Sales

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For other uses, see Sales (disambiguation). Salesman redirects here. For other
uses, see retail clerk, and salesman (disambiguation).

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Marketing
Marketing Marketing management
Key concepts[show]
Promotional content[show]
Promotional media[show]
v t e
Sales
P Society.png
Sales Sales management
Sales[show]
Sales management[show]
v t e

A beach salesman showing necklaces to a tourist in Mexico

A vegetable seller in a rural Sri Lankan village

Sales is activity related to selling or the amount of goods or services sold in a
given time period.

The seller or the provider of the goods or services completes a sale in response to
an acquisition, appropriation,[1] requisition or a direct interaction with the
buyer at the point of sale. There is a passing of title (property or ownership) of
the item, and the settlement of a price, in which agreement is reached on a price
for which transfer of ownership of the item will occur. The seller, not the
purchaser generally executes the sale and it may be completed prior to the
obligation of payment. In the case of indirect interaction, a person who sells
goods or service on behalf of the owner is known as a salesman or saleswoman or
salesperson, but this often refers to someone selling goods in a store/shop, in
which case other terms are also common, including salesclerk, shop assistant, and
retail clerk.

In common law countries, sales are governed generally by the common law and
commercial codes. In the United States, the laws governing sales of goods are
somewhat uniform to the extent that most jurisdictions have adopted Article 2 of
the Uniform Commercial Code, albeit with some non-uniform variations.

Contents [hide]
1 Definition
1.1 Relationships with marketing
1.2 Industrial marketing
1.3 Sales and marketing alignment and integration
2 Methods
2.1 List of methods
2.2 Sales agents
2.3 Inside sales vs. outside sales
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
Definition[edit]
A person or organization expressing an interest in acquiring the offered item of
value is referred to as a potential buyer, prospective customer or prospect. Buying
and selling are understood to be two sides of the same "coin" or transaction. Both
seller and buyer engage in a process of negotiation to consummate the exchange of
values. The exchange, or selling, process has implied rules and identifiable
stages. It is implied that the selling process will proceed fairly and ethically so
that the parties end up nearly equally rewarded. The stages of selling, and buying,
involve getting acquainted, assessing each party's need for the other's item of
value, and determining if the values to be exchanged are equivalent or nearly so,
or, in buyer's terms, "worth the price". Sometimes, sellers have to use their own
experiences when selling products with appropriate discounts.[2]

From a management viewpoint it is thought of as a part of marketing,[3] although

the skills required are different. Sales often forms a separate grouping in a
corporate structure, employing separate specialist operatives known as salespersons
(singular: salesperson). Selling is considered by many to be a sort of persuading
"art". Contrary to popular belief, the methodological approach of selling refers to
a systematic process of repetitive and measurable milestones, by which a salesman
relates his or her offering of a product or service in return enabling the buyer to
achieve their goal in an economic way.[4] While the sales process refers to a
systematic process of repetitive and measurable milestones, the definition of the
selling is somewhat ambiguous due to the close nature of advertising, promotion,
public relations, and direct marketing.

Selling is the profession-wide term, much like marketing defines a profession.

Recently, attempts have been made to clearly understand who is in the sales
profession, and who is not. There are many articles looking at marketing,
advertising, promotions, and even public relations as ways to create a unique
transaction.

Two common terms used to describe a salesperson are "Farmer" and "Hunter". The
reality is that most professional sales people have a little of both. A hunter is
often associated with aggressive personalities who use aggressive sales technique.
In terms of sales methodology a hunter refers to a person whose focus is on
bringing in and closing deals. This process is called "sales capturing". An example
is a commodity sale such as a long distance sales person, shoe sales person and to
a degree a car sales person. Their job is to find and convert buyers. A sales
farmer is someone who creates sales demand by activities that directly influence
and alter the buying process.

Many believe that the focus of selling is on the human agents involved in the
exchange between buyer and seller. Effective selling also requires a systems
approach, at minimum involving roles that sell, enable selling, and develop sales
capabilities. Selling also involves salespeople who possess a specific set of sales
skills and the knowledge required to facilitate the exchange of value between
buyers and sellers that is unique from marketing, advertising, etc.

Within these three tenets, the following definition of professional selling is

offered by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD):

The holistic business system required to effectively develop, manage, enable,

and execute a mutually beneficial, interpersonal exchange of goods or services for
equitable value.[5]
Team selling is one way to influence sales. Team selling is "a group of people
representing the sales department and other functional areas in the firm, such as
finance, production, and research and development". (Spiro) Team selling came about
in the 1990s through total quality management (TQM). TQM occurs when companies work
to improve their customer satisfaction by constantly improving all of their
operations.

Relationships with marketing[edit]

Marketing
Marketing Marketing management
Key concepts[show]
Promotional content[show]
Promotional media[show]
v t e
Marketing and sales differ greatly, but generally have the same goal. Selling is
the final stage in marketing, which also includes pricing, promotion, place and
product (the 4 P's). A marketing department in an organization has the goals of
increasing the desirability and value to the customer and increasing the number and
engagement of interactions between potential customers and the organization.
Achieving this goal may involve the sales team using promotional techniques such as
advertising, sales promotion, publicity, and public relations, creating new sales
channels, or creating new products (new product development), among other things.
It can also include bringing the potential customer to visit the organization's
website(s) for more information, or to contact the organization for more
information, or to interact with the organization via social media such as Twitter,
Facebook and blogs. Social values also play a major role in consumer decision
processes. Marketing is the whole of the work on persuation made for the whole of
the target people. Sales is the persuasion and effort that from one person to one
person (B2C), one person makes to the corporation (B2B) in the face or in the phone
or in the digital environment, to make a living resource enter the company.

The field of sales process engineering views "sales" as the output of a larger
system, not just as the output of one department. The larger system includes many
functional areas within an organization. From this perspective, "sales" and
"marketing" (among others, such as "customer service") label for a number of
processes whose inputs and outputs supply one another to varying degrees. In this
context, improving an "output" (such as sales) involves studying and improving the
broader sales process, as in any system, since the component functional areas
interact and are interdependent.[6]

Many large corporations structure their marketing departments so they are directly
integrated with all lines of business.[7] They create multiple teams with a
singular focus and the managers of these teams must coordinate efforts in order to
drive profits and business success. For example, an "inbound" focused campaign
seeks to drive more customers "through the door", giving the sales department a
better chance of selling their product to the consumer. A good marketing program
would address any potential downsides as well.

The sales department would aim to improve the interaction between the customer and
the sales facility or mechanism (example, web site) or salesperson.As Sales is the
forefront of any organization, this would always need to take place before any
other business process may begin. Sales management would break down the selling
process and then increase the effectiveness of the discrete processes as well as
the interaction between processes. For example, in many out-bound sales
environments, the typical process includes out-bound calling, the sales pitch,
handling objections, opportunity identification, and the close. Each step of the
process has sales-related issues, skills, and training needs, as well as marketing
solutions to improve each discrete step, as well as the whole process. In many
cases becoming a salesperson is a default career as not many people aspire to be a
salesman but rather fall into the job due to circumstances. It can be highly
rewarding as you receive remuneration in the form of a salary and also commission.

One further common complication of marketing involves the inability to measure

results for a great deal of marketing initiatives. In essence, many marketing and
advertising executives often lose sight of the objective of sales/revenue/profit,
as they focus on establishing a creative/innovative program, without concern for
the top or bottom lines a fundamental pitfall of marketing for marketing's sake.

Many companies find it challenging to get marketing and sales on the same page.[8]
The two departments, although different in nature, handle very similar concepts and
have to work together for sales to be successful. Building a good relationship
between the two that encourages communication can be the key to success even in a
down economy.

Industrial marketing[edit]
The idea that marketing can potentially eliminate the need for sales people depends
entirely on context. For example, this may be possible in some B2C situations;
however, for many B2B transactions (for example, those involving industrial
organizations) this is mostly impossible.[citation needed] Another dimension is the
value of the goods being sold. Fast-moving consumer-goods (FMCG) require no sales
people at the point of sale to get them to jump off the supermarket shelf and into
the customer's trolley. However, the purchase of large mining equipment worth
millions of dollars will require a sales person to manage the sales process
particularly in the face of competitors. Small and medium businesses selling such
large ticket items to a geographically-disperse client base use manufacturers'
representatives to provide these highly personal service while avoiding the large
expense of a captive sales force.

Sales and marketing alignment and integration[edit]

Another area of discussion involves the need for alignment and integration between
corporate sales and marketing functions. According to a report from the Chief
Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, only 40 percent of companies have formal programs,
systems or processes in place to align and integrate the two critical functions.

Traditionally, these two functions, as referenced above, have operated separately,

left in siloed areas of tactical responsibility. Glen Petersen's book The Profit
Maximization Paradox[9] sees the changes in the competitive landscape between the
1950s and the time of writing as so dramatic that the complexity of choice, price
and opportunities for the customer forced this seemingly simple and integrated
relationship between sales and marketing to change forever. Petersen goes on to
highlight that salespeople spend approximately 40 percent of their time preparing
customer-facing deliverables while leveraging less than 50 percent of the materials
created by marketing, adding to perceptions that marketing is out of touch with the
customer and that sales is resistant to messaging and strategy.

Methods[edit]
List of methods[edit]

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can
help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is
available. (March 2017)
A sale can take place through:[10]

Direct sales, involving person to person contact

Channel sales, an indirect sales model, which differs from direct sales. Channel
selling is a way for ("B2B") sellers to reach the ("B2B") and ("B2C") markets
through distributors, re-sellers or value added re-sellers VARS.
Pro forma sales
Agency-based
Sales agents (for example in real estate or in manufacturing)
Sales outsourcing through direct branded representation
Transaction sales
Consultative sales
Complex sales
Consignment
Telemarketing or telesales
Retail or consumer
Traveling salesman
Door-to-door methods
Hawking
Request for proposal An invitation for suppliers, through a bidding process, to
submit a proposal on a specific product or service. An RFP usually represents part
of a complex sales process, also known as "enterprise sales".
Business-to-business Business-to-business ("B2B") sales are likely to be larger
in terms of volume, economic value and complexity than business-to-consumer ("B2C")
sales. Because of this complexity, there is a need to manage the relationships
between the buying and selling organisations, for example using Peter Cheverton's
relationship models[11] and the stakeholder map by Anderson, Bryson and Crosby[12]
Electronic
Web Business-to-business ("B2B") and business-to-consumer ("B2C")
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) A set of standard for structuring information
to be electronically exchanged between and within businesses
Indirect, human-mediated but with indirect contact
Mail-order
vending machine
Sales Techniques:
Selling technique
Consultative selling
Sales enablement
Solution selling
Conceptual selling
Strategic selling
Transactional selling
Sales Negotiation
Reverse Selling
Upselling
Cross-selling
Paint-the-Picture
take away
Sales Habits
Relationship Selling
Sales outsourcing
Cold calling
Guaranteed sale
Needs-based selling
Professional Selling Skills
Persuasive selling
Hard Selling
Price based selling
Target account selling
Sandler Selling System
Challenger Sales
Action Selling
Auctions
Social Selling
Personal selling
Sales agents[edit]
Agents in the sales process can represent either of two parties in the sales
process; for example:

Sales broker, seller agency, seller agent, seller representative: This is a

traditional role where the salesman represents a person or company on the selling
end of a deal.
Buyers broker or Buyer brokerage: This is where the salesman represents the
consumer making the purchase. This is most often applied in large transactions.
Disclosed dual agent:This is where the salesman represents both parties in the sale
and acts as a mediator for the transaction. The role of the salesman here is to
oversee that both parties receive an honest and fair deal, and is responsible to
both.
Transaction broker: This is where the salesperson represents neither party but
handles the transaction only. The seller owes no responsibility to either party
getting a fair or honest deal, just that all of the papers are handled properly.
Sales outsourcing involves direct branded representation where the sales
representatives are recruited, hired, and managed by an external entity but hold
quotas, represent themselves as the brand of the client, and report all activities
(through their own sales management channels) back to the client. It is akin to a
virtual extension of a sales force (see sales outsourcing).
Sales managers aim to implement various sales strategies and management techniques
in order to facilitate improved profits and increased sales volume. They are also
responsible for coordinating the sales and marketing department as well as
oversight concerning the fair and honest execution of the sales process by their
agents.
Salesperson: The primary function of professional salespeople is to generate and
close business resulting in revenue. The sales person will accomplish their primary
function through a variety of means including phone calls, email, social media,
networking, and cold calling. The primary objective of the successful salesperson
is to find the consumers to sell to. Sales is often referred to as a "numbers game"
because a general law of averages and pattern of successful closing of business
will emerge through heightened sales activity. These activities include but are not
limited to: locating prospects, fostering relationships with prospects, building
trust with future clients, identifying and filling needs of consumers, and
therefore turning prospective customers into actual ones. Many tools are used by
successful salespeople, the most important of which is questioning which can be
defined as a series of questions and resulting answers allowing the salesperson to
understand a customer's goals and requirements relevant to the product. The
creation of value or perceived value is the result of taking the information
gathered, analyzing the goals and needs of the prospective customer and leveraging
the products or services the salesperson's firm represents or sells in a way that
most effectively achieves the prospective clients goals or suits their needs.
Effective salespeople will package their offering and present their proposed
solution in a way that leads the prospective customer to the conclusion that they
acquire the solution, resulting in revenue and profit for the salesperson and the
organization they represent.
Internet Sales Professionals: These people are primarily responsible for ensuring
immediate response to the leads generated via social media, website or email
campaigns.
Inside sales vs. outside sales[edit]
Since the advent of the telephone, a distinction has been made[13] between "inside
sales" and "outside sales" although it is generally agreed that those terms have no
hard-and-fast definition.[14] In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act
defines outside sales representatives as "employees [who] sell their employer's
products, services, or facilities to customers away from their employer's place(s)
of business, in general, either at the customer's place of business or by selling
door-to-door at the customer's home" while defining those who work "from the
employer's location" as inside sales.[15] Inside sales generally involves
attempting to close business primarily over the phone via telemarketing, while
outside sales (or "field" sales) will usually involve initial phone work to book
sales calls at the potential buyer's location to attempt to close the deal in
person. Some companies have an inside sales department that works with outside
representatives and book their appointments for them. Inside sales sometimes refers
to upselling to existing customers.

Inside sales generate leads and thus helping in generating revenue. Inside sales is
a crucial team. People in inside sales generate the pipeline and make calls to the
Company's and convince marketing manager to accept for the demo meeting and once if
the demo is presented, the marketing manager may accept for the business proposal
and okay's the deal.

See also[edit]
Buzzword
Choice architecture
Demand chain
Financial transaction
Personal selling
Sales (accounting)
Sales effectiveness
Sales incentive plan
Sales contest
Sales territory
Sales variance
Trade
Vendor
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Part III, effects of the contract, Rule 5. Sale of Goods Act 1979. Sale
of Goods Act 1979
Jump up ^ Putthiwanit, C.; Ho, S.-H. (2011). "Buyer Success and Failure in
Bargaining and Its Consequences". Australian Journal of Business and Management
Research. 1 (5): 8392.
Jump up ^ Philip Kotler, Principles of Marketing, Prentice -Hall, 1980
Jump up ^ Greening, Jack (1993). Selling Without Confrontation. The Haworth Press,
Inc. p. 23. ISBN 1-56024-326-0. Page image [1]
Jump up ^ "American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)". Sales Competency
Project. Archived from the original on 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
Jump up ^ Paul H. Selden (December 1998). "Sales Process Engineering: An Emerging
Quality Application". Quality Progress: 5963.
Jump up ^ "How To Organize Your Marketing Department In The Digital Age".
www.cmo.com. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
Jump up ^ "Ending The War Between Sales And Marketing". hbr.org. Harvard Business
Review. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
Jump up ^ Petersen, Glen S. (2008). The Profit Maximization Paradox: Cracking the
Marketing/Sales Alignment Code. Booksurge in 1221. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-4196-9179-9.
Jump up ^ Compendium of Professional Selling. United Professional Sales
Association. n.d.
Jump up ^ Peter, Cheverton (2008). Key Account Management 4th Edition. Kogan Page.
pp. 90104. ISBN 978 0 7494 5277 3.
Jump up ^ John, Bryson (10 Feb 2003). "What To Do When Stakeholders Matter: A Guide
to Stakeholder Identification and Analysis Techniques" (PDF). London School of
Economics and Political Science.
Jump up ^ "What is Inside Sales? The Definition of Inside Sales". Forbes.com. 2013-
02-26. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
Jump up ^ "What is Inside Sales?". The Bridge Group, Inc. 2009-07-14. Retrieved
2011-05-25.
Jump up ^ "elaws - FLSA Overtime Security Advisor". US Department of Labour.
Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
External links[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Sales
Look up sale in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Salesmen.
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