People who work in sales are in charge of increasing a company’s market share. Salespeople go out of their way to find new customers, and they use marketing tools and advertising to promote specific products and services. Some sales jobs require salespeople to interact with customers face to face in retail stores or make sales calls to people’s homes or business clients’ offices. Many salespeople work remotely, soliciting new business over the phone, through the mail, or through the Internet.
Retail salespeople are frequently trained to talk about specific products or to inform customers about specific departments of a store. These workers are usually paid a base salary, but they can also earn commissions based on sales. Individual customer interactions of salespeople are tracked in some stores, and bonuses are paid for each product sold by the salesperson. Department sales managers supervise salespeople and are compensated with a base salary plus bonuses based on the department’s total sales for the month, quarter, or year.
Many people work in sales for financial companies, and these people must actively market insurance products, loans, and other financial services. Although the majority of salespeople work in offices, many are required to make tele-consulting sales calls. Financial salespeople make door-to-door sales calls in neighborhoods and at small businesses in some markets. Many other types of businesses hire salespeople to go door-to-door and sell a variety of products and services, from food deliveries to security system installations. The majority of these salespeople do not receive a base salary and rely solely on commissions.
Prospective clients are contacted by telephone sales clerks. Consumers and businesses are both targeted by these salespeople. Many countries’ laws allow consumers to opt out of telemarketing sales calls by registering with “do not call” lists. By cross-referencing their sales leads with do not call lists, telephone salespeople can ensure that they do not call people who are on these registries. Telephone salespeople typically earn a low base salary and make most of their money by selling products over the phone.
Many people work in sales for online retailers and service providers. These employees create web-advertising campaigns that target potential customers based on their interests and location. Internet based sales people do not usually have any direct interaction with clients, and mostly rely on developing successful marketing strategies to generate sales. The majority of Internet salespeople are paid a salary, but they can also earn commissions based on sales volume.