Field sales: selling in person
Field sales means reps meet customers where they are — stores, distributors, sites, clinics. The work is visits: being in the room, seeing the shelf or the site, and building the relationship face to face.
Inside sales: selling from a desk
Inside sales means reps sell remotely — phone, email and video from one place. It trades physical presence for reach: more conversations a day, less time lost to travel.
Where they differ
The split shows up in the day. Field sales is paced by travel and territory, suits higher-value or physical-presence deals, and needs tools for the road — a plan, a map, check-in, notes. Inside sales is paced by call volume and lives in the CRM.
Why many teams run both
Plenty of organisations blend the two: inside sales qualifies and keeps in touch at scale, field sales shows up for the visits that need a person. If your team's edge is being there in person, the field motion is the one worth equipping well.