All of us have come across the word 'Sales' at some point in our lives. In general terms, sales mean selling a product or service to your customer. There are several types of job opportunities available in sales profiles as there are multiple types of sales methods depending on the nature of business carried out and transaction. In this article, we'll cover different types of sales.

The primary parties involved in a sale transaction are the buyer and the seller. However, the answer to "what is sales" isn't limited to this. Big companies usually employ hundreds and thousands of sales reps and divide them into different departments. 

The goal of a sales personnel is not just selling but also resolving the issues of the customers. This helps to build strong customer relationships and boosts lead generation. Bonding with customers and satisfying their needs will lead to higher sales and successful business-customer relationships.

Here are 10 types of sales that you need to know –

1. Inside Sales

Sometimes, sales reps remotely engage in prospects, leads, and customers by following an inside approach. Here, they are selling from their own companies without visiting the customers. TV services, phone brands, and internet services companies follow this approach 

The sales rep will understand the customers' needs and develop solutions for them to bring new business. 

2. Outside Sales

In the case of outside sales, the salespeople deal with their prospects and customers face-to-face. Here, sales reps are required to discuss the products with the prospects by visiting them personally. 

This sales method requires sales reps to do door-to-door prospecting and undertake a field approach. As the sales team is required to work from outside, it is essential to develop the right marketing strategies to boost customer engagement and conversions. This broker-seller approach is usually undertaken in fields like pharma and medical equipment. 

3. B2C Sales

The business-to-Customer sales method is one of the most common sales forms. Here, businesses sell their products and services to individual customers having a lower deal value. This makes the transactions quicker and easier. 

A B2C sales business can deal with multiple clients at the same time. There is direct contact by the moving companies with the customers which makes the sales process effective and seamless. 

4. B2B Sales

B2B sales stand for business-to-business sales. Here, businesses sell their products to other businesses and companies. In B2B sales there is no individual customer which makes it more complex than B2C sales. These businesses function at a higher stake and are usually responsible for the business operations of the buying company. 

This selling method usually works between enterprises and medium to small businesses. 

5. E-Commerce Sales

eCommerce sales are expected to reach $6.17 trillion by the end of 2023. In eCommerce sales, consumers can research your products and services online. They can also compare different eCommerce businesses to compare prices and qualities. 

Customers can decide what they want to purchase from business by visiting your website or product pages. In the case of eCommerce sales, the entire process happens without the sales representatives directly interacting with the customers. This method is highly effective for companies that are operating remotely, with less staff, or serving customers across the world. This will enable businesses to access a wide customer base without the need for direct interaction. 

6. Agency Sales

Agency sales involve developing interest in your clients and making them sign for your agency's service packages. The typical sales cycle of agencies ranges from 31 to 90 days. During this period, agencies bring 1-3 new clients. 

Agency sales usually operate in two methods. A project-based agency sale focussed on generating new clients for business while existing clients are still using the agency's service for a limited time. The other method is known as the retaining method wherein the agencies interact with their existing clients daily while concentrating less on new consumers.

7. Business Development Sales

Business development sales are incredibly important for business growth and higher conversions. Business development managers are responsible for generating new leads and converting them into customers. They qualify the leads by interacting with them to ensure successful sales. 

Business development sales usually refer to the top-of-funnel sale activities that are performed to identify, interact with, and qualify leads having high buying potential. To become successful as a business development manager, you need to continuously generate new clients and qualify them effectively to bring new business opportunities.

8. Direct Sales

Direct sales is a selling method wherein the seller directly interacts with a customer. However, the interaction takes place outside your typical retail space. On each sale, the seller earns a commission which is usually a percentage of the sales made.

The direct sales method is highly effective in real estate agencies and network marketing.

There are different tools that help manage your sales like sales crm, customer service crm and collection crm.

9. Account-based Sales

Businesses having large enterprise accounts usually tend to go with account-based sales. Account-based sales is generally a sales method used by businesses to target companies (also known as accounts) rather than targeting individual leads.  This highly personalized and strategic sales prospecting method is primarily used within B2B sales. 

This sales method will help the sales team of a business to develop a stable relationship with a high-value, long-term enterprise and help to generate higher LTV.

10. Consultative Sales

Consultative sales mainly focus on understanding the needs of the clients and forming meaningful relationships with them. After that, the sales reps will recommend products and highlight the benefits. 

This sales method helps to develop a strong buyer-seller connection as a satisfied customer will most likely try out your other products as well. The client service executives are responsible for nurturing healthy business relationships with customers. They ensure that new clients are acquired as well as existing customers are retained. 

The main objective in consultative sales is to ensure repeat orders from your existing customers by forming an excellent business-customer relationship. 

Summing Up

Each type of sale is different and requires different expertise to successfully turn leads into paying customers. However, selling to businesses or enterprises is more complex than selling to individual customers and requires more expertise.