Individual Sales Flowchart Activities Analysis - Essay Example

?Selling is loosely defined as a process where something is given in exchange of money (Cloete, 2001). Sales can be conducted between different typesof groups such as business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C), business to government (B2G), government to consumer (G2C) as well as consumer to consumer (C2C).however, this paper will mainly focus on B2B and B2C. The paper starts by discussing the sales activities for business to business. This will be followed by a section which attempts to draw a comparison of how business to business sales differ from business to consumer sales. A summary of the main points discussed will be drawn at the end of the paper. Business to business sales mainly involves sales between two different organizations and there are different strategies such as online marketing that can be used during the current period (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). There are various selling activities that are involved in business to business sales process as shown in the flow-chart below. Info negotiate info money info Info influence info goods info Figure 1 A model for e-commerce: B2B Source: Cloete, E 2004, E-Commerce: A contemporary view, Pardus Publication, CT. As shown in the diagram above, there is a seller and a buyer and there are different process involved when they try to exchange goods or services for money. The selling activities of the seller are shown on top of the diagram. The first activity is related to arrangment of information. The seller ought to arrange the information such that they are fully aware of what their intentions are and how they will execute the. The seller needs to find information about the customer. The second activity that is involved in B2B is related to finding the customer. The seller has an obligation of finding the customer so that they can negotiate if a sales deal can be reached. Before a sales deal is conducted between two businesses, negotiation takes place. The seller approaches the buyer and they try to influence them to buy the goods or services offered. On the other hand, the buyer would need to agree on the terms and conditions upon which the deal can be conducted. The third sales activity in a business to business sales is concerned with arranging the terms. The seller arranges the terms upon which the sales can be conducted. These terms ought to be agreed between the two parties involved. These terms may include payment terms as well as conditions for delivery of the goods and services once the transactions have been conducted. Such a sales type cannot be fast tracked since it is supposed to go through different stages. The deal may not succedd when there is no agreement. The fourth activity in a B2B sales is related to fulfilment of the order. When an agreement has been reached and the sale conducted, the seller would need to fulfil the deal. It becomes thr duty of the seller to make sure that the products or services purchased are delivered to the customer. Unless the deal has been reversed by both parties, it can be observed that the seller would need to fulfil the promise nomatter what. The final activity in the B2B sales is support. The seller needs to support the customer so that they can return for repeat business. This helps to create mutual understanding between the two parties involved and this can significantly contribute to the growth of business. Customer loyalty is likley to be promoted if the seller contibues to offer support to them. However, business to business sales differ from business to customer sales in different ways. The main difference is that B2B sales are formalised since they involved business between two organizations while B2C sales can be conducted in an informal way since they involve an organization and a customer (Cloete, 2001). A lot of logistics are involved in B2B sales as well as activities that require the input of several people. On the other hand, it can be noted that B2C sales can be conducted in an informal way and they are flexible since they do not involve a lot of activities. a sales person and the customer can conduct a sale as long as there is intention for exhanging something for money. The other difference between B2B and B2C sales is that communication can be direct in the later. A salesperson can directly interact with the customer in B2C sales and a transanction can be conducted once an agreement has been made. However, a B2B sales can take a longer period compared to B2C as a result of the fact that a lot of information has to be processed in B2B. The other difference between the two forms of sales is that a lot of data ought to be stored in the company database in case of B2B sales (Cloete, 2001). Official information ought to be stored in a secure place and it often involves high volumes of data. However, in B2C sales, there is still need for storing information but it can be seen it is quite easy to store individual customer information. B2C sales can also be easily conducted online and they can take a shorter period compared to B2B sales which require various sorts of verification in order to ensure that chances of mistakes are minimised. A B2C sales model is simplified compared to B2B model which requires a lot of logistics. The diaagram below shows a simplified version of a B2C model representing online sale activities. This is a continuous process since the seller continues to appeal to the intersts of the customers in order for thhem to return for further sales again. Online sale activities Create Learn Sell Do Source:https://www.google.co.za/search?q=selling+activities&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Smp1Ub3IEou3hAfDjYHQDQ&ved=0CGAQsAQ&biw=1214&bih=599>. Basically, it can be noted from the discussion above that there are different sales activities involved in different aspects of business. It can also be noted that B2B sales activities differ from B2C sales as a result of the fact that the former involves two organizations while the later involves an organization and an individual person. However, their activities are directed towards the exchange for goods and services for money in both cases. References Cloete, E, (2003). E-Commerce: A contemporary view, CT: Pardus Publication. Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G.( 2004). Principles of Marketing, NJ: Pearson Education International. Online sales activities. Viewed from: https://www.google.co.za/search?q=selling+activities&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Smp1Ub3IEou3hAfDjYHQDQ&ved=0CGAQsAQ&biw=1214&bih=599>. Read More