What Are the Duties of a Sales Department?

The sales department of any corporation or business is the catalyst of how well the products are introduced into the marketplace. A business cannot last long without sales of its goods and services. This makes the sales department the most important part of supply and demand of a product. Because of this, the sales department has several duties and responsibilities within the company.

Client Identification

• It is the responsibility of the sales department to identify the client base of a company. The sales department will work closely with the marketing department to ensure the company's products or services are marketed and sold to target consumers. For example, it is important that a sales department for a hotel chain calls on corporations that require their employees to travel a lot. Toy makers should target sales to toy stores and medical supply companies should have their sales department call on hospitals and health care facilities.

Communications Duties

• The sales department will work closely with the marketing department to identify the client base, but the sales department also has to work closely with the manufacturing department and production scheduler. This working relationship ensures that the products are placed on the production schedule and a timeline for the delivery of the product is accounted for in order to notify the customer. The sales department manager will periodically check the production schedule in order to maintain a line of communications with the salesperson in charge of the order. If there are difficulties on the production floor, the sales department is responsible for notifying the customer before the date of delivery has passed.

Develop New Business

• Once a client base has been identified by the sales department and the sales have begun to come to fruition, then the sales department must develop new customers. For example, once a medical supply company has made a foundation and begins selling to hospitals and health care facilities, it is the duty of the department to target a new base of customers, such as medical research facilities or medical laboratories. This new business development will help to increase sales and make the company grow.

Value Creation of Product

• The sales department must create value for the products they are selling to customers in order to grow the sales of the product. This value creation will also retain existing customers if the products continue to improve and work proficiently for the clients. This can be done by distinguishing the product from other companies. People see this in drug suppliers when they advertise a similar product as another drug supplier but put a new and improved branding on their products. Customers want to feel as though the sales department is treating them better than another company's sales department and that the product is more valuable. The sales department has this value creation duty.
  

By Horacio Garcia

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