PRODUCT SALES VS SERVICE SALES: WHICH ONE SUITS YOU?
There are differences between selling products and selling services.
Obviously the main difference being that products (such as cars and cosmetics) are tangible items and services (such as software) aren’t. But depending on your interests and the types of clients you’re looking to work with will depend on which one you’d prefer.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO
Product Sales: Product-focused sales teams will use visual components to present what a product is and what it does. Leaving some of the convincing to buy down to the product itself.
Service Sales: Service sales teams cannot easily show prospectives how something works, instead, they have to describe and demonstrate how the service can solve problems.
The Benefits
Product Sales: Due to having concrete attributes, customers can easily view and compare products to decide which is best for them. They know and can see exactly what they are getting, which can minimise risk.
Service Sales: You are selling something untouchable here. The benefit of this is that you can customise your service to meet a variety of needs or solve problems that match certain customers.
The Skills
Regardless of what you sell, the fundamental skills remain similar:
A genuine understanding of the benefits/features of the product or service
Strong presentation skills
Good communication & interpersonal skills
Confident negotiating and objection handling ability
For more information on a career in sales, head over to our Sales FAQ page.
- Written by Arun Sutton
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