Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales & The Evolving Art of Communication

The 21st Century market is defined by the rise of technology and the level to which different businesses adapt to these innovations. The modern-day sales market has entered a new era of interaction between buyer and seller. While the traditional method of sales, entailing an inside representative supporting outside salespeople still exist, many companies have invested heavily into a strictly inside sales method. Inside sales is cost-effective for businesses, but it removes the benefits of non-verbal communication from the buyer and seller. Research was conducted through a detailed literature review and interviews of industry professionals in both the inside and outside salesforce. The literature review defines inside sales and outside sales in terms of the modern market, emphasizes the importance of non-verbals in the communication process, and highlights the market shift towards inside sales. The results of the interviews coincided closely with the information gathered in the literature review. The study finds that the outside salesperson relies on body language from both the buyer’s and seller’s perspective. The inside salesperson utilizes tone of voice and other similar techniques to overcome the absence of non-verbal communication. Body language remains a major key to communication, but slowly people are all learning to adapt