Careers in sales include both inside and outside sales positions. Inside salespeople are those who perform selling activities at the employer’s location, typically using the telephone and e-mail. Many manufacturers and wholesalers have developed inside sales forces to take orders, make calls on customers, and provide support for field salespeople. In some cases, the inside salespeople are called customer service representatives (CSRs) and provide a number of support services on behalf of field salespeople.

Inside sales can be either “inbound” or “outbound.” Inbound inside salespeople respond to calls initiated by the customer. For more insight on outside sales, see Appendix 2: The NewNet Systems Regional Accounts Management Case Study. Telemarketing is a common form of outbound inside sales that serves several purposes, including sales and service. In some cases, this includes technical support personnel who provide technical information and answer questions. Some companies utilize sales assistants to confirm appointments, conduct credit checks, and follow up on deliveries.29 The use of telemarketing, websites, and the Internet has grown rapidly as businesses use these methods to contact potential new customers and to follow up on current customers or customers in distant areas.

Unlike inside sales, outside salespeople travel to meet prospects and customers in their places of business or residence. Information technology companies like Hewlett-Packard employ thousands of salespeople to sell computer systems, peripherals, and integrated technology solutions to other companies, large and small. Wholesalers, like Super Value, employ outside salespeople who, in addition to selling products, offer a variety of services to their customers, such as maintaining inventories, merchandising, providing promotional support, gathering and interpreting market information, extending credit, and distributing goods. In addition, many direct-to-consumer salespeople, such as interior designers, engage at least partially in outside sales; for example, financial services, life insurance, or direct sales.

Inside and outside salespeople for the same company often work together and rely heavily upon each other. For example, inside salespeople often prospect, generating and qualifying leads for outside salespeople to call on personally. Also, once an initial sale is made by an outside salesperson, inside salespeople are asked to provide ongoing customer contact and service, taking responsibility for meeting customer needs while being alert for opportunities to sell additional products or services.

Selling through Channels

Many times, people mistakenly think of selling jobs as being limited to the interaction between the company and the end user of the good or service. However, goods and services flow from manufacturer to end user through a “channel of distribution.”

As can be seen in Figure 1.4, sales jobs exist throughout this supply chain.30 In fact, many of the most promising sales careers in terms of career advancement and compensation exist at the beginning of the channel flow in the form of business-to-business, or “B2B,” sales. Trade selling refers to the sale of a product or service to another member of the supply chain. For example, a manufacturer of household goods may employ sales representatives to sell his or her products to retailers. The manufacturer may instead (or also) sell the products to wholesalers who warehouse the product; in turn, the wholesaler employs sales representatives to sell these and other products to retailers whom the manufacturer does not want to service directly. In the latter part of the channel flow, we find retail salespeople and, in some cases, service salespeople selling to consumers. This is often referred to as “business-to-consumer,” or “B2C” sales. As you can see, selling careers may be classified in several ways.

Figure 1.4 Full Alternative Text

Similar scenarios exist with industrial products where the end user is a business rather than an individual consumer, and with services where the end user is either a consumer or business user. Another example of B2B sales is missionary, or detail, sales. Rather than selling directly to the end user, the missionary salesperson attempts to generate goodwill and stimulate demand for the manufacturer’s product among channel members.