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
