Sale is a small word and in general, it means selling a commodity or a service to consumers. Consumers can be business clients or individual customers. However, in practical sense, it is a very big concept. There is a lot of effort that goes into trade of commodities and services. From finding prospects to nurturing them and finally selling the product requires a lot of effort.
In businesses, there are special departments that deal with it, companies have production teams, management teams, marketing teams, and sales teams. Their job is to handle work in respective departments. Marketing is initial part of selling, where they grab attention of the buyers in market. Marketing departments ensure that the public knows about the company’s product and shows interest in purchase. People who show interest and are nurtured by marketers for purchasing the product by marketing teams are referred to as sellers. The real game begins here which has a lot of complicated parts and processes.
This article will help you understand all about the concept and how they work and the different types of these concepts. Common terms utilized by professionals will also be discussed.
What are Sales?
The term describes the process of selling a product or service to any person or business. Organizations create products and then sell them to consumers for profit. The products are exchanged for money which can be in form of cash or credit. In the barter system, there was no concept of selling and purchasing, instead, people used to exchange goods with other goods. People would find others who have interest in their products in exchange for required products. However, things changed with introduction of money, trade for money started and concept of selling was introduced.
In past, it was easy but current scenario is pretty different. Companies have entire departments and their job is to make trade successful. They find prospects that show interest in Brand. Gathering their data, or lead generation starts, leads are nurtured and company fully gains the trust of the buyer and at last, a successful trade happens. Salespeople reach out to buyers to sell products because in the current scenario customers have lots of options.
Selling requires efforts of the marketing department as well, studies suggest that marketing department provides almost 1/3 of the leads. Both departments work together to ensure revenue inflow.
Types of Sales
The concept has different types, they are based upon the product being song and seller. It also depends upon the purchasing party, the reason for trade, and the area where the trade is being conducted. So, keeping in mind let's learn about the 10 different types of selling:
1. Inside
2. Outside
3. Business Development
4. Account-Based
5. B2B
6. B2C
7. Direct
8. Agency
9. Consultative
10. eCommerce
Inside
As the name suggests teams sit inside the office and perform their duties. Inside sales are a quite modern approach, in this type the seller is sitting inside the office and selling products from comfort of their office. The products are traded remotely and customers are approached through telephone or other communication tools. The process is much more automated, credit card selling and other products like these are sold through this method. The process is often automated and optimized for high yield. Call centers in developing countries are a big example of where people sell items through calls. Products are sold to all types of buyers, and representatives of the company contact and nurture lead, providing the right solution for their problems.
Outside
In this type, salespeople work outside the company, which means they are not bound inside a building instead, follow door-to-door methods to capture clients. Representatives of the company travel around to find prospects and nurture them face to face. They use tactics suitable to the commodity to sell it. Reps are provided freedom and often provided commissions to boost their spirit. They attend seminars and conferences representing company and meet decision makes to generate leads and create contacts. Medical reps follow this method to find prospects and convert them into regular clients. They visit different medical professionals to gather information and nurture them.
Business Development
Business development isn’t selling on whole, instead, it’s a part of process but experts count its types. Business development sales are connected with gathering prospects' information and selling it to decision-makers. Third parties that are experts in data collection and lead generation provide the required information to the stakeholder in return for money. Business development plays a vital role for companies. Data is sold to decision-makers in organizations who know its worth.
Account-Based
It's concerned with selling the entire stock to different small customers They play the role of a third party that has information about demand but rather selling information like business development they provide services. Representatives take products from the factories and deliver them to all the retailor and other B2B clients. Sellers are called key account managers and their job is to keep the demands up. The salespeople give the estimates and it’s the job of the key account managers to keep demand to that level. Pepsi co and other organizations that have huge areas to cover utilize this approach.
B2B
Business clients are entertained by this type. Some companies sell products to other businesses, hence business to business. The client also uses products to further produce new products or sell them to customers. These types of sales are pretty difficult because the client requires more attention than regular client. They require a lot of information, so the company representative has to be informative. Many online apps that help other businesses run are included in this. The companies that trade machinery for production or bus makers all represent business-to-business trade. An organization helps another organization with production, hence helping them run a business through its product.
B2C
Business to Client sales are simple, the company representatives sell directly to the consumers. There is no other business involved, almost all fashion brands do that. The brands with their outlets are a keen example of business-to-business selling where they are directly interacting with the consumer to sell products. Many other businesses are out there that collect leads and then nurture them to convert them into buyers. The representatives of the brands directly interact with the customers that will utilize the product. Competition is high in this field, so brands have to exert their dominance over the competition to capture clients.
Direct
This type is quite common and very old in its nature, a single individual is responsible for selling. Network marketing uses this method of selling products, they hire people who sell commodities for commission. They are not hired for monthly wages, instead are awarded commission on sales. There are no restrictions, as one has to work on their own. Sellers use the strategies that work for them better and could go out or sell remotely. Telfar is a famous brand that uses this type of selling for its product. They provide stocks to people who further sell them.
Agency
New leads are collected and then nurtured for conversion. Clients are signed up for the agency for new services. An average period of an agency’s sales cycle is around a month to 3 months. Focus on bringing new clients and gathering prospects is a little. Companies try to retain clients that already work with them. Several types of agencies work for example modeling agencies, planning agencies, and several others. Their job is to engage buyers in sales packages and retain purchasers for a longer period. Bringing new business for client and charging commission on it.
Consultative
Consultative salespeople are more focused on the needs of the customers, they interact and find problems of the customers. Building strong relations with consumers is the key. Representatives of such companies learn the requirements of customers and provide them the exact item they require. Different consultants from law to real estate consultants are working around the world providing customers exactly what they require. A rational customer can purchase better but they aren’t experts. Consulting experts could save money and through this method, one can get best product out there. The main job of such a seller is to create strong relations.
ECommerce
eCommerce sales are the feature, if you purchase items or services without interacting with the seller through a website, you are a part of eCommerce. It emerged with the emergence of internet. Amazon is prime example of an eCommerce store, where purchase is possible without any interaction with seller. eCommerce is the future of trade where the other methods of trade would become obsolete because people don’t want to go out shopping, they wanna do it from comfort of their chairs. eCommerce further have different types, as time passed new thing have entered eCommerce. However, the only problem is that eCommerce lacks salespeople up front as they are working behind the scenes. eCommerce has grown 27% in the year 2020 and it still growing.
Common Term
Each concept has its own terminologies that are specific to the concept. Subjects have specific terminology, works, and even some areas have their own terminologies. Some terminologies are associated with sales. It is a big concept and billions of people are associated with it, following you will learn about some specific terms related to it:
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Salespeople
The person selling products or services are called salespeople. They are also referred to as sellers, associates and representatives. They work for monthly wages or a commission base. Commission-based jobs are rewarded for the number of sales. Monthly wagers are paid whether or not they can sell products or services.
Prospect
People who have an interest in items being sold by a company are called prospects. They show interest in the product or service by contacting or visiting the website. Salespeople use different techniques to further nurture them which are called prospecting. Information regarding prospects is gathered which is called lead generation. Sellers utilize different strategies to persuade and sell to prospects. Prospects are ones who eventually convert into clients.
Deals
The commodities or services presented for selling along with the price are called a deal. Sales depend upon the quality of deals presented by a brand. A well-researched deal could impact revenue. Deals depend upon the type, process, and value of the product. Several products or services are sold together in a deal to attract consumers. Companies can track their performances through customer relations management tools.
Pipeline
Steps taken to sell an item from prospecting to eventually finalizing the trade, the whole cycle is called a pipeline. People also refer to it as sales funnel because it works as a funnel widespread at the start and then starts getting tighter and tighter.
Sales Plan
What to sell? Whom to sell? And why sell? These are all the questions answered in the plan. The strategies to be executed and the objectives companies follow are all part of the plan. Items are priced, revenue targets are set, the market is examined and teams are constructed. From the production department to getting the commodity into the purchaser's hand all efforts are done through the strategies which are called a plan.
Conclusion
Each term has a deep meaning inside them, sales is just a word but has a process behind it. There are different types of it and other terminologies associated with it that are discussed in the article. Before practically starting some work it is essential to learn about it. If you weren’t aware of the meaning of this term and its types then this article would help you understand. Read the whole content and learn better.
