III. Read the text and check up your answers in ex. II. Well, the sales of a product are the quantity of it that is sold

Well, the sales of a product are the quantity of it that is sold. When you sell your goods or services you receive sales revenue or the money from selling goods or services.

To start selling something your primary task should be to set a target, or to know what you want to achieve from sales. And of course you must be aware of your sales territory, or area, where you are going to do business. Sales forecast is also essential because you have to know how many goods or services can be sold.

It’s also important for the sales force to know in detail how many products they have sold, and how much money they have made. Many companies produce sales figures at the end of each month, which show the unit sales or the number of goods sold, and the sales revenue or the sales turnover, or the money resulting from the sales. The salespeople then know whether they have met their sales target.

One of the most important factors in selling is distribution or the process of supplying and delivering goods to customers. The distributor makes the product available to the customers through various retail outlets. Products may be distributed directly to retailers, or through a distribution network to wholesalers who store the good in a warehouse. Some businesses use an agent to bring buyers and sellers together; some products may be sold directly to the consumer. For instance, a factory may have a factory shop where the good are sold directly to the public.

Most manufacturing companies have a warehouse full of components. These parts are known as stocks. It’s very important from the financial point of view to keep stocks low, that’s why the manufacturers ask the suppliers to deliver components just when they need them. This shortens lead time, or the time it takes to make and deliver goods.

There are also some sales methods that need to be mentioned. When sales are made without any intermediaries, this is known as direct selling. It means the consumers may buy their products from their own home – for example, online shopping. It’s very convenient both for the consumers and the companies they buy goods at. There are various selling techniques including the use of direct mail, personal selling, cold calls and catalogues.

When we talk about retailing it’s worth mentioning the names of the most common points of sale. They are retail outlets, retail parks, shopping centres, department stores, supermarkets, etc.

At the end I’d like to describe one of the processes of buying good at the supermarket. When you pay for your goods at the supermarket checkout they are passed over a laser, which reads the bar code on the packaging. The sale of each item is recorded on the computerized checkout system and the system automatically subtracts the items from total stock levels. The system can be used to check stock levels and the store’s takings at any time of the day.

IV. Answer these questions using the active vocabulary of the text.

1. What do you receive when you sell your goods or services?

2. What tasks should you put to start selling anything?

3. Why are sales figures important for business?

4. What is distribution?

5. What are the ways of distribution?

6. Why is important to keep stocks low in warehouses?

7. What are sales methods and selling techniques?

8. Describe one of the processes of buying good at the supermarket.

V. Match the halves of the phrases from the text.