The most pragmatic definition of Inside Sales is simple: inside sales is remote sales. It has been called virtual sales, professional sales done remotely, or one of my recent favorites “sales in the cloud.” Where outside sales or traditional field sales is done face-to-face. Taken in this context, the majority of all sales is done remotely, and the numbers are growing. The most recent Lead Management study found that over the past three years, inside sales grew at a fifteen times higher rate (7.5% versus .5% annually) over outside sales, to the tune of 800,000 new jobs. More evidence: if you don’t believe it, grab a list of 10 traditional or “outside sales” people and call them. 6 out of 10 will be sitting in front of their computer, working in their cubicle, office, or home office—just like the inside sales people. They may not answer as fast as inside sales reps would, but leave a message and they will call you back. Outside sales is converging into inside sales, or as my friend Bob Perkins, the CEO and Founder of The American Association of Inside Sales Professionals said, “Inside sales is just… sales.”