A sale in general parlance is a transaction or exchange between two or more people in which the purchaser of the good or service gets that particular good or service in return for cash paid(In some instances, other goods and services are also exchanged).
This is the general definition of sales but it can take different connotations on the basis of the situation or industry one is in.
The purchase of bonds, securities in the financial markets can also constitute a sale but this definition is restricted to the financial world.
The premise of sales is simple, to sell your product be it a good or service to the other interested parties in return for something else with the expectation that you will become better off than you were before.
This is why there are sales targets to be achieved as it plays a crucial role in improving the market share of the firm and the firm is better off than before.
How is Sales achieved then?
There are various strategies that could be used to boost sales and some of them are:-
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Door to Door Canvassing-This involves going to each house personally and selling the goods and this is done with the expectation that people are interested in your product and directly reaching out to them would help boost sales.
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Price bundling:-Here salespeople bundle multiple products or goods together into one package and offer them at a single rate which is usually cheaper than the sum of those goods taken individually.
This helps the firms to maximize their profits and for consumers to feel satisfied that they have gotten a bargain for their purchase.
- Discounts:- To clear tock, distributors and retailers offer discounts on the market retail price of the product to clear it off the shelves and to get some value for their money.The loss here isn’t much as they first markup the price and then offer a discount
The qualities expected out of a salesperson is the ability to put in long hours in the field without getting frustrated as this is a profession that requires patience. There is no one size fits all strategy in sales and some rudimentary understanding of consumer psychology is needed to gain insights into the way a consumer perceives a particular product or service.
Ability to put the consumer first and to have the capability to judge it from a consumer’s perspective is also important as they are the most important stakeholders in sales and everything revolves around them.
Customer Relationship management is also another important component of sales as the lifetime value of a customer increases exponentially with retention. Trust grows with time and that directly affects the bottom line.
Focus on long term value creation and inclusive management as it is massively helps in the long run to make profits and stay ahead of your competition.
Having a strong command over multiple languages would help you immensely with this role as it entails meeting with different people and forming networks which would help you establish yourself in the market.
The other advantage of knowing multiple languages is the ability to seamlessly move to another territory and getting started without taking much time or without letting it affect your work.
Good communications skills are mandated in this line of work as that helps you communicate effectively with various stakeholders particularly the customers as they are the ones with whom you would be interacting with the most.
It also boosts your confidence and your ability to interact and negotiate more effectively with the customers to sell your product. Customers also appreciate someone who take the extra effort to learn a new language and would gravitate towards someone who does that.
It also puts you on the frontline to get promoted and put your career on the fasttrack.
Focus on the process and the end result will follow-One of India’s greatest cricket captain’s go to adage(you know who?) is also applicable in Sales where you have to look at other parameters besides the end profit.
This might go against popular convention but it has a reason- Focusing on customer satisfaction and going over and beyond and ensuring they are delighted takes a lot of effort. This might not bear fruit initially and one must be willing to bear with this and stick to it as it is beneficial in the long term for all stakeholders.
Customers inherently seek many other things or features when they purchase a product and it is important from a salesperson’s perspective as to what they would they seek inherently and deliver that to them to delight them.
Going over and above helps in customer retention and helps in maintaining market share as their value to the organization would only grow over time. In the long term your organization could be able to reap the rewards of this organic growth and satisfaction.