# Types of Sales

> The main types of sales explained: B2B vs B2C, inside vs outside, transactional vs consultative, and more. Clear definitions with B2B examples.

*Canonical: https://derrick-app.com/glossary/types-of-sales*

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**Types of sales describe the main ways companies sell, grouped by who buys, how reps engage, and how complex the deal is.** The most common splits are B2B vs B2C, inside vs outside sales, transactional vs consultative selling, and direct vs channel sales.

B2B sales target other businesses and usually involve several stakeholders and longer cycles, while B2C sells to individual consumers. Inside sales happen remotely by phone, email, and video; outside (field) sales rely on in-person meetings. Transactional selling moves a simple product quickly at scale, whereas consultative selling solves a complex problem through discovery and tailored solutions. Direct sales go straight from vendor to buyer; channel sales use partners or resellers. Most modern revenue teams blend several of these models, choosing the mix based on deal size, buyer behaviour, and the cost of acquiring each customer.

## Example

A SaaS company runs inside sales for its self-serve plan (transactional, B2B, remote) and a separate field team for enterprise accounts (consultative, multi-stakeholder, in-person). The same product is sold through two different sales types, each matched to the deal size.

## Related definitions

- [Outside Sales](https://derrick-app.com/glossary/outside-sales)
- [Sales Process](https://derrick-app.com/glossary/sales-process)
- [B2B Sales Process](https://derrick-app.com/glossary/b2b-sales-process)