Chapter 14

Personal Selling and Sales

Management

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1. Explain why personal selling is important in

brand promotion.

2. Describe the activities besides selling performed

by salespeople.

3. Summarize the role of setting objectives for

personal selling.

4. Outline the steps involved in personal selling.

5. Describe factors that contribute to a new

environment for personal selling.

6. Define the responsibilities of sales force

management.

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Personal Selling

• Household consumers and business buyers are frequently confronted

with purchase decisions that are facilitated by interaction with a

salesperson.

• This is especially true for products that are:

• higher priced and complicated to use

• require demonstration

• tailored to users’ needs

• involve a trade-in

• judged at the point of purchase

• In many decision contexts, only a qualified and well-trained salesperson

can address a potential buyer’s questions and concerns.

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Personal Selling, Continued

Exhibit 14.1 Number of Sales Jobs: Current and Projected

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What Salespeople Do

• Often, salespeople are responsible for more than the selling effort; they

may also implement various aspects of marketing strategy:

• market analysis

• sales forecasting

• new product ideas

• buyer behavior analysis

• communication

• sales coordination

• customer service

• customer relationship management (CRM)

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What Salespeople Do, Continued

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What Salespeople Do, Continued

• The type of selling and communication requirements vary

depending on the customers’ needs and the complexity of the

product. The three types of selling are

• Order taking—inside order takers, outside order takers

• Creative selling—team selling, seminar selling, system

selling

• Supportive communications—missionary salesperson,

detail salesperson

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What Salespeople Do, Continued

Exhibit 14.2 Three Types of Selling

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Personal-Selling Objectives

• Personal-selling objectives are external in that they all focus on

the buyer:

• Create a competitive advantage

• Treat each buyer as unique

• Manage relationships for mutual benefit—product, service,

price, source (company), and people superiority

• Control the communication

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The Selling Process

• A well-conceived and well-executed sales effort involves using a series of steps:

• Preparation—gathering relevant information in order to deliver a targeted and

persuasive sales message

• Prospecting—generating leads for new clients

• Initial contact—leaving comprehensive information, introducing buyer to

corporate selling programs, gathering information about buyers organization

and product/ service needs

• Presentation—face-to-face (consultative selling) or telemarketing

• canned presentation

• attention-interest-desire-action (AIDA)

• needs satisfaction (need development, need awareness, need

fulfillment)

• Handling objections—treat all objections as legitimate and reasonable,

counter objections without seeming argumentative

• Closing the sale—only 40% of the time does the salesperson actually ask for

the buyer to place the order

• Follow-up—ensure that all commitments are fulfilled, deal with post-purchase

behavior

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The Selling Process, Continued

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Exhibit 14.3 How to Sell: Steps in the Process

Selling in a New Environment

• Changes in the broad business environment have created a

significantly new environment for personal selling. These

changes include:

• Better marketing planning

• Sales force automation (SFA)

• More-demanding buyers

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Sales Management

• Sales force management includes the following areas of responsibility:

• Situation analysis—external and internal

• Setting sales objectives

• Setting and managing budgets—based on salaries and benefits,

incentive programs, recruiting costs, training costs, travel

expenses, promotional materials

• Identifying sales force structure—by product lines, type of

customer, geographic territory

• Hiring—job recruitments (writing a job description, recruiting,

screening and evaluation

• Training—content and methods, duration, personnel, location

• Motivating the sales force—compensation, task clarity, recognition

of goal attainment, job enrichment, perquisites

• Evaluating performance

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Sales Management, Continued

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Exhibit 14.4 What Sales Managers Do

Sales Management, Continued

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Exhibit 14.5 Ways to Budget Selling Expenses

Sales Management, Continued

Exhibit 14.6 Salaries or Commissions? How to Choose

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