The average person is much more likely to encounter a salesperson than an engineer. Despite this familiarity, many of the procedures of sales are only partially understood. 

For example, in other areas in economic life, price is a static number and the same for everybody. However, in the electronic components industry the price for a Bill of Materials can vary vendor to vendor, from salesperson to salesperson, and from day to day. 

In the world of electronics, sales agreements can appear even more opaque, including arrangements for engineering new designs and assembling components. These clauses can affect the price of the Bill of Materials as well.

In this lesson, we will take a glimpse behind the scenes to try to understand the rationale of sales departments. In a general sense, we’ll try to undercover the central mysteries:

1. How do salespeople determine price in a deal?
2. What is a margin, and why does it fluctuate from deal to deal?
3. Why do salespersons so often travel and meet customers in person?
4. How do salespersons use conversation as a tool, and why?