Definition
Sales—or sales revenue—equals the dollar amount a company makes during the period under review.
Gross sales are the sum of all sales during a time period.
Sales volume equals the number of units a business sells during a given period, such as a year or fiscal quarter.
The concepts of sales and sales volume interconnect because total sales equal sales volume multiplied by the unit price. For example, if a company sold 1 million units of a product at $2 apiece, the corporate sales volume would be 1 million, yielding periodic sales of $2 million (1 million multiplied by $2). [1]
Break-even point is the sales volume at which total revenues are equal to total costs. [2]
After market involves potential future sales generated by owners of equipment for repair and replacement parts. [2]
An approval sale is a sale subject to later approval or selection, the customer having unlimited return privileges. [2]
Coefficient of income sensitivity is the average percentage that sales of a product vary over a period of time, relative to a one-percent change in personal disposable income (current income less all taxes and money spent for the purchase of necessities).
Pipeline sales are sales that are required to supply retail and wholesale channels with sufficient inventory to make a good available for sale.
In sales, a quote or quotation is a promise from a potential supplier stating the supplier’s willingness to supply and deliver the item(s) required (by a potential buyer) within a certain period of time at a certain price. It is a response to a buyer’s request for quotation. [2]
A sales contest is a short-term incentive program designed to motivate sales personnel to accomplish specific sales objectives. In general, sales contests are used by firms to stimulate extra effort for obtaining new customers, promoting the sales of specific items, generating larger orders per sales call, etc. Although contests should not be considered part of the firm’s ongoing compensation plan, they do offer salespeople the opportunity to gain financial (e.g., cash, merchandise, or travel) as well as non-financial rewards (recognition and sense of accomplishment). [2]
A take transaction refers to the sale of goods that are turned over to the customer immediately upon closing the sale rather than delivered. [2]
Value in exchange is the amount of money or goods actually paid for a product.
Selling Techniques
Adaptive selling is an approach to personal selling in which selling behaviors are altered during the sales interaction or across customer interactions, based on information about the nature of the selling situation. [2]
Backdoor selling is defined as: [2]
- Sales to ultimate consumers by wholesalers who hold themselves out to be sellers only to retailers.
- A salesperson’s practice of avoiding a purchasing agent by visiting departments in plants to obtain orders without authorization from the purchasing agent.
Need satisfaction selling is a type of customized sales presentation in which the salesperson first identifies the prospective customer‘s needs and then tries to offer a solution that satisfies those needs.
Team selling refers to the practice of involving a group of people familiar with the viewpoints and concerns of a customer’s key decision makers to sell and service a major account. This is especially prevalent in the sale of complex industrial products, where a particular salesperson cannot be an expert on all aspects of the purchase process.
References
- Codjia, Marquis. Difference Between the Sales & Sales Volume. Houston Chronicle.
- American Marketing Association, AMA Dictionary