Types of Sales Roles

Lead Generation

Lead generation is the process of gaining the interest of potential customers in order to increase future sales. It is a crucial part of the sales process of many companies.
A lead is anyone who has shown interest in a company’s products or services but may not yet be qualified to buy. They are potential customers with whom a company has not yet done business, but who have given reason to believe they may want to in the future.

Internal Sales

Internal sales is a business model where products are purchased directly from the company. The model excludes vendors, allowing the company to retain more of the total profits from each sale.

The company controls and manages the sales process, pricing, customer service, and customer relationships.

Account Management

Account management is the practice of nurturing and mediating a company’s client relationships. Account management is the responsibility of the account manager and the account executive. These professionals typically have two objectives: to retain loyal clients and to grow the company by connecting with new customers.

An account manager’s day centres around finding out their clients’ needs and determining how the company can fill those needs. An account executive is usually tasked with seeking out new clients, converting leads into customers and laying the foundation for long-term relationships.

Business Development

Business development is a more long-term project. This department works on strategic partnerships and new products that may take a year or more to come to fruition. The time required to generate revenue from those efforts might be even longer.

Business development contributes to the long-term future of the company rather than the day-to-day operation.