Ch. 23: Personal Selling

Partner Selling

used today by pharmaceutical companies- realize their own success rate rests with their customers' successes - customer satisfaction is their highest priority

Salesperson Perfomance & Effectiveness

**No single factor is able to adequately explain salesperson performance **Salesperson effectiveness is contingent on a host of factors: 1. Salesperson's own resources 2. Nature of the customer's buying task (repeat purchase, etc) 3. Customer-salesperson relationship & interactions

2. Preapproach

- Arrange a meeting with the customer and to acquire, prior to the meeting, info about him or her and his or her business needs **acquiring meaningful info about prospective customers and their business is an essential part of the preapproach

1. Prospecting & qualifying

- Prospecting- identify potential buyers who have the need, willingness, ability, and authority to buy, important for new-business sales jobs - Qualifying- do they fit your current target market criterial, then evaluate the customer on the criteria of importance to your firm

5. Handling Objections

- be ready to handle objections and sales resistance 1. Dispute the objection and offer solid reasons 2. Concede to parts of the objection and dispute other issues in an inoffensive manner 3. Address the objection later in the presentation

New-Business Selling

- bird-dogging, cold calling, and canvassing characterize this type of selling - must call on new accounts continuously ex. offie copiers, personal computers, business software, ect.

3. Approach

- initial meeting with the prospect - approach techniques: 1. Using a present customer's name as a reference 2. Giving the prospect a small gift 3. Offering a benefit 4. Opening the sales interview with a question to gain their attention and interest 5. Handing a sample product to the prospect for him or her to inspect

Disadvantages of Personal Selling

- more costly than other forms of promotion - when considering inputs and outputs of personal selling it is not very efficient

4. Sales- Presentation

- present product or service, explain what it will do, and demonstrate its value for the customer - Use SPIN Method

Trade Selling

- primary task is to build sales volume by providing customers with promotional assistance in the form of advertising and sales promotion - big emphasis on servicing accounts ex. Sales rep for a food manufacturer who sells to grocery stores

High Perfomring Salespeople C.A.

- represent the interests of their companies & clients with a two-way advocacy approach - exemplify professionalism - are commitment to selling and the process - Actively plan and develop strategies that will lead to programs, benefiting the customer

Antiquated Selling

- seller oriented (undertaken with seller's interest in paramount)

Advantages of Personal Selling

1. Contributes to a relatively high level of customer attention (face-to-face) 2. Salesperson can customize the message to the customers's specific interests and needs 3. Allows for immediate feedback from customer 4. Salesperson can communicate a larger amount of technical and complex information than could be communicated using other promotional methods 5. Greater ability to demonstrate products functionality and performance characteristics 6. Permits the opportunity for developing long-term relations and effectively merging selling and buying organizations into a coordinated unit

Attractive Features of Personal Selling

1. Job Freedom- individuals are usually responsible for most of their day-to-day activities 2. Variety and Challenge- manage one's own time 3. Opportunities for Advancement- more companies expect their middle-to-upper managers to have had sales experience 4. Attractive Compensation & Non-Financial Rewards- lucrative and rewarding

7 Steps of Personal Selling

1. Prospecting & qualifying 2. Preapproach 3. Approach 4. Sales presentation 5. handling objections 6. Close 7. Follow-up

4 Fundamentals of High-impact selling

1. Prospects pay attention only to salespeople that they believe have something important to say 2. People buy for their own reasons- not the salesperson's reasons 3. People do not want to be sold; they want to buy 4. Buying is basically an emotional response

10 Selling Activities

1. Selling Function- planning sales presentation, closing the sale, ect. 2. Working with Others 3. Servicing the product - testing it if necessary 4. Information Management- receiving feedback from customers and relaying that info to management 5. Servicing the Account- inventory control, local advertising, ect. 6. Conference/Meetings 7. Training/Recruiting 8. Entertaining 9. Out-of-town Travel 10. Working with Distributors

6 Characteristics that Determine Sales Performance

Aptitude, Skill-level, Motivational Level, Role Perceptions, Personal Characteristics, Adaptability

Modern Selling Philosophy

1. The sales process must be built on a foundation of trust and mutual agreement. 2. A customer driven atmosphere is essential to long-term growth - prospect centered and focused on customer satisfaction 3. Sales representatives should act as if they were on the customer's payroll 4. Getting the order is only the first step; after-sales service is what counts 5. In selling, as in medicine, prescription before diagnosis is malpractice - no one solution is appropriate for all customers 6. Salesperson professionalism and integrity are essential

SPIN Method

S- Situation questions - ask about facts or explore prospects situation P- Problem Questions- example problems and dissatisfactions that prospect is experiencing I- Implication questions- ask about the consequences or impact of their problems N- Need-payoff questions- ask about the value or usefulness of proposed solution

7. Follow-Up

Salesperson attempts to reduce the consumer's post-purchase anxiety (cognitive dissonance) that is likely especially for products requiring a high level of effort, time, or money **Most important part of the sales process

Missionary Selling

Sell for manufacturers, but sell for their direct customers Ex. pharmaceutical reps don't sell directly to doctors but to wholesales who sell to doctors

Personal Selling

a form of person-to-person communication in which a salesperson works with prospective buyers in attempting to determine their purchase needs to provide a match with his or her company's products or services

Adaptability

ability to adapt to situational circumstances **essential

Relational Communications

approach to handle sales objections by understanding not only the content of the communication, but the form of the communication ***about the relative position of dominance, deference, or equality that buyers and sellers put themselves in as a result of dialog between the two

Retail Selling

customer comes to the salesperson

Androgyny

degree to which individuals feel that they are characterized by traits associated with both men and women

Purposes of Personal Selling

educating customers, offering product usage and marketing assistance, and providing after-sales service and support to buyers

Inside Sales

ex. telemarketing - helpful with activities like prospecting, price quotes, and follow up information for field sale reps

Specific Characteristics of High Performers

first impression, depth of knowledge, Breadth of knowledge (variety of knowledge, to talk to a variety of customers, Adaptability, Sensitivity (empathy - place oneself in the others position), Enthusiasm (commitment for company's products and customers needs), Self-Esteem, Extended Focus (simultaneously focus on the specific and big picture), Sense of Humor, Creativity, Taking Risks, Sense of Honest & Ethics

Aptitude

individuals ability to perform certain tasks - based on interests, intelligence, and personality

Personal Characteristics

individuals characteristics - age, size, appearance, race, gender, ect.

Adaptive Selling

is the altering of sales behaviors during a customer interaction or across customer interactions based on perceived information about the nature of the selling situation - Involves: 1. Recognizing that different approaches are need in dif. situations 2. having confidence in ones ability to use a variety of approaches in dif. situations 3. having condense in ones ability to alter the sales approach during the sale 4. actually using dif. approaches in dif. situations

Role Perceptions

know what is expected of them and have accurate perceptions of their role.

Technical Selling

present in industries like chemicals, machinery, electronics, computers, and sophisticated services

Skill-level

refers to an individuals learned proficiency at performing necessary selling tasks (sales skills, interpersonal skills, technical skills)

Motivation Level

refers to the amount of time and energy a person is willing to expend in performing tasks and activities associated with a job

6. The Close

salesperson attempts to gains one type of commitment form the customer to purchase the product or service