I think at some point in our salesperson lives, we’ve all been confronted with making the decision of whether or not we want to be in either inside or outside sales. I wanted to address this issue based on my own experiences in order to stimulate your thinking when deciding on which direction you want to go.

Inside sales and customer service personnel have more customer contact than anyone else in the organization. IS/CS people take more than 80% of all orders placed. This means that the IS/CS are in a better position to influence buying behavior than the field sales person. Progressive managers truly understand what that means in regard to market share growth. They know that the consistent use of suggestive selling techniques, up selling and promotions can have a dramatic impact on average order size and increase share of spend in each account. IS/CS personnel traditionally build relationship equity, and many customers would give up their contact with field sales before giving up their relationship with inside sales and customer service personnel. This is the frontline in the battle for success. Customers have not only come to expect it, they demand it.