Marketing Chapter 20 - Personal Selling and Sales Management

Stages personal selling process

(1) prospecting, (2) preapproach, (3) approach, (4) presentation, (5) close, and (6) follow-up

Order Taker (inside vs. outside)

-outside order takers: visit customers, assist with displays -Inside order takers: answers questions, transactions, take orders

Personal Selling

2 way communication between seller and buyer ( mostly face to face; also via telephone, teleconferencing, internet )

Seminar Selling

A company team conducts an educational program for a customer's technical staff, describing state-of-the-art developments.

Presentation Stage

At the core of the order-getting selling process, and its objective is to convert a prospect into a customer by creating a desire for the product or service. Three major presentation formats exist: (1) stimulus-response format, (2) formula selling format, and (3) need-satisfaction format.

Prospecting Stage

Involves finding potential customers: 1) lead: the name of a person who may be a possible customer. 2) prospect: a customer who wants or needs the product. 3) qualified prospect: an individual wants the product, can afford to buy it, and is the decision maker.

Approach Stage

Involves the initial meeting between the salesperson and the prospect, where the objectives are to gain the prospect's attention, stimulate interest, and build the foundation for the sales presentation itself and the basis for a working relationship.

Missionary Salespeople

Missionary selling is generating goodwill and interest in the product. It is selling the idea without making immediate sale, therefore, generating revenue is not the immediate goal.

Sales Person

Provide Advice Save them time and simplify buying Build Relationships

Sales Management

Sales plan formulation: Setting direction Sales plan implementation: Putting the plan into action Salesforce evaluation: Measuring results Salesforce automation and customer relationship management

Team Selling

The practice of using an entire team of professionals in selling to and servicing major customers.Team selling is used when specialized knowledge is needed to satisfy the different interests of individuals in a customer's buying center. A selling team might consist of a salesperson, a sales engineer, a service representative, and a financial executive, each of whom would deal with a counterpart in the customer's firm.

Partnership Selling

buyers and sellers combine expertise

Relationship Selling

creating long term customers

Order Getter (inside vs. outside)

identify prospective customers, inform, persuade, close, and follow up sale ( expensive)

Follow Up Stage

includes making certain the customer's purchase has been properly delivered and installed and addressing any difficulties experienced with the use of the item. Attention to this stage of the selling process solidifies the buyer-seller relationship. Research shows that the cost and effort to obtain repeat sales from a satisfied customer is roughly half of that necessary to gain a sale from a new customer.21 In short, today's satisfied customers become tomorrow's qualified prospects or referrals.

Close Stage

involves obtaining a purchase commitment from the prospect. This stage is the most important and the most difficult because the salesperson must determine when the prospect is ready to buy. Telltale signals indicating a readiness to buy include body language (prospect reexamines the product or contract closely), statements ("This equipment should reduce our maintenance costs"), and questions ("When could we expect delivery?").

Preapproach Stage

involves obtaining further information on the prospect and deciding on the best method of approach.

Sales Engineer

sell by knowhow and technical expertise