1. Personal Selling and Sales Management
Define personal selling.
Explain the roles of personal selling.
List the three categories of personal selling.
Describe five major personal selling strategies.
Explain the steps in the sales process.
Describe the seven possible strategies for closing sales.

2. Personal Selling and Sales Management
Define sales management and explain its functions.
Describe the characteristics of the successful salesperson.
Describe the contents and role of the sales plan.
Explain the four characteristics of personal selling in the hospitality and travel industry.

3. Definition of Personal Selling
Personal selling involves oral conversations, either by telephone or face-to-face, between salespersons and prospective customers.

4. Roles of Personal Selling
Identifying decision makers, decision processes, and qualified buyers
Promoting to corporate, travel trade, and other groups
Generating increased sales at the point of purchase
Providing detailed and up-to-date information to the travel trade
Maintaining a personal relationship with key clients
Gathering information on competitors’ promotions

5. Three Categories of Personal Selling
Field sales
Telephone sales
Inside sales

6. Five Major Personal Selling Strategies
Stimulus response
Mental states
Formula
Need satisfaction
Problem solving

7. Steps in the Sales Process
Prospecting and qualifying prospective customers:
Blind prospecting
Cold calling or canvassing
Sales blitz
Lead prospecting
Preplanning prior to sales calls:
Pre-approach
The approach

8. Steps in the Sales Process
Presenting and demonstrating services:
Sales presentation
Demonstration
Handling objections and questions:
Restate the objection
“Agree and neutralize” tactic

9. Steps in the Sales Process
Closing the sale.
Verbal closing clues
Non-verbal closing clues
Following up after closing the sale.

10. Seven Possible Strategies for Closing Sales
Trial closes
Assumptive close
Summary or summary-of-the-benefits close
Special concession close
Eliminating-the-single-objection or final-concern close
Limited-choice close
Direct-appeal close

11. Definition of Sales Management
Sales management is the management of the sales force and personal selling efforts to achieve desired sales objectives.

12. Functions of Sales Management
Sales-force staffing and operations
Sales planning
Sales performance evaluation

13. Characteristics of the Successful Salesperson
Sales aptitude: The extent of an individual’s ability to perform a given sales job, consisting of mental abilities and personality traits.
Skill levels: Skills obtained in personal communication and knowledge of services, obtained through sales training and previous sales and operational experience.

14. Characteristics of the Successful Salesperson
Personal characteristics: Demographic profile, psychographic and lifestyle characteristics, physical appearance and traits.

15. Contents of the Sales Plan
Sales objectives
Sales activities
Sales budget

16. Roles of the Sales Plan Preparing sales forecasts
Developing sales department budgets
Assigning sales territories and quotas

17. Four Characteristics of Personal Selling in Hospitality and Travel
Importance of personal selling varies
Inside selling closely related to service levels
No generally accepted qualifications for industry sales positions
Importance of missionary sales work