What is Sales? Definition and How to Become a Salesperson

The definition of sales is both simple and complex, depending on who you ask (and how much time you have). 

The word sales acts like an umbrella, encompassing all of the many activities that are involved in persuading a customer to purchase a product or service in exchange for compensation. In this sense, it’s the term for an exchange of goods for money.

The definition of sales can also include the people responsible for it, and the department as a whole.

At its heart, though, the true sales definition is this: meeting a customer’s needs and providing a solution to their problem.

In this article, we’ll go over absolutely everything you need to know about sales, including what makes it different from marketing, the differences between B2B and B2C sales, how to become a successful salesperson, and more. 

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Here’s what we’ll cover:

• The Definition of Sales
• Sales Terminology
• How Is Sales Different from Customer Success?
• How is Sales Different from Marketing?
• Sales Methodologies & Strategies
• Defining Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales
• Hybrid Selling in Today’s World – Digital vs. In-Person Tactics
• B2B Sales vs. B2C Sales
• Traits of Successful Salespeople
• How Do You Become a Salesperson?
• How Do You Build a Sales Team?
• How to Meet Your Sales Goals
• Leverage Yesware to Boost Your Sales Process
• Sales Definition FAQs

The Definition of Sales

The definition of sales can be hard to pin down, as the term can refer to a number of things.

The word might indicate a field of work: “I work in sales at Coca-Cola.”

It can also refer to a department in an organization: “Pass those leads to sales so we can get the pipeline moving.”

It may also represent the various tasks and activities that salespeople undertake to convince new leads to buy their products. In other words, it stands for the actual act of selling a product: “We need to get sales running more efficiently to hit quota.”

All of these things are synonyms of one another, and certainly well-represented by the word “sales.”

The true definition of sales, though — that is, the stuff that’s at the heart of this profession — is something much deeper than pipelines, sales quotas, and the sale of goods. 

When it comes down to it, successful sales is all about building trusting relationships with potential customers and solving problems for them.

People don’t buy products; they buy solutions to problems. 

It’s also important to note here that sales is a process — a cycle, really — not a finite, one-time activity. 

In sum, a sales transaction — whether it occurs in-person, via an e-commerce platform, or any combination in between — occurs when a sales representative provides new customers with a product that meets their needs, in exchange for a certain amount of money. 

Sales Terminology

Understanding sales terminology is essential for navigating conversations, training new team members, and aligning strategies across your organization. Here are some of the most common terms you will encounter in the world of sales.

• Prospecting – The process of identifying and reaching out to potential customers who may be a good fit for your product or service.
• Lead – A potential customer who has shown interest in your offering but has not yet been qualified.
• Qualified Lead – A lead that meets specific criteria (such as budget, authority, need, and timing) and is likely to become a customer.
• Pipeline – The visual representation of where prospects are in the sales process, from first contact to closed deal.
• Conversion Rate – The percentage of prospects who take a desired action, such as booking a meeting or making a purchase.
• Quota – The sales target assigned to a salesperson or team for a specific period.
• Close – The point in the sales process where a prospect agrees to purchase, finalizing the deal.
• Upselling – Encouraging a customer to purchase a more expensive version of a product or add additional features.
• Cross-selling – Recommending complementary products or services to an existing customer.
• Churn – The percentage of customers who stop doing business with you over a given period.

How Is Sales Different from Customer Success?

Sales and customer success are closely connected, but they serve different purposes within the customer journey.

Sales is focused on acquiring new customers by identifying prospects, understanding their needs, and persuading them to purchase your product or service. The goal is to close deals and drive revenue growth.

Customer success, on the other hand, is about ensuring that customers achieve their desired outcomes after they’ve purchased. This team works to build long-term relationships, help customers get maximum value from the product, and ultimately reduce churn.

In simple terms:

• Sales gets the customer in the door.
• Customer success helps keep them happy—and coming back.

When these two functions work together, they create a seamless experience: sales sets clear expectations during the buying process, and customer success delivers on those promises, turning one-time buyers into loyal advocates.

How Is Sales Different from Marketing?

Many people conflate sales and marketing — in today’s day and age, that’s not an unfair assumption. Sales and marketing departments do collaborate closely in the selling process, and the best sales teams enjoy seamless cooperation from their marketing counterparts.

That being said, sales and marketing are decidedly different departments, each with their own goals, activities, and workflow. 

The marketing department’s primary goal is to develop messaging around the product offering, and communicate the value it provides to the customers.

The sales department is then responsible for using sales strategies to execute on the messaging and complete the transaction. 

Ultimately, sales and marketing exist in a symbiotic relationship with one another along a continuum in the sales process. 

Marketing feeds leads to sales, who are then responsible for closing deals. In turn, marketing is responsible for taking feedback from sales about customer behavior and using it to refine their marketing campaigns. The two departments are co-equal stakeholders in the process. 

Sales Methodologies & Strategies

Having a defined sales methodology provides your team with a consistent framework for moving deals forward. Pairing that methodology with effective sales strategies ensures your approach is both structured and adaptable. The right combination helps shorten sales cycles, improve win rates, and make revenue growth more predictable.

Popular Sales Methodologies

• Consultative Selling – Centers on understanding the buyer’s needs and pain points, then tailoring your solution to fit.
• Solution Selling – Frames your product or service as the direct answer to a specific business challenge.
• Challenger Sale – Guides prospects toward a new way of thinking by introducing insights that reframe their problems.
• Inbound Selling – Prioritizes leads who have already expressed interest through marketing channels or content.
• SPIN Selling – Uses Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-Payoff questions to uncover and develop needs.
• Sandler Selling System – Focuses on mutual qualification before committing to a sales conversation or pitch.

Core Sales Strategies

• Outbound Prospecting – Initiating contact with new leads through cold email, calls, or social outreach.
• Account-Based Selling (ABS) – Creating highly targeted campaigns for high-value accounts.
• Social Selling – Building trust and credibility with prospects on platforms like LinkedIn.
• Value-Based Selling – Highlighting measurable outcomes and ROI rather than just features.
• Multi-Channel Outreach – Engaging prospects across email, phone, and social channels to maximize response rates.

Choosing the Right Approach

Selecting the right sales methodology is not about following trends—it is about aligning your process with the realities of your market, your buyers, and your team’s strengths. The wrong fit can lead to missed opportunities, stalled deals, and frustrated sales reps, while the right fit can shorten sales cycles and increase win rates.

1. The complexity and length of your sales cycle
If your product or service is simple, affordable, and easy to adopt, you may not need a multi-stage, consultative approach. In this case, inbound selling or social selling may be the most efficient way to move prospects quickly from interest to purchase. For more complex, high-ticket offerings that involve multiple stakeholders, methodologies like Challenger or SPIN selling provide the structure needed to guide a longer, more consultative process.

2. Your buyer’s preferred decision-making process
Some buyers want to self-educate before ever talking to a salesperson, which pairs well with inbound strategies. Others prefer a guided approach, where the salesperson acts as a trusted advisor. Understanding your buyer’s journey—how they research, compare, and decide—ensures your methodology meets them on their terms rather than forcing them into your process.

3. Your team’s skills, resources, and industry expertise
A methodology will only work if your team can execute it well. Account-based selling, for example, requires research, personalization, and collaboration across marketing and sales. Challenger selling demands confidence in delivering insights that challenge a prospect’s assumptions. Matching your approach to your team’s capabilities ensures consistency and scalability.

Practical examples:

• Small business with a short sales cycle: May thrive using inbound and social selling, where speed and responsiveness matter most.
• Enterprise sales team: Often succeeds with account-based and challenger approaches, which are better suited for long, complex deals with multiple decision-makers.
• Niche B2B solution provider: Could benefit from consultative or solution selling, positioning themselves as a subject-matter expert who solves specific, high-value problems.

The best sales teams regularly review their methodology’s performance and adjust based on market changes, buyer behavior, and team development. Treat your chosen approach as a living strategy—not a set-it-and-forget-it rulebook.

Emerging Trends in Sales Methodologies

The sales landscape is evolving faster than ever, driven by changes in buyer behavior, technology adoption, and economic pressures. Teams that embrace emerging trends can gain a competitive edge while maintaining the structure of proven methodologies.

Hybrid Selling – Modern buyers expect flexibility in how they engage with sales teams. Hybrid selling blends in-person meetings with digital touchpoints such as video calls, personalized emails, and social media interactions. For example, a rep might begin the relationship with a virtual demo, follow up with an in-person strategy session, and finalize the deal via an online proposal. This approach meets buyers where they are, reduces travel costs, and allows reps to scale their efforts without sacrificing personal connection.

AI-Assisted Selling – Artificial intelligence is no longer just a nice-to-have—it is a game-changer in sales productivity. AI tools can research prospects, surface buying signals, generate personalized email copy, and even forecast deal outcomes with remarkable accuracy. For example, AI-powered CRMs can analyze past deal data to predict which opportunities are most likely to close, enabling reps to focus their time on the highest-value activities.

Data-Driven Targeting – Successful sales teams are making decisions based on data, not gut instinct. By analyzing buyer behavior, engagement patterns, and historical conversion rates, they can prioritize leads with the greatest potential. Data-driven targeting also enables more precise segmentation, ensuring messaging and offers are tailored to each prospect’s industry, role, and stage in the buying journey. For instance, if analytics show that prospects in the healthcare sector respond best to case studies, reps can adjust their outreach to highlight relevant success stories.

These trends are not meant to replace traditional sales methodologies—they are meant to enhance them. By integrating hybrid, AI-assisted, and data-driven approaches into your existing playbook, your team can adapt quickly to changing buyer expectations while maintaining a repeatable, scalable sales process.

Defining Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales

In non-pandemic times, when most of the world isn’t working from home, there are two types of salespeople: inside sales and outside sales.

Inside Sales

Inside sales reps sell their product or service remotely, usually from inside the walls of their company’s headquarters. 

In other words, they stay in one physical location and connect with buyers over the phone, via email, or sometimes at sales meetings in their office.

Inside sales reps usually rely more heavily on automation to complete their sales process, and their work hours are typically more structured than those of outside reps.

Even before the shift to remote work in 2020, inside sales were on the rise.

Now, many sales reps have no choice but to perform an inside sales role. One benefit of this shift has been a huge advance in innovative and powerful sales technology.

Outside Sales

Outside sales reps meet with prospects face-to-face. They usually travel a lot, both to meet individual prospects and network at events like conferences and trade shows. 

Even with the rise in inside sales work, outside sales reps still represent the majority of sales professionals.

The outside sales role — sometimes called field sales — is typically less regimented, with hours more fluid and variable depending on the rep’s travel schedule. 

Hybrid Selling in Today’s World – Digital vs. In-Person Tactics

Hybrid selling has quickly become a defining sales approach for modern teams, blending the relationship-building power of face-to-face interactions with the efficiency and scalability of digital communication. As buyers continue to demand flexibility, the most successful sales organizations are those that can pivot seamlessly between these two worlds—knowing when to go digital, when to show up in person, and how to combine the two for maximum impact.

Why Hybrid Selling Matters Today

The pandemic accelerated the shift to digital sales, and buyers discovered that they could evaluate, compare, and even purchase high-value solutions without ever meeting a salesperson in person. However, many still value personal connection, particularly for complex or high-stakes deals. Hybrid selling bridges this gap by allowing sales professionals to engage customers in the format that best suits the buyer’s preferences, timeline, and buying stage.

Research suggests that modern B2B buyers now prefer a mix of in-person, remote, and self-service interactions. This makes hybrid selling not just a nice-to-have—but a competitive necessity.

The Digital Side of Hybrid Selling

Digital sales tactics allow reps to reach more prospects in less time, provide a frictionless buyer experience, and maintain high levels of engagement across geographic boundaries. Common digital tactics include:

• Video Conferencing – Hosting virtual demos, product walk-throughs, and Q&A sessions without the travel time.
• Personalized Email Campaigns – Using tailored messaging and automation to keep prospects engaged between live conversations.
• Social Selling – Building credibility and relationships through platforms like LinkedIn, sharing thought leadership, and engaging with buyer content.
• Digital Proposals and Contracts – Sending secure, interactive proposals that prospects can review and sign online, speeding up the sales cycle.
• AI-Powered Research – Leveraging AI tools to gather real-time insights about prospects and tailor outreach to their specific needs.

The In-Person Side of Hybrid Selling

While digital channels dominate in terms of speed and convenience, in-person interactions still carry unique advantages. They allow for deeper rapport, stronger trust, and the kind of nuanced conversations that are harder to replicate virtually. In-person tactics include:

• On-Site Meetings – Touring facilities or visiting a client’s office to demonstrate commitment and understanding of their environment.
• Trade Shows and Networking Events – Meeting multiple prospects and partners in concentrated timeframes.
• Product Demonstrations – Allowing prospects to physically interact with a product or see it in a real-world setting.
• Executive Presentations – Bringing senior leadership to the table for strategic discussions that can accelerate decision-making.

Choosing Between Digital and In-Person

The key to hybrid selling success is knowing when each mode works best:

• Use digital in the early stages for prospecting, initial qualification, and lower-value transactions.
• Switch to in-person for complex negotiations, high-value deals, or when building trust is critical to moving forward.
• Blend both by using digital touchpoints to maintain momentum between in-person meetings, ensuring buyers stay engaged.

Best Practices for Hybrid Selling

• Let the Buyer Guide the Format – Ask early in the relationship about their preferred communication style.
• Maintain Consistency Across Channels – Ensure your messaging, tone, and follow-up are consistent whether online or in-person.
• Leverage Data for Timing – Use CRM and analytics tools to determine when an in-person visit could make the biggest impact.
• Train Your Team for Both Environments – Digital selling requires tech fluency, while in-person selling demands strong interpersonal skills.

The Future of Hybrid Selling

As technology continues to evolve, hybrid selling will become even more seamless. Virtual reality product tours, AI-assisted meeting prep, and advanced analytics will allow sales teams to personalize interactions to an unprecedented degree—regardless of location. Those who can master both sides of the hybrid model will be better positioned to win in today’s increasingly buyer-driven marketplace.

B2B Sales vs. B2C Sales

Sales can also be defined by the audience to whom they sell. Some companies sell products or services to other businesses; these are called B2B sales organizations. Others, called B2C companies, sell to individual customers.

B2B

B2B — which stands for business to business — businesses are those that sell their products to other businesses. 

Usually, the B2B sales process is longer, involves more decision-makers, and deals with higher-priced products.

B2B businesses can range in size, and sell to both SMBs and enterprise companies. 

B2C

B2C companies sell “business to customer,” which is a bit of a misnomer — all businesses have customers, not just B2C ones. The defining factor of a B2C company is that it sells directly to individuals, rather than to other businesses. 

B2C products are usually cheaper and require a less-involved sales process to complete a deal.

There are different skill sets, advantages, and disadvantages involved in selling B2B or B2C.

​​Both types of selling require salespeople to be well-versed in their target audience, the industry into which they’re selling, and their own product details. 

Tip: 100 common sales terms explained.

Traits of Successful Salespeople

While sales techniques and tools will change over time, the core traits that define high-performing salespeople remain remarkably consistent. These qualities help reps connect with buyers, navigate challenges, and consistently hit or exceed their targets. The good news? Every one of these traits can be developed with intention, practice, and the right support.

1. Communication Skills

Strong communication goes beyond delivering a polished pitch—it’s about clarity, adaptability, and active listening. Top salespeople tailor their language to match their audience, avoid jargon unless it’s relevant, and ensure that every conversation moves the buyer closer to a decision.

How to develop it: Practice active listening in calls, record and review your sales conversations, and role-play scenarios where you adjust your message for different buyer personas during mock calls.

2. Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Sales is fundamentally about people, not products. Empathetic reps understand a buyer’s challenges, goals, and unspoken concerns. Emotional intelligence allows them to sense when a prospect is hesitant, excited, or ready to move forward—and adjust their approach accordingly.

How to develop it: Ask open-ended questions, paraphrase what you hear to confirm understanding, and study past customer interactions to identify emotional cues.

3. Resilience and Grit

Even the best salespeople hear “no” more often than “yes.” Resilience means bouncing back quickly from rejection and staying focused on the next opportunity. Grit ensures they keep going through slow quarters, complex negotiations, or unexpected changes in a deal.

How to develop it: To maintain a positive sales mindset, set daily activity goals you can control, track progress, and reframe setbacks as learning opportunities.

4. Curiosity and Problem-Solving Ability

The best reps approach every prospect with genuine curiosity, aiming to fully understand their business before recommending a solution. They think like consultants, identifying opportunities the buyer may not have considered.

How to develop it: Research prospects thoroughly before outreach, conduct pre-call planning, practice asking follow-up questions, and brainstorm alternative solutions to common objections.

5. Adaptability

Markets change. Competitors release new products. Buyers shift priorities. Successful salespeople adapt quickly to new information, adjusting their strategy without losing momentum.

How to develop it: Stay up to date on industry trends, embrace sales technology, and regularly review your pipeline to adjust priorities.

6. Goal Orientation and Self-Motivation

Top performers are driven by clear, measurable goals. They take ownership of their success and push themselves to hit targets without waiting for external pressure.

How to develop it: Break down monthly quotas into weekly and daily targets, track results in your CRM, and celebrate small wins to stay motivated.

7. Product and Industry Knowledge

Credibility matters in sales. Buyers want to know you understand not only your product’s features but also how it solves their specific problems within their industry.

How to develop it: Dedicate time each week to product training, attend industry events, and follow competitors to understand the full market landscape.

8. Time Management and Organization

The most successful salespeople manage their time like a valuable asset. They focus on high-priority opportunities, avoid distractions, and use systems to ensure no lead slips through the cracks.

How to develop it: Use CRM tools to track follow-ups, block time for prospecting and calls, and regularly review your pipeline to prioritize deals.

How to Develop These Traits Over Time

• Role-play regularly to sharpen communication and adaptability.
• Shadow top performers to see how they navigate complex situations.
• Invest in continuous learning through sales books, webinars, and training programs.
• Ask for feedback from managers, peers, and even prospects to identify improvement areas.

By focusing on these traits, salespeople not only improve their individual performance but also contribute to a stronger, more adaptable sales team. In a competitive market, these qualities can be the deciding factor between hitting quota and falling short.

How Do You Become a Salesperson?

One of the things that makes a position in sales so attractive to many is that it doesn’t always require a ton of experience to get started in the field. 

Although the specifics will vary from company to company, not all sales positions require a college degree. An associate’s or bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, psychology, or consumer behavior may be helpful in onboarding or climbing the ranks more quickly, but are not necessarily required for hiring.

Regardless of your level of formal education, almost all sales positions will require on-the-job training. This may include product training or personal or professional development workshops. The sales training you receive will be unique to the company at which you’re hired. 

There are a small handful of trainings that are more universally recognized and may give you a slight advantage in a crowded job market. You could, for example, earn the title of Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP) through the National Association of Sales Professionals. There’s also a similar certification for inside sales: Certified Inside Sales Professional, offered by the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals. 

Even more important than training and certifications are the personal and professional characteristics that salespeople bring with them to their jobs.

The best salespeople have a variety of background knowledge and training, but generally have a few key characteristics in common:

• Integrity
• Self-motivation
• Desire to grow
• Extroverted temperament
• Persistent and determined
• Excellent communication skills via phone, email, and face-to-face conversations

The steps to earning your first sales job are relatively straightforward, so long as you’re willing to start with an entry-level position. 

1. Earn Your Diploma

Almost all sales positions will require at least a high school diploma, so make sure your credentials are in order before you start job-hunting. Many positions will also accept a GED in lieu of an official diploma.

2. Find an Entry-Level Position

Scour LinkedIn and other job-posting boards to find an entry-level position that you feel confident you could competently handle. Keep your expectations in check at this stage; almost every single sales rep, no matter how successful they are today, started their career at the entry-level and worked their way up. 

3. Complete On-The-Job Training

It’s highly likely that, once you’re hired, your employer will offer required and/or optional on-the-job training. Take advantage of as many of these as you can; these will bolster your resume.

If you have the option, try to opt into classes that focus on selling in general, or generalized skills that will carry over to any sales position in any field. Skills like negotiation, customer relationships, and time management will all come in handy no matter what position you land, so gather as many training hours under these umbrellas as you can.

4. Add Experience to Your Resume

As you earn more training, certification, and responsibility in your current role, be sure to update your resume. You should be starting to orient yourself toward the next step in the sales career ladder. Build your resume for the job you want, not the job you currently have.

5. Research Desired Industries

After a few months in your entry-level position, you may begin to realize that the particular industry in which you started your entry-level work is not the right fit for you. That’s okay. 

Now is the time to start thinking about and researching the field in which you’d like to end up. Ideally, whatever generalized sales skills you learn within your entry-level position will transfer over when you change jobs. 

6. Specialize and Optimize Industry-Related Skills

Once you’ve nailed down the industry in which you’d like to work long-term, you can start adding field-specific training and certifications to your resume. You may have to complete some of these off-work hours, so be particular about which you pursue. 

7. Update Your Resume and Climb the Ladder

When you feel that you’ve added enough experience and applicable training, you can start job-seeking for a vertical and/or horizontal role change. If you’re switching to an entirely new industry, you may want to prepare to take another similarly entry-level position while you work the new field.

Salespeople who have advanced beyond the entry-level tier can expect to eventually earn an average base salary of about $64,500.

Ultimately, your compensation will be highly unique to your current company and what they’ve chosen as their compensation plan. Different companies will leverage commission in different ways, so make sure you’re familiar enough with the compensation offering that you can comfortably get by on the base salary alone. 

How Do You Build a Sales Team?

For sales teams looking to expand and scale, building a sales team is an art and a science. Here are a few tips for bringing intentionality to the process.

Find Your Structure

There are three main types of sales team structures: the island, the assembly line, and the pod.

The island has sales reps working individually to nurture leads.

The assembly line asks reps to specialize in one part of the sales process and work with a variety of leads during only that stage. 

The pod model groups your salesforce into smaller teams, with each team broken down by role.

Each model has pros and cons, so be sure to consider which would work best for your team. Check out our post on sales team structures to learn more.

Hire in Pairs

It’s best practice to hire new sales team members in pairs or groups. This will help sales managers have a built-in anchor or point of reference by which to measure progress and success. 

The intention here isn’t to pit your new hires against one another, so avoid making this a competition. You simply want to be able to notice strengths and weaknesses among the team from a holistic point of view. 

Use a Hiring Matrix

Mark Roberge, Hubspot’s first-ever salesperson and the man responsible for creating the process that has made the team what it is today, suggests using a hiring matrix for all new employees. 

Notice that the top attributes Roberge sought in this particular matrix are not directly related to sales. Instead, Roberge suggests that hiring managers hire candidates who demonstrate strong work ethic and coachability. 

Develop a Great Onboarding Process

In order for your sales reps to ramp up quickly, you need a stellar onboarding process.

Be sure to design an onboarding program that is comprehensive and thorough. You’ll waste more time having to fill in knowledge and training gaps later down the line than if you take the extra time up front to ensure your employees are well-equipped to get the ball rolling.

Fire as Quickly as You Hire

It can be hard to let go of a new hire that you hoped would work out. Ample time, financial, and energy resources go into hiring new team members. 

The truth is that it’s far more expensive to retain a bad-fit hire than it is to fire them as quickly as you’re aware something isn’t working. This is one instance where it’s okay to go with your gut; if you suspect a new hire isn’t fitting in, let them go sooner than later. 

Start Building Your Tech Stack Alongside Your Team

Any growing sales team will need a suite of tech tools to support their sales activities. Be mindful to build your tech stack alongside your team. 

Look for tech tools that will help your sellers automate tasks that don’t directly help reps close deals. Check out our free ebook here for more detailed information about how and when to build your tech stack.

The Optimal Technology Stack for B2B Sales TeamsUsing data from the most successful business-scaling models, we designed a blueprint for the exact technology your business needs at each phase of growth.

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Build a Framework for Coaching

As soon as possible, sales managers should design a coaching program and schedule. Be mindful here — coaching is not the same thing as training.

 

Sales coaching takes a bit more effort and planning than training does, but it’s well worth it: most high-performing sales teams have managers that spend at least 20% of their time coaching.​​  Coaching requires regular one-on-one meetings with your sales reps, so be sure to carve out enough time to meet this need for everyone on your team.

How to Meet Your Sales Goals

Mindset work and other soft skills are certainly important, but metrics matter, too. It’s important to make sure that you meet your sales goals along the way. 

Here are three key ways to keep your eyes on the prize as you work to exceed your sales goals. 

SMART Goals

Many people struggle with goal-setting. That’s because they often don’t realize that the process of setting goals is as important as the goals themselves.

Practice setting effective goals using a SMART framework.

The SMART goal framework will help break your goals down into small, measurable subgoals, making them more achievable and easier to troubleshoot if something goes awry. 

Practice Better Time Management

Salespeople spend only about one-third of their day on revenue-generating sales activities. 

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that these expectations placed on salespeople will let up any time soon. That’s why it’s so important that salespeople stay on top of their time management. Automate anything and everything you can, and create self-managed systems for everything else.

Focus On Your Value Offering

In order for salespeople to meet their goals, sales and marketing need to align to develop a strong value offering.

Remember, buyers don’t buy products — they buy solutions to their product. The better you can position your offering as the best solution to their problem, the more likely you are to close deals.

Leverage Yesware to Boost Your Sales Process

A great sales process is only as effective as the tools that support it. Yesware is designed to help sales professionals streamline every stage of their workflow—from finding the right prospects to closing deals faster—without switching between multiple platforms. Here’s how Yesware fits into each core sales activity.

Prospecting

Finding the right people to contact is the first step in building a healthy pipeline. With Yesware, you can:

• Access prospecting templates that can be customized for different industries or personas.
• Use email tracking to see when and how prospects engage with your messages, helping you prioritize follow-up.
• Integrate with LinkedIn Sales Navigator to quickly import contact information into your outreach sequences.

Outreach and Engagement

Once you’ve identified your targets, consistent and personalized outreach is key. Yesware helps by:

• Automating personalized email campaigns through multi-touch sequences.
• Tracking opens, clicks, and replies in real time so you know exactly when a prospect is engaged.
• Using template and campaign analytics to see which messages perform best, then optimize accordingly.

Discovery and Qualification

During the discovery phase, you need to gather the right information to qualify leads. Yesware supports this by:

• Allowing you to send meeting links directly in your outreach, making it easy for prospects to schedule calls.
• Tracking document opens so you know if and when a prospect has reviewed a proposal, deck, or case study.
• Providing instant feedback on which materials capture attention, helping you refine your discovery approach.

Nurturing Relationships

Not every prospect is ready to buy right away. Yesware enables you to stay top of mind without overwhelming them:

• Set up automated follow-up reminders so no opportunity slips through the cracks.
• Use personalization tokens to keep emails relevant while scaling your outreach.
• Review historical engagement data to re-engage warm leads at the right time.

Negotiating and Closing

When it’s time to close the deal, speed and clarity matter:

• Track contract or proposal engagement so you can follow up at the perfect moment.
• Share updated documents instantly and confirm they’ve been reviewed.
• Use data from the entire sales cycle to anticipate objections and tailor your final pitch.

Continuous Improvement

Sales doesn’t end at closing—the best teams refine their process constantly. Yesware’s analytics and reporting help you:

• See which messaging, timing, and channels deliver the best results.
• Identify bottlenecks in the sales cycle and take action to improve them.
• Share performance data with your team to align on best practices.

By embedding Yesware into your daily workflow, you eliminate guesswork, shorten sales cycles, and give yourself a competitive edge at every stage of the process. Whether you’re prospecting for new leads or finalizing a contract, Yesware ensures you have the insights and tools to move deals forward faster.

Sign up today to try Yesware for free.

Sales Definition FAQs

1. What is the definition of sales?

Sales is the process of persuading a potential customer to purchase a product or service in exchange for payment. It includes prospecting, engaging, presenting solutions, and closing deals to generate revenue and build lasting business relationships.

2. How does the sales process work?

The sales process generally follows a series of steps: prospecting, outreach, qualification, presenting solutions, handling objections, closing, and following up. Each stage moves a potential buyer closer to making a purchase decision.

3. What are the main types of sales?

Common types include business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C), inside sales, outside sales, and consultative sales. The right type depends on your target audience, sales cycle, and the complexity of your product or service.

4. How can Yesware help me improve my sales process?

Yesware streamlines your workflow with tools for prospecting, email tracking, meeting scheduling, and analytics. It integrates directly with Gmail and Outlook, helping you engage prospects, follow up on time, and close deals faster.

5. What’s the difference between sales and marketing?

Marketing generates awareness and interest in your offerings, while sales focuses on converting that interest into paying customers. The two functions work together to attract, nurture, and win new business.

6. Why is having a clear sales definition important?

A clear sales definition ensures your team understands its goals, methods, and success metrics. It creates alignment across the organization, improving efficiency and customer experience from first contact to post-sale support.

7. How can Yesware help with prospecting?

Yesware enables sales teams to send targeted outreach, track engagement, and automate follow-ups. Its analytics show which messages perform best so you can focus on the prospects most likely to convert.

8. What skills do successful salespeople have?

Effective salespeople excel in communication, empathy, problem-solving, resilience, and adaptability. They also have strong product knowledge and are skilled at managing time, building relationships, and following a structured sales process.

9. How does technology change the sales definition today?

Technology has expanded sales beyond traditional face-to-face interactions. AI, CRM tools, and automation help sales teams personalize outreach, track engagement, and make data-driven decisions that improve win rates.

10. Can small businesses benefit from a defined sales process?

Yes. A defined process helps small businesses stay organized, nurture leads, and close deals more effectively. Tools like Yesware make it easier to manage every stage without adding extra overhead.

11. What’s the difference between inside and outside sales?

Inside sales happen remotely via phone, email, or video calls, while outside sales involve meeting prospects in person. Many businesses use a hybrid model to balance efficiency with personal connection.

12. How does Yesware support remote sales teams?

Yesware equips remote teams with email tracking, scheduling links, and multi-touch campaigns to maintain consistent communication. It also provides engagement insights, so reps know when to reach out and what to say.

13. What is consultative selling?

Consultative selling focuses on understanding the customer’s needs through active listening and tailored recommendations. It positions the salesperson as a trusted advisor rather than just a product promoter.

14. How can Yesware help with follow-up?

Yesware automates follow-up reminders and sequences, ensuring no lead slips through the cracks. Reps can personalize each touch while scaling their outreach to dozens of prospects at once.

15. How do you measure sales success?

Common metrics include total revenue, conversion rate, sales cycle length, average deal size, and customer retention. Monitoring these KPIs helps teams refine strategies and improve performance over time.

16. What is value-based selling?

Value-based selling focuses on quantifying and communicating the specific benefits a product or service will bring to the buyer, such as cost savings, revenue growth, or operational efficiency.

17. Can Yesware help with multi-channel outreach?

Yes. Yesware allows you to run coordinated campaigns across email and phone, track responses, and integrate with LinkedIn for social selling—all from one platform.

18. Why is follow-up important in sales?

Follow-up builds trust, reinforces your value proposition, and keeps prospects engaged until they’re ready to buy. Many deals are won simply because the salesperson stayed persistent.

19. What’s the role of a sales pipeline?

A sales pipeline visually tracks where prospects are in the buying process, from first contact to close. It helps teams prioritize efforts and forecast future revenue more accurately.

20. How can Yesware help close more deals?

Yesware provides real-time engagement data, automated reminders, and integrated scheduling, so you can respond to buyer interest at the right time and keep deals moving toward a successful close.

This article was originally published in October 2021 and was updated in August 2025 to include the latest information and insights.