Ch 17 - Personal Selling and Sales Management Flashcards
Discuss the nature and scope of personal selling and sales management in marketing.
Personal selling involves the two-way flow of communication between a buyer and seller, often in a face-to-face encounter, designed to influence a person’s or group’s purchase decision. Sales management involves planning the selling program and implementing and controlling the personal selling effort of the firm. The scope of selling and sales management is apparent in three ways. First, virtually every occupation that involves customer contact has an element of personal selling. Second, selling plays a significant role in a company’s overall marketing effort. Salespeople occupy a boundary position between buyers and sellers; they are the company to many buyers and account for a major cost of marketing in a variety of industries; and they can create value for customers. Finally, through relationship selling, salespeople play a central role in tailoring solutions to customer problems as a means to customer value creation.
Identify the different types of personal selling.
Two types of personal selling exist: (a) order taking and (b) order getting. Each type differs from the others in terms of actual selling done and the amount of creativity required to perform the sales task. Order takers process routine orders or reorders for products that were already sold by the company. They generally do little selling in a conventional sense and engage in only modest problem solving with customers. Order getters sell in a conventional sense and identify prospective customers, provide customers with information, persuade customers to buy, close sales, and follow up on customers’ use of a product or service. Order getting involves a high degree of creativity and customer empathy and is typically required for selling complex or technical products with many options.
Explain the stages in the personal selling process.
The personal selling process consists of six stages: (a) prospecting, (b) preapproach, (c) approach, (d) presentation, (e) close, and (f) follow-up. Prospecting involves the search for and qualification of potential customers. The preapproach stage involves obtaining further information on the prospect and deciding on the best method of approach. The approach stage involves the initial meeting between the salesperson and prospect. The presentation stage involves converting a prospect into a customer by creating a desire for the product or service. The close involves obtaining a purchase commitment from the prospect. The follow-up stage involves making certain that the customer’s purchase has been properly delivered and installed and difficulties experienced with the use of the item are addressed.
Describe the major functions of sales management.
Sales management consists of three interrelated functions: (a) sales plan formulation, (b) sales plan implementation, and (c) evaluation of the salesforce. Sales plan formulation involves setting objectives, organizing the salesforce, and developing account management policies. Sales plan implementation involves salesforce recruitment, selection, training, motivation, and compensation. Finally, salesforce evaluation focuses on quantitative assessments of sales performance and behavioral measures such as customer satisfaction that are linked to selling objectives and account management policies.
account management policies
Specifies who salespeople should contact, what kinds of selling and customer service activities should be engaged in, and how these activities should be carried out.
adaptive selling
A need-satisfaction presentation format that involves adjusting the presentation to fit the selling situation, such as knowing when to offer solutions and when to ask for more information.
consultative selling
A need-satisfaction presentation format that focuses on problem identification, where the salesperson serves as an expert on problem recognition and resolution.
major account management
The practice of using team selling to focus on important customers so as to build mutually beneficial, long-term, cooperative relationships. Also called key account management.
order getter
Sells in a conventional sense and identifies prospective customers, provides customers with information, persuades customers to buy, closes sales, and follows up on customers’ use of a product or service.
order taker
Processes routine orders or reorders for products that were already sold by the company.
personal selling
The two-way flow of communication between a buyer and seller, often in a face-to-face encounter, designed to influence a person’s or group’s purchase decision.
personal selling process
Sales activities occurring before, during, and after the sale itself, consisting of six stages: (1) prospecting, (2) preapproach, (3) approach, (4) presentation, (5) close, and (6) follow-up.
relationship selling
The practice of building ties to customers based on a salesperson’s attention and commitment to customer needs over time.
sales management
Planning the selling program and implementing and evaluating the personal selling effort of the firm.
sales plan
A statement describing what is to be achieved and where and how the selling effort of salespeople is to be deployed.
