1. Personal Selling and the Marketing Concept1
Personal Selling and the Marketing Concept

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

3. Broad Concept of Product
What is the main product the following companies offer?
Includes:
Information
Services
Ideas
Issues
“Hard goods”

4. Strategic/Consultative Selling Model
FIGURE
1.1

5. Personal Selling in the Information Age
An evolution from the industrial economy to the information economy
Began in the 1950s
New emphasis is information exchange rather than producing goods
Implications for personal selling

6. A Shift in Emphasis Industrial economy
Advances occur in transportation and manufacturing
Strategic resources are capital and natural resources
Products and factories define the business
Sales success means meeting sales quotas
Information economy
Advances occur in information technology
Strategic resource is information
Business is defined by customer relations
Sales success depends on adding value

7. Personal Selling as an Extension of the Marketing Concept
Move from a product orientation (peddling)
to a customer orientation (partnering)

8. Important Role of Personal Selling
Often the major promotional method
Firms invest in personal selling
Personal selling has evolved because:
Products and services are more complex
Competition has greatly increased
Customer demand for quality, value, and service has risen sharply

9. Evolution of Personal Selling
Marketing era begins (early 1950s)
Salespeople as a source of strategic information on product/market/service
Consultative selling era (late 1960s to early 1970s)
Mass markets break into target markets
Emphasis on need identification
Information sharing and negotiation replace manipulation

10. Evolution of Personal Selling
Strategic selling era (early 1980s)
Market niches require more planning
Equal emphasis on strategy and tactics
Product positioning vital
Partnering era (1990 to present)
Customer, not product, as driving force
Emphasis on strategies that create customer value

11. Evolution of Consultative Selling
Transactional selling
Process that serves the buyer primarily interested in price and convenience
Consultative selling
Process that developed from the marketing concept, emphasizing need identification

12. Evolution of Consultative Selling
Features of consultative selling include:
Customer is a person to be served, not a prospect to be sold
Two-way communication identifies (diagnoses) customer’s needs; no high-pressure sales presentation
Emphasis on information giving, problem solving, and negotiation rather than manipulation
Emphasis on service after the sale

13. Evolution of Strategic Selling
A Strategic Market Plan
Outlines necessary methods and resources
Considers areas to be coordinated
Finance • Personnel
Production • Marketing
Influences the sale of products
Serves as guide for strategic selling plan

14. Strategy and Tactics Tactics Strategy
Specific techniques, practices, and methods used in customer interaction
Strategy
Carefully conceived plan needed to accomplish sales objectives
A prerequisite to tactical success

15. Strategy vs. Tactics Exercise
Identify the following:
Use a fact sheet comparing your product to the competition
Analyze the features of your leading competitors
Use specific questions to diagnose needs
Analyze a territory to determine those with specific needs   

16. Selling Model
FIGURE
1.5
1-20

17. Develop a Personal Selling Philosophy1
Step :
Develop a Personal Selling Philosophy
 Adopt the marketing concept
 Value personal selling
 Assume the role of a problem solver/partner

18. Develop a Relationship Strategy2
Develop a Relationship Strategy
Step :
 Adopt a win-win philosophy
 Project a professional image
 Maintain high ethical standards

19. Develop a Product Strategy3
Develop a Product Strategy
Step :
 Become a product expert
 Sell benefits, not features
 Configure value-added solutions

20. Develop a Customer Strategy4
Develop a Customer Strategy
Step :
 Understand the buying process
 Understand buyer behavior
 Develop prospect base

21. Develop a Presentation Strategy5
Develop a Presentation Strategy
Step :
 Prepare objectives
 Develop a presentation plan
 Provide outstanding service

22. Interrelationship of Basic Strategies
FIGURE
1.7

23. E-Commerce and the Complex Sale
Electronic business
Complex sales involve several forms of
information technology support, including:
Electronic product catalogs
Contact management systems
PowerPoint and Excel
Internet applications
Electronic commerce

24. Evolution of Partnering
Buzzword of 1990s, became business reality in 2000s
“Strategically developed, long-term relationship that solves the customer’s problems”
Relationship selling relies on a customized approach to each client
Enhanced with high ethical standards and CRM

25. Example of Partnering: Cushman & Wakefield

26. Strategic Alliances
Formed by companies that have similar business interests and, thus, gain a mutual competitive advantage
The goal is to achieve a marketplace advantage by teaming up with another firm
Highest form of consultative selling required to build win-win alliances
Can you cite some current examples of strategic alliances?

27. Value Creation
Value-added selling = creative improvements that enhance customer experience
The information economy rewards salespeople who add value at each step
When customer is not aware of value added by salespeople, the focus may shift to price

28. Value- Added Selling Example