English

Noun

inside salesman ‎(plural inside salesmen)

1. (business, sales) A sales representative employed by a retail or wholesale vendor who works on the premises of his or her employer, transacting with customers directly on a sales floor or by telephone, online messaging, etc.
   • 2010, Mark Anderson, "Great Job Security," Small Business Trends (retrieved 21 June 2015):

     I used to be an inside salesman. My job was to sell via phone and online, and to support several outside salespeople as well.

2. (business, sales) Someone employed within the organization of a prospective buyer who serves (whether for good motives or not) as an advocate for a seller's product or service.
   • 1951, Sales Management, Volume 66, p. 173 (Google snippet view):

     ASSISTANT COMPLEX . . . . doesn't have enough authority to buy. . . . Show him that your proposition will make him a star in the eyes of his superiors. Keep him as your "inside" salesman.

   • 2002 Oct. 29, Nancy Lloyd, "Bouncing Back From A Pink Slip," Washington Post (retrieved 21 June 2015):

     Speak with friends who work at the firms you are interested in to try to get the skinny on the corporate culture. With any luck they may volunteer to become your "inside salesman," talking up your strength to those in a position to hire new employees.

   • 2008, David Miller, Business-focused IT and Service Excellence, ISBN 9781902505886, p. 69 (Google preview):

     Service providers would typically look for an inside salesman (or advocate) and would be looking to understand the personal as well as the business drivers.

   • 2009, Bill Selmeier, Spreading the Barcode, ISBN 9780578024172, p. 7 (Google preview):

     The Marketing Representative (salesman) would talk to his “inside salesman” at the customer and come back and tell me what the customer really wanted to see so that I could change and add it to the presentation. . . . This is where I think I first learned about the concept of “inside salesman” or the person who is inside the customer organization and really wants you to win.

   • 2010 Nov. 8, Scott Gibson, "How to Convince Customers Not to Go the DIY Route? ," finehomebuilding.com (retrieved 21 June 2015):

     The intrepid DIY builder may be the wrong person to convince, as several posters suggested.

     "I'd compliment his ambition, all the time pushing for what the family wants/needs (more house now)," says PeterJ. "I'd be looking Mom in the eye when I paint the picture of Dad with no time. . . . Plant the seed, let her do the 'convincing.'"

     JoeH has the same idea. "Build what he wants," he says. "After wife notices you did the shell in a (pick a day), she'll be your inside salesman."

Related terms

• inside sales
• inside salesperson
• inside saleswoman