Answer

What are the types of sales?

The labels overlap on purpose: a single deal can be B2B, enterprise, outbound, and consultative all at once. Knowing which combination you run tells you how to staff the team, what your cycle length looks like, and how a CRM should be set up.

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Short answer

Sales motions are classified by who you sell to (B2B, B2C, B2B2C), where the rep works (inside versus outside/field), who initiates the conversation (inbound versus outbound), how the deal is closed (transactional, consultative, solution, enterprise), and who sells on your behalf (direct, channel, partner, agency). Most companies run a mix, and a CRM is configured differently for each.

Key points

What matters most.

Six dimensions that classify any sales motion, and the one combination that most often decides how a CRM should be configured for the team running it.

Who you sell to

B2B, B2C, B2B2C.

The buyer dimension. B2B is business to business: longer cycles, multiple stakeholders, higher deal sizes, buying committees. B2C is business to consumer: shorter cycles, single decision maker, lower average order, higher volume. B2B2C sits in between, where a business buys on behalf of consumers, like an insurance broker selecting carriers. Each buyer type reshapes the pipeline stages, the data captured, and the metrics leadership watches.

Where the rep works

Inside sales versus outside sales.

Inside sales reps work from a desk, selling over phone, email, video, and chat. Outside sales reps (field reps) travel to meet buyers in person, often for larger or more complex deals. Inside is cheaper to scale and easier to coach; outside builds deeper relationships for high-ticket motions. Many modern teams run a hybrid: inside sellers qualify and demo, field reps close the biggest accounts in person.

Who initiates

Inbound versus outbound.

Inbound means the buyer comes to you: form fill, pricing page, demo request, referral. Outbound means the seller starts the conversation: cold email, cold call, LinkedIn, event booth, account-based outreach. Most teams blend both. Inbound tends to convert faster but is capped by marketing volume. Outbound is more work per meeting but gives the rep direct control over which accounts enter the pipeline.

How the deal is sold

Transactional to enterprise.

Transactional sales are quick, low-touch, often self-serve or single-call close. Consultative sales involve discovery and tailored recommendations. Solution sales package multiple products or services against a buyer's specific pain. Enterprise or complex sales span 6 to 18 months, 5 to 20 stakeholders, procurement, legal, security review, and a signed master agreement. Each shape needs a different pipeline stage count and a different coaching rhythm.

Who sells for you

Direct, channel, partner, agency.

Direct sales means your own reps carry the quota. Channel or partner sales means resellers, VARs, and distributors sell on your behalf for a margin or commission. Agency sales means a specialist firm places your product for a fee. Direct gives maximum margin and control. Channel scales reach without hiring. Most B2B businesses eventually run both, and the CRM has to track partner-sourced versus direct-sourced pipeline separately.

What you sell

Products, services, SaaS subscriptions.

Product sales close a one-time transaction, with returns and allowances as the main complication. Services sales close an engagement, measured in hours, deliverables, or outcomes. SaaS subscription sales close recurring revenue that renews or churns, measured in ARR and net revenue retention. The underlying motion can be identical, but the metrics and the CRM data model shift sharply depending on which of the three the business runs.

By buyer

B2B, B2C, and B2B2C in plain terms.

Who the buyer is drives almost every downstream choice: pipeline stages, data fields on the contact and account records, forecast horizon, and the shape of the comp plan. Here is how the three main buyer categories differ in practice, not just on a slide.

B2B

Businesses buying from businesses.

A software vendor selling to a VP of RevOps, a parts manufacturer selling to a factory procurement team, an agency selling retainers to a marketing director. Cycles run from weeks (SMB) to 12 or 18 months (enterprise). Multiple stakeholders are involved: economic buyer, champion, end users, procurement, legal, security. Deal values range from $5,000 to several million. The CRM carries both a company record and the people inside it.

B2C

Businesses selling to consumers.

A direct-to-consumer brand selling via e-commerce, a car dealership selling to a household, an insurance broker selling to an individual. One primary decision maker, cycles measured in minutes to weeks, order values from a few dollars to tens of thousands. The CRM focuses on the contact record and the order history; the account record is lighter or absent entirely. Marketing automation does most of the top-of-funnel heavy lifting.

B2B2C

A business buys on behalf of consumers.

An employee benefits platform selling to HR, who then delivers the product to employees. A payroll service selling to a small business owner who provides it to their workforce. A franchise supplier selling to a franchisee who serves end consumers. The sale is B2B in motion but the economics bend toward B2C in unit value and volume. Both the buying contact and the end-user population matter in the CRM.

Deal size

Average contract value by category.

B2C deals typically run from a few dollars to a few thousand, with high volume. B2B SMB deals run from $1,000 to $50,000 annually, with medium volume. B2B mid-market runs $50,000 to $250,000. Enterprise B2B starts at $250,000 and climbs into millions. B2B2C sits across the range: a $500 per month platform fee reaching 300 employees looks small per employee but adds up to a substantive annual contract.

Cycle length

Minutes to eighteen months.

B2C transactional sales close in minutes to days. B2C high-ticket (cars, mortgages) runs weeks. B2B SMB sales close in 2 to 6 weeks. B2B mid-market runs 2 to 4 months. Enterprise runs 6 to 18 months, sometimes longer when procurement, legal, and security review each take their own slot. The cycle length should drive the number of pipeline stages the CRM uses, not the other way around.

Stakeholders

One buyer or a committee.

A B2C sale usually involves one buyer. A B2B SMB sale involves 2 or 3. Mid-market B2B pulls in 5 to 7. Enterprise B2B commonly runs 10 to 20 stakeholders across economic buyer, champion, users, procurement, legal, security, and finance. The CRM has to let reps attach multiple contacts to a single deal with roles, because managing a 20-person committee by hand in a notes field is how deals quietly slip.

By motion

Inside, outside, inbound, outbound, and hybrid.

The motion is how the rep actually works a day. Where they sit, who starts the conversation, and how the handoffs land. The right motion depends on deal size, geography, and the strength of the marketing engine. Here are the main shapes, side by side.

Inside sales

Desk-based, phone, video, chat.

The rep sells from an office or home, over the phone, email, video calls, and chat. The model scales cheaply: one manager can coach 8 to 12 inside reps, each running 30 to 60 meetings a week. Inside sales is the default for SaaS, SMB B2B, and any motion where the deal size does not justify an in-person visit. Modern tooling (video, screen share, async demos) has stretched the ceiling on what inside can close.

Outside sales

Field reps, in-person meetings.

Outside sales reps travel to meet buyers in person, often for large accounts, regulated industries, or technical products that benefit from onsite demos. Expensive per meeting, so the model only works when average deal size justifies the travel. Common in industrial, medical devices, enterprise software, construction materials, and anything with a long install or deep integration component. One field rep might carry a $5 million to $20 million territory.

Inbound

The buyer comes to you.

Marketing drives the lead: content, SEO, paid ads, events, referrals. The rep's job is to qualify and convert. Inbound converts faster because the buyer has already decided they have a problem, but the volume is capped by what marketing can produce. A healthy inbound engine typically covers 30 to 60 percent of pipeline in a mature SaaS motion, with the rest coming from outbound and partner sources.

Outbound

The rep starts the conversation.

Cold email, cold call, LinkedIn, event work, account-based plays. Slower to convert, higher cost per meeting, but gives the rep direct control over which accounts enter pipeline. Outbound is how teams reach the specific accounts marketing has not touched yet, and how enterprise reps build territory. SDR or BDR teams usually run the outbound layer in front of a closing rep.

Hybrid

Inside plus field, inbound plus out.

Most mature teams run a hybrid. Inside sellers handle SMB and mid-market end-to-end. Field reps close the largest enterprise accounts in person while inside support handles the operational layer. Inbound covers the fastest-converting demand, outbound fills the gaps. The CRM needs to tag each deal with its source and its motion so the team can measure productivity per channel instead of lumping it all together.

Self-serve

Product-led, no rep required.

In product-led growth motions, the buyer signs up, swipes a card, and starts using the product without ever speaking to a rep. The sales team only shows up for annual contracts, upgrades to higher tiers, or security review in enterprise accounts. Self-serve dramatically lowers CAC on the low end but requires a product that onboards itself. Reps shift from closers to expansion specialists working inside existing accounts.

By deal shape and channel

Transactional through enterprise, direct through channel.

The last two dimensions are how the deal gets closed and who closes it. These two choices drive the CRM configuration more than any other: pipeline stage count, required fields, forecast categories, and the shape of the comp plan all flex to match.

Transactional

Fast close, standard pricing.

A single-call close or a short cycle (hours to days). Standard pricing with little negotiation. Common in SMB software, high-volume consumer products, and self-serve SaaS upgrades. The CRM carries 3 or 4 pipeline stages at most: new, qualified, proposal, closed. Reps work high volumes of small deals, so productivity is measured in meetings per week and close rate per lead, not in deal size.

Consultative

Discovery first, recommendation second.

The rep spends serious time understanding the buyer's situation before proposing. Common in financial services, healthcare, mid-market B2B software, and professional services. Cycles run weeks to a few months. The CRM carries 5 to 7 stages (discovery, qualification, proposal, negotiation, close) and requires discovery notes, pain points, and decision criteria as structured fields, not just free-text notes.

Solution sales

Bundled products against pain.

The rep packages multiple products or modules into a tailored solution matched to the buyer's specific pain. Common in enterprise software, industrial automation, and systems integration. Deals combine licenses, services, support, and sometimes hardware into a single contract. The CRM needs to carry line items with mix flexibility, and the forecast has to break out product mix because margin varies sharply by component.

Enterprise

Six to eighteen months, 10+ people.

The classic complex sale. Six-figure to seven-figure deals, 10 to 20 stakeholders across the buying committee, procurement and legal review, security questionnaires, and a signed master services agreement. Common in enterprise software, industrial equipment, and large-scale services. The CRM carries 8 to 12 pipeline stages, MEDDIC-style qualification fields, mutual action plans, and executive sponsor tracking. One deal might generate 200 recorded activities.

Direct sales

Your reps carry quota.

Your own employees close the business and earn commission. Maximum margin, maximum control over the buyer experience, maximum ability to coach the motion. Direct is the default for most B2B SaaS and most enterprise software. The CRM is tuned to the direct motion: reps own accounts, managers coach from the pipeline, forecasts roll up through the sales organization chart.

Channel sales

Partners, resellers, agencies.

Resellers, value-added resellers (VARs), distributors, and partner firms sell on your behalf in exchange for a margin, commission, or referral fee. Scales reach without hiring, but the vendor loses direct contact with the buyer. The CRM has to track partner-sourced versus direct-sourced pipeline, register deals to prevent channel conflict, and run a separate partner portal or shared workspace for pipeline visibility.

Configure Strkr for the type of sales you actually run.

Pipeline stages, required fields, qualification framework, and routing rules all flex to match the motion. B2B enterprise, B2C transactional, SaaS self-serve, or channel-led, Strkr carries the shape your team actually sells in, not a generic default. Strkr AI learns the pattern from your closed-won deals and tunes the signals it surfaces to each rep.

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Related questions.

What are the main types of sales?

The main types are B2B (business to business), B2C (business to consumer), B2B2C (a business buying on behalf of consumers), inside sales (desk-based), outside or field sales (in person), inbound (buyer-initiated), outbound (seller-initiated), transactional (fast close), consultative or solution (discovery-driven), enterprise (long, multi-stakeholder cycles), direct (your reps), channel or partner (resellers), and agency sales (specialist firms selling your product). Most companies run a mix of these, not a single pure motion, and the CRM has to be configured for the specific combination the team actually uses.

What is the difference between B2B and B2C sales?

B2B sells to businesses: longer cycles (weeks to 18 months), multiple stakeholders, higher deal sizes, and buying committees that include economic buyers, champions, procurement, legal, and security. B2C sells to consumers: shorter cycles (minutes to weeks), a single decision maker, lower average order, and higher transaction volume. The CRM data model differs too: B2B needs rich account and multi-contact records, while B2C focuses on the contact and order history. Marketing automation plays a larger relative role in B2C; direct rep activity dominates B2B.

What is the difference between inside sales and outside sales?

Inside sales reps work from a desk and sell over phone, email, video, and chat. They scale cheaply, run high meeting volume, and are easier to coach as a team. Outside or field sales reps travel to meet buyers in person, which costs more per meeting but builds deeper relationships for high-ticket deals. The dividing line is usually average deal size: once a contract clears a certain threshold, in-person visits start paying for themselves. Many modern teams run a hybrid, with inside reps qualifying and field reps closing the biggest accounts.

What is enterprise sales?

Enterprise sales is the complex, high-value B2B motion aimed at large organizations. Deal sizes start at $250,000 and climb into millions. Cycles run 6 to 18 months. The buying committee commonly spans 10 to 20 stakeholders: economic buyer, champion, end users, procurement, legal, security, and finance. The motion requires MEDDIC-style qualification, mutual action plans, executive sponsorship, master services agreements, and often custom pricing. One rep might carry 5 to 15 named accounts for an entire year, and the CRM has to track dozens of activities per deal to keep the committee aligned.

What is consultative selling?

Consultative selling is a sales approach where the rep leads with discovery, understands the buyer's situation and goals, and only then proposes a tailored recommendation. It is the opposite of a product-pitch motion. Discovery notes, pain points, decision criteria, and success metrics become structured fields in the CRM rather than free text. The approach is standard for mid-market and enterprise B2B, financial services, healthcare, and professional services, where the buyer expects the seller to actually understand their business before quoting a price.

What is channel sales?

Channel sales means selling through third parties: resellers, value-added resellers (VARs), distributors, system integrators, or technology partners. The partner closes the deal in exchange for a margin, commission, or referral fee. The model scales distribution without the vendor hiring more reps, but it also means losing direct customer relationships and giving up margin. The CRM has to track partner-sourced versus direct-sourced pipeline, register deals to prevent conflict between partners and internal reps, and often expose a partner portal with shared visibility into joint pipeline.

What is SaaS sales?

SaaS sales is the subscription software motion: contracts renew (annually or monthly) rather than closing once. The core metrics are annual recurring revenue, net revenue retention, logo retention, and expansion revenue inside the base. Pipeline stages mirror a traditional B2B motion, but the forecast carries both new business and renewals, and the customer success function handles the critical post-sale layer. SaaS motions range from fully self-serve product-led growth (no rep required until expansion) to classic enterprise motions with named reps, mutual action plans, and 12-month cycles.

How does a CRM configuration change for each type of sales?

The sales type drives the entire CRM configuration. B2C focuses on contacts and orders; B2B needs rich account records with multiple contacts and roles. Transactional motions carry 3 or 4 pipeline stages; enterprise motions carry 8 to 12 with MEDDIC fields. Inside versus outside changes activity tracking (calls and video versus visits). Channel sales adds deal registration and partner portals. Strkr lets each team pick the pipeline stages, required fields, qualification framework, and routing rules that match their motion, rather than forcing one shape on everyone.

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