Personal Selling and Sales Management Chapter 16 Personal Selling and Sales Management

Nature of Personal Selling Most salespeople are well-educated, well-trained professionals who work to build and maintain long-term relationships with customers. The term salesperson covers a wide spectrum of positions from: Order taker (department store salesperson) Order getter (someone engaged in creative selling) Missionary salesperson (building goodwill or educating buyers)

What is Personal Selling? Involves Two-Way, Personal Communication Between Salespeople and Individual Customers Whether: face to face, by telephone, through video conferencing, or by other means.

Personal Selling STRENGTHS Flexibility Minimizes wasted effort Facilitates buyer action Multiple capabilities WEAKNESSES High cost Finding and retaining salespeople Message inconsistency Motivation 13.2  1998 by Prentice Hall

The Role of the Sales Force Personal selling is effective because salespeople can: probe customers to learn more about their problems, adjust the marketing offer to fit the special needs of each customer, negotiate terms of sale, and build long-term personal relationships with key decision makers.

Major Steps in Sales Force Management (Fig. 16.1) Designing Salesforce Strategy and Structure Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople Major Steps in Sales Force Management (Fig. 16.1) Training Salespeople Compensating Salespeople Supervising Salespeople Evaluating Salespeople

Sales Force Structure Territorial Product Market Complexity

Designing Sales Force Strategy and Structure Territorial Exclusive Territory to Sell the Company’s Full Product Line Designing Sales Force Strategy and Structure Product Sales Force Sells Only a Portion of The Company’s Products or Lines Complex Forms Are a Combination of Any Types of Sales Force Structures Customer Sales Force Sells Only to Certain Customers or Industries

Some Traits of Good Salespeople Enthusiam Persistence Job Commitment Self-Confidence Initiative

Motivating Sales Representatives Pay Promotion Personal growth Accomplishment (+) Respect Value Level (-) Security Recognition

How Salespeople Spend Their Time (Fig. 16.2) Administrative Service Calls Tasks 12.7% Companies Look For Ways to Increase the Amount of Time Salespeople Spend Selling. 16% Telephone Selling 25.1% Face-to-Face Selling 28.8% Waiting/ Traveling 17.4%

Steps in the Selling Process Prospecting Salesperson Identifies Qualified Potential Customers. Qualifying Process of Identifying Good Prospects and Screening Out Poor Ones. Preapproach Salesperson Learns as Much as Possible About a Prospective Customer Before Making a Sales Call. Approach Salesperson Meets the Buyer and Gets the Relationship Off to a Good Start.

Steps in the Selling Process Presentation Salesperson Tells the Product “Story” to the Buyer Using the Need-Satisfaction Approach. Handling Objections Salesperson Seeks Out, Clarifies, and Overcomes Customer Objections to Buying. Closing Salesperson Asks the Customer for an Order. Follow-Up Occurs After the Sale and Ensures Customer Satisfaction and Repeat Business.