PowerPoint presentation prepared by Dr. Rajiv Mehta Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Starting Your Personal...

PowerPoint presentation prepared byDr. Rajiv Mehta

Chapter 14Chapter 14

Starting Your Personal Selling

Career

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Chapter 14 | Slide 2

Chapter OutlineChapter Outline

• Your career in sales

• What companies look for in new salespeople

• How companies screen you for a sales job

• Selling yourself to a prospective employer

• Your early sales career


Learning ObjectivesLearning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should understand:

• Some of the many benefits in a personal selling career.

• Various online and off-line sources of sales jobs.

• What companies are looking for in new salespeople.

• How you may be screened for a personal selling job.

• Reasons why some candidates for sales jobs are rejected.

• Questions often asked in an interview.

• How to use the PSP to find a good job in personal selling.

• Various suggestions for preparing your résumé and cover letter.

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Benefits of a Career in Personal Benefits of a Career in Personal SellingSelling

• High earnings potential

• Job freedom and independence

• Special perquisites like a company car, company credit card, club memberships, and incentives for superior performance

• Opportunities to travel and entertain customers on an expense account

• Continuous job challenge and excitement

• Tax deductions for home offices and other expenses not covered by the companyRoyalty-Free, Stockdisc Premium/Getty Images


Benefits of a Career in Personal Benefits of a Career in Personal Selling Selling cont’dcont’d

• Opportunities to meet and interact with new and diverse people

• Recognition within the company because top salespeople directly generate revenues that keep the company financially healthy; in fact, some people have said that everyone’s job depends on how well salespeople do their jobs

• Fast track opportunities for promotion all the way to the top of an organization

• Jobs for diverse types of individuals with varied backgrounds and personalities to match up with diverse prospects and customers



Benefits of a Career in Personal Benefits of a Career in Personal Selling Selling cont’dcont’d

• High mobility, because good salespeople are always in demand

• Chance to contribute to a healthy, growing economy by solving problems and making a real difference in your customers’ and your own company's "bottom line"

• Multiple career paths in professional selling, sales management, or marketing management

Chapter Review Question:List some of the major benefits of a sales career.

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Career Path OptionsCareer Path Options

Chapter Review Question:What are your basic career options after serving as a

successful salesperson for a few years?

1. Professional Selling

2. Sales Management

3. Marketing Management

Career Path


Sources of Sales JobsSources of Sales Jobs

Two sources that identify available sales jobs:

1. Internal• Among the most widely used internal sources are

• employee newsletters

• bulletin board announcements

• employee referral programs, which may offer employees a "finder's fee" to recommend potential salespeople

2. External• Sources include:

• newspaper advertisements

• employment agencies

• colleges and universities

• career conferences or job fairs

• professional organizations

• Wall Street Journal, trade journals, and private employment agencies


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What Companies Look for What Companies Look for In New Salespeople In New Salespeople cont’dcont’d

• In general, successful sales candidates tend to have the following 3 characteristics:

1. Self-Motivation• able to explain why they selected sales as a career path

• exhibit and communicate high energy levels

• ability to work long and hard without discouragement

• a track record of setting and achieving meaningful goals

• capacity to initiate action and influence events rather than being merely passive observers

• express thoughts and ideas clearly and directly

• organize thoughts logically

• ask insightful questions about the company

• listen attentively


What Companies Look for What Companies Look for In New Salespeople In New Salespeople cont’dcont’d

2. Interpersonal Skills• interact comfortably in a friendly fashion with diverse types of people

in different situations

• have persuasive ability to win the confidence of others

• are flexible and adaptable to new situations

• can handle rejection and disappointments without losing confidence or effectiveness

3. Planning/Organizing Skills• can establish realistic short-run and long-run objectives

• can prioritize tasks

• can develop clear strategies to achieve objectives

• can make sound judgments and decisions based on facts

Chapter Review Question:What general qualities do companies usually look for in salespeople?


How Companies Screen How Companies Screen for a Sales Job for a Sales Job cont’dcont’d

The screening process includes:

1. Screening interview

2. Screening tools and tests

3. Personal interview

• Intelligence tests

• Sales aptitude tests

• Personality tests

• Polygraph tests

• Attitude and lifestyle tests

• Drug and AIDS tests

Chapter Review Question:Describe several screening tools

used by employers.



Table 14.2 Questions Often Table 14.2 Questions Often Asked in a Screening InterviewAsked in a Screening Interview


Table 14.2 Questions Often Table 14.2 Questions Often Asked in a Screening Interview Asked in a Screening Interview cont’dcont’d


Chapter Review Question:Give some examples of

questions that interviewers cannot ask members of

protected groups.

Table 14.3 Questions Interviewers Table 14.3 Questions Interviewers Cannot Legally AskCannot Legally Ask


Table 14.4 Possible Reasons for Table 14.4 Possible Reasons for Rejecting Sales CandidatesRejecting Sales Candidates


Chapter Review Question:Job applicants are sometimes their own worse enemies. What

are some possible reasons for rejecting job applicants?

Table 14.4 Possible Reasons for Table 14.4 Possible Reasons for Rejecting Sales Candidates Rejecting Sales Candidates cont’dcont’d


Selling Yourself to a Selling Yourself to a Prospective Employer Prospective Employer cont’dcont’d

1. Prospecting for an Employer (sources of jobs)

• College Placement Office

• Networking

• Employment Agencies

• Planning Your Approach • Prepare your resume and cover letter

• Track record of achievements

• References

• Electronic résumés

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Selling Yourself to a Selling Yourself to a Prospective Employer Prospective Employer cont’dcont’d

3. Making Your Approach • contacting prospective employers

4. Your Sales Presentation and Demonstration • job interviews

5. Dealing with Resistance or Objections • interviewer objections

6. Confirming the Agreement or Getting the Job Offer • showing interest in the job

7. Following Up • thank you letter




Table 14.5 Sample Resume, Table 14.5 Sample Resume, Catherine JamesCatherine James


Chapter Review Question:What is the purpose of a cover letter? Cite some guidelines for preparing and sending a cover

letter.

Table 14.5 Sample Cover Letter, Table 14.5 Sample Cover Letter, Catherine JamesCatherine James


Table 14.7 Questions Frequently Table 14.7 Questions Frequently Asked in InterviewsAsked in Interviews


Table 14.7 Questions Frequently Table 14.7 Questions Frequently Asked in Interviews Asked in Interviews cont’dcont’d


Chapter Review Question:List some questions frequently asked by

interviewers.

Table 14.7 Questions Frequently Table 14.7 Questions Frequently Asked in Interviews Asked in Interviews cont’dcont’d


Table 14.8 Checklist for Table 14.8 Checklist for Follow-up InterviewsFollow-up Interviews


Table 14.8 Checklist for Table 14.8 Checklist for Follow-up Interviews Follow-up Interviews cont’dcont’d


Your Early Sales CareerYour Early Sales Career

• Even though you want to choose a company that you will stay with throughout your working life, it is realistic to recognize that you will probably work for more than one company during your career.

• If you are not fully satisfied with your job or company during the first few years, remember that you are building experience and job knowledge that will increase your abilities and marketability for future job opportunities.

• Stay on top of the rapidly changing sales field.


Key TermsKey Terms

• Cooperative Education Programs

• Students combine their college studies with paid work in their career field of interest during two 6-month co-op cycles with one or more of several thousand participating companies. Students often pay for their own college education with money earned in these co-op jobs. Three universities—Drexel, Northeastern, and Cincinnati—are best known for their cooperative education programs.

• Sales Internship Programs

• Unpaid study-work programs offered to college students by several companies—for example, Procter & Gamble and Automatic Data Processing—where students learn about career opportunities.

• Cover Letter

• Letter that accompanies a résumé and is designed to induce employers to read the enclosed résumé. Oftentimes used by college students and others to identify the position they’re applying for if they prefer not to put a job objective on their résumé.


Key Terms Key Terms cont’dcont’d

• Protected Groups

• In terms of employment laws, protected groups are people distinguished by special characteristics such as race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, age (over forty), disability, or veteran status. These particular groups are protected under federal antidiscrimination law, which mandates that people in one of these protected groups not be discriminated against in any facet of employment—including hiring, promotion, training, discipline, pay, or termination.

• Vocational Interest Test

• Tests designed to measure how closely an applicant’s interests match the interests of other people who have successfully performed a particular job.

• Attitude and Lifestyle Tests

• Tests that seek to assess honesty and spot drug abusers. These tests first appeared in the late 1980s when drug abuse became a major problem in the workplace and legislation restricted the use of polygraph tests.


Key Terms Key Terms cont’dcont’d

• Hidden Job Market

• About 90 percent of available jobs are never advertised and never reach employment agency files, so job applicants must be creative and resourceful in competing for these jobs.

• Electronic Résumés

• Many large companies now use computer software to receive, sort, store, and retrieve résumés from job applicants, so that they can later scan thousands of résumés in a matter of minutes to find the best candidates for a job opening.


Chapter Review QuestionsChapter Review Questions

1. Name some online sources (websites) of sales jobs.

2. Why are electronic résumés increasingly used to match up job seekers and employers?

3. What are some typical objections that interviewers cite as contributing to their not considering a job applicant for a job? How might you respond to each of these objections?


Topics for Thought Topics for Thought and Class Discussionand Class Discussion

1. If you post your résumé online, the websites often ask you to provide key words that will help potential employers looking for people with your qualifications. Come up with five key words that best describe your qualifications for a sales job.

2. How might you positively differentiate your cover letter and résumé from the thousands of others posted online or sent through the mail to prospective employers?

3. What activities would make you thoroughly prepared for a job interview at a company for which you’d like to sell?

4. Have you ever been turned down for a job? For what reason do you think you were turned down?


Topics for Thought Topics for Thought and Class Discussion and Class Discussion cont’dcont’d

5. Why do you think that most graduating college students from around the world tend to overlook sending their cover letters and résumés to smaller companies? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages in working for a small company?

6. If you were hiring new college graduates to become salespeople for a company that you owned, what criteria would you use to select candidates?

7. What screening tools do you think would be most effective in selecting candidates for sales jobs?


Internet ExercisesInternet Exercises

1. Use an Internet search engine to find additional advice on how to embark on and manage a successful career in selling.

2. Get an early start on charting your career. Using an Internet search engine, peruse some of the websites identified in Table 14.1 to find examples of sales job openings, job descriptions, and salary potential. Identify the different categories of sales careers you found.

3. Use the Internet to find information on sales job postings and on the current and future career trends in the industry that you would like to work in. What does your research indicate about sales job opportunities? Should you pursue your sales career only in the industry in which you would like to work or modify it to include other sales fields?


Projects for Personal GrowthProjects for Personal Growth

1. Prepare three different cover letters to accompany your résumé, and ask several of your friends and a professor to pick out the best one. Ask them why they chose that one.

2. Prepare your résumé using each of the three formats: chronological, functional, and combined. Which of the three formats do you think will be most effective in obtaining your desired job? Ask two professors to pick out the résumé format they consider best for you to (1) mail to prospective employers and to (2) post online. Did they choose the same format for each? If not, ask them why they chose a different format for each channel.


Projects for Personal Growth Projects for Personal Growth cont’dcont’d

3. Ask one of your friends to help you rehearse interviewing for a sales position. Tell your friend first to ask you challenging and even off-the-wall questions; then ask him or her to put you on the defensive or raise objections to hiring you. Analyze your performance with your friend to determine how you might have done better.


Case 14.1: Developing Strategies To Case 14.1: Developing Strategies To Obtain a Good JobObtain a Good Job

1. What do you think about Amata’s responses to the illegal questions about future marriage plans asked by the interviewer? Why would an interviewer ask such illegal questions? Do you think that many employers ask illegal questions during interviews? Will Amata’s unwillingness to lie help or hurt her in securing a job? Why?

2. What do you think about Aaron’s plans to give the interviewers the answers they want in order to win the job? Do you think giving false answers to questions during pre-employment interviews will hurt Aaron later, after he’s hired? Why?


Case 14.1: Developing Strategies To Case 14.1: Developing Strategies To Obtain a Good JobObtain a Good Job cont’dcont’d

3. What would you do if an interviewer at a company for which you wanted to work asked you an illegal question? What if the question was “Have you ever been arrested?” and you had had an experience similar to Aaron’s with the police?

4. What options does an interviewee have when an interviewer asks illegal questions?

5. Is it more difficult for women than for men to be honest in an interview when illegal questions are asked? Why?


Case 14.2:Case 14.2:A Tale of Three “Brothers”A Tale of Three “Brothers”

1. Which of the fraternity brothers—Frank, R.C., or Howard—do you think will be most successful in his job search? Why? Do you think Frank’s personality, R.C.’s brilliance, or Howard’s diligent work habits will be most impressive to interviewers for sales positions? Why?

2. Do you think Frank and R.C., who both pride themselves on their charisma, will project a positive attitude in their campus interviews with prospective employers? Why or why not?

3. What could upset Frank and R.C.’s plans to just interview on campus for a sales job? Do you think they’re clever or naïve in their approach to finding employment? Why?

Case 14.2 is found online at http://college.hmco.com/pic/andersonps2e.


Case 14.2:Case 14.2:A Tale of Three “Brothers” A Tale of Three “Brothers” cont’dcont’d

4. Based on what you’ve heard, which of the three fraternity brothers do you think will be most successful as a salesperson? Why? Which do you think will be most customer service oriented? Why?

5. Do you think Howard is over-preparing for his job search? Is rehearsing the job interview a good idea when you don’t know what questions an interviewer might ask? Why?

6. If you were asked to give Frank, R.C., and Howard some advice in their job search, what would you tell each?

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