SALES DEPARTMENT

A sales department is responsible for selling products or services for a company. The
department comprises a sales team that works together to make sales, increase profitability and
build and maintain relationships with customers to encourage repeat purchases and brand
loyalty. If you're a job seeker interested in sales, you may want to know more about the
functions of a sales department. In this article, we discuss sales department functions and the
objectives of a sales department, explain why the sales department is important in a company
and describe how to become a sales representative.

The Sales Department, which is perhaps the most active and lively department in the
companies, is where certain strategies are carried out in order to provide the necessary
motivation unlike other departments. Often confused with marketing department, these two
departments actually run independently. Although they work integrated with each other, the
staff of the marketing department and the sales department and their job responsibilities differ
at some point.

What does it do?

It tries to create value for its customers and the whole market in terms of the services offered
by the company. The most important task of this department, which basically knows its target
audience well and shapes its projects according to the demands of its current customers, is to
bring the company one step ahead in the competitive environment. Following the current trends
in sales and marketing, checking the pulse of the industry and other competitors, determining
new strategies regarding product sales, increasing the sales potential, ensuring that customer
wishes and complaints are taken into account are among the duties of the employees of this
department.

Within the department, there are employees with such titles as sales representative, sales
development manager, sales manager, and sales engineer. The main objective is to retain the
current customers by understanding their mindsets and encourage them to continue their
support. Sales Department employees devote the largest share of their work to promoting the
company's products and services by working with the Marketing Department. In fact, this is
the most important reason why they are confused to one another as Marketing and Sales.
Premium system can be one of the incentives to ensure motivation in this department.

Why should you prefer it?

Individuals with high persuasiveness, who feel open to continuous improvement and
innovation, who can produce new ideas, especially digital strategies, who can put these ideas
into practice in terms of transforming them into viable projects, and who enjoy the
competitive environment may prefer this path. It is sufficient to gain the necessary
competencies by graduating from departments like Business Administration, Economics, and
Marketing.
 FUNCTIONS OF SALES DEPARTMENT:-
1. Preparing sales plans:-

The sales department identifies sales goals and objectives and prepares a sales plan that
acts as a guide to achieving them. The goals usually include things like hitting sales
quotas and volumes. These goals tend to be short term. A sales plan includes details
like the company's history, goals and objectives, team structure, target market, sales
process, tools and resources. Detailing the sales process is necessary when preparing a
sales plan.

2. Prospecting :-

The sales department is responsible for sourcing and identifying early stage leads.
Sourcing involves online research on various sites, attending industry events or
conferences or asking for referrals from current clients or colleagues. When the
department has identified the leads, it takes them through the sales process by
contacting them through cold calling, emails or other means in an effort to qualify them
for sales outreach.

3. Researching :-

After qualifying prospects, the next step for the sales representatives is to learn more
about them, including their pain points, to see how to align the benefits of the company's
products and services to the prospects' needs. This step increases the chances of them
making a purchase. The sales representatives research by asking the prospect specific
questions or speaking to others who work in the company to understand why they desire
the products or services and if it's a priority.

Making sales :-

The department is responsible for bringing new business, pitching and closing a sales
deal. Individuals accountable for this process write proposals, create presentations or
run demonstrations to convince prospects to become customers. Due to the complexity
of demonstrations, the sales department reserves them for qualified leads. They make
each presentation suit each potential customer, according to their pain points and needs.
When prospects buy into their proposals, they negotiate the terms and close the deal.
Account executives are responsible for the success of this step.

4. Handling sales issues :-

These sales issues could include answering complex questions from prospects or
customers, handling objections, resolving sales challenges or performing product
demonstrations. Individuals who handle these responsibilities are sales specialists.
They're professionals with in-depth knowledge and experience of the sales industry and
the products and services that the company offers. Through the prospect's questions and
objections, they can align the company’s products to fit the customer’s needs.
5. Building customer relationship :-

The sales team is also responsible for building and maintaining customer relationships.
They resolve their complaints, record complex issues and send them to the proper
authorities for addressing. They also renew subscriptions with existing customers. They
identify other sales opportunities and pitch to the customers for continued patronage
and increased business profitability. Excellent customer relationships lead to upsell and
cross-sell sales opportunities and referrals.

6. Training and onboarding :-

The sales manager organises training and onboarding for newly recruited sales
representatives to train them on various sales methodologies. The training, which
begins on the first day of resumption, is a continuous process, as sales representatives
learn new sales tactics regularly. A trained sales team generates better sales results,
resulting in huge returns for the business.

Objectives of sales department

 Achieving a high conversion rate:-

The goal of a sales department is to gain a high conversion rate. For example, if a
sales representative converses with 10 prospects and three complete the sales, it's an
average conversion rate. The sales manager and other sales executives are responsible
for researching methods to increase the conversion rate. A higher rate means that the
company is spending less money and producing higher profits.

 Retaining customers:-

Another objective is to retain customers. Keeping existing customers rather than

 Growing the business:-

Like other departments in a company, the sales department exists for business growth
and development. The ability to satisfy customers encourages repeat purchases and
referrals, which helps a business grow. The sales department is one of the most
important departments for business growth.
 Importance of sales department
A sales department handles more than making sales. It identifies customers' needs,
listens to their suggestions or complaints and directs them to suitable quarters for
resolution. Sales professionals also present sales pitches to prospects to convince them
of the quality or authenticity of a company's products and services.

In addition, the sales team contributes to the company's growth by taking the necessary
steps to ensure customer retention. They build long-term relationships with them and
help them feel valued whenever they work with the business. When customers feel
appreciated and valued, they may continue to patronise the company and refer others
to it. Even if a company produces products or delivers services that aren't of the same
quality as the previous ones, loyal customers continue the patronage.

Organiational structure of sales department