Sales are the actions related to the procurement or selling of products at a specified price, date and time. The sale of a service provided by another person is also considered to be a sale. Sales people are persons who carry out sales activities for other people, who advertise or sell the products, and who receive payment for their services. There are various types of sales such as: sales made on credit, sales made on an individual contract basis, sales based on contract and sales made on a commission basis.
There are many other sales people and company professionals who perform different types of sales process. Sales people follow-up on leads generated by prospecting and advertising. They create or acquire prospects’ awareness about a product or service. They follow-up and communicate with leads to provide information about various options, such as pricing and service description.
Sales organizations can create prospect lists by using technical tools, such as face-to-face meetings, telephone conferences, webinars, and email teasers. They follow-up on leads by telephoning, emailing, sending certified letters, and making presentations. These strategies assist sales teams in obtaining new customers, expanding existing customer bases, and generating new business. Sales organizations also use other sales techniques such as distributing newsletters, creating in-house or distribute brochures, providing free samples, and providing information to prospects on sales opportunities.
Sales organizations use different types of sales process depending on the type of prospects they are working with. Some sales process employs the direct method where the representatives interact directly with the prospects, whereas others apply the more common indirect method in which the representatives follow up with their prospects by phone, mail, or in person. The more common type of sales process used by most sales organizations is the standardized sales process. This includes the use of one-stage contacts, the use of one-step selling systems, and the development of standard closing scripts. One-stage contacts refer to those individuals who are referred to the sales representative; while one-step selling systems require the salesperson to first establish a one-stage relationship with the prospect.
Revenue managers determine which sales process will be most effective for their organization. They evaluate salespeople’s performance based on the return on investment (ROI). Other factors that may be considered include the number of sales and revenue generated per year, and profitability of an organization. Salespeople are usually rated according to their individual sales performance, such as their cost-to-revenue ratio and average dollar value commission. A company’s revenue managers are able to identify areas for improvement and make changes to the revenue process and overall revenue generated by the business.
Salespeople are also rated according to the type of selling that they perform. Some professionals are rated according to their direct selling skills, while others are rated based on the selling skills that they develop through their employment with other sales teams. Direct selling is a marketing strategy that is used by small and medium sized companies to promote products. On the other hand, sales consulting is a strategy that sales organizations use to enhance their sales process. Sales teams that work together under a sales consulting firm are able to identify potential problems within their own processes and develop new selling approaches to sell products. There are even times when a particular professional is employed by more than one sales organization.