MKTG 300 Chapter 20

Sales Support Personnel

Employees who enhance and help with a firm's overall selling effort, such as by responding to the customer's technical questions or facilitating repairs -Ex: Geek Squad in-store support

Company sales forces are more typically used for _________________ product lines

Established -Because the salespeople are the company employees, the manufacturer has more control over what they do

Sales Training

Firms use a varied delivery methods to train their salespeople depending on the topic of the training, what type of salesperson is being trained, and the cost vs. the value of the training -Ex: Face-to-face training (negotiating skills/role playing) or online training

Relationship Selling

A sales philosophy and process that emphasizes a commitment to maintaining the relationship over the long term and investing in opportunities that are mutually beneficial to all parties

Evaluating Salespeople by Using Marketing Metrics

Can be objective (sales, profits, etc.) or subjective (what they do and how they do it) -Subjective is opinionated - may be bias

Sales Management

Involves the planning, direction, and control of personal selling activities, including recruiting, selecting, training, motivating, compensating, and evaluating, as they apply to the sales force

After salespeople generate leads, they must qualify them by determining whether it is worthwhile to pursue them and attempt to turn them into customers

- Do customers' needs pertain to a product/service -Do they have sufficient funds Ex: Real estate agents want to find qualified buyers -In a retail setting, qualifying potential customers is both dangerous and potentially illegal. Should never judge a book by its cover and assume that a person in the store doesn't fit the store's image or cannot afford to purchase there

Personal Selling as a Career

-People love the lifestyle -There is a lot of flexibility -There is a lot of variety in the job -Can be very lucrative - high paying -Very visible to management and good for promotions

Personal selling adds Value by ....

.... educating customers and providing advice, saving the customer time, making things easier for customers, and building long-term strategic relationships with customers 1. Salespeople provide information and advice 2. Salespeople save time and simplify buying 3. Salespeople build relationships

The Personal Selling Process

1. Generate and qualify leads 2. Preapproach 3. Sales presentation and overcoming reservations 4. Closing the sale 5. Follow-up -Depending on the sales situation and the buyer's readiness to purchase, the sales person might not use every step, and the time required for each step varies with the situation

Salesperson Duties

1. Order getting 2. Order taking 3. Sales support

Salary

A fixed sum of money paid at regular intervals

Role Playing

A good technique for practicing the sales presentation prior to meeting with a customer; the salesperson acts out a simulated buying situation while a colleague or manager acts as the buyer -Salesperson should know ahead of time exactly what should be accomplished Ex: Cannot expect to get a purchase commitment from the bank after just the first visit. But a demonstration of the system and a short presentation would be appropriate

Cold Calls

A method of prospecting in which salespeople telephone or go to see potential customers without appointments

Bonus

A payment made at management's discretion when the salesperson attains certain goals; usually given only periodically, such as at the end of the year

Order Getter

A salesperson whose primary responsibilities are identifying potential customers and engaging those customers in discussions to attempt to make a sale -Also responsible for following up to ensure the customer is satisfied and to build the relationship -Require extensive sales and product knowledge -Ex: The Pepsi salesperson who goes to Safeway's headquarters to sell a special promotion pf Pepsi emojis is an order getter

Order Taker

A salesperson whose primary responsibility is to process routine orders or reorders or rebuys for products -Ex: Colgate hires order takers to check inventory, set up displays, write new orders, and make sure everything is going smoothly

Sales Contest

A short-term incentive designed to elicit a specific response from the sales force -Ex: Volkswagen may give a free trip to Germany for the salesperson who sells the most cars

Step 3: Sales Presentation and Overcoming Reservations - Handling Reservations

Although reservations can arise during each stage of the selling process, they are likely to occur during the sales presentation -Usually relate to value Ex: price is too high for the level of quality -Effective salespeople can anticipate and handle reservations -Best way to handle reservations is to relax and listen, then ask questions to clarify any reservations

Selling Teams

Combine sales specialists whose primary duties are order getting, order taking, or sales support but who work together to service important accounts

Company Sales Force

Comprises people who are employees of the selling company and are engaged in the selling process

Motivating and Compensating Salespeople

Great sales managers determine how best to motivate each of their salespeople according to what is most important to each individual 1. Financial 2. Nonfinancial

Preapproach

In the personal selling process, occurs prior to meeting the customer for the first time and extends the qualification of leads procedure; in this step, the salesperson conducts additional research and develops plans for meeting with the customer -Ex: Vonage needing consumer information in attempt to increase sales. Decided to purchase firms that already operate in business markets. Provide them with customer data and introductions to potential business customers

Cold calls and telemarketing have become ________ popular over time

Less -Primarily because their success rate is fairly low -Federal rules for telemarketing: Do-not-call list

Trade Shows

Major events attended by buyers who choose to be exposed to products and services offered by potential suppliers in an industry -Ex: Consumer Electronics Show (CES) participates in the world's largest technology trade show

The Sales Force and Corporate Policy

Many face the issue of what they believe is ethical selling and what companies asks them to do to make a sale Sales people can be held accountable for illegal actions that are sanctioned by employees

Commission

Money paid to a person or company for making a sale -Provides the most incentive for the sales force to sell

The Sales Manger and the Sales Force

Must treat people fairly and equally in everything they do -Hiring, promotion, supervision, training, assigning duties, quotas, compensation, and firing -Equal employment laws

Step 4: Closing the Sale

Obtaining a commitment from the customer to make a purchase -Salespeople must view any specific sales presentation as part of a progression toward ultimately making the sale or building the relationship

Step 3: Sales Presentation and Overcoming Reservations - The Presentation

Once all the background information has been obtained and the objectives for the meeting are set, the salesperson is ready for a person-to-person meeting -needs to get to know the customer, get their attention, and create interest in the presentation to follow -Beginning of a presentation is the most important of the entire selling process because it established exactly where the customer is in the buying process -Asking questions is equally important as carefully listening -When the salesperson has gotten a good feel for where the customer stands, they can apply that knowledge to help the customer solve its problem/satisfy its need

Ethical and Legal Issues in Personal Selling

One-to-one, face-to-face encounters : Salespeople's actions are not only highly visible to customers but also to stakeholders, such as the communities in which they work in 1. sales manager and sales force 2. sales force and corporate policy 3. salesperson and customer

Nonfinancial Rewards

Recognition from friends and peers -Must have a high symbolic value like plaques, pens, rings, free trips, days off, etc. -Award should be given at a sales meeting and publicized in the company newsletter

Inbound Marketing

Salespeople curate blogs to draw in customers and generate leads

The Salesperson and the Customer

Salespeople have a duty to be ethically and legally correct in all their dealings with their customers Long-term relationships can deteriorate quickly if customers believe that they have not been treated in an ethically proper manner Most Important: Sales managers to lead by example

Independent Agents (Manufacturer's Representatives/Reps)

Salespeople who sell a manufacturer's products on an extended contract basis but are not employees of the manufacturer -Compensated by commissions and do not take ownership or possession of the merchandise -Useful for smaller firms or firms expanding into new markets because such companies can achieve instant and extensive sales coverage without having to pay full-time personnel

Financial Rewards

Salespeople's compensation consists of several components: 1. Salary 2. Commission 3. Bonus 4. Sales contest -Usually made up of salary, commission, or both

Telemarketing

Similar to a cold call, but it ALWAYS occurs over the telephone

Step 1: Generate and Qualify Leads

The first step in the selling process is to generate a list of potential customers (leads) and assess their potential (qualify) -Can discover potential leads by talking to current customers, doing research on the internet, or networking at events such as trade shows, industry conferences, cold calls, social media, etc. -Ex: LinkedIn and Twitter have been a boon for generating and qualifying leads

Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople

The most important activity in the recruiting process is to determine exactly what the salesperson will be doing and what personal traits and abilities a person should have to do the job well - must avoid bias and stereotypes -Firms give personality tests 1. Personality - friendly, sociable, like being around people 2. Optimism - look on the bright side 3. Resilience - don't easily take no for an answer 4. Self-motivation 5. Empathy- care about customers and their problems

Personal Selling

The two-way flow of communication between a buyer and a seller that is designed to influence the buyer's purchase decision -Can take place face-to-face, via video teleconferencing, on the telephone, over the internet, etc.

Step 5: Follow Up

With relationship selling, it is never really over, even after the sale is closed. The attitudes customers develop after the sale becomes the basis for how they purchase in the future -Reliability -Responsiveness -Assurance -Empathy -Tangibles -The best way to nip a postsale problem in the bud is to check with the customer right after they take possession of the product or immediately after the service has been completed