What is Traditional Sales?
The term traditional sales refers to the selling of products or services to customers through a variety of different channels. Around 25 years ago traditional sales accounted for the majority of sales jobs in the market. The most common roles within traditional sales are sales managers or sales executives who operate either face to face or by phone. Traditional sales roles can be found in the business to consumer or the business to business sector.
The digital age has meant that the sales process has become more complex. One of the outcomes of this has been the creation of more varied & defined sales roles within the industry. These include inside sales, customer success and many roles to measure and operate more strategically. However, many sectors are still looking to recruit salespeople with a strong background in traditional sales.
Traditional sales roles tend to be more all-encompassing and usually have the responsibility of the whole sales process, from cradle to grave. These roles tend to be required in smaller businesses or divisions of larger companies selling less complex products with short sales cycles, enabling one person to own the process from initial contact to closing the deal.
High value sales
When high value products such as machinery or software are being sold, often larger sales teams or specialist sales roles are required. These roles typically have more specialist job titles such as Technical Sales Manager or Field Sales Executive. Sales executives could still be selling other high value items such as cars and houses. And likewise in some industries, more specialist roles can sell lower value items. It’s not an exclusive definition, but a more generalised understanding and observation.
Whilst the nature of different roles within sales are inherently similar, the duties vary with seniority. Junior level roles will support more senior colleagues and sales managers will focus on the management of the team, handling larger accounts and enquires. Directors will usually have responsibility for strategy in addition to their day to day, hands-on tasks.
Recruiting for Traditional Sales
Recruitment for traditional sales is one of our core areas of expertise. We understand that often candidates which are motivated by money achieve good results in traditional sales roles. Whilst they may not have an academic background, they will have good verbal and written communication skills. Having customer service skills is often an advantage for candidates in this field.
These roles are generally filled purely on a candidate’s personality, attitude, and evidenced previous sales performance. We typically fill these roles through pro-active methods as the best sales staff are rarely in the market very long. So, if you are looking for a sales recruitment agency that understands what will attract the very best sales executives and managers to your business, then give us a call for a confidential discussion.