Marketing Chapter 16:personal selling & sales promo
Customer (market) sales force structure
organization in which salespeople specialize in selling only to certain customers or industries.
define personal selling
personal presentations by the firms sales force for the purpose of engaging customers, making sales, and building customer relationships
Since salespeople only spend about 37% of their time actively selling (which is too low) firms have adopted _______________ which is a computerized, digital sales force operation that let them work anytime & anywhere.
sales force automation system
Amanda Perkins is a senior sales manager in Arlington Steelworks. As the customer base of her company has grown larger and more demanding over the last few years, Amanda insists on ________, or using groups of people from various departments such as sales, technical support, engineering, and even upper management to service complex accounts.
team selling
Team Selling
teams of people from sales, marketing, engineering, finance, technical support, and even upper management to service large, complex accounts. - negative aspect: hard for salespeople to use teamwork since they are competitive by nature, teams can confuse or overwhelm customers, difficulty evaluating individual contributions.
Territorial Sales Force Structure
- if the company sells only one product line to one industry with customers in many locations. - assigns each sales person to an exclusive geographic territory in which that salesperson sells the company's full line - clearly defines each salesperson's job and fixes accountability - increases the salesperson's desire to build local customer relationships - since each salesperson travels within a limited geographic area, travel expenses are small. - supported by many levels of sales management positions
what are the steps in the selling process? (7)
- prospecting & qualifying - pre approach - approach - presentation & demonstration - handling objections - closing - follow up
Four Elements/ways of compensating salespeople:
1. fixed amount 2. variable amount 3. expenses 4. fringe benefits
a good salesperson's four key talents are:
1. motivation 2. disciplined 3. ability to close a sale 4. ability to build relationships with customers
Four basic types of compensation plans (different combos of fixed and variable compensation give rise to these):
1. straight salary 2. straight commission 3. salary plus bonus 4. salary plus commission.
Ultra Tech Inc., a company manufacturing gardening tools, has decided to switch to a territorial sales force structure. Which of the following benefits is the company most likely to gain as a result of this decision?
As each salesperson travels within a limited geographic area, travel expenses would decline.
Which of the following is a primary reason that companies use e-learning to conduct sales training programs?
E-learning cuts travel and training costs.
Selling Process
Steps that salespeople follow when selling, which include prospecting and qualifying, pre approach, approach presentation, demonstration, handling objections, closing, and follow up.
sales quota
a standard that states the amount a salesperson should sell and how sales should be divided among the company's products. - compensation is often related to how well salespeople meet their quotas
Define Salesperson
an individual who represents a company to customers by performing one or more of the following actives: prospecting, communicating, selling, servicing, information gathering, and relationship building.
Sales force management
analyzing, planning, implementing, and controlling sales force activities - includes designing sales force strategy and structure as well as recruiting, selecting, training, compensating, supervising, and evaluating the firms salespeople
similar to trade promotions but also including conventions and trade shows is what type of sales promotion?
business promotions
coupons
certificates that save buyers money when they purchase specified products
________ refers to the sales step in which a salesperson asks the customer for an order.
closing
variable amount
commissions or bonuses based on performance, rewards for greater effort & success
Inside Sales Force
conduct business from their offices via telephone, online and social media transactions, or visits from buyers - this method has increased since outside selling costs have increased and the surge of online and social media use has grown. - examples: technical sales-support people, sales assistants, telemarketers, online sellers (cost savings)
samples, coupons, refunds, premiums, point-of-purchase displays to contests, sweepstakes, and event sponsorship are examples of what type of sales promotion?
consumer promotions.
event marketing
creating a brand-marketing event or serving as a sole or participating sponsor of events created by others
Which of the following factors has most likely contributed to the rapid growth of sales promotion, particularly in consumer markets?
declining advertising efficiency
Organizational Climate
describes the feeling that salespeople have about their opportunities, value, and rewards for a good performance.
Major Steps in sales force management
designing sales strategy and structure --> recruiting and selecting salespeople --> training salespeople --> compensating salespeople --> supervising salespeople --> evaluating salespeople
point-of-purchase promotions
displays and demonstrations that take place at the point of sale.
Monty Boyd, an account manager, travels frequently on West Coast Airlines. Monty earns points for every mile he flies, and he will soon have enough points to receive a free airline ticket. West Coast Airlines is attempting to build a strong customer relationship with Monty through a ________.
frequency marketing program
trade promotions
getting retailers to carry new items and more inventory, buy ahead, or promote the company's products and give them more shelf space
premiums
goods offered either free or at low cost as an incentive to buy a product
If a company ________, it should adopt a product sales force structure, in which the sales force specializes along product lines.
has numerous and complex products
a successful sales promotion must
have set incentives, set conditions, a way to be distributed out to customers, a specified length. it should be evaluated also.
Product sales force structure
if the company sells many and complex products to many types of customers - salespeople specialize in selling only a portion of the company's products or lines. - ex: GE has separate sales forces for aviation, energy, transportation, and water processing products. - no salesperson can become an expert in all of these product categories. so product specialization is required.
rebates (cash refunds)
like coupons except that the price reduction occurs after the purchase rather than at the retail outlet.
How do salespeople qualify potential customers? (prospect stage)
look at their financial ability, volume of business, special needs, location, and possibilities for growth.
price packs (cents off deals)
offer consumers savings off the regular price of a product. ex. "two for the price of one." or bundles such as buying toothpaste and toothbrush together.
samples
offers of a trial amount of a product. most effective, but most expensive
Before calling on a prospect, the salesperson should learn as much as possible about the organization and its buyers. This step is known as ________.
pre-approach
Melissa Price is a member of the sales force at Urban Fashions, a Houston-based manufacturer of women's apparel. Melissa is preparing for a first meeting with a wholesaler who is a potential customer. She is learning as much as she can about her prospect and his organization. Melissa is in the ________ step of the personal selling process.
pre-approach
with Sales Force Automation Systems, salespeople can more effectively:
profile customers & prospects, analyze and forecast sales, engage customers, make presentations, prepare sales & expense reports, and manage acct relationships. - result: better time management, improved customer service, lower sales costs, and higher sales performance.
frequency marketing programs
promotions designed to build brand equity. build loyalty through added value rather than discounted prices
when in the prospect stage, salespeople need to know how to _________ leads, which is how to identify the good potential customers and screen out the poor ones
qualify
________ are like coupons except that the price reduction occurs after the purchase rather than at the retail outlet.
rebates
Follow-up
sales stel in which a salesperson follows up after the sales to ensure the customer is satisfied and repeat business.
closing
sales step in which a salesperson asks the customer for an order
pre-approach
sales step that before making a sales call, a salesperson should learn as much as possible about a prospective customer. good research and prep
handling objections
sales step when the salesperson should use a positive approach, seek out hidden objections, clarifies any objections, take objections as opportunities to provide more info, and turn the objections into reasons for buying.
presentation & demonstration
sales step where a salesperson tells the "value story" to the buyer, showing how the company's offer solves the customers problems & fits the customers needs
approach
sales step where the salesperson meets the customer for the first time
Outside Sales force
salespeople who travel to call on customer in the field
Prospecting
the sales step n which a salesperson or company identifies qualified potential customers.
social selling
the use of online, mobile and social media to engage customers, build stronger customer relationships and augment sales performance + cost effective, productive, efficient - not cheap, intimidating to low tech salespeople or clients, some aspects of personal interaction cannot be presented via the Internet
What is the goal of the sales force management process?
to build a skilled and motivated sales team that will help to create customer value, engage customers, and build strong customer relationships.
consumer promotions
to urge short-term customer buying or boost customer brand involvement and enhance long term customer relationships.
contests, premiums, displays, discounts, allowance, free goods, specialty advertising items (a free pen or tote bag that has the company's name on it), and push money are all examples of what type of sales promotion?
trade promotions
the steps in the selling process are _______ oriented.
transaction
business promotions
used to generate business leads, stimulate purchases, reward customers, and motivate salespeople.
workload approach
used to set sales force size. - a company first groups accounts into different classes according to size, account status, or other factors related to the amount of effort required to maintain the account. it then determines the # of salespeople needed to call on each class of accounts the desired number of times
Fixed amount
usually a salary, stable income
salespeople traits:
well educated, well trained professionals who add value for customers and maintain long-term customer relationships. they listen to their customers, assess customer needs, and organize the company's efforts to solve customer problems.
Complex sales force structure
when a company sells a wide variety of products to many types of customers over a broad geographic area - combines several types of organization: sales people can be specialized by customer & territory, product & territory, product & customer, or territory & product & customer.
is personal selling one of the oldest professions in the world?
yes