Outside sales, often called field sales, territory sales, or area sales, refers to the practice of meeting prospects and customers in person rather than selling exclusively over the phone or internet. Think of real estate agents showing homes, solar panel reps surveying rooftops, or even the classic traveling salesperson making rounds to local businesses. While many people assume that outside sales is a dying art, the truth is that there are still more outside sales representatives in the workforce than inside sales reps. And, if executed well, this approach can open doors to meaningful relationships and profitable deals in a way that inside sales sometimes struggles to match.
Over the past few decades, technology has made inside sales more practical and even necessary. Tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and countless CRM platforms make it easier to reach prospects without ever leaving your desk. Yet, despite these modern conveniences, certain industries continue to thrive on face-to-face connections. There’s a human element to shaking someone’s hand, looking them in the eye, and seeing their business firsthand. That tangible aspect of a personal visit can create trust, uncover customer pain points, and nurture relationships more effectively than a digital meeting.
In this blog post, we’ll go over what outside sales is, why companies embrace it, and where it works best. We’ll cover the challenges, advantages, and the types of businesses that still rely on it. By the end, you’ll understand not just the fundamentals of outside sales, but also how it fits into a broader sales strategy, one that might just bring a competitive edge to your company. So, let’s get started.
Outside sales, in the simplest terms, involves sales reps getting out of the office to talk to prospects and customers in person. Instead of spending the day making phone calls or sending emails, these reps schedule or drop in for face-to-face meetings. They might travel within a designated territory, attend trade shows or conferences, or even go door-to-door (in B2B or B2C environments). The core idea is to sell in-person rather than remotely.
Before diving into the unique characteristics of outside sales, let's compare it with inside sales to understand the key differences.
Given these characteristics, outside sales requires strong interpersonal skills, adaptability, and a knack for reading people and environments.
Even in the digital age, there are compelling reasons to embrace outside sales. Different industries, especially those with complex or high-value offerings, find that in-person visits close more deals and create stronger customer loyalty. Below, we’ll dive into the main reasons companies still invest in outside sales.
One of the biggest motivators is that it’s often difficult to reach certain prospects by phone or email. Small business owners, for example, wear a lot of hats. They might be cooking in the back of their restaurant, meeting with clients, or stocking shelves. Emails pile up, and voicemails get lost. A personal visit can be far more effective because it demands immediate attention.
Case Study: Toast and Square
Companies like Toast and Square, which offer point-of-sale (POS) solutions, realized they needed to get in front of small business owners. Early on, their sales strategy involved targeting local retail shops or restaurants. Once a few locations in the area started using their devices, they built localized case studies. These case studies acted as social proof, paving the way for them to walk into neighboring businesses, show off real-world success, and explain why switching to their system could be a game-changer for their business.
Some products or services require a personal touch, literally. When you’re selling solar panels or home security systems, you can only gather so much information over the phone. Sales reps need to see the roof layout or the property’s entry points to offer an accurate quote and custom configuration. The in-person approach demonstrates expertise, fosters trust, and shortens the sales cycle by removing guesswork.
If your potential customers (your total addressable market, or TAM) are geographically concentrated, you can benefit from a “cluster effect” where one face-to-face meeting can lead to several more in the same area. Think about cable and phone companies like Verizon or Spectrum. They often deploy door-to-door teams in neighborhoods where they know a bulk of their target audience is located. By hitting a smaller radius, they maximize their daily interactions.
In manufacturing or industrial sales, reps often visit a factory or facility to hold a scheduled meeting. While on-site, they might realize there are additional stakeholders or adjacent opportunities. A single visit can spark multiple conversations, sometimes with the engineering team, the purchasing department, and even plant managers. This ability to “multi-thread” in one location can substantially boost the odds of closing a larger, more robust deal.
Video calls have come a long way, but face-to-face conversations still foster the highest levels of trust and camaraderie. Salesforce, during its early 2000s growth, was famous for deploying field sales teams to build relationships with top decision-makers. Those in-person visits showed commitment, allowed for deeper discussion, and helped the company become a global powerhouse in CRM solutions. When you physically show up, you prove you’re serious about the partnership.
Even if you’re not going door-to-door, events and trade shows are a staple of outside sales. You get to be where your customers and prospects gather, giving you a chance to introduce them to each other, facilitate peer-based selling, and create brand visibility. It’s also a lot harder for someone to “ignore” you in person at an event than it is to delete an email or let a phone call go to voicemail.
Despite its perks, outside sales isn’t for everyone. If your territory is spread out across multiple continents or if your annual contract value (ACV) is too low, field sales can become prohibitively expensive. For instance, if you’re selling a product that costs $50 annually, sending a rep across town for a meeting might not justify the travel time or expenses.
You also have to be well-capitalized. Salaries for field sales reps are generally higher, and you need a budget for travel, lodging, events, and marketing materials. If you don’t have the runway to support these costs, you’ll struggle to see a return on your investment quickly. That’s why many startups might start with an inside sales model or a blended approach, where you only deploy outside sales reps for high-potential accounts or strategic opportunities.
Flights, hotels, rental cars, meals, and event fees add up. Companies must plan ahead to optimize travel schedules, batch meetings in the same area, and find ways to minimize dead time.
Unlike inside sales reps, who can often make dozens of calls in a single day, outside sales reps might only manage a handful of meetings due to travel constraints. Because of this, measuring productivity requires a different set of metrics. Instead of calls made or emails sent, you look at face-to-face appointments, closed deals per region, and relationship depth.
Field sales can yield high returns for high-value deals, but the sales cycle might be longer. However, once trust is built, the customer lifetime value (CLV) tends to be higher because of deeper relationships. These satisfied customers also become strong advocates, often leading to word-of-mouth referrals, which boosts the ROI even more.
In the digital age, companies have relied heavily on inside sales strategies: cold calling, email cadences, social media outreach, and paid digital ads. But over the past few years, these methods have become more expensive and less effective. Here’s why:
Outside sales can be a refreshing alternative, or an effective supplement to these strategies. By showing up in person, you stand out amid all the digital noise. For certain industries and product lines, this difference in approach can mean the difference between hitting sales targets and missing them.
If you’re considering launching or expanding an outside sales program, here are some best practices to keep in mind:
A lot of businesses today find success through a hybrid model. They’ll have inside sales reps handle the initial qualification. Once a lead is deemed promising, especially if it’s high-value or complex, an outside sales rep will step in to close the deal. This approach can be more cost-effective while still offering the benefits of personal interaction. Inside sales can handle the “front-loading” of leads via phone calls, emails, and digital marketing, and outside sales can swoop in where the stakes and potential rewards are high.
Let’s face it: outside sales can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. Maybe your schedule is packed with meetings, but half of them cancel at the last minute. Or you arrive at a company’s doorstep only to discover they’re under new management, and everything you prepared no longer applies.
Here are a few tips to tackle these challenges:
If your competition also uses outside sales, you need a strategy to stand out. Here are a few differentiators:
Is outside sales going away? Probably not. While technology and remote communication tools continue to evolve, face-to-face interaction remains invaluable in many contexts. We may see a shift toward more specialized outside sales roles, focusing on complex or high-ticket products. Meanwhile, inside sales and digital marketing will handle the simpler, lower-value transactions.
Emerging Tech for Outside Sales:
Let’s get a bit more concrete. Suppose you’re an outside sales rep for a company that installs custom home audio systems. You start your day reviewing your CRM for scheduled appointments. You have three consultations lined up:
To wrap up, you head to a coffee shop to log notes into your CRM (if you didn’t use Leadbeam to fill in the notes right after each meeting), send thank-you emails, and confirm tomorrow’s appointments. It’s a busy day, but you’ve learned more about your prospects and built stronger relationships than you likely could have over the phone.
By now, it should be clear that outside sales is far from obsolete. In fact, it remains vital for certain businesses, especially those dealing with small business owners, complex products, and a defined geographic market. While it can be more expensive and time-consuming, the deeper connections and higher trust it fosters can pay dividends in the long run. Here are the key takeaways:
Outside sales isn’t just about knocking on doors or driving around town—it’s about bringing your product or service to life in front of the customer. While inside sales has taken the spotlight with the rise of digital communications, field sales still holds a unique place in certain markets. With higher costs come higher potential rewards, especially when the product is complex, the average deal size is significant, or the buyer simply can’t be reached through standard channels.
In a world saturated with cold calls, automated emails, and digital ads, being present in person can be your secret weapon. For many businesses, outside sales remains a proven path to growth, revenue, and lasting customer relationships.
Looking to enhance your outside sales strategy? Leadbeam offers AI-driven tools to automate tasks like route planning, follow-ups, and data capture, so you can focus on building meaningful customer relationships. Request a Demo today!
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