SALES MANAGEMENT & PERSONAL SELLINGChapter 1.

Concept, Nature, Role of Sales Management in Marketing, Salesmanship, Specific characteristics of a successful salesman, the evolving face of personal selling

WHAT IS SALES MANAGEMENT?

An earlier explanation/ definition of sales management was, directing the sales force personnel.

Later as the responsibilities taken up by the sales team grew and as the sales function evolved into a more holistic function a new definition has emerged :

Sales Management is management of all marketing activities including advertising, sales promotion, marketing research, physical distribution, pricing and product merchandising.

CURRENT DAY DEFINITION OF SALES MANAGEMENT

The American Marketing Association has given a current day definition of sales Management as:

The planning, direction and control of personnel selling, including recruiting, selecting, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying and motivating as these tasks apply to the personnel sales force

OBJECTIVES OF SALES MANAGEMENT

From the Organizations Viewpoint there are three general objectives of sales management

a. Achieving the desired sales volumeb. Contribution to profits in the organizationc. Continuing growth

SALES MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Resources

HumanFinancial

Raw MatlsTechnologyInformation

Controlling

Evaluating the past to guide the

future

PlanningBuilding a profitable customer oriented

sales team

LeadingGuiding average people to perform at

above average levels

TrainingEducating

sales personnel to

satisfy customers

Staffing Hiring the

right people to sell and

lead

PerformanceObtain Goals

Product sales & profits

Customer satisfactio

nEfficiencyEffectiven

ess

NATURE & IMPORTANCE OF SALES MANAGEMENT

Nature & Characteristics of Sales Management

A. Its integration with marketing Management -

B. Relationship SellingC. Varying Sales responsibilities

INTEGRATION OF SALES MANAGEMENT WITH MARKETING MANAGEMENT

Aligning the sales plan with the marketing plan

Marketing Research Customer Service Coordination Promotions (including advertising, Sales

Promotion, Publicity & PR)

RELATIONSHIP SELLING Buyers and salespersons have some type of a

business or working relationship Every relationship is an exchange Relationship Marketing aims at creation of

customer loyalty The spectrum of relationships includea. Transactional relationship (Selling)b. Value added relationship (Counseling)c. Collaborative relationship (Partnering)

VARYING SALES RESPONSIBILITIES

Response Selling Sales Support Technical Sales Support Demand Creator or business developer Solution vendor

SALESMANSHIP

Sales Management, Personal Selling and Salesmanship are all related. Sales management directs the personal selling effort which is turn is implemented largely through salesmanship

Salesmanship is one aspect of personal selling and never all of it.

It is one of the skills used in personal selling

SALESMANSHIP DEFINITION

Salesmanship is the art of successfully persuading prospects or customers to buy products or services from which they can derive suitable benefits, thereby increasing their total satisfaction.

It is also defined as a seller initiated effort that provides prospective buyers with information and other benefits, motivating or persuading them to decide in favour of the sellers products or services

SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUCCESSFUL SALESMAN

People Skills – Ability to motivate, lead, communicate and coordinate effectively

Managing Skills- Administrative skills like planning, organizing, controlling & decision making

Technical Skills – Training, Selling skills, negotiating skills, use of IT, problem solving abilities, Product knowledge

PERSONAL SELLING

It is a direct presentation of a product to a prospective customer by a representative of the organization selling it.

It takes place face to face or over the phone and it may be directed to a business, person or a final consumer

TYPES OF OBJECTIVES OF PERSONAL SELLINGSome of the Objectives of personal selling are: To shoulder the entire responsibility of the

promotion mix (when no other element of Promotion mix is used)

To maintain contact with existing customers, take orders etc (also known as servicing existing accounts)

To search and obtain new customers

OBJECTIVES ….CONTD…

To secure customers cooperation in stocking and promoting the product line

To inform and educate customers To assist customers in selection To provide technical assistance To assist with training the middlemen’s sales

personnel To collect market information

DIVERSITY OF PERSONAL SELLING SITUATIONS

Personal Selling situations -Service Selling Inside Order Taker , Delivery Salesperson ,Merchandising Salesperson,

Missionary, technical Sales person

Developmental SellingCreative sales person of tangibles, Creative salesperson of intangibles

Creative Selling Political, Indirect, Back door

Salesperson in multiple Sales

SERVICE SELLING Inside Order taker – here the salesperson waits on

customers (e.g Sales Counter person) Delivery Salesperson – Engaged in delivering the

product (Person who delivers Milk, Eggs) Merchandising/Route Sales Person – Works as an

order taker on field mainly with retailers Missionary _Works only to create goodwill and

disseminate information . Does not do any order taking

Technical Sales Person – Emphasizes technical Knowledge and educates customer

DEVELOPMENTAL SELLING

Creative sales person of tangibles – Sales person selling vacuum cleaners , encyclopedias

Creative sales person of intangibles- Sales person selling Insurance, advertising services, Educational programs

CREATIVE SELLING (BASICALLY DEVELOPMENTAL)

Political /Indirect/Back Door – Selling big ticket items by catering to the other interests of the customers (which have no connection with the product)

Salespersons engaged in multiple sales- Where the sales person is required to make presentation to various entities of an organization (Ad agency salespersons making presentations to selection committee, creative department, product department etc)

THEORIES OF SELLING

Is selling a science which can be taught and has several basic concepts?

OR Is it an art which can be learned through

experience? This has led to two contrasting approaches to

theories of selling The first approach relies on Experiential

learning The second approach draws from

fundamental concepts of behavioral sciences

THEORIES OF SELLING

Seller Oriented AIDAS theory Right set of circumstancesBuyer Oriented Buying Formula TheoryBehavioral Equation Theory

AIDAS THEORY

A – Secure Attention I – Gain Interest D – Kindle Desire A- Induce Action S – Build Satisfaction

RIGHT SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES THEORY Also known as situation response theory It holds that particular circumstances prevailing in

a selling situation will cause the prospect to respond in a predictable way

Set of circumstances include external and internal factors

(E.g Salesperson to Prospect – Let have coffee – Sales person and proposal to have coffee are external factors

- Prospects desire to have coffee or to go out with salesperson are internal factors)

RIGHT SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES THEORY

It stresses on importance of salesperson controlling situations

Does not handle the problem of influencing factors internal to the prospect

Fails to address the response side of the Situation-Response interaction

BUYING FORMULA THEORY OF SELLING

Here the buyer’s needs receive major attention

Need (Problem recognition) Solution Purchase

Need (Problem recognition) Solution Purchase Satisfaction

BEHAVIOURAL EQUATION THEORY J A Howard explains buying behaviour in terms of the purchase decision

process. He uses four essential elements of the learning process namely Drives – Strong internal stimuli that impel the buyers response

Innate –Physiological like hunger, thirst etc

Learned – Strive for status Cues – Weak stimuli that determine when the buyer will respond

Triggering – Activate the decision process (price, smell, aroma etc)

Non-Trigerring- Influence the decision process but do not activate (Package, information on the cover etc)

Response – is what the buyer does Reinforcement - any event that strengthens the buyer’s tendency to make

a particular response

B = P X D X K X V

B – Act of purchasing

P – Predisposition or inward response tendency

D- Present Drive level

K – Intensive potential ( value of the product to satisfy the need)

V – Intensity of all cues

PROSPECTING

The planning work which is essential in eliminating calls on non buyers is called as prospecting

Steps Formulating prospect definitions Searching out potential accounts Qualifying prospects and searching out Relating company products to each prospects

requirement

OBSTACLES TO SALES

Sales Objections Real Insincere

CLOSING SALES

Indirect Close Direct Close

EXERCISE

As a seller of cosmetics, do a role play for selling a bag of the newly launched Revlon lipsticks to me (Roll Nos. 1-5, 6-10,11-15, 16 -20)

Consider that you are a company manufacturing Photocopiers. Carry out the prospecting exercise for a new range of office automation product like a facsimile (fax) machine (Roll Nos. 21 – 25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40)

Write down at least two examples of various types of personal selling situations (41-60)

CASE STUDY