that protects a network by monitoring and controlling traffic, blocking unauthorized access and malicious content.

Firewall

Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is the process of assigning points to leads based on their attributes and actions to determine their sales-readiness.

Lead Scoring

Sales Metrics

Sales metrics are quantifiable data points that track and measure a sales team's performance against specific goals and objectives.

Sales Metrics

Marketing Analytics

Marketing analytics involves measuring and analyzing marketing data to understand campaign performance and improve return on investment (ROI).

Marketing Analytics

Renewal Rate

Renewal rate is the percentage of customers who renew their subscriptions or contracts at the end of their service period.

Renewal Rate

Closed Opportunities

Closed opportunities are potential deals that have concluded. They are categorized as either 'closed-won' (a sale was made) or 'closed-lost'.

Closed Opportunities

Sales Workflows

Sales workflows are a set of automated actions that streamline the sales process, helping teams engage leads consistently and close deals faster.

Sales Workflows

Buying Committee

A buying committee is a group of stakeholders within an organization who are jointly responsible for making major purchasing decisions.

Buying Committee

Functional Testing

Functional testing verifies that software performs its intended functions as specified in the requirements, ensuring it works as users expect.

Functional Testing

Lead Enrichment Tools

Lead enrichment tools are platforms that automatically add missing data to your leads, like contact info, firmographics, and buying signals.

Lead Enrichment Tools

Sales and Marketing Alignment

Sales and marketing alignment means both teams work in sync, sharing goals and data to boost lead quality, conversions, and company revenue.

Sales and Marketing Alignment

Performance Plan

A performance plan is a formal document outlining an employee's goals, expectations, and metrics for success over a specific period.

Performance Plan

Weighted Pipeline

A weighted pipeline forecasts sales revenue by assigning a closing probability to each deal based on its stage in the sales funnel.

Weighted Pipeline

Account-Based Marketing

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a focused B2B strategy where marketing and sales collaborate to target and convert high-value accounts.

Account-Based Marketing

Gone Dark

Going dark is when a once-responsive prospect suddenly stops all communication, leaving you wondering what went wrong.

Gone Dark

Multi-threading

Multi-threading allows a single CPU core to run multiple independent threads (or tasks) at the same time, boosting efficiency and performance.

Multi-threading

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising uses AI and real-time bidding to automate the buying and selling of digital ad space, targeting specific audiences.

Programmatic Advertising

Break-Even

Learn about break-even, including calculating your break-even point, importance of break-even analysis, & break-even analysis vs. profit margins.

Break-Even

WordPress

WordPress is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) that allows you to easily create, manage, and publish websites and blogs.

WordPress

Marketing Budget Breakdown

A marketing budget breakdown is a detailed plan that allocates your total marketing funds across various channels, campaigns, and activities.

Marketing Budget Breakdown

Trusted Advisor

A trusted advisor is an expert who builds a deep client relationship by consistently prioritizing their best interests over any single transaction.

Trusted Advisor

Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic pricing is a strategy where businesses set flexible prices for products or services based on current market demands and other factors.

Dynamic Pricing

Sales Sequence

A sales sequence is a series of automated touchpoints sent to prospects over time to guide them through the sales funnel.

Sales Sequence

Channel Marketing

Channel marketing is a strategy where a company sells its products or services through third-party partners, like resellers or affiliates.

Channel Marketing

Workflow Automation

Workflow automation uses rule-based logic to run a sequence of tasks that would otherwise require manual human effort to complete.

Workflow Automation

Revenue Operations KPIs

Revenue Operations KPIs are quantifiable metrics that track the performance, efficiency, and health of a company's revenue-generating engine.

Revenue Operations KPIs

Account-Based Marketing Benchmarks

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) benchmarks are key metrics used to measure the performance and success of your targeted account strategies.

Account-Based Marketing Benchmarks

Voice Broadcasting

Voice broadcasting is an automated system that delivers a pre-recorded voice message to a large list of phone numbers simultaneously.

Voice Broadcasting

Feature Flags

Feature flags let you remotely control features in your app without new code. This enables safe testing, gradual rollouts, and quick rollbacks.

Feature Flags

Sales Objections

Sales objections are reasons or concerns raised by a potential customer as to why they are hesitant or unwilling to make a purchase.

Sales Objections

Website Visitor Tracking

Website visitor tracking collects and analyzes data on user behavior to understand their journey and improve the overall user experience.

Website Visitor Tracking

Talk Track

A talk track is a script that guides sales reps during calls. It ensures they cover key points and maintain a consistent message with prospects.

Talk Track

Customer Relationship Marketing

Customer relationship marketing is a strategy for building lasting connections with customers to foster long-term loyalty and engagement.

Customer Relationship Marketing

Proof of Concept

A Proof of Concept (PoC) is a small exercise to test whether a business idea or project is technically feasible and has real-world potential.

Proof of Concept

Sales Pipeline Velocity

Sales pipeline velocity is a metric that measures how quickly deals move through your sales funnel to generate revenue for your business.

Sales Pipeline Velocity

Enterprise

An enterprise is a large-scale organization, often a corporation, defined by its complex structure and substantial number of employees.

Enterprise

Value Gap

A value gap is the difference between the value a customer expects from a product and the actual value they receive, often leading to churn.

Value Gap

Brand Equity

Learn about brand equity, including understanding its importance, building strong brand equity, measuring brand equity, & real-world applications.

Brand Equity

Business Intelligence

Learn about business intelligence, including key components of business intelligence, the role of BI in decision making, business intelligence tools and techniques.

Business Intelligence

Sales Territory Planning

Sales territory planning is the process of dividing customers into geographic areas to be assigned to specific sales reps or teams.

Sales Territory Planning

SEO

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results.

SEO

Account Management

Account management is the post-sales practice of building and nurturing long-term relationships with a company's most valuable clients.

Account Management

Email Engagement

Email engagement measures how your audience interacts with your emails. It includes key actions like opens, clicks, replies, and forwards.

Email Engagement

Sales Territory

A sales territory is a specific group of customers or a geographic area that a salesperson or sales team is responsible for managing.

Sales Territory

B2C2B

Learn about B2C2B, including how B2C2B transforms sales, key strategies for B2C2B success, & differences between B2C2B and B2B2C.

B2C2B

Retargeting Marketing

Retargeting marketing is a digital advertising strategy that targets users who have previously interacted with your website or brand online.

Retargeting Marketing

Sales Acceleration

Sales acceleration refers to strategies and technologies designed to speed up the sales cycle, enabling reps to close more deals, faster.

Sales Acceleration

Electronic Signatures

An electronic signature is a digital method for getting consent on electronic documents. It's a legally binding way to sign agreements online.

Electronic Signatures

Sales Prospecting Software

Sales prospecting software automates the process of finding, contacting, and tracking potential customers to help sales teams build their pipeline.

Sales Prospecting Software

Drip Campaign

A drip campaign is a series of automated messages sent to prospects or customers over time to nurture leads and drive engagement.

Drip Campaign

Single Page Applications

A Single Page Application (SPA) is a web app that interacts with the user by dynamically rewriting the current page rather than loading new pages.

Single Page Applications

Social Selling

Social selling is the art of using social media to find, connect with, build relationships with, and nurture sales prospects.

Social Selling

Lead Management

Lead management is the process of capturing, nurturing, and qualifying leads to guide them from initial interest to sales-ready.

Lead Management

Sales Funnel

A sales funnel is a model illustrating the customer's journey from initial awareness to the final purchase, narrowing down leads at each stage.

Sales Funnel

B2B Marketing Attribution

Learn about B2B marketing attribution, including challenges in B2B marketing attribution, & key metrics for effective attribution.

B2B Marketing Attribution

Lead Conversion

Lead conversion is the process of turning a prospect into a customer by getting them to complete a desired action, such as making a purchase.

Lead Conversion

Sales Operations Management

Sales Operations Management streamlines sales processes, tech, and data analysis to help sales teams sell more effectively and efficiently.

Sales Operations Management

Microservices

Microservices is an architecture where apps are built as a collection of small, independent services that communicate with each other over APIs.

Microservices

Consultative Sales

Consultative selling is a sales approach where a salesperson acts as an advisor, focusing on understanding and solving a customer's specific needs.

Consultative Sales

Call for Proposal

A Call for Proposal (CFP) is a document that solicits proposals, often through a bidding process, for a specific project or service.

Call for Proposal

SEM

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy that uses paid tactics to increase a website's visibility in search engine results.

SEM

Contact Discovery

Contact discovery is the process of finding accurate contact details for potential leads, including names, emails, phone numbers, and job titles.

Contact Discovery

BANT Framework

Learn about BANT framework, including implementing BANT in sales strategy, advantages of the BANT methodology, & BANT vs. other qualification models.

BANT Framework

Deal-Flow

Deal flow refers to the stream of business proposals and investment opportunities that a company or investor receives.

Deal-Flow

Target Account List

A Target Account List (TAL) is a focused list of high-value companies that a business specifically aims to convert into customers.

Target Account List

Account-Based Everything

Account-Based Everything (ABE) is a strategy aligning sales, marketing, and success teams to focus on a specific set of high-value accounts.

Account-Based Everything

Nurture

Nurture is the process of building relationships with potential customers, guiding them through the sales funnel with personalized communication.

Nurture

Branded Keywords

Learn about branded keywords, including identifying your branded keywords, & strategies for optimizing branded keywords.

Branded Keywords

Mobile Compatibility

Mobile compatibility ensures your site or app works flawlessly on mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, for a seamless user experience.

Mobile Compatibility