what are outside sales 
outside sales refer to the sales of products or services by sales personnel that physically go out into the field to meet with prospective customers outside sales professionals tend to work autonomously outside of a formal office setting or a formal team environment they often travel to meet customers face to face as well as to maintain relationships with existing customers understanding outside salesoutside sales employees also known as field sales tend to work without a formalized schedule which may offer flexibility but may also mean that a salesperson is always on call to meet the demands of a customer this type of work entails maintaining a schedule of client meetings and having to meet and adjust to their demands and changes such as delays and cancellations outside sales professionals also must manage their own travel which may be subjected to unexpected delays or other issues in addition since outside sales professionals must meet face to face with potential customers they have to pay close attention to their appearance and must be prepared to entertain clients and network at all times maintaining an outside sales force can be expensive since companies typically have to compensate outside sales personnel for miles traveled housing food and entertainment in some industries outside sales forces are the norm because customers will not move forward with a purchase solely through inside sales strategies though an outside sales workforce tends to cost more than an inside sales workforce it also tends to out earn an inside sales workforce by 12 to 18 outside sales professionals are often compensated via commission on the business that they bring in as such the dollar amount of the business they bring in must always be weighed against the dollar cost of the nature of their profession outside sales vs inside sales