State of Field Sales

Will Field Sales Remain Relevant?

The rise of inside sales, as well as the proliferation of software designed to help inside sellers, has many within the industry asking if field sales teams are relevant.

The debate reached a fever pitch during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when field sales teams were largely sidelined due to public health and safety concerns.

Research supports that field sales teams are still relevant moving into 2022.

 

SURVEY RESPONSE

Which communication channel is most effective for prospecting?

Rank
Channel
Percentage
1
Face to Face
41.2%
2
Email
20.6%
3
Phone Calls
20.6%
4
Other
5.8%
5
Social Media
8.8%
6
Text
3%

The number of survey respondents who prefer to find prospects via face to face interactions
is at least double those who prefer
email, phone calls, or other channels.

The truth is, many businesses see better results when selling products and services in a face to face manner. Moreover, a significant portion of customers prefer to purchase said products and services from salespeople that they can physically shake hands with.

This is why many businesses—even those who have historically funnelled 100% of their resources into inside sales and/or eCommerce strategies—are looking to evolve their sales models and employ field sales teams in the near future.

How can the Field Sales industry improve?

Field Sales may be here to stay, but there is always room to make it better.

When it comes to field sales, the quickest and easiest way for most teams to achieve greater success is to invest in better tools. 

 

SURVEY RESPONSE

What capabilities would drive the largest incremental improvements
in sales team performance?

Rank
Response
Percentage
1
Access to tools and software that enable success
33%
2
Getting early indicators of what reps are underperforming and why
23%
3
Getting a clear understanding of where my reps are getting stuck in the sales process
14%
4
Getting a clear understanding of the activities of my distributed sales reps
9%
5
Other
21%

When it comes to field sales, top performing reps use CRM to organize customers, and Systems of Action to close deals faster.

It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, the tools you use matter. These tools have been proven to improve sales by 29% and productivity by 46% respectively.