Module 1: Sales Role Flashcards
Marketing
Business function that identifies, satisfies, and retains customers through a set of activities related to creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for the customer
Relationship Selling
Sales technique that focuses on the interaction between the buyer and the salesperson rather than the price or details of the product
Value Creation
The performance of actions that increase the worth of goods, services, or even a business
Sales Process
A systematic approach involving a series of steps that enables a sales force to close more deals, increase margins and make more sales through referrals
Customer Loyalty
Having a positive attitude toward a product or brand, which induces supportive behavior from the customer.
Brand Trust
The willingness of the average consumer to rely on the ability of the brand to perform its stated function.
Personal Selling
A type of selling that uses person-to-person interaction to sell products and services
Conversion Rates
The percentage of prospective customers who take a specific action you want
Sales Forecast
The process of estimating future sales
Operational Budget
A plan for expenditures required to maintain the functioning of a business venture or public organization.
Profitability
The ability of a company to use its resources to generate revenues in excess of its expenses
Product-market fit
The degree to which a product satisfies a strong market demand
Corporate Structure
An organization’s different departments or business units within a company to achieve its overall mission and goals
Functional Structure
An organization structure that groups employees according to a specialized or similar set of roles or tasks
Modular Structure
Divides the business into small, tightly knit strategic business units (SBUs), which focus on specific elements of the organizational process
Strategic Business Units (SBU’s)
A profit center that focuses on product offering and market segment
Value Chain
The process or activities by which a company adds value to a product, including production, marketing, and the provision of after-sales service
Competitors
Firms that provide similar products or services and try to attract the same customers
Competitive Advantage
A condition or circumstance that puts a company in a favorable or superior business position.
How do successful companies create competitive advantage? (examples)
Sustainable Competitive Advantage
Company assets, attributes, or abilities that are difficult to duplicate or exceed and provide a superior or favorable long-term position over competitors
Loyalty Card
A card issued by a store to a customer and used to record credit points awarded for money spent in the store. Can also be a credit card tied to a brand, which then tracks what and where clients purchase
Location
Location is a critical factor in a consumer’s selection of a store. Starbucks coffee is a great example of this. Starbucks will move in to one area of a city at a time and then expand in the region. It opens stores close to one another to let the storefront promote the company; it spends little on media advertising due to its location strategy.
Distribution and information systems
Walmart has excelled at this part of the retailing strategy. Retailers try to have the most effective and efficient way to get their products at a cheap price and sell them for a reasonable price. Distribution is extremely expensive and timely.
Unique merchandise
Private-label brands and products develop and market in such a way that they are only available from specific retailers. For example, if you want a Louis Vuitton bag, you must buy it at a Louis Vuitton store or on the official website. This tactic keeps the product exclusive and retains the product value.
Vendor Relations
Vendor relations are supplier-buyer relationships supported by contracts and buyer-implemented management strategies. Companies use vendors to supply products or services that they need to function.
Customer Service
This requires time to establish, but once established, competitors will have a difficult time developing a comparable reputation. Amazon is a good example of this. Its return policies for products distributed directly by Amazon, as well as its rapid delivery service, keep customers coming back.
Multiple Source Advantage
Having an advantage over multiple sources is important. For example, McDonald’s is known for being fast and clean and having hot food. It has cheap meals, nice facilities, and good customer service with a strong reputation for always providing fast, hot food.4
Algorithm
A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Processes implemented by a company to handle its contact with customers with the goal of creating a unified customer experience to maximize retention
Goals of CRM
Capture new leads and move them through the sales process
Support and manage relationships with current customers to maximize the lifetime value of those relationships to the company
Boost productivity and lower the overall costs of marketing, sales, and account management
Business Intelligence (BI)
The use of data in an enterprise to facilitate decision-making. It encompasses understanding the actual operation of the company, as well as the anticipation of future events, with the aim of providing knowledge to support business decisions
Big Data Analytics
Large, complex data sets that require non-traditional data processing software to predict trends and forecasts
B2B
Sales to another company that consumes the product or services as part of operating the business or uses the product in the assembly of the final product it sells to consumers
Ethics
A set of moral standards for judging whether something is right or wrong.
Organizational Ethics
The principals and standards by which businesses operate and it is how an organization responds to an internal or external stimulus. Organizational ethics is interdependent with the organizational culture
Code of Ethics
A document that outlines the mission and values of the business or organization, how professionals are supposed to approach problems, the ethical principles based on the organization’s core values, and the standards to which the professional is held
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
A comprehensive set of laws governing all commercial transactions in the United States.
American Marketing Association Code of Conduct/Ethics (AMA)
American Marketing Association’s standard of professional ethical norms and values for its members (practitioners, academics and students)
Examples of Ethical Concerns for Sales and Marketing
Gifts, gratuities, and bribes
Price discrimination and unfair pricing
Dishonest advertising
Miscellaneous, unfair, competitive practices
Cheating customers, unfair credit practices, and overselling
Price collusion by competitors or price fixing
Dishonesty in making or keeping a contract
Unfairness to employees and prejudice in hiring
Marketing Concept
Identifying consumer needs and then producing the goods or services that will satisfy those needs while making a profit for the organization
“right” principle
Getting the right goods or services to the right people at the right place, time, and price, using the right promotional techniques
Exchanges
The process in which two parties give something of value to each other to satisfy their respective needs.
Output
The act of producing something, the amount of something produced, or the process in which something is delivered
Inputs
The resources invested in accomplishing a task, and typically include time, money, and effort
Inbound Marketing
A marketing methodology designed to draw visitors and potential customers in, rather than outwardly pushing a brand, product or service onto prospects in the hope of lead generation or customers
Promotion
The attempt by marketers to inform, persuade, or remind consumers and industrial users to engage in the exchange process
Promotional Mix
The combination of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations used to promote a product
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
The careful coordination of all promotional activities—media advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, and public relations, as well as direct marketing, packaging, and other forms of promotion—to produce a consistent, unified message that is customer focused
Customer (buyer) journey
A framework that acknowledges a buyer’s progression through a research and decision process ultimately culminating in a purchase
Transactional Selling
A sales strategy that involves focusing on achieving quick sales without a significant attempt to form a long-term customer relationship.
Relationship Selling
Sales technique that focuses on the interaction between the buyer and the salesperson rather than the price or details of the product
Adaptive Selling
Using social styles to customize a sales approach to the specific customer
Prospecting
The first step in the sales process, which consists of identifying potential customers, also known as prospects
Social Style Matrix
A model that categorizes people according to personality traits and how they interact with others
Law of Psychological Reciprocity
Says that when someone does something nice for you, you will have a deep-rooted psychological urge to do something nice in return
Consultive Selling
Sales approach where the seller becomes a trusted advisor to the customer and builds a relationship to truly understand his or her needs
Value
The measure of the benefit gained from a product or service relative to the full cost of the item
Value Exchange
The quantified worth of one good or service expressed in terms of the worth of another
Customer Lifetime Value
A prediction of the net profit attributed to the entire future relationship with a customer
Return on Customer Investment
A metric that measures how much value a business can create per customer
Value Proposition
An innovation, service, or feature intended to make a company or product attractive to customers
