Effective sales and marketing is vital to the success of any commercial venture. It forms a company's direct link with its customers. By assessing people's needs and then fulfilling them, it brings product and consumer together. 

`Marketing and sales' was earlier a rather vague term, loosely describing an assortment of tasks under the broader classification of general management'. Now, in recognition of its purpose as an important input in business, its scope has been more precisely defined as a specialist function of management. 

Increasing competitiveness in the fast expanding Indian markets has highlighted the potential of this activity in recent years. Organizations of all types and sizes have separate departments to handle their marketing and sales operations. Given the current dynamics of the Indian economy, this is an exciting option holding the promise of quick upward mobility and opportunity for professional as well as personal growth, to those who are considering it as a career.

MAIN AREAS

Marketing and sales is one of the five key functional areas in management. It is an integral section of every company. It comprises two main activities:

MARKETING

Which involves the planning of strategy to deliver goods and services efficiently and inexpensively to the customer, with emphasis on the profit objective.

SALES

Closely linked to and an extension of marketing, is concerned with finding and dealing with customers for these goods and services.