Sales Types: Definitions and Methodologies

So, what are the main types of sales today? How do sales work? What types of sales are used by successful businesses? What should you know regarding the types of sales?

Types of sales: main ones

So, there are four general types of sales.

B2B sales (Business-to-Business)

B2B types of sales mean that one business provides goods and services to another business - no matter the sales lead types. B2B sales are much more discussed in the business world due to a few reasons: first of all, business-to-business sales mean bigger revenue for sellers, and secondly, such sales are more likely to lead to long-term relationships between two parties than in the case of B2C sales - we will define them a bit later.

B2B sales in today’s world are mostly about supply sales and services sales - these two types of sales keep the business world running. There is also another type of sales regarding B2B - distribution sales, where between the prior seller and final buyer is another party - distributor - who gains revenue on reselling the product. This is the one of most popular types of sales in some industries, for instance, in the case of car sales, where you can’t order a car from the manufacturer directly in most cases - only through the third party, car dealership.

Nonetheless, more and more types of sales in the B2B industry are about services sales - when one business purchases services from another. It is often about SaaS sales, so each time you buy a CRM system subscription, call center software, help desk systems, and whatever else, you are a party in services sales. Supply types of sales mean sales of those goods and production materials without which the company that is purchasing can’t run its business. For instance, sugar manufacturer purchases sugar cane from farmers or supplier.

B2C sales (business-to-customer)

When we are talking about types of sales, this is the sell type you accomplish on a daily basis. Each time you go to a grocery store and buy something there, it is a B2C sale. Such sales are performed every day, and they can also be different. Both manufacturer of a product and the distributor can be the sellers of a product, but in most cases, the seller is a kind of distributor. In the above-mentioned case of a grocery store, the store itself doesn’t produce anything of its assortment, without some rare exclusions.

B2C sales are also easier to accomplish than B2B sales. These types of sales are absolutely different when it comes to the sales process itself. In B2B sales types, it often takes a few appointments to agree on the final deal conditions. B2B sales are all about negotiations between two parties because these types of sales are vital for both parties concerning all the details - logistics, price, service conditions, quality of the goods, legal issues concerning signing up the final agreement, and so on. As B2B buyers pay much more than B2C buyers, they also pay much closer attention to all aspects of the purchase process, as well as the good or service they are buying is essential for their business continuity.

B2C sales are about the “choose-pay-get” model, and the most difficult part concerning the B2C sales process is, maybe, the purchase confirmation process and delivery. Nonetheless, even B2C sellers spend thousands of dollars on marketing monthly to increase their sales rates.

Enterprise sales (account-based sales)

One of the B2B sales types, enterprise sales are called so because the target audience consists of large businesses only. This one of the B2B sales types is about the highest revenue possible and the biggest bills, but the biggest challenges too, though. It is one of the most complex sales types that ever existed because large enterprises have a very difficult internal structure with numerous decision-makers on every level, which means you have to pass through all of them, which is not only difficult but sometimes you can even face situations where some decision-makers are sympathetic with you, and others are not. This is only one of the challenges you are going to face during the enterprise sales process, but still not the last - complicated requirements to legal compliance, internal bureaucracy, and lengthy operations large businesses are so in love with.

Nonetheless, it sometimes is worth the trouble to work with such types of sales leads. The stakes are high as never, and you can hit the jackpot with only one deal closed.

In most cases, large enterprises don’t purchase products alone - they purchase ready-made, turnkey structures with all needed systems, staff, tools, legal services, and so on. This is also a very essential part of the story because large enterprises never accept short-term business relations.

Direct sales

Direct sales can be both one of the B2B sales types on rare occasions, but in most cases, it is all about one of the B2C sales types. It is a type of sale when the manufacturer of the product sells it directly to the purchaser.

There are two types of sales regarding direct sales. In the first matter, the parent business provides a seller - who is its subordinate department, in most cases - with goods and the seller sells them to final purchasers.

In the second matter, the manufacturer sells products on its own, and sometimes even signs up contracts with buyers so they become resellers, or direct sellers in this case.

Surely, these four sales types aren’t the only ones in the world. As we have already seen, the types of sales methodology, as well as the kinds of sales it includes, differ from one sales expert to another sales expert and depend only on the imagination of those who create those methodologies. Nevertheless, there are some generally accepted sales types used in most popular methodologies, and we are going to describe them briefly.

SaaS sales - these sales types are about selling a software tool, in most cases, as B2B sales as there are not too many people to purchase business tools for personal use, are there? By the way, the SaaS sales market is so fast-growing and influential that it became a separate world of sales, because of its own specific peculiarities. First of all, the software is mostly sold based on the subscription model, and rarely as an inbox, or on-premise solution. It is also difficult to sell software because it is the most complicated product ever and buyers rarely understand how it works and how to use it completely.

Social sales - these B2C sales types are about sales that are completed on social media. Selling through Instagram, Facebook, and even Telegram isn’t something that is impossible today, and these sales channels are gaining traction from year to year. Social sales are rarely about big revenue, but they are beneficial for small businesses and midsize companies to get additional sales channels that can cover a new target audience.

Insight sales - these sales types work as customer service personalization works. It is a solo performance of a salesman who processes the lead, and such sales in business almost always relate to high-net-worth customers or special clients. Why are these sales types called “insight sales”? Well, at least because before the sales process in this case, salesmen spend much time researching a client, his personal preferences, and needs to make an offer a client will never be able to refuse.

Solutions sales - these sales business uses when there is an exact problem potential clients are experiencing which can be solved by the seller. It refers to all the sales types, it is more about the nature of the customer issues than about sales methodology.

Collaboration sales - these sales types are used when two companies collaborate to sell one product or service. Such sales types are used mostly when two high-net-worth and popular firms collaborate with each other, but smaller businesses can also experiment with such sales.

Provocative sales - these sales types are used when a business loves some risk and tries to catch customer attention with provocative sales pitches, trying to play “you would not dare” with clients. The best example - offering a big piece of food in a restaurant that will be free if a client will be able to eat it all in time.

Inside sales - so-called remote sales, virtual sales, or online sales (not all inside sales are online sales, but most are). To put it simply, you can communicate with salesmen only through remote communication channels, like phone calls, emails, or text messages. SO, salesmen are left “inside”, and that’s why these sales types are called so.

Outside sales - these sales types refer us to the sales process where salesmen attend live meetings with potential customers in their environment. Thus, such sales types are more about more valuable purchases and costly offers, as well as all the process is a kind of “premium”, as sales leads get their personal advisors and salespeople who service them personally.

Consulting sales - these sales types are about selling consultative services to buyers, no matter the industry and the value of the contract. For example, an attorney’s service is some kind of consultative sales.

Best sales practices for all sales types

To make the process of selling easier and achieve better results, business uses different types of sales approaches. They not only add guidance and structure to the sales process, but also enable sales representatives to do their job more effectively and efficiently.

Therefore, it is vitally important for every business to find such types of sales techniques (based on its market, products, different types of sales leads (cold, warm, hot), industry position, etc.) that will work best for its unique selling environment. So, let’s review the most successful sales techniques that help sales representatives to adopt the more structured approach and focus on the right steps for closing more deals.

1. SPIN selling. This type of sales is based on the insightful questions which should be asked to identify customer’s pain points and challenges and build a stronger relationship between a buyer and a seller. It stands for:

• Situation. The aim of this stage is to understand prospect’s industry, company size, current pain points, etc. Once sales reps understand customer’s current situation, they will have a far better idea of the scope of their problem.
• Problem. At this stage salesperson should bring the prospect into an awareness that there is a problem that should be solved. By asking questions about the issues, reps will gently but, at the same time, firmly drive the sales forward.
• Implication. Challenge a customer by asking about the consequences and possible negative outcomes of leaving the problem unsolved.
• Need-payoff. Try to find out what prospect’s hopes to achieve and then prompt them to consider how the situation could change if the issues were solved.

Thus, instead of telling the prospect why they need to purchase a product or service, the goal of SPIN selling is to guide them to this realization on their own.

2. MEDDIC. This type of sales strategies gives the possibility for sales reps to focus on obtaining useful information in order to qualify and secure the deal.

• Metrics. Sales reps should understand what the economic impact of the solution is on the prospect’s business.
• Economic buyer. Get to know who has responsibility and control the appropriate budget.
• Decision criteria. Discover what criteria the prospect uses to make a decision.
• Decision process. Understand what process the customer typically follows to make a decision.
• Identifying pain. Find out what is the trigger event, financial consequences of the issue and why the prospect needs the product or solution.
• Champion. Find a person in customer’s organization willing to advocate for your solution.

This approach gives a clear understanding of each stage of the deals and how to create a detailed closing plan.

3. Challenger sale. This concept is based on one type of sales representatives - a challenger, who is considered to be the most successful and effective by far. Such sales reps “challenge” their clients rather than simply pointing to their needs and offering a solution. They “teach” prospect how to avoid pitfalls within their industry, “tailor” their conversation to each decision maker they talk to and “assert control” over the sales and not being afraid to push back on clients to achieve their goals. This type of sale has proven to be quite a successful strategy and is very popular among highly technical companies (e.g., software companies) with large sales forces.

Every business needs a sales methodology that best represents its product, market, values and goals. However, just implementing a certain methodology will not bring you desirable results and success. Therefore, each of the above-mentioned strategies requires sufficient training. By combining a constant improvement of professional skills and knowing which steps to take at certain stage of pipeline, sale representatives will undoubtedly close more deals and increase company’s revenue.

Types of sales positions

Business Development Manager

Business Development Manager is the man who drives sales performance forward, mentors the sales professionals, and performs lead generation. BDMs are always involved in all tasks regarding marketing, such as the development of successful sales strategies, marketing campaigns, closing sales jobs with proper sales associates, planning the work of the entire sales department, researching the target market, providing personal assistance to special individual customers, and so on.

Account Manager

The account manager is the sales role that is absolutely responsible for current customers, a kind of bridge between the brand and individual consumers. The account manager is not only responsible for providing personalized service to existing customers but also for transforming current relations and bringing them to another level of trust, which also means closer cooperation and added customer value.

Sales Manager

Sales managers are the men who are team leads for sales representatives. No matter whether it is field sale, social selling, consultative sales, or whatever else, sales managers lead the sales reps, measure their performance, bring a team together, and build healthy relations inside the team. Sales managers are also responsible fro their team performance, so they often decide how to do training and skills-gaining programs for reps.

Sales Representative

The sales representative is a sales agent who directly communicates with potential customers, overcomes objections and convinces customers to make a final decision to accept an offer. In most cases, the work of sales representatives is the bigger part of the work of the entire sales department, because they are those who talk to prospects directly. Nonetheless, sales reps can't create strategic plans and they are guided by higher management.