30 Outside Sales Tips To Help You Win More Opportunities in 2024

photo of outside sales reps talking about an opportunity

Feeling overwhelmed by the infinite options for growing your pipeline? You’re not the only outside sales rep feeling that way.

This article doesn’t list every outside sales strategy under the sun.

Instead, it lists the tactics our clients use at Veloxy. These are tactics that have helped outside sales professionals grow their pipeline by 300% in one month.

In other words, they’re proven to work.

Here is the list of our Outside Sales Gurus’ Top 25 Secrets (NOTE: We’ll be using field sales and outside sales interchangeably):

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1. Know your product

Whereas inside sales reps need to speak intelligently about their products, outside sales reps also need to know how best to use their products, their industrial applications, and in some cases the products’ intricate engineering.

This is why outside sales teams can comprise of product managers, industry experts, and former end-users of the products. It’s also why an outside sales salary is typically much higher than their inside sales counterparts.

In addition to knowing about the product, outside sales reps are best suited to gather intelligence on product improvements. From long-lasting client relationships to face-to-face meetings, field reps can make all the difference in innovation by continually supporting customer needs.

This is one of the toughest sales jobs there is—strong-minded salespeople need only apply!

photo of outside sales rep demoing product

2. Aim for the moon with targets and quotas

In the words of the famous Michelangelo, the greater danger doesn’t lie in aiming too high and falling short. Instead, we hurt ourselves more when we aim too low and actually achieve the mark.

Here’s a mentality that top-tier outside sales gurus have. If you’ve been meeting quota attainment for the past few months in a row, then you’re clearly underplaying your real potential.

To be the GOAT of the sales team, the experts advise setting sales targets that actually scare you. Scarier sales goals will not only force you to plan proactively, they literally scare you into action.

The sales goals will motivate you to gather more quality data and knowledge as you strive to hit these seemingly impossible numbers. But once you achieve them, then you’ll continually challenge yourself and elevate your standard as your own competition, and exceed quota attainment.

3. Customers come first

While you’re busy trying to meet your sales quota, remember to value the customer more than anything else. Inside or outside, all the best salespeople know just how important it is to support the customer’s needs. And while you can always push a product for the sake of selling it, you’ll only sell it once.

But if you can win a customer’s loyalty and focus on what they really need in a product, then you’ll be creating customers for life. Offer them suggestions from your portfolio that match their requisition.

And in case you don’t know all your stuff or lack knowledge about a particular aspect of the product, make sure you come prepared with relevant information or ask someone on your sales team.

Don’t be afraid of being proactive and fetching intel from different departments before proceeding with the sale. If you take care of the customers, then the sales and money will follow you as opposed to the other way round.

customer meeting with outside reps

4. Send a quote ASAP

Did you know that customers feel more urgency to make a decision when they have a sales quote in hand?

They may have a written statement with the price, variants, product details, services, and other information required to complete the transaction. But more often than not, customers won’t come asking for a quote. You have to give them the estimate when you feel the time is right or if the sales inquiry comes in.

Whether it’s through a call or email, make sure the lead gets their sales quote. Don’t forget to add a number or email address where the lead can reach you with regards to the estimate. The sales quote will be just the first of many documents to follow, so you might as well get on with it early enough.

5. Embrace sales technology and analytics

Sales technology is among the biggest facilitators that help managers solve the biggest problems that come with outside sales. This especially applies to CRM and managing customer data, and quota attainment.

Remember – data is good, but sales analytics make it great. A lot of sales reps end up competing on who sold the most or what product is selling faster. However, salespeople tend to miss the bigger picture.

Sales analytics help you and your sales team know how the sales graph is mapped out and what aspects need to be fixed. Maybe you’re selling the right products to the wrong audience in the wrong market.

photo of sales tech stack

6. Find an outside sales mentor or protege

While collaborative selling is a hot topic right now, the old-fashioned practice of finding a mentor (or a protege) has fallen by the wayside.

The enormous digital footprint of today’s outside sales representatives has inspired lonely self-improvement efforts such as attending online seminars and reading books written by 1 of 1,000+ sales icons. Use LinkedIn to find a seasoned outside sales veteran in your area or network, or simply reach out to an in-house colleague with great sales experience. More times than not they’ll appreciate and invest in the opportunity to help you.

While having an outside sales mentor is critical, having an outside sales protege can be just as beneficial to your career. When helping a sales amateur or even a college student, your awareness with regard to accountability will be huge, so you’ll subconsciously drive yourself to stay ahead of outside sales trends and never leave your protege behind. The best way to find a protege is to contact your local business schools or alumni.

Now is the best time to schedule video calls while we’re stuck in the remote sales world.

7. Stay organized with sales automation

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. “Make sure you organize your efforts at the end of the day!” After a quick nod and hidden eye-roll, you think to yourself “I don’t have time, I’m a salesperson, I need to sell!”

It’s all too common today to spend one to two hours every day on non-selling activities. That’s right, the activities that do not generate revenue are taking up a significant portion of your day. And even worse, if your day runs long, your partner will not be happy with you spending more time with your CRM than with them.

Luckily for you, there is field sales technology that can automate your calendar and follow-up. In addition to Sales Artificial Intelligence that prompts you with optimal times to reach out to a lead, it can also extract key dates and names from emails and automatically add them to your customer relationship management software.