Samir is the CEO and Co-founder of Veloxy. After spending 20+ years creating corporate systems, boosting revenue, and eliminating inefficiencies, Samir started Veloxy to help sales professionals shorten sales cycles, accelerate pipelines, and close more deals.
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The sales world is huge, and if you’re in the biz, you’ve probably dabbled in both inside and outside sales roles. But if you’re thinking about switching to outside sales, or just want to step up your game in field selling, you’ve landed in the perfect spot.
In this blog post, we’re diving into the world of outside sales. We’ll explore effective strategies, essential skills, and the tools you need to not just survive but thrive in this growing yet demanding career path.
Ready to find out what outside sales really is? Let’s kick off this adventure and master the art of field selling together!
Grab a warm coffee ☕️ or tea 🍵 and let’s get started!
Download Now: The Big Blue Book of Field Sales (aka Outside Sales)
Outside Sales Reps — flip to the chapters on outside sales productivity, mastering the art of in-person selling, and how to shorten your sales cycle.
Get Your Free EbookDefining Outside Sales: A Closer Look
Notable companies such as Johnson & Johnson and Cisco Systems offer competitive outside sales positions, where salaries can vary significantly based on factors like experience, industry, and commission structure.
You get to travel, enjoy lots of freedom, and need a solid grasp of emotional intelligence. Typically, you’ll handle bigger, pricier accounts than those in inside sales. The real game-changer? Your talent for meeting clients face-to-face to close deals. This ability to connect personally with clients is what really makes you stand out. Successful outside sales reps thrive on crafting and sustaining direct relationships with potential customers.
The Role of an Outside Sales Representative
An outside sales representative, or sales rep for short, plays a crucial role by engaging directly with both potential and existing customers. Here’s a look at what their day typically involves:
This role is ideal for those who thrive on autonomy and are skilled in managing both their time and client relationships effectively. Organization and proactive engagement are key to succeeding in outside sales.
Key Factors Driving Outside Sales Growth
The boom in outside sales owes a lot to a few critical factors: the demand for personalized customer service, ramped-up competition, and the surge in digital technologies.
As businesses increasingly appreciate the impact of face-to-face meetings on forging deeper customer bonds, you, as an outside sales rep, need to tweak your strategies to keep up with the competition.
The shift towards digital tools has massively reshaped outside sales. Staying relevant and effective in your pitches now means getting on board with the latest digital solutions. For instance, using tools like Veloxy’s Salesforce Automation can drastically cut down on your manual workload and boost your productivity, making it easier for you to hit your targets consistently.
Essential Skills for Thriving in Outside Sales
To really excel in outside sales, you need a special mix of skills that blends sharp communication, adaptability, and solid problem-solving. Being a great communicator isn’t just about talking; it’s about making genuine connections. This skill helps you build strong, trust-filled relationships with your customers and your teammates.
Your problem-solving skills are just as crucial. They allow you to spot issues your clients or potential customers are facing, come up with customized solutions, and demonstrate just how valuable those solutions can be. It’s all about showing your customers that you’re not just there to sell, but to make their lives easier.
Building Customer Relationships
Building solid customer relationships is absolutely crucial in outside sales. The success of a salesperson hinges on their ability to establish and maintain direct relationships with potential customers.
Trust is the cornerstone of these relationships because when customers trust you, they are more likely to:
To forge these strong customer bonds, you need to be great at one-on-one interactions. It’s about really understanding what your clients need and delivering solutions that genuinely help them. This kind of personal touch not only builds trust but also strengthens rapport, smoothing out the sales process and boosting your chances of success.
By always putting the customer’s needs first and showing you truly care, you can create enduring relationships that don’t just lead to sales, but to loyal customers who come back time and again.
Navigating Autonomy in Sales
Autonomy is a big part of outside sales. It gives you, the sales rep, the freedom to manage your own schedule and tasks. But handling this freedom well can be tough.
You’ve got to have plenty of self-discipline, ace time management skills, and a good dose of motivation. Setting clear goals, keeping a tight schedule, and using time tracking tools are just a few ways you can keep yourself on track.
To really tap into self-motivation, you might find it helpful to reward yourself for hitting targets, break your tasks down into bite-sized pieces, and keep everything organized. These strategies can help you make the most of your independence and drive your success in the sales world.
Leveraging Technology in Outside Sales
In today’s fast-paced sales world, harnessing technology is essential for any outside sales pro. Tech helps you stay organized, automates your routine tasks, and boosts your efficiency— all of which can lead to better sales results.
Using a multichannel approach lets you connect with potential customers more effectively and ramp up your sales performance. Tools like Veloxy’s guided selling feature are game changers. They streamline your communication, making sure you’re always on top of your game by reminding you of the actions you need to take or even automating some of your communications with clients.
The Sales Process in the Field
The sales process for outside sales reps is all about prospecting and sealing the deal, each requiring its own set of unique skills and tactics. When you’re prospecting, you’ll need to keep up with consistent follow-ups, set clear goals, and really know your product inside out. Closing deals, on the other hand, usually involves a well-structured follow-up strategy, deep product knowledge, and a solid understanding of your sales territory.
As a sales rep, you should:
Prospecting Strategies
Efficient prospecting strategies are key for any outside sales rep looking to expand their customer base. Networking is crucial—it helps you forge new connections and strengthen existing ones. Get involved in industry events, stay active on social media, and make the most of platforms like LinkedIn.
Social media isn’t just about posts and likes; it’s a powerful tool for prospecting. You can pinpoint which platforms your ideal customers use most, share compelling customer stories, and even use social proof to boost your sales credibility. Plus, it’s great for researching prospects and their businesses in depth.
Cold calling and cold emailing also pack a punch if you get them right. For these tactics to work in your favor, consider these steps:
By sticking to these guidelines, you’ll boost your chances of success in turning cold contacts into warm leads.
Closing Techniques
Closing deals in outside sales often requires a personalized approach and sharp negotiation skills. Here are some of the most effective techniques that you can use:
Negotiation is crucial in the art of closing sales. It bridges what the buyer needs with what you’re offering. To be successful, you need to be a skilled negotiator who can persuasively overcome objections and clearly demonstrate the value of your products or services.
Compensation Structures in Outside Sales
The way we pay outside sales reps can include several components, each playing a part in attracting and keeping the best talent:
Offering competitive pay is essential if you want to attract and keep top-notch talent in your sales team.
When you’re weighing the costs of employing inside versus outside sales reps, don’t forget to consider:
Remember, outside sales folks often have higher expenses due to their need to travel and stay overnight, unlike their inside sales counterparts who typically have lower overhead costs. It’s crucial to strike the right balance between these two roles when you’re putting together a sales team.
Tools and Technology for Modern Outside Sales Teams
Today’s outside sales teams rely heavily on cutting-edge tools and technology to boost their performance and stay competitive in this ever-changing sales landscape. Take CRM software, for instance; it gives you a deep dive into your sales pipeline, ramps up your efficiency, and streamlines your workflows.
Call tracking software is also a game-changer. It syncs up your voice software with other communication channels, making it easier to touch base with prospects and giving you the context you need for effective follow-ups.
Then there’s lead generation software, an essential tool for any outside sales team. Here’s what it helps you do:
By leveraging these tools, you can significantly enhance your sales performance, making sure you’re not just keeping up but staying ahead.
The Evolution of Sales Models: Inside vs Outside
As the sales landscape keeps shifting, the roles and responsibilities of inside and outside sales reps are constantly evolving.
Inside sales teams focus on moving volume, aiming at SMB and mid-market buyers with more cost-effective products that don’t need much deliberation from the customers. On the other hand, outside sales concentrate on snagging high-value, top-quality accounts and chasing major customers who bring a higher average contract value.
Inside sales teams have become crucial in this dynamic setting. They’ve adapted to the changing times, especially with the technological leaps and the way we all do business now. Take the pandemic, for instance—it pushed a quick shift from face-to-face events to remote selling, making it necessary for outside sales folks to get comfortable with the technologies and tactics previously more typical of inside sales.
As our sales world continues to morph, staying adaptable and tweaking strategies to meet the ever-changing needs of customers is key for any sales organization looking to thrive.
Structuring Your Sales Team for Success
Setting up your sales team for success means taking a strategic approach that plays to the strengths and meets the challenges of both your inside and outside sales reps. By syncing up their sales goals and encouraging teamwork, you can build a unified sales strategy that not only drives results but also boosts your bottom line.
It’s crucial to equip your team with the right resources, tools, and training. These support mechanisms help your sales force hit their targets and maintain a healthy balance between work and life. Providing these essentials isn’t just about meeting quotas; it’s about creating an environment where your salespeople can truly thrive.
Aligning Sales Goals
Aligning sales goals between your inside and outside teams is key to driving a unified strategy and maximizing your business’s performance. It’s crucial to set shared goals, enhance teamwork, provide independence, sync up strategies, and keep the lines of communication open.
Tackling common hurdles like the marketing-to-sales handoff, disjointed systems, inconsistent data, and mismatched goals requires improved communication and collaboration. By integrating systems, clarifying data management processes, and ensuring goals are well-aligned and regularly discussed, you can really streamline operations.
When you sync up the goals of your inside and outside sales teams, your organization can enjoy:
Collaboration Between Inside and Outside Sales
Working together seamlessly between inside and outside sales teams is crucial for hitting top sales performance and driving the overall success of your business. To ensure effective collaboration, it’s vital to align sales goals, boost teamwork, and continuously support your sales reps with the resources they need.
By joining forces, your inside and outside teams can better manage their time, especially when it comes to scouting new prospects. This teamwork provides real-time alignment between groups, helps forge stronger customer relationships, promotes a collaborative process, and enhances communication across the board.
Tackling common challenges that both inside and outside teams face—like communication gaps, differing priorities, varied working styles and backgrounds, a competitive edge, and departmental silos—is possible with increased dialogue, cooperation, and backing from sales managers and leaders. By nurturing a collaborative atmosphere, your sales organization can enhance its performance and sustain business growth.
Transitioning from Inside to Outside Sales: A Guide for Sales Professionals
If you’re a sales professional thinking about making the jump from inside to outside sales, it’s crucial to get ready for a whole new set of responsibilities and challenges that come with field selling. Here’s what you’ll need to master to make it work:
Success in outside sales also means fostering a customer service mindset and developing relationships not just with clients but also with your colleagues. These relationships are your support network and can ease your transition.
To really nail the transition, you’ll need to pick up new skills and strategies that suit the dynamic nature of field selling. This includes adapting to changing schedules, managing your travel efficiently, and keeping a healthy balance between work and your personal life. By embracing these changes and prioritizing strong customer relationships, you can excel in your new outside sales role and make a significant contribution to your organization’s success.
Balancing Act: Managing Travel and Sales Targets
Managing travel and hitting your sales targets in outside sales is all about finding the right balance. As a sales rep, you’ve got to smartly manage your time and resources to meet customer needs and amp up your sales game. Here are some effective time management practices that can help:
By adopting these strategies, you can better manage your travel schedule and really boost your sales potential.
Moreover, leveraging technology can take your management of travel logistics to the next level. Consider:
With these tactics, you can maintain a healthy balance between traveling and meeting sales targets, ensuring your long-term success in outside sales.
Cultivating a High Performing Sales Team in the Field
Building a top-notch outside sales team means getting the right mix of hiring, training, and ongoing support to help your sales reps reach their peak. When hiring, using objective measurements and evidence-based decision-making beats going with your gut. This approach ensures you bring on board only the best performers.
Once you’ve got the right people, providing them with extensive training is key to honing their selling techniques, skills, and processes. Consider enrolling them in proven programs like:
But it doesn’t stop there. Continually supporting your sales team is just as important. Regular feedback, clear objectives and expectations, and well-defined incentives and rewards keep everyone on track and motivated. Plus, making sure they have access to the latest sales tools, technology, and additional training resources can boost their performance even further, driving up sales and increasing revenue for your company.
Navigating Challenges Unique to Outside Sales
Outside sales reps face a unique set of challenges that can really test their mettle. These include:
To tackle these challenges, sales reps need to craft effective strategies and make the most of the tools at their disposal. Optimizing travel time, distance, and costs, aligning activities with sales goals, streamlining expenses, leveraging technology, and staying organized are all crucial for managing travel logistics efficiently.
Moreover, they can improve their handling of fluctuating schedules by:
By mastering these strategies and maintaining a balanced approach to work and life, outside sales reps can excel in their roles and drive substantial success in their selling efforts.
Final thoughts on Outside Sales
In conclusion, outside sales offers a dynamic and rewarding career that demands a special blend of skills, strategies, and tools for success. By fully understanding the nuances of outside sales, managing your autonomy effectively, forging strong customer relationships, mastering the sales process in the field, leveraging modern tools and technology, and tackling the unique challenges that come your way, you can truly excel in your role as a field sales professional.
If you’re ready to take your outside sales skills to the next level, why not join Samir for a free masterclass? It’s your chance to learn from one of the best and get hands-on tips that you can apply directly to your sales strategy. Plus, start a free trial of Veloxy, the #1 outside sales mobile app, to see just how much easier managing your sales efforts can be with the right tools at your fingertips. It’s time to step up, embrace the exciting world of outside sales, and unlock your full potential as a sales professional!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an example of outside sales?
Outside sales involve traveling to customers’ locations, such as their offices or events like conferences and trade shows, to make a sales pitch, demonstrate products, and create relationships. Cold calling and door-to-door sales are some of the main methods used in outside sales.
Is outside sales a hard job?
Outside sales can be challenging due to the need for independent working and good time management skills. However, having a system in place such as a daily schedule can help manage the job successfully.
Is outside sales better than inside sales?
Outside sales may come with higher costs due to travel and lodging, but often result in deeper customer relationships, bigger sales, and higher salaries. In fact, outside salespeople typically work on higher-value deals and have a 10% higher average quota than inside sales agents. Overall, outside sales appears to be the more profitable option.
What is an outside sales representative job description?
As an outside sales representative, you will be responsible for conducting face-to-face customer interactions out in the field with both potential and existing customers, providing the best possible customer experience as well as hands-on product demonstrations.
What are some effective prospecting strategies for outside sales representatives?
Networking, leveraging referrals, and utilizing social media are effective ways for outside sales representatives to reach out to new prospects.