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MKT 3580 Study Guide Key
The Sales Career
• What is professional selling?
o The interpersonal communication with a prospect or the process of discovering wants and
needs
o Developing relationships between businesses, organizations, and individuals
o Matching products with needs
o Adding value
• What are some myths associated with professional sales?
o Sales involves confusing or tricking someone into buying something.
o Salespeople make cold calls all day and work on commission.
o You must be naturally outgoing to be in sales.
o 11% general people have a positive attitude about salespeople
• What has shaped our perception of the sales profession?
o Pictures, movies, stories, etc.
• Are salespeople born or made?
o They are made.
• Why is sales important?
o Sale people provide two-way value between organization and customers
o Salespeople generate revenue
o Salespeople provide marketing research
o Salespeople are advocates for customers
o Salespeople help diffuse innovation
o As a college students you need to sell yourself to professor and employer
o Globalization and commoditization means that products and costs are the same, but
salespeople are different
• How can someone learn to sell?
o Corporate-sponsored training
o Training provided by commercial vendors
o Certification programs
o College and university courses
• How has the focus of selling and role of salesperson shifted?
o Shift from selling to consulting
• Are there any career opportunities in sales?
o They are everywhere.
• What are the rewards and disadvantages to a selling career?
o Rewards: helping people, job satisfaction, ability to be creative, pay, benefits, promotional
opportunities
o Disadvantages: variation, travel, stress, rejection
• What are some contributions of salespeople?
o Advocates to customers, tangible contributions
• What is the term given to salespeople because they interact with their company & customers?
o Boundary-spanner
Evolution of Sales
• How did selling evolve from the 19th century to now?
o 1800s: industrial revolution (Peddlers selling door to door . . . served as intermediaries)
o 1800s-1900s: post-industrial revolution (Businesses employed salespeople)
o 1900s: war and depression (Selling function became more structured)
o 2000s: modern era (Selling function became more professional)
• How has the information age shaped selling?
o increases in relationship selling and relationship marketing
o Major advances occur in information technology
o Strategic resource is information
o Business is defined by customer relationship
o Sales success depends on adding value
• What is a knowledge worker and why are they important?
o Knowledge worker: Effort is focusing on creating, using, sharing and applying knowledge
o Important because improves efficiency and sales
• What is the marketing concept and how has it changed sales?
o Management philosophy according to which a firm's goals can be best achieved through
identification and satisfaction of the customers stated and unstated needs and wants.
o How:
§ Delivering the desired product/service
§ Creating value at ALL stages
§ Not “persuasion” but Creative “problem-solving”
• What are the components of the marketing mix? & Promotions?
o Product, Place, Price, Promotion (ad, sales promotion, personal selling, public relations)
• What is the most important sales skill? Why?
o Planning
• What did you learn from the “sell me this pen” exercise?
o Needs market research, go into sale knowledge and know what customers want
o Planning and practice
Ethics
• What is/are ethics?
o These are the standards by which actions or situations are judged by society
• How are individual values formed and how do they influence behavior?
o Formed from morals- what we think is right/ wrong
o They influence our actions, and internal/external behaviors
• How do ethics filter through an organization? (down from top)
o Top Management
o Company policies
o Their sales manager
o Their personal values & code of ethics
§ At the end of the day, it’s a personal choice
o Legal guideline: ethical conduct of salespeople
o Value-attitude-behavior
• What are some ethical problems faced by salespeople?
o bribery
o emotional appeal
o price and product deception
o advertising deception
o manipulation of data
• Is there a difference in international legal and ethical codes?
o Yes, the US is stricter; government regulations differ internationally
• What are some common excuses for explaining away unethical actions?
o Four types of excuses:
o “I was told to do it”
o “Everybody’s doing it”
o “My actions won’t make any difference”
o “It’s not my problem”
• Is there a difference between legal standards and ethics?
o Ethics go beyond the letter of law
o Uniform coding- law influencing buyer-seller transactions
o A contract is a promise enforceable in court
Building Relationships
• What is the difference between transactional selling and consultative selling?
o Transactional-customer is aware of needs, focus on price and convenience
o Consultative- emphasizes need identification, mutual trust and respect
• What is the difference between an IQ and an EQ? What is more valuable?
o IQ- how smart you are
o EQ- capacity for monitoring own feelings and feelings of others
• How can you enhance your relationship strategy?
o Self-concept
o Win win philosophy
o Empathy and ego drive
o Character and integrity
• Is it possible to change your self-concept?
o Focus on the future instead of the past mistakes; develop expertise in selected area; and
develop a positive attitude
o How could a negative self-concept be an obstacle in a sales call?
§
No confidence
• Should either empathy or ego drive be tempered?
o Ego, too much is bad
• Can you forge a relationship without character and integrity?
o NO, you need character: personal standards; honesty; integrity; moral strength
and integrity: achieving congruence between what you know, say, and do
• How do you communicate confidence?
o Strong stride
o Good posture
o Friendly smile
• What are the four key groups with whom salespeople should form relationships?
o Customers
o Secondary decision makers
o Company support staff
o Management personnel
• What is non-verbal communication and what are some associated strategies?
o Remembering names and faces
o Entrance
o Shaking hands
o Facial expressions
o Eye contact
o Appearance
• What are some ways to remember names? Interpret facial expressions/gestures?
o Repeat names and link name to object
• Does it matter how you enter a room? Shake a hand? Make eye contact? Dress?
o Yes
• Does the tone of voice matter of just the content?
o Yes
• What are some conversational strategies to use to make a connection?
o Talk and care about their interests
o Be a good listener, ask questions
o Complement if appropriate
o Mutual interests
• Why is it important to identify an overlap?
o Gives mutual interests to talk about
• How do you identify and interpret artifacts?
o Provides clues on their personalities
o Information about the buyer
Communication Styles
• What are the four communication styles we discussed?
o emotive
o supportive
o reflective
o directive
o What are some of the traits associated with them?
