Effective sales personnel have to combine many talents. They must be technical experts at times and psychologists at others. They must create a good impression from the product of their business card printing down to their shoes. Towards that end there are many basic terms and concepts that must be understood. A few are as follows.

An "account" is a term applied to a customer. A "major" account is one with a large corporation yielding significant revenue. Obviously, a company would desire to differentiate between these and ensure the highest level of customer service is given to major accounts. Also, the best sales personnel should be directed to major account prospects.

Active listening is when a sales representative employs sound listening techniques to gauge their prospect and know exactly how to refine their pitch. The prospect often tells you exactly what needs to be said to close the deal. Unfortunately, many sales reps fail to take the simple step of truly listening to what is being said.

Added value is the extra benefits that accrue to a given product because it is being sold by your company. This can accrue from superior customer service after the sale. Or maybe it comes from an intrinsic talent. For example, a business card printing operation might have added value in producing cards specifically geared to a given industry.

A&P refers to advertising and promotion. There are the cornerstones of all marketing efforts. For a brand to stick it must constantly be promoted. Even the small things like business card printing goes toward brand identity. Make sure all items bearing your company's name fit your image.

A "buying signal" is an indication from a prospect that they are on the edge of saying yes. Professional sales personnel must learn to recognize this signal. Some easily identifiable signals are questions relating to shipping or other small details indicating the prospect is sold on the underlying product. A salesperson must close all deals when it gets to the buying signal stage.

Cold calling is placing outbound calls to potential prospects with whom you have no prior relationship. Cold calling can generate good leads, but it can also be a grueling experience. Companies must select only hardened personnel who are used to rejection to engage in this facet of marketing.

CRM stands for customer relationship management. This is the phase after the sale is done. It is just as important to keep customers as it is to sell them in the first place. Spending money to market new prospects then losing them to poor CRM practices is not a good strategy.

These are just a few basics of selling. The list goes on and can entail a lifetime of learning. No salesperson is ever done improving their craft.