Sales are activities concerned with the quantity or sale of products or services sold at a specified date and price. The sale of a product to a customer is also regarded as a sale. The sale of a product by a company to its direct customers is called retailing. The retail sales represent the material written off the sales of a firm by an importer or a seller outside the country.
There are many different sales jobs available. Many sales people go on to become marketing managers, sales executives, and marketing consultants. There are also sales trainers, and salesmen who provide training on sales and marketing principles and strategies. Sales training is very important as there are many different types of sales people. Some sales people to deal directly with customers while others may be involved with marketing or advertising. There are also sales managers who supervise other sales personnel.
Marketing is a combination of advertising, selling and public relations. There are three levels in marketing. At the lowest level is the direct selling type of selling. This involves individual sellers selling their own personal wares. At this stage, people are known to make their own buying decisions. People at this stage of marketing are known to use direct selling channels such as door-to-door, telephone, newspaper, and television.
A marketing manager is in charge of supervising the actual sales process. They plan, execute, and manage the process using various methods. This person will be responsible for collecting the buyers’ information, developing a marketing plan, creating a strategy to reach the buyers, follow up and maintain the loyalty of the customer.
Another aspect of sales is invoice handling and lead generation. Invoice handling is the collecting of payments from the customers for the items purchased. Lead generation is the use of a system to generate targeted prospects for a sales strategy. This includes but is not limited to, email lists, websites, brochures, business cards, flyers, post cards, and other printed advertising materials.
The third business function, marketing, is the planning and execution of the sales process. Marketing strategies involve the study, development, testing, and evaluating of new ideas and products. Once these are tested and/or found to be profitable, the marketing manager will implement them into the sales process. A manager in marketing is in charge of the final sales result and the long-term performance of their team. Therefore, it is important for salespersons to understand that there are three different functions of the sales process.