Chapter 20, Personal Selling and Sales

Management, Class Notes

Content List
 Scope and Importance of Personal Selling
 Nature of Personal Selling
 Types of Sales People
 Elements of the Personal Selling Process
 Prospecting and Evaluating
 Preapproach
 Approaching the Customer
 Making the Presentation
 Closing the Sale
 Following Up
 Management of the Salesforce
 Establishing Salesforce Objectives
 Organizing the Salesforce
 Recruiting and Selecting the Salesforce
 Training the Salesforce
 Compensating Sales People
 Motivating Sales People
 Please Email [email protected] any comments
 Return to Syllabus
 Return to Homepage

Scope and Importance of Personal Selling

In the US, 14 million people are employed in sales positions, according to the department of
labor.
Sales personnel include stockbrokers, manufacturing sales representatives, real estate brokers
etc.
Most students in this class will have been employed as a sales person.
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Nature of Personal Selling

Gives marketers:

 The greatest freedom to adjust a message to satisfy customers informational needs,

dynamic.
  Most precision, enabling marketers to focus on most promising leads. vs. advertising,
publicity and sales promotion
 Give more information
 Two way flow of information, interactivity.
 Discover the strengths and weaknesses of new products and pass this information on to
the marketing department.
 Highest cost. Businesses spend more on personal selling than on any other form of
promotional mix.
 Goals range from
o finding prospects
o convincing prospects to buy
o keeping customers satisfied--help them pass the word along.

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Types of Sales Persons

 Order Takers

Seek repeat sales, make certain that customers have sufficient product quantities where
and when they need it. Do not require extensive sales effort. Arrange displays, restocks
them, answer phone calls. Low compensation, little training required. High turnover of
personnel. 2 types:

o Inside Order Takers receive orders by mail/phone, sales person in a retail store.
o Field Order Takers travel to customers. Use laptop computers to improve tracking
of inventory and orders etc.
 Order Getters

Sell to new customers and increase sales to present customers, sometimes called creative
selling.
Generate customer leads, provide information, persuading customers and closing sales.
Required for high priced, complex and/or new products. High pressure, requires
expensive, time consuming training.

 Support Personnel

Facilitate the selling function. Primarily business to business products.

o Missionary Salespeople Distribute information regarding new goods or services,

describes attributes and leaves materials, does not close sales. Assist producers'
customers in selling to their own customers. IE call on retailers and persuade them
to carry the product. Pharmaceuticals may go to doctors offices and persuade
them to carry their products.
 o Trade Salespeople May perform order taking function as well. Spend much time
helping customers, especially retail stores, to promote the product. Restock the
shelves, set up displays. Technical Salespersons Offer technical assistance to
current customers. Usually trained engineers etc.
o Service Salespeople interacts with customers after sale is complete.

Team selling...entire team of selling professionals in selling to and servicing major

customers, especially when specialized knowledge is needed to satisfy different interests
in customers' buying centers.

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Elements of the Personal Selling Process

No 2 salespersons use exactly the same sales method, but it is generally a seven step process:

1. Prospecting and Evaluating

Seek names of prospects through sales records, referrals etc., also responses to
advertisements. Need to evaluate if the person is able (Undergraduate degree to attend a
graduate program), willing and authorized to buy. Blind prospecting-rely on phone
directory etc.
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2. Preapproach (Preparing)

Review key decision makers esp. for business to business, but also family

o assess credit histories

o prepare sales presentations
o identify product needs.

Helps present the presentation to meet the prospects needs.

3. Approaching the Customer

Manner in which the sales person contacts the potential customer. First impression of the
sales person is Lasting and therefore important.
Strive to develop a relationship rather than just push the product.
Can be based on referrals, cold calling or repeat contact.
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4. Making the Presentation

 Need to attract and hold the prospects Attention to stimulate Interest and stir up Desire in
the product so the potential customer takes the appropriate Action. AIDA
Try to get the prospect to touch, hold or try the product. Must be able to change the
presentation to meet the prospect needs.
Three types of presentations:

o Stimulus Response Format: Appropriate stimulus will initiate a buy decision, use
one appeal after another hoping to hit the right button...Counter Clerk @
McDonald's "Would you like fries with your burger?"
o Formula Selling Format: (Canned Sales Presentation) memorized, repetitive,
given to all customers interested in a specific product.
Good for inexperienced sales people.
Better with heavily advertised items that are presold.
Telemarketing a credit card!!
o Need Satisfaction Format: Based on the principal that each customer has a
different set of needs/desires., therefore the sales presentation should be adapted
to the individual customer's needs, this is a key advantage of personal selling vs.
advertising.
Sales person asks questions first, then makes the presentation accordingly.
Need to do homework, listen well and allow customers to talk etc.
Must answer two types of questions:
 for more information
 overcome objections.

Overcoming Objections

Seek out objections and address them.

Anticipate and counter them before the prospect can raise them.
Try to avoid bringing up objections that the prospect would not have raised.
Price objection is the most common
Need to provide customers with reasons for the $s, build up the value before price is
mentioned
Must be convinced of price in own mind before you can sell to customer.
Get budget info. on buyer before you try to sell, and must know what they want, must sell
service on top of product augmented product--to create value!!
Must know value of product, provide warranties etc.!!
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5. Closing

Ask prospect to buy product/products. Use trial closes, IE ask about financial terms,
preferred method of delivery.
20% sales people generally close 80% sales., Avon, over 1/2 US $1.4 bn business from
17% of 415,000 SRs.
Need to be prepared to close at any time. The following are popular closing techniques:
 o Trial Close (Minor decision close)
o Assumptive close (Implied consent close)
o Urgency close
o Ask for the sale close

If prospect says no, they may just need more reasons to buy!!
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6. Following Up

Must follow up sale, determine if the order was delivered on time, installation OK etc.
Also helps determine the prospects future needs. Accomplishes four objectives:

o customer gain short term satisfaction

o referrals are stimulated
o in the long run, repurchase
o prevent cognitive dissonance

Old school, sell and leave!!--Quickly before customer changes her mind!!
Now:

o Stay a few minutes after sale--reinforce, make them feel good, made wise choice,
leave small gift (with co. name on it!!), call office at any time etc!!
o Follow up, reinforce, know birthdays, new year etc, friendly
correspondence...relationship building!!

Handout...Toyota Calling In Japan's Car Market

Half of cars are sold door-to-door. This is shrinking due to environmental changes.
Toyota has more than 100,000 door-to-door sales people.
Developing Long-term relationships is key, Keiretsu, do business with only those you
know and trust. Face-to-face meetings before business to establish trust, the approach
stage.
Follow up is key to relationship:
After sales:

o call inquiring on car's immediate performance

o hand written greeting cards
o written invitations for low cost oil changes

Prospecting includes:

o Driving schools for people to obtain licenses = prospects

o Also referrals from existing customers is very important
o Curtesy calls to clients who referred new customers.
Timing of presentation:

o To housewife in the middle of the day

o Just before 3 year "Shaken", following 2 years

"At first I had no intention of buying a new car, but Mr. Saito is very good at proposing
reasons why I should change" = $1,600 shaken.
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Management of Salesforce
Sales force is directly responsible for generating sales revenue.
Eight general management areas:

o Establish Salesforce objectives

Similar to other promotional objectives

Demand oriented or image oriented.
Major objective is persuasion, converting consumer interest into sales.
Sales objectives; expected to accomplish within a certain period of time.
Give direction and purpose and act as a standard for evaluation.
Set for total salesforce and each individual salesperson.
Can be $s, units sold, market share to achieve, for individual salespersons, also
include ave. order size, ave. # of sales/time period, and ratio orders/calls.
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o Organizing the Salesforce

 In-house vs. independent agents (manufacturer's sales agents).
 Organize by:
 Geography (simplest, but not suitable if product(s) are complex or
customers require specialized knowledge)
 Customer: Different buyers have different needs
 Product: Specific knowledge re: products is needed
 Size. Marginal analysis, or determine how many sales calls/year are
needed for an organization to effectively serve its customers and divide
this total by the average # of sales calls that a person makes annually. Also
use subjective judgement.
MBNA estimates how many calls to expect, one year in advance, and then
determines the size of the salesforce at any given time.

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o Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople

 Need to establish a set of required qualifications before beginning to recruit.
Prepare a job description that lists specific tasks the salesperson should perform
and analyze traits of the successful salespeople within the organization.
May use assessment centers--intense training environment that places candidates
in realistic problem settings in which they give priorities to their activities, make
and act on decisions.
Recruitment should be a continual activity aimed at reaching the best applicants.
Applicants that most match the demographics of the target market. Changing
demographics, may be wise to hire hispanic sales people if your territory is in
Florida!!
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o Training Sales Personnel

Use formal programs, or Informal on-the-job training. Can be complex or simple.

Training should focus on:

 the company
 products
 selling techniques.

Aimed at new hires and experienced personnel.

Can be held in the field, educational institutions or company facilities.
Oldsmobile spent $25 million last year to teach its dealers how to better treat its
customers.
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o Compensating Sales People

To attract, motivate and retain sales people, that facilitate and encourage good
treatment of the customers. Need to understand personalities of sales people.
Strive for proper balance of freedom, income and incentives.
Need to determine the best level of compensation required, and the best method of
calculating it.

 Straight salary
 straight commission (selling insurance)--single percentage of sales or
sliding rate
 Combination plan

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o Motivating Sales People

Need a systematic approach, must also satisfy non-financial needs:

  Job security
 Working Conditions
 Opportunities to succeed

Sales contests increase sales.

Symbolic awards--plaques, rings etc.
Can also use negative motivational methods for under performers.
Due to burn out--even the best need motivating!!
Ongoing process...keep reps. hungry
Need a motivational program.
Spend time with reps, personal attention!!
Take interest in them and the sales goals

 Compensation packet that rewards quality salesmanship and extra effort

 Recognition of extra effort of sales force
 Make sure SR feel important
 Keep SR informed of company activities
 Make certain reps. believe in the company
 Goals must be realistic and achievable and changeable
 Determine what they want and give it to them
 Controlling and Evaluating Salesforce performance

Rely on information from call reports, customer feedback and invoices.

Performance is determined by objectives. May compare with predetermined
performance standards or with other sales people working under similar
conditions.

Handout Avon....

$4 billion business, relied solely on personal selling until recently, environmental

changes have changed this...no longer is the wife expected to be at home...model
is dual income earning parents with children in day care.
Need to develop more efficient ways to reach customers.
Salespeople earn pure commission, 10%...50% for top sellers (over $32,750)
Strategies tried:

 Avon Select.
Direct mail catalog and toll free number, attract those that didn't know an
"Avon Lady", or didn't want to deal with one. Also used national TV and
print campaign in conjunction. Problems =
 Salesperson creates confidence in the brand, delivering much more
than advertising is able to do. When you take away the selling
relationship, you're left with a brand that's relatively naked.
 Key is not to undercut the field salesforce, similar to dual
distribution creating channel conflict.
 Mary Kay Corp has also tried this strategy but differently and more
successfully:

 Catalogs carry different merchandise

 Forward commission to sales rep. in customer's area "Never have a
grey area regarding competing with sales force."

Other demotivational concerns:

 Restructured commissions
 Dropped awards, trips and other incentives
 Leadership Program.
A Multi-level marketing (MLM) concept. Rewarded for products sold as
well as people you recruit as a sales rep....by getting some of their
commission and a portion of the commission of reps. they recruit etc.
Created a hard sell environment and was consequently scrapped.

To remotivate:
New CEO

 Reinstate Birthday presents

 Anniversary plates
 Annual Pins
 Phone Blitzs to indicate appreciation

"Gifts [and recognition] are part of the magic"

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