What is Inside Sales?
Inside sales is a sales model where reps sell remotely via phone, email, video, and digital tools, as opposed to field sales where reps meet prospects in person.
Inside sales has become the dominant sales model for mid-market SaaS. Reps work from an office or home, running the entire sales cycle through video calls, email, and phone. The shift to remote selling accelerated permanently after 2020, and most B2B sales organizations now operate primarily through inside sales teams.
Inside Sales vs Field Sales
Field sales reps travel to meet prospects in person. Inside sales reps sell remotely. Field sales typically handles higher-ACV, more complex deals ($250K+) where in-person relationships matter. Inside sales covers the high-volume mid-market ($10K-$250K ACV). The line has blurred significantly. Many 'field' reps now close $500K+ deals without ever meeting the buyer in person. CROs are rethinking whether they need field sales at all below $500K ACV.
Inside Sales Economics
Inside sales is more cost-effective per rep. No travel expenses, smaller territory overhead, and higher activity volumes. An inside AE can typically manage 2-3x more opportunities than a field rep because they're not spending 30% of their time in airports. This makes inside sales the preferred model for companies optimizing their magic number and CAC payback.
Building an Inside Sales Team
A typical inside sales team structure: SDRs generate pipeline, inside AEs run discovery through close, and a sales manager coaches 6-8 reps. Technology is critical. Conversation intelligence (Gong, Chorus), CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot), and sales engagement (Outreach, SalesLoft) are table-stakes tools. Our data shows 'remote selling' and 'virtual sales' experience appearing in 40%+ of VP Sales postings, reflecting how central inside sales has become.
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