The Importance of Sales in an Organization

You can build the best product ever made – but without sales, your company will struggle to survive. Sales are a fundamental aspect of any successful business. Sales teams are often rewarded based on performance, and the salesperson is motivated by incentives. Better performance means more revenue for the company as a whole. In a revenue-dependent business model, focus on sales is an absolute necessity.

Striking a balance between development and sales is a challenge for any company. Start out too aggressive with sales, and you may find yourself losing on quality and resources invested in product development. Wait too long before you start selling, however, and revenue suffers – thus hindering your ability to hire and grow. Ultimately, sales will drive growth; planning for that growth will help you structure the the business model.

Sales are tied to revenue, and setting sales goals makes it possible to forecast quarterly performance. It does not guarantee the goals will be met, but offering incentives will motivate employees and drive revenue in the right direction. Many businesses set goals higher than what is needed for survival, to provide some padding in the event that sales fall short of the goals. The goal-oriented environment combined with incentive-based payment structures makes sales a high pressure, high reward job role.

Sales are used to structure growth and scale a business. When the sales department meets goals for a quarter, you can add another team member (or multiple people) and raise the goals accordingly. Having a good idea about the revenue capabilities attached to a single sales member and the level of support staff, account management and product development required to meet the demands of new sales creates a controlled environment. The ability to make informed decisions while managing growth effectively from an organizational standpoint is a major advantage for any business.

Salespeople deal directly with customers, and they hear the demands and pain points associated with their niche and product or service. Feedback on customer desires is valuable for product development teams. Listening to the customer and making adjustments based on common feedback can increase sales while building rapport and customer trust. In some cases, a minor adjustment based on feedback will increase sales rates significantly. Salespeople can also introduce new products and services to their existing pipeline during the validation stages of development.