(Newswire.net — April 23, 2022) — Sales are critical for the growth of any business. Sales fulfill the customer demands and also bring useful insights from customers to make business processes and product development better than before. This is the reason; the sales process of a business should be developed according to the current market trends and customer expectations using the right type of sales documents.
What are Sales Documents?
Documents that are used to evidence or record sales transactions are known as sales documents. They guide both sales representatives and customers throughout the entire sales process and also help businesses engage potential customers at different phases of the sales cycle.
Such documents vary in the industry or type of business running you are. They may include sales quotations, proposals, orders, agreements, and more.
Below are some commonly used sales documents in today’s business landscape.
Sales Proposals
A sales proposal is a formal document that a business or company uses to pitch its products or services to potential customers. Since convincing potential customers to buy your products is a challenging task, a well-written sales proposal can help you a lot in this matter. It is usually known as the very first step of the sale process. The document outlines details like products or services offered, benefits of the products or services, deliverables and costs or goods or services, etc. Sales proposals are also used to educate potential customers about particular products or services to leverage their buying decisions because they also highlight how a product or service will make the life of a customer easier.
Sales Quotation or Price Quote
A sales quotation or price quote is a sales document used to list a detailed breakdown of prices for the products or services offered by an individual seller or business. Sales quotations are created to inform potential customers about costs associated with a sales transaction they are about to complete. It may include an itemized list of products and services offered, their costs, and terms of sale & payment. Quotations are not legally binding in nature but it is committed that a sale is completed when a quotation is officially accepted by the customer within a given timeframe.
Sales Agreement or Sales Contract
A sales agreement, also known as a sales contract is a legally binding agreement that explains all the terms and conditions of a sales transaction. The document usually involves two parties, 1) the buyer, who makes a purchase and 2) the seller, who is selling the goods or products. A sales agreement officially confirms that the mentioned products or services are to be transferred from the mentioned seller to the buyer in exchange of a particular sum of money as cost. The document also highlights the terms and conditions of how the sales transaction will happen and provisions to deal with the situation in case of a breach of the agreement.
Statement of Work (SOW)
Statement of Work or SOW is a vital sales document that outlines the scope of work to be done throughout the completion of a particular project. It is a document that service providers create to lay out the entire landscape of a project before they plan and execute it. SOW helps everyone involved in the project on the same page to avoid future conflicts as it carries a detailed description of what service is required and how it should be provided.
Pro Forma Invoice
A document that is sent to the buyer as a preliminary bill of sales before delivery of products or a shipment is named a Pro Forma invoice. The document carries details about purchased items, sales price, and other important information, like the shipping weight and charges. Pro Forma invoices are normally used for international sales transactions to provide basic sales details to the buyer before products are delivered.
Sales Order (SO)
A sales order is a document generated by the company stipulating the details about the products or services ordered by the customer. SO is created by the company or seller upon receiving a purchase order from a customer. This document may include details like the name of the customer, product description, purchase order number for reference, price, quantification, payment terms and mode of payment, etc. The sales order is used by the seller as a confirmation document upon receiving a purchase order. The seller can also use the data available in the purchase order to create a sales order.
Conclusion
Creating professional-looking sales documents at different stages of the sales cycle is important to show professionalism and win more sales. Most of the sales documents are easy to create but some require professional formats to be created. Sales document templates are also available online that can be used to create such documents conveniently.