The principal responsibility of sales support personnel is to support sales personnel. Sales support personnel may prospect for new clients by telemarketing or other research. They often provide pricing and structuring assistance, and follow-up on required documentation. While sales personnel themselves are also frequently involved in these activities, sales support are not involved with making sales.
Sales support personnel generally receive salaries and sometimes bonusses.
Sales personnel are responsible for originating new business. They are in the field , developing contacts, meeting with clients and maintaining existing relationships. Compensation for sales personnel is almost always a matter of base and commission, where the commission is a percentage of sales made. A sales manager manages sales personnel. Often, a sales manager is responsible for the sales personnel covering a particular geographic area, while a senior sales manager manages a number of sales managers.