Personal selling
the two-way flow of communication between a buyer and seller, often in a face-to-face encounter; designed to influence a person's or group's purchase decision
Sales Management
planning the selling program, and implementing and evaluating the personal selling effort of the firm
Relationship selling
the practice of building ties to customers based on a salesperson's attention and commitment to customer needs over time.
order taker
processes routine orders or reorders for products that were already sold by the company. preserves the relationship with customers + maintains sales.
order getter
salesperson who sells in a conventional sense and identifies prospective customers, provides customers with info, persuades them to buy, closes sales, and follows up on customers' use of a product or service
personal selling process
sales activities occurring before and after the sale itself, consisting of six stages: prospecting, pre-approach, approach, presentation, close, and follow-up,
prospecting
the search for and qualify potential customers
lead
name of a person who might be a possible customer
prospect
customer who wants or needs the product. start of selling process; prospects produced through ads, referrals, and cold canvassing
qualified prospect
individual who wants the product, can afford it, and is the decision maker
preapproach
gathering info and deciding how to approach the prospect. info sources include personal observation, other customers, and own salespeople
approach
initial meeting; first impression is critical; gain attention and interest, building the foundation for sales presentation itself and the basis for a working relationship.
presentation
convert a prospect into a customer by creating a desire for the product or service
stimulus-response format
assumes that given the appropriate stimulus by a salesperson, the prospect will buy. suggesting the product is called suggestive selling.
formula selling format
based on the view that a presentation consists of information that must be provided in an accurate, through, and step-by-step manner to inform the prospect.
canned sales presentation
memorized, standardized message conveyed to every prospect. advantageous when differences between prospects are unknown or with novice salespeople
need satisfaction format
salesperson dominates the conversation, but emphasizes probing and listening by the salesperson to identify needs and interests of prospective buyers.
adaptive selling
a need-satisfaction sales presentation that involves adjusting the presentation to fit the selling situation
consultative selling
focuses on problem identification, where the salesperson serves as an expert on a problem recognition and resolution
close
involves obtaining a purchase commitment from the prospect. most important and most difficult stage. need to determine when prospect is ready to buy.
trial close
asking the prospect to make a decision on some aspect of the purchase "would you prefer the blue or the gray model?
assumptive close
asking the prospect to consider choices concerning delivery, warranty, or financing terms under the assumption that a sale has been finalized
urgency close
used to commit the prospect quickly by making reference to the timeliness of the purchase.
final close
salesperson asks for the order when prospect is clearly ready to buy
follow-up
making certain the customer's purchase has been properly delivered and installed and difficulties experience with the use of the item are addressed
sales plan
statements describing what is to be achieved and where and how the selling effort of salespeople is to be deployed
sales plan formulation
setting objectives
organizing the salesforce
developing account management policies
sales plan implementation
salesforce recruitment and selection
salesforce training
salesforce motivation and compensation
evaluation of the salesforce
quantitative assessment
behavioral evaluation
factors for organizing sales forces
geography, customer, product or service
major account management (key account management)
practice of using team selling to focus on important customers so as to build mutually beneficial, long-term, cooperative relationships; also called key account management
account management policies
policies that specify whom salespeople should contact, what kinds of selling and customer service activities should be engaged in, and how these activities should be carried out
straight salary
a salesperson is paid a fixed fee per week, month, or year
straight commission
a salesperson's earning are directly tied to the sales or profit generated
combination of salary and commission
contains a specified salary plus a commission on sales or profit generated
sales quota
specific goals assigned to a salesperson, sales team, branch sales office, or sales district for a stated period
inbound telemarketing
toll-free phone numbers that customers can call to obtain info about the products and services and make purchases