MKT 3311 Principles of Marketing chapter 19

Managing the Sales Force

Effective sales force management is an important determinant of a firm's success because the sales force is directly responsible for generating an organization's primary inputs—sales revenue. A firm's reputation is often determined by the ethical behavior of its sales force, making a positive ethical corporate culture imperative.

Managing Sales Territories

The effectiveness of a sales force which must travel to its customers depends on sales management's decisions regarding sales territories.

Routing and Scheduling Salespeople

The geographic size and share of a sales territory are the most important factors

New-Business Sales

These sales personnel are responsible 4 locating prospects & converting them into buyers.

Inside Order Takers

These salespeople work n sales offices & receive orders by mail, telephone, & the Internet. That does not mean, however, that inside order takers never communicate w/customers face 2 face. Retail salespeople are classified as inside order takers

Dealer loader

a gift given to a retailer that purchases a specified quantity of merchandise. Dealer loaders are often used to coerce special display efforts out of retailers by offering parts of the display to the retailers.

Merchandise allowance

a manufacturer's agreement to pay resellers certain amounts of money for providing special promotional efforts such as advertising or displays, although manufacturers should verify a retailers' performance before paying them. This is best suited to high-volume, high-profit, easily handled products.

Scan-back allowance

a manufacturer's reward to retailers based on the number of pieces moved through their scanners during a specific time period. Retailers are expected to pass savings to consumers through special pricing.

Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople

a process by which the sales manager develops a list of qualified applicants for sales positions.

Demonstrations

a sales promotion method that manufacturers offer temporarily to encourage trial use and purchase of the product or to show how the product actually works.

Buy-back allowance

a sum of money that a producer gives to a reseller for each unit the reseller buys after an initial promotional deal is over. This method is a secondary incentive in which the total amount of money resellers can receive is proportional to their purchases during the initial promotional effort.

Buying allowance

a temporary price reduction offered to resellers for purchasing specified quantities of a product.

Motivating Salespeople

achieved through an organized set of activities continuously performed by the company's sales management.

Premium (Push) Money

additional compensation to salespeople offered by the manufacturer as an incentive to push a line of goods. This is a good method when personal selling is an important part of the marketing effort.

Dealer listings

advertisements promoting a product and identifying the names of participating retailers that sell the product.

Determining Sales Force Size

affects the firm's ability to generate sales and profits, the compensation methods used, salespeople's morale, and overall sales force management.

Relationship Selling

also known as consultative selling, involves building mutually beneficial long-term associations with a customer through regular communications over prolonged periods of time. It is especially used in business-to-business marketing and can be enhanced through technology that improves interactive communications.

Cooperative advertising

an arrangement in which a manufacturer agrees to pay a certain amount of a retailer's media costs for advertising the manufacturer's products. The amount usually allowed is based on the quantities purchased.

Overcoming Objections

anticipate a prospect's objections in order to address and counter them before the prospect has an opportunity 2 raise them

Free Samples

are given out to stimulate trial of a product, increase sales volume in the early stages of the product's life cycle, or obtain desirable distribution.

Creating Sales Territories

are often selected because they have similar sales potential or require about the same amount of work. should also help the sales force provide the best possible customer coverage and should minimize selling costs.

Trade Sales Promotion Methods

attempt to persuade wholesalers and retailers to carry and aggressively market a producer's product.

Cents-Off Offers

buyers pay a certain amount less than the regular price shown on the label or package.

Training Sales Personnel

can concentrate on the company, its products, its selling methods, or all three. can be aimed at newly hired salespeople, experienced salespeople, or both. may be performed in the field, at educational institutions, in company facilities, and/or by using web-based technology.

Current-Customer Sales

concentrate on current customers, calling on people & organizations which have purchased products from the firm before.

Money Refunds

consumers submit proof of purchase and are mailed a specific amount of money.

Following Up

determine if the order was delivered on time & was installed properly; whether the customer has problems or questions about the product; determine the customer's future product needs.

Prospecting

developing a database of potential customers

Trade Salespeople

direct much of their efforts toward helping customers, especially retail stores & promoting the products. Food producers and processors commonly employ trade salespeople.

Technical Salespeople

direct their efforts toward the organization's current customers by giving technical assistance regarding applications of the product, system designs, and installation procedures. Technical sales personnel frequently are employed to sell technical industrial products.

Consumer Sales Promotion Methods

encourage or stimulate consumers to patronize a specific retail store or try a particular product.

Support Personnel

facilitate selling but usually are not involved solely with making sales.

Frequent-User Incentives

foster customer loyalty to a specific company or group of cooperating companies that provide extra incentives for patronage. reward loyal customers and also generate data that helps marketers foster desirable customer relationships.

Point-of-purchase (P-O-P) materials

include outside signs, window displays, counter pieces, display racks, and self-service cartons. These items attract attention, inform customers, and encourage retailers to carry particular products.

Order Getters

increases sales by selling 2 new customers & increasing sales 2 present customers, which is sometimes called "creative selling."

Consumer Contests,

individuals compete for prizes based on their analytical or creative skills.

Consumer Games

individuals compete for prizes based primarily on chance.

Team Selling

involves the salesperson joining with people from the firm's financial, engineering, and other functional areas, is appropriate for expensive, complex, high-tech business products. These products are so complex that a single salesperson can no longer be expert in all aspects of the product and purchase process.

Sales promotion

is an activity and/or material that acts as a direct inducement, offering added value or incentive for the product to resellers, salespeople, or consumers.

Premiums

items offered free or at a minimum cost as a bonus for purchasing a product.

Personal selling

paid personal communication that attempts to inform customers and persuade them to purchase products in an exchange situation.

Order Takers

primarily seeks repeat sales.

Elements of the Personal Selling Process

prospecting, pre-approach, approach, presentation, overcoming objections, closing the sale & follow up

Coupons

reduce a product's price and aim to prompt consumers to try new or established products, increase sales volume quickly, attract repeat purchasers, or introduce new package sizes or features.

Controlling and Evaluating Sales Force Performance

sales management needs information, which can be obtained from salespersons' call reports, customer feedback, and invoices.

Combination compensation plan

salespeople are paid a fixed salary plus a commission based on sales volume.

Straight salary compensation plan

salespeople are paid a specified amount per time period, regardless of selling effort, and this sum remains the same until they receive a pay increase or decrease.

Straight commission compensation plan

salespeople's compensation is determined solely by sales for a given period. A commission may be based on a single percentage of sales or on a sliding scale which involves several sales levels and percentage rates.

Preapproach

salesperson finds & analyzes information about each prospect's specific product needs, current use of brands, feelings about available brands, & personal characteristics, identifying key decision makers, reviewing account histories & problems, contacting other clients 4 information, assessing credit histories & problems, preparing sales presentations, identifying product needs, & obtaining relevant literature.

Making the Presentation

salesperson must attract & hold the prospect's attention, stimulate interest, & spark a desire 4 the product.

Establishing Sales Force Objectives

tell salespeople what they are expected to accomplish during a specified period. They give the sales force direction and purpose. should be stated in precise, measurable terms and be specific about the time period and geographic areas involved. are usually established for both the total sales force and each individual salesperson.

Rebates

the consumer is sent a specified amount of money for making a single product purchase.

Approach

the manner in which a salesperson contacts a potential customer

Closing the Sale

the stage n the selling process when the salesperson asks the prospect 2 buy the product(s).

Field Order Takers

travel 2 customers & often develop interdependent relationships with them; they may also be referred to as outside order takers.

Sales Contests

used to motivate distributors, retailers, and sales personnel through the recognition of outstanding achievements. This method must be equitable for everyone involved.

Sweepstakes

used to stimulate lagging sales and may be used in conjunction with other sales promotion methods.

Missionary Salespeople

usually employed by manufacturers, assist the producer's customers in selling 2 their own customers.