Chapter 13: Personal Selling and Sales Promotion

Consumer promotions

used to urge short-term customer buying or boost customer brand involvement

territorial sales force structure

a sales force organization that assigns each salesperson to an exclusive geographic territory in which that salesperson sells the company's full line

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

Contests, sweepstakes, and games

give consumers the chance to win something, such as cash, trips, or goods, by luck or through extra effort

Qualities buyers like the most

good listening, empathy, honesty, dependability, thoroughness, and follow-through

Premiums

goods offered either free or at low cost as an incentive to buy a product (Happy Meals)

Rebates (cash refunds)

like coupons except that the price reduction occurs after the purchase rather than at the retail outlet

Social selling technologies are

making sales forces more efficient, cost-effective, and productive

Call plan

shows which customers and prospects to call on and which activities to carry out

American firms spend approximately what on sales training each year

$15 billion

contest

Calls for consumers to submit an entry to be judges by a panel that will select the best entries

Frequency marketing programs

direct marketing programs that provide concrete rewards to frequent customers

Samples

offer a trial amount of a product - most effective but the most expensive

Salespeople serve two masters

the seller and the buyer

Social selling

using online, mobile, and social media to engage customers, build stronger customer relationships, and augment sales performance

Sales reports

weekly or monthly work plans and longer-term territory marketing plans

Digital e-learning

- Can cut travel and other training costs - Takes up less of sales persons time - Makes on-demons training available to salespeople

Characteristics of territorial sales force structure

- Clearly defines each salesperson's job - Increases the salesperson's desire to build local customer relationships the improve selling - Travel expenses are relatively small

Size of incentive

A certain minimum incentive is necessary if the promotion is to succeed; a larger incentive will produce more sales response

Expense reports

A detailed listing of funds spent by salesman to track spending on goods and services needed to perform business functions. (Supplies, cars, hotel, meals)

Hybrid sales rep

A modern cross between a field sales rep and an inside rep, who often works from a remote location

Push money

Cash or gifts to dealers or their sales forces to "push" the manufactures goods

Disciplined work style

Have plans and work in a timely manner. They close more sales and build better customer relationships because they have more time.

More and more companies are moving away from

High-compensation plans that may drive salespeople to make short-term grab for business rather than building a lasting relationship with the customer

Evaluation

Marketers should work to measure the returns on their sales promotion investments, just as they should seek to assess the returns on other marketing activities

Sales force size

May range from a few to tens of thousands - The most productive and expensive asset

Conditions for participation

Might be offered to everyone or only to select groups

Straight discount

Money off the list price on each case purchased during a stated period of time

Sales promotion

Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service

Sweepstakes

calls for consumers to submit their names for a drawing

Price packs (cent-off deals)

offer consumers savings off the regular price of a product (2 for 1 or bundle discount)

telemarketers and online sellers

people who try to sell you products by telephone, social media, and online

Allowance

promotional money paid by manufacturers to retailers in return for an agreement to feature the manufacturer's products in some way

Sales assistants

provide research and administrative backup for outside salespeople

Sales meeting

provide social occasions, breaks from the routine, chances to meet and talk with "company brass" and opportunities to air feelings and identify with a larger group

Technical sales-support people

provide technical information and answers to customers' questions

The best source for new customers

referrals

Organizational climate

the feeling that salespeople have about their opportunities, value, and rewards for a good performance

Closing

the sales step in which a salesperson asks the customer for an order

Follow-up

the sales step in which a salesperson follows up after the sale to ensure customer satisfaction and repeat business

preapproach

the sales step in which a salesperson learns as much as possible about a prospective customer before making a sales call

Approach

the sales step in which a salesperson meets the customer for the first time

Factors contributing to the rapid growth of sales promotion

- Promotion is used to increase current sales - Companies face more competition and they are less differentiated - Advertising efficiency has declined because of rising costs, media clutter, and legal restraints - Customers have become more detailed oriented

Downfalls of team selling

- Salespeople are competitive by nature and want to always have an outstanding performance - Can confuse or overwhelm customer who is used to working with one person - Evaluating individual contributions to the team can be hard

Goals of training programs

- Salespeople need to know about customers and how to build relationships with them - Teach how to effectively sell and train them in the basics - Identify with the company about its products and services

Salespeople represent customers to the company

- act as champions of customers' interests and managing the buyer-seller relationship -relay customer concerns about the company and their products - learn about customers wants and need and work internally with marketing

how to bring a company's marketing and sales functions closer together

- increase communications between the two - Create opportunities for these groups to work together - appoint high-level executives to oversee both marketing and sales

Sales people represent the company to customers

-find and develop new customers and communicate information about the company's products and services - Sell products by engaging customers presenting their offerings, answering objections, negotiation prices and terms, closing sales, serving accounts, and maintaining account relationships

The best salespeople possess four key talents

-intrinsic motivation -disciplined work style -ability to close a sale -ability to build relationships with customers

Major Steps in Sales Force Management

1. Designing sales force strategy and structure 2. Recruiting and selecting salespeople 3. Training salespeople 4. Compensating salespeople 5. Supervising salespeople 6. Evaluating salespeople

Seven Steps in the Selling Process

1. prospecting and qualifying 2. preapproach 3. approach 4. presentation and demonstration 5. handling objections 6. closing 7. follow-up

The sales force serves as a critical link between

A company and its customers

Promote and distribute the promotion

Each method involves a different level of reach and cost. Increasingly, marketers are blending several media into a total campaign concept

Qualify needs

How to identify the good ones and screen out the poor ones

Length of the promotion

If its too short, many prospects will miss it. If too long, the deal will lose some of its "act now" force

time-and-duty analysis

In addition to time spent selling, the salesperson spends time traveling, waiting, taking breaks, and doing administrative chores.

Examples of salespersons

Order taker, order getter, creative selling, social selling, and relationship building

Personal selling

Personal presentation by the firm's sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships

Qualities buyers dislike the most

Pushy, late, deceitful, unprepared, disorganized, or overly talkative

Call reports

Records of salespeople's meetings or contacts with customers

Salesperson-owned loyalty

Strong relationships with the salesperson will result in strong relationships with the company and its products

Promotion clutter

The growing use of sales promotion has resulted in this. Consumers are increasingly tuning out promotions, weakening their ability to trigger immediate purchase.

selling process

The steps that salespeople follow when selling, which include prospecting and qualifying, pre-approach, approach, presentation and demonstration, handling objections, closing, and follow-up.

Call objective

What you want the buyer to do by the end of your call in order to move a step closer to gaining a sale or continuing a relationship with a customer

Intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake and it comes from within

product sales force structure

a sales force organization in which salespeople specialize in selling only a portion of the company's products or lines

Customer (or market) sales force structure

a sales force organization in which salespeople specialize in selling only to certain customers or industries

sales quota

a standard that states the amount a salesperson should sell and how sales should be divided among the company's products

complex sales force structure

a wide variety of products is sold to many types of customers over a broad geographic area, and it combines several types of sales force structures

Transaction oriented

aim is to help salespeople close a specific sale with a customer

Salesperson

an individual who represents a company to customers by performing one or more of the following activities: prospecting, communicating, selling, servicing, information gathering, and relationship building

Sales force management

analyzing, planning, implementing, and controlling sales force activities

Sales contests

are effective in motivating salespeople or dealers to increase performance over a given period

Specialty advertising items

carry the company's name, such as pens, calendars, memo pads, flashlights, and tote bags

Coupons

certificates that entitle customers to cash discounts on goods or services

Sales force automation systems

computerized, digitized sales force operations that let salespeople work more effectively anytime, anywhere

Sales contest

contest for salespeople or dealers to motivate them to increase their sales performance over a given period

Event marketing (or event sponsorships)

creating a brand-marketing event or serving as a sole or participating sponsor of events created by others

Salespeople must

deliver their message n more engaging and compelling ways

Value selling

demonstrating and delivering superior customer value and capturing a return on that value that is fair for both the customer and the company

Point-of-purchase (POP) promotions

displays and demonstrations that take place at the point of sale

Positive incentives

encourage action by offering rewards or payments

Free goods

extra cases of merchandise to resellers who buy a certain quantity or who feature a certain flavor or size

Conventions and trade shows

firms selling to the industry show their products at the trade show

customer-solution approach

fits better with today's relationship marketing focus than does a hard sell or glad-handling approach

Compensation consists of four elements

fixed amount, variable amount, expenses, fringe benefits

Game

presents consumers with something every time they buy, which may or may not help them win a prize

Consumer promotions

sales promotion tools used to boost short-term customer buying and engagement or enhance long-term customer relationships

Business promotions

sales promotion tools used to generate business leads, stimulate purchases, reward customers, and motivate salespeople

business promotions

sales promotion tools used to generate business leads, stimulate purchases, reward customers, and motivate salespeople

Trade promotions

sales promotion tools used to persuade resellers to carry a brand, give it shelf space, and promote it in advertising, and push it to consumers

Inside sales force

salespeople who conduct business from their offices via telephone, online and social media interactions, or visits from prospective buyers

Outside sales force

salespeople who travel to call on customers in the field

92% of buyers

start their searches online and have completed 60% of the buying process before contacting a seller

Prospecting

the sales step in which a salesperson or company identifies qualified potential customers

Handling objectives

the sales step in which a salesperson seeks out, clarifies, and overcomes any customer objections to buying

Presentation

the sales step in which a salesperson tells the "value story" to the buyer, showing how the company's offer solves the customer's problems

Workload approach

to sales force size, refers to grouping accounts into different classes to determine the number of salespeople needed.

Advertising specialties (promotional products)

useful articles imprinted with an advertiser's name, logo, or message that are given as gifts to consumers

Team selling

using teams of people from sales, marketing, engineering, finance, technical support, and even upper management to service large, complex accounts