CHAPTER 1 Developing a Personal Selling Philosophy

Learning Objectives To Understand: The definition of personal selling The 3 prescriptions for a personal selling philosophy The emergence of relationship selling in the Age of Information The rewarding aspects of a sales career Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Learning Objectives To Understand: Different employment settings in selling today How personal selling skills: Have become one of the master skills in the Information Age How personal selling skills contribute to knowledge workers’ work. The four major sources of sales training

Personal Selling: A Definition Person-to-person communication with a prospect Personal selling is a process of Developing relationships Discovering needs Matching products with needs Communicating benefits A process that adds value

Personal Selling: A Philosophy Involves 3 prescriptions: Adopt the marketing concept Value personal selling Assume the role of problem solver or partner These are part of the Strategic/Consultative Selling Model

Shift in Emphasis: The Information Age FIGURE 1.2

Shift in Emphasis: The Information Age Last 50 years economy shifting: From emphasis on industrial activity To emphasis on information processing Four major developments: Major advances: information technology and electronic commerce Strategic resource is information Business defined by customer relationships Sales process depends on adding value

Considerations: Future in Personal Selling Wide range of employment opportunities Wide range of tasks = need variety of skills Freedom to manage time & activities Above average financial & psychic income Opportunity for advancement Opportunities for women

Employment Settings in Selling Today Inside salespeople Inbound Outbound Outside salespeople Both inside & outside salespeople often work closely together

Selling Through Channels Salespeople selling to consumers = “B2C” or business-to-consumer sales Salespeople selling to businesses = “B2B” or business-to-business sales

Career Opportunities: Service Channel Involve both “B2C” and “B2B” sales About 80% of US labor force is employed in service sector. Examples of service channel careers: Hotel, motel, convention center Telecom services Financial sales Media sales Real estate Insurance Business services

Selling a Service: Verizon See the Website

Career Opportunities: Business Goods Channel Involve both inside & outside sales Examples of business goods channel careers: Industrial salespeople Sales engineer or application engineer Field salespeople Missionary salespeople

Career Opportunities: Consumer Goods Channel “B2C” sales Includes both retail sales and direct selling Abound in a number of product areas Examples of consumer sales careers: Automotive sales Jewelry sales Clothing sales Computer sales Any sales position to sales directly to the consumer

Selling Consumer Goods: Apple See the Website

Knowledge Workers in the Information Economy Knowledge workers = work effort is centered around creating, using, sharing, & applying knowledge. Examples of knowledge workers include: Managerial personnel Professionals (Accountants, consultants, lawyers, architects, engineers, etc.) Entrepreneurs Marketing personnel and customer service reps

Learning to Sell: Four Sources Corporate-sponsored training Training provided by commercial vendors Certification programs College and university courses “The principles of selling can be learned and applied by people whose personal characteristics are quite different.”

Learning to Sell: Corporate-based Training Many firms have established programs Millions spent in training each year Salespeople among most intensively trained employees Training for consultative selling = Few months to a year Some web-based training usedc

Learning to Sell: Commercial Vendors Sales Performance International www.spisales.com Integrity Systems, Inc. www.integritysystems.com Huthwaite, Inc. www.huthwaite.com Miller Heiman, Inc. www.millerheiman.com Achieve Global www.achieveglobal.com Wilson Learning Worldwide www.wilsonlearning.com Dale Carnegie Institute, Inc. www.dalecarnegie.com Richardson eLearning www.richardson.com

Learning to Sell: Commercial Vendors See the Website

Learning to Sell: Certificate Programs See the Website Many salespeople are returning to the classroom to earn certification in sales or a sales-related area.

Learning to Sell: Colleges & Universities Many community colleges & undergrad business schools offer sales training Sales training an important part of MBA programs. The University Sales Center Alliance estab. In 2002 to advance sales profession www.universitysalescenteralliance.org

Key Concept Discussion Questions Define personal selling Describe the 3 prescriptions of a personal selling philosophy Describe contributions of personal selling to the Information Economy Discuss the different employment settings in selling today

Key Concept Discussion Questions Explain how personal selling skills have become one of the master skills for success in the Information Age Explain how personal selling skills contribute to the work performed by knowledge workers Identify the four major sources of sales training

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