What Are the Duties of a Sales

Department?

Paul Bradbury/OJO Images/GettyImages

By: Chelsea Levinson

Updated June 07, 2018

Having a strong sales team is crucial to the success of a company because

the sales department is responsible for making sales, growing your business
and retaining existing customers. Ultimately, the most important function of
your sales department is maintaining relationships with your customers. This
personal touch is the key to happy, long-term client relationships, not to
mention increased profitability.
What Is the Importance of a Sales
Department?
A sales department is the direct link between a company’s product or service
and its customers. However, a well-trained sales department does more than
making sales. Your sales staff builds relationships with your customers.
Further, a quality salesperson helps identify a customer’s unique needs and
makes sure that those needs are met. Since salespeople have direct contact
with your customers on an ongoing basis, they become privy to personal
information that helps make sales interactions smoother and friendlier. A
highly trained sales professional tailors sales pitches to the individual customer
and learns the ins and outs of their needs.

For example, say you own an office supply business. A customer calls your
sales team and says that they need printer paper. The salesperson will ask
what type of printer the business is using, how long it takes the office to go
through a sheaf of paper and whether they need a higher-quality paper for any
reason. A design firm printing work samples might need a higher quality paper
than a nonprofit that is only looking to print handouts for meetings. Your
salesperson ensures that the customer is getting what they need, in the right
volume and at the right price.

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Further, a sales department promotes the growth of your business as well as
customer retention. A quality salesperson builds an ongoing, long-term
relationship with your customers. The importance of personal relationships in
business can’t be understated. A personal connection makes customers feel
valued and encourages them to remain loyal to your company. Plus, a happy
customer will recommend your brand to others.

What Are the Objectives of a Sales

Department?
A sales department has several objectives, aside from just making sales.
Since your sales department is often the link between your customers and the
product or service your company offers, there are other necessary functions a
sales department must meet:

• Converting sales: Of course, a sales department’s main objective is

to make sales. However, they must also do so efficiently and as
inexpensively as possible. It is not enough to collect credit card
information and process an order. A sales department is always
concerned with improving its conversion rate. A conversion rate is the
percentage of customers who complete a sale. So if your sales team
speaks to 100 potential customers per day and 20 of those
conversations result in a sale, then your team has a 20 percent
conversion rate. A well-oiled sales department is always looking for
ways to improve its conversion rate. A better conversion means the
business spends less money converting each customer, resulting in
higher profits.
• Customer retention: Your sales team is responsible for retaining
customers, a monumentally important task. It costs a business five-
to-25 times more money to attract new customers than it does to
keep existing customers. Research further shows that upping your
customer retention rate by only 5 percent can result in increased
 profits of 25-to-95 percent for your business. It makes sense always
to keep your customers happy. This is where your sales team comes
in. As the direct point-of-contact for your business, your sales
department is building valuable relationships with customers. A sales
team that follows up with customers and makes sure they are happy
with the product or service you are providing is crucial. Most
customers who take their business elsewhere do so quietly, without
informing anyone. So one objective of a sales staff is to make sure
customers remain happy and continue to do business with your
company.
• Business growth: The sales department is one of the most critical
sectors of business for growth. Through relationship-building and
keeping customers happy, word-of-mouth recommendations increase.
Plus, satisfied customers are usually willing to leave positive reviews
for your company online. Reviews are critically important in doing
business these days. Prospective clients want to see that you have
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made other customers happy, and are all too willing to go to your
competitors if there is no evidence that you're doing so. This is why
your sales team can help you grow your business. Through
outstanding customer service, your customers become loyal and sing
your praises to others, bringing in new business. What’s more, a
quality sales staff will always be searching for new client leads,
further growing your business.

Sales Department Responsibilities

The responsibilities of a sales department vary depending on the business,
and how large the team is. However, the first responsibility of a sales
department is usually searching for and identifying prospective clients. The
next responsibility of the sales department is reaching out to those potential
clients and making contact, which is when the relationship-building begins in
earnest. A sales representative will identify the needs of the client, and find out
any relevant information for making a sale.

Next, the sales department is responsible for delivering presentations and

proposals that will convert the customer. For example, say a prospective
customer tells your sales representative that he is looking for a new office
supplier, but what he needs that others don’t have is a selection of specialty
inks. Your sales department now puts together a presentation for the customer
that illustrates your wide ink selection. Usually, a team member will also put
together a proposal for the business. This individualized courting of clients can
help convert leads into long-term customers, so it’s important to get this part
right.

If the prospective client is happy with the customer service of the sales staff
and the bottom line of the proposal, it’s time to close the deal. Successfully
closing sales is another responsibility of the sales staff: processing
transactions and ensuring payments run smoothly. Finally, the sales
department is responsible for managing customer relationships and keeping
customers happy long-term. As previously noted, customer retention is crucial
to business profitability, which often falls on the sales team as they continue to
follow up with and meet the needs of customers. The sales department must
maintain customer relationships and manage the satisfaction of all clients.

The Different Roles of a Sales Department

The responsibilities of a sales department are varied. Thus, a sales
department is often split up into multiple roles, each with their unique
functions:

• Sales Development Representative: Also called business

development representatives, a sales development representative is
responsible for step one of the sales process: researching, identifying
and contacting leads. This person is often a cold caller or the team
member who makes the first contact with a prospective client. Once
the customer lead has been identified as a “qualifying lead” (one
likely to result in a sale), a sales development representative passes
that lead to a higher-level sales representative.
• Account Executive: The account executive is responsible for
bringing in new business and making sales, filling the traditional
salesperson role. This person must be a closer since the success of
the deal ultimately falls on their shoulders. Account executives create
presentations, run demonstrations, write proposals, identify any
obstacles to the purchase process, negotiate terms with clients and
finally, make the sale.
• Sales Specialist: A sales specialist has in-depth knowledge of the
product and the industry. This is the person you want handling
complicated issues or difficult customer questions. A sales specialist
is also adept at doing product demonstrations and client proposals. In
a sales department, this specialist takes on any complex sales or
advanced challenges that come up for the rest of the team.
• Customer Success Representative: A customer success
representative is responsible for following up and renewing sales with
customers who have already made purchases. This role is crucial for
customer retention and ensuring your business isn’t leaving money
on the table. A customer success representative keeps your best
customers happy and finds new ways to further the relationship, thus
increasing your profits.
• Sales Manager: The sales manager is the leader of the team, and
responsible for making sure the team is meeting their responsibilities
and hitting their goals. This person is charged with steering the ship
as well as measuring and improving outcomes.

How to Improve a Business's Sales

Department
There are many ways to improve a sales department. Depending on your
individual business and industry, what will work for you may not work for
another business. However, there are a few simple rules you can follow to
make sure you are getting the most from your sales department.

First, assess everyone’s skills and make sure team members are in the right
place to thrive. Not every personality type is cut out for sales. If you have one
or two team members who are consistently underperforming, find out why. Do
they dislike working with customers? Or are they perhaps not trained to a high
enough standard? Identify any weaknesses and ensure that every team
member has the support they need to fulfill their role. Whether done through a
training program or coaching by an upper-level team member, it’s crucial that
every member of the sales department is properly brought up to speed on their
responsibilities. Make sure that nobody on your team is falling through the
cracks.
Further, it’s a good idea to look at what training you are providing your sales
team. Make sure everyone is on the same page and receiving similar training
on the systems of your sales department. There are a variety of training
programs available online as well as in-person. Find a program that
complements your company’s objectives, and make sure all employees are
trained in that program. Consistent, proper training keeps everyone on the
same page and allows team members to jump in and help each other out
when necessary.

Next, look at what is motivating your team. If your sales department lacks
motivation, it’s time to improve the incentives you’re offering. Make sure your
incentive programs are targeting your entire sales staff, not just the upper 20
percent. Incentive programs are often unnecessarily complex. Figure out if
there is a way to simplify and improve your incentive program to bring more
salespeople into the fold. Learn about what motivates your employees and ask
them what incentives they would like to see. Not every employee is motivated
the same way, so it’s important to find out how you can get the most out of
each person in your sales department.

Finally, it’s crucial to reward and recognize success. People like to be

recognized for their efforts and rewarded when appropriate. This increases
motivation and maintains high morale across the department. A few words of
recognition can go a long way, even if a team member hasn’t done quite
enough to hit their targets. For example, say you have a team member who is
struggling to close deals. You give him further training and he improves his
numbers but doesn’t sell quite enough to reach his monthly target. This is a
good time for recognition. Acknowledge his hard work and improvement, and
encourage him to keep reaching for the goal next time. When employees feel
recognized and appreciated, they are willing to work harder and do more for a
company. Do not underestimate the power of reward and recognition.

References
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Author

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CITE THIS ARTICLE

What Is Cold-calling Experience?

By: Tyler Lacoma
Updated September 26, 2017

Cold calling is a common sales tactic, especially in industries where sales are
a vital, driving part of business profitability and can only be initiated through
direct contact with a salesperson. In these cases, businesses seeking an edge
over competitors or simply trying to meet earnings goals must rely on whatever
tactics are necessary to secure sales. As a result, salespeople may gain
experience in cold calls with potential clients.

Definition
Cold calling is the process of making sales pitches to prospective clients. This
means that the salesperson must identify people who do not have any
previous connection to the company and are not expecting a sales meeting,
and then contact them, hoping to impress them and make a sale. Cold calls
can be made in person, over the phone or in some cases through online
communication. The job of the salesperson is to convince the prospective
client not only of her need for the product or service, but that she should work
with the saleperson's company.
Goals
There are several primary goals to cold calling. The first is, of course, the new
sale to boost company revenue. But cold calling can also be used to pull
clients away from competitors. In many businesses where cold calling is used,
winning a client is a long-term process, and that client typically continues to
buy from the company further down the road. A successful cold call will not
just generate a single sale, but will earn customer interest and eventual loyalty
while increasing company market share.

Benefits of Experience
Salespeople often find cold calling difficult, because of the natural stress
involved in seeking out new clients with little preparation. But the result of
practicing cold calls is increased confidence in making sales to people who
were not originally interested. The more confidence, the higher the sales
success rate for the employee.

Networking
Cold-calling experience can also lead to networking gains. This means that
even if a sale fails, a cold call can still set up a point of reference for later
meetings when a sale might go through. A prospective client may be able to
refer someone else more likely to buy even if the original sale is not
successful. Even a failed cold call can be an important first step to reaching
someone else in an organization to make a successful sale. Such networking
can become a powerful asset when a salesperson begins to look for a new job,
because cold-call experience can yield lists of contact names and numbers,
valuable information for which a business may be willing to negotiate a higher
salary. Some businesses specifically ask for cold-call experience for this
reason.

Cold-call Companies
Some companies, such as those that deal with outsourced marketing and
telemarketing, specialize in cold calls. These companies typically have cold-
call scripts and processes based on studies, making it easy for employees
without experience of their own to "borrow" the experience of the business
when dealing with potential clients. Other companies may require that potential
employees have cold-call experience of their own.

References
About the Author

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What Is Cold-calling Experience?

Characteristics of a Good Sales REP

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Characteristics of a Good Sales REP

 happy businessman image by Pavel Losevsky from Fotolia.com

By: Shauntelle Hamlett

Updated September 26, 2017

For every successful entrepreneur, there comes a time when he or she must
consider hiring a sales staff to grow the business. Having a dedicated sales
person or team of sales reps allows you to reach a greater number of potential
customers and close more sales than you can effectively achieve alone.
Choosing the best salespeople from a group of candidates can be difficult.
When making your selection, seek candidates who are empathetic, tenacious,
and dedicated to self-improvement, with an entrepreneur’s mindset. These are
the characteristics shared by top sales reps and indicate the potential for sales
success.

Empathy
Top salespeople are able to strongly empathize with their customers. This
means that they have the ability to listen and connect with their customers'
concerns and situations. A salesperson’s ability to be empathetic allows them
to build rapport with customers. Empathetic sales reps are able to
communicate a sincere understanding of the customer’s concerns and needs.
This enables the customer to trust the salesperson and believe that the
salesperson’s recommendation will truly offer solutions.

Tenacity
Tenacity is defined as the ability to be persistently determined. Top sales reps
do not take “no” personally. Instead, they have a dogged determination to
continue asking for the sale. This does not mean that you should hire a pushy
salesperson whose relentless pursuit aggravates customers. However, top
salespeople understand the sales cycle and the need to continually prime the
pump by developing relationships with customers who are at various stages of
readiness to purchase. This also means that the salesperson will be willing
and able to knock on as many doors as necessary to make the sale without
losing enthusiasm.
Self-Improvement
Top salespeople have a strong desire to learn. They seek out opportunities to
learn more about the products they sell, their customers, and the way to
improve their sales techniques. This dedication to self-improvement also
includes a sense of self-motivation. Top sales reps always strive to improve
their sales for their own personal satisfaction. Although they may enjoy and
appreciate the money and lifestyle achieved through reaching high sales
levels, they have an internal motivation to do better for the challenge of
achieving growth itself.

Entrepreneurial Mindset
Top salespeople have an entrepreneurial mindset. They approach sales as
their business and they are self-motivated to put in the time and effort
necessary to be successful. Top salespeople will show up early to do
paperwork, prepare for meetings, and research potential clients so that they
can use prime business hours to contact customers. They seek and create
efficient systems for managing their time and prioritizing their clients, and they
approach every transaction as though they are personally responsible for their
customer's satisfaction.

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