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THE PERSONAL SELLING PROCESS
Steps in the Selling Process (Figure 13.3)
Use Chapter Objective 3 here.
Use Key Term Selling Process here.
Use Figure 13.3 here.
The selling process consists of seven steps.
1. Prospecting and qualifying
2. Preapproach
3. Approach
4. Presentation and demonstration
5. Handling objections
6. Closing
7. Follow-up
1. Prospecting and Qualifying
Prospecting involves identifying qualified potential customers.
The best source of prospects is referrals.
There are several sources of referrals.
Current customers
Suppliers, dealers, and noncompeting salespeople
The Web or other social network contacts
Unannounced office visits (a practice known as “cold calling”)
Qualifying a lead requires knowing how to identify the good ones and screen out the poor ones.
Prospects can be qualified by looking at various factors.
Financial ability
Volume of business
Special needs
Location
Possibilities for growth
2. Preapproach
The preapproach is the stage in which the salesperson learns as much as possible about the
organization (what it needs, who is involved in the buying) and its buyers (their characteristics
and buying styles).
Call objectives are set by the salesperson and may involve qualifying the prospect, gathering
information, or making an immediate sale.
Other call objectives may include deciding on the best approach and the best timing and
determining the overall sales strategy for the account.
3. Approach
During the approach step, the salesperson should know how to meet and greet the buyer and
get the relationship off to a good start.
4. Presentation and Demonstration
During the presentation step of the selling process, the salesperson tells the “value story” to the
buyer, showing how the company’s offer solves the customer’s problems.
The customer-solution approach fits better with a relationship marketing focus.
Before salespeople can present customer solutions, they must develop solutions to present.
The following qualities are ones that buyers dislike most in salespeople:
Pushiness
Being late
Deceitfulness
Being unprepared or disorganized
The following qualities are ones that buyers value most in salespeople:
Good listening skills
Empathy
Honesty
Dependability
Thoroughness
Follow-through
5. Handling Objections
In handling objections, the salesperson should do the following:
Use a positive approach
Seek out hidden objections
Ask the buyer to clarify any objections
Take objections as opportunities
Turn the objections into reasons for buying
Every salesperson needs training in the skills of handling objections.
6. Closing
Salespeople can use one of several closing techniques:
Ask for the order
Review points of agreement
Offer to help write up the order
Ask whether the buyer wants this model or that one
Note that the buyer will lose out if the order is not placed now
7. Follow-Up
Follow-up is necessary if the salesperson wants to ensure customer satisfaction and repeat
business.
Use Key Terms Prospecting, Preapproach, Approach, Presentation, Handling Objections,
Closing, and Follow-Up here.
Use Critical Thinking Exercises 13-7 and 13-8 here.
Use Marketing Ethics here.
Personal Selling and Managing Customer Relationships
A transaction orientation is intended to help salespeople close a specific sale with a customer.
A relationship orientation is intended to serve the customer over the long haul in a mutually
profitable relationship.
Most companies want their salespeople to practice value selling—demonstrating and delivering
superior customer value and capturing a return on that value that is fair for both the customer and
the company.
Use Marketing at Work 13.2 here.
SALES PROMOTION
Sales promotion consists of short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a
product or service.
Use Chapter Objective 4 here.
Use Discussion Question 13-5 here.
Use Key Term Sales Promotion here.
Rapid Growth of Sales Promotion
Sales promotion tools are targeted toward final buyers (consumer promotions), retailers and
wholesalers (trade promotions), business customers (business promotions), and members of the
sales force (sales force promotions).
Today, in the average consumer packaged-goods company, sales promotion accounts for 77
percent of all marketing expenditures.
Several factors have contributed to the rapid growth of sales promotion:
1. Product managers face greater pressures to increase their current sales.
2. The company faces more competition, and competing brands are less differentiated.
3. Advertising efficiency has declined.
4. Consumers have become more deal oriented.
The growing use of sales promotion has resulted in promotion clutter. Consumers are
increasingly tuning out promotions, weakening their ability to trigger immediate purchase.
Sales Promotion Objectives
Sales promotion objectives vary widely.
Consumer promotions: Urge short-term customer buying or enhance customer brand
involvement.
Trade promotions: Get retailers to carry new items and more inventory, buy ahead, or
promote the company’s products and give them more shelf space.
Business promotions: Generate business leads, stimulate purchases, reward customers,
and motivate salespeople.
Sales promotions should help to reinforce the product’s position and build long-term customer
relationships.
Frequency marketing programs and loyalty card programs have mushroomed in popularity in
recent years. These are programs that give rewards to regular customers to keep them coming
back.
Major Sales Promotion Tools
Many tools can be used to accomplish sales promotion objectives. Descriptions of the main
consumer, trade, and business promotion tools follow.
Consumer Promotions
Use Key Term Customer Promotions here.
Use Critical Thinking Exercise 13-9 here.
Consumer promotions include a wide range of tools.
Samples are offers of a trial amount of a product.
Sampling is the most effective—but most expensive—way to introduce a new product or to
create new excitement for an existing one.
Coupons are certificates that save buyers money when they purchase specified products.
Most major consumer goods companies are issuing fewer coupons and targeting them more
carefully.
Cash refunds (or rebates) are like coupons except that the price reduction occurs after the
purchase rather than at the retail outlet.
Price packs (also called cents-off deals) offer consumers savings off the regular price of a
product.
Premiums are goods offered either free or at low cost as an incentive to buy a product.
Advertising specialties, also called promotional products, are useful articles imprinted with an
advertiser’s name, logo, or message that are given as gifts to consumers.
Point-of-purchase (POP) promotions include displays and demonstrations that take place at the
point of sale.
Contests, sweepstakes, and games give consumers the chance to win something.
A contest calls for consumers to submit an entry to be judged.
A sweepstakes calls for consumers to submit their names for a drawing.
A game presents consumers with something every time they buy.
Event marketing (or event sponsorships) allows companies to create their own brand marketing
events or serve as sole or participating sponsors of events created by others.
Use Marketing at Work 13.2 here.
Use Online, Mobile, and Social Media Marketing here.
Trade Promotions
Trade promotions persuade resellers to carry a brand, give it shelf space, promote it in
advertising, and push it to consumers.
Use Key Terms Event Marketing and Trade Promotions here.
Use Discussion Question 13-6 here.
Manufacturers direct more sales promotion dollars toward retailers and wholesalers (79 percent)
than to final consumers (21 percent).
Manufacturers use several trade promotion tools:
A straight discount (also called a price-off, off-invoice, or off-list)
An allowance (usually so much off per case)
Free goods
Push money
Free specialty advertising items
Business Promotions
Business promotions are used to generate business leads, stimulate purchases, reward
customers, and motivate salespeople.
Use Key Term Business Promotions here.
Conventions and trade shows: Firms selling to the industry show their products at the trade
show.
Vendors receive many benefits:
Opportunities to find new sales leads
Contact customers
Introduce new products
Meet new customers
Sell more to present customers
Educate customers with publications and audiovisual materials
Reach many prospects not reached through their sales forces
Sales contests: Contests for salespeople or dealers to motivate them to increase their sales
performance over a given period.
Sales contests work best when they are tied to measurable and achievable sales objectives (such
as finding new accounts, reviving old accounts, or increasing account profitability).
Developing the Sales Promotion Program
Marketers must determine the following when designing the sales promotion program:
1. Size of the incentive
2. Conditions for participation
3. Promotion and distribution
4. Length of the promotion
5. Evaluation methods
Video Case: First Flavor
First Flavor is a start-up company with a unique product. It manufactures great-tasting edible
film that can replicate the flavor of just about anything, from an eight-topping pizza to an
alcoholic beverage. If you’re wondering why a company would make such a product, think of
the endless possibilities it allows for consumers to sample the taste of a food or beverage before
purchasing it.
Although First Flavor first replicated flavors on thin film in order to market the product as a new
method for product sampling, the company is now evaluating many other applications of the
technology. This video demonstrates how one product can be marketed in multiple ways.
After viewing the video featuring First Flavor, answer the following questions:
13-15. Classify First Flavor’s core business as a sales promotion element.
13-16. Brainstorm a list of the ways that First Flavor’s edible film might be used to
sample products.
13-17. Can First Flavor successfully in pursue consumer product opportunities in addition
to its promotional services? Explain.
Company Cases
13 Sunguard/8 3M
See Appendix 1 for cases appropriate for this chapter.
Case 13, Sungard: Building Sustained Growth by Selling the SunGard Way. Consistently
one of the top companies to sell for, Sungard is out to stay that way through a complete
transformation of its sales force model.
Case 8, 3M: Where Innovation Is a Way of Life. Although it has many consumer products, 3M
is truly a B2B company that relies on a strong sales force.
MyMarketingLab
If assigned by your instructor, complete these writing sections from your Assignments in the
MyLab.
13-18. What is social selling, and how is it affecting the sales function in organizations?
(AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking)
13-19. What is team selling, and why has it become more important? Are there any
pitfalls to this approach? (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking)
GREAT IDEAS
Barriers to Effective Learning
1. The issues surrounding managing the sales force can be difficult for some students.
Individually, each of the decisions a sales manager needs to make seem reasonable
enough, but bringing them all together to actually plan how to develop and manage the
sales force appears complicated to most undergraduates. These issues can be made
simpler by going through each of the concepts carefully and thoroughly. You may also
want to have students design their own sales force for a product or service idea they have.
This will really drive home the concepts of how you design the sales force, as well as all
the management processes.
2. Sales to most students equate to retail sales, a field that many people dislike. Therefore,
many students will not be planning on going into sales as a career, and this could cause
them to “tune out” during this section. You can bring them back by talking about the
nature of selling in various kinds of service firms (e.g., accounting firms) that many
students may be heading toward after graduation. Also, a discussion of the sophistication
and professionalism of the salespeople in companies such as IBM and other
business-to-business companies can generate some enthusiasm for this important field.
3. The personal selling process will be a surprise to many students, again because they
typically think of retail sales, if they’ve thought about sales at all. The importance of all
of these steps in the sales process can be highlighted in the discussion of
business-to-business sales.
4. Direct marketing is a hot topic these days because of the national Do-Not-Call list and the
recently passed federal legislation on anti-spamming. The students should be able to
maintain their interest in this topic, but they may be surprised that direct marketing is not
just for underfunded or shady enterprises.
Student Projects
1. Examine Salesforce (www.salesforce.com). How is the Salesforce sales force structured?
2. List and describe each step of the personal selling process. Analyze your own potential as
a sales person at each step of the process. What steps of the process would be the easiest
for you to handle and what steps the most difficult? Why?
3. Consider your college/university. How could they effectively use sales promotion as a
recruiting tool?
4. What are the distinguishing features between transaction-oriented marketing and
relationship marketing?
5. Discuss the pros and cons of the different sales force compensation methods.
Small Group Assignment
Form students into groups of three to five. Each group should read the opening vignette to the
chapter on Salesforce. Each group should then answer the following questions:
1. What is the role of the sales force in Salesforce?
2. What sort of people would you recruit for the Salesforce sales force?
3. How would you motivate such highly-trained salespeople? Be specific.
4. In an Internet environment, how would you prospect for and qualify potential customers?
Each group should share its findings with the class.
Individual Assignment
The sales force serves as a critical link between a company and its customers. They represent the
company to customers and they represent customers to the company. Explain how this would
work for a company such as Salesforce.
Think-Pair-Share
Consider the following questions, formulate answers, pair with the student on your right, share
your thoughts with one another, and respond to questions from the instructor:
1. What are the major forms of sales force compensation? Which do you believe to be
superior? Why?
2. List and briefly describe the stages of the personal selling process.
3. What is direct marketing?
4. What do you believe to be the major advantages and disadvantages of team selling?
5. In the personal selling process, when would you consider the sale over? Why?
Classroom Exercise/Homework Assignment
Consider you are a salesperson for the local Toyota dealership. A young, newly married couple
enters the lot. Walk us through the personal selling process, using this couple as your target.
Classroom Management Strategies
This chapter describes two communications methods for integrated marketing communications.
Most of the chapter is spent on the sales process, and then sales promotion is discussed.
1. The introduction and Personal Selling section can be covered in 5 minutes. These
sections set the stage for the next two sections, and for that reason should not be rushed
through.
2. Spend 20 minutes going over the section entitled Managing the Sales Force. This is
critical information that the students will need to learn. Figure 13.1 provides an
introduction to the steps in sales force management. Review Table 13.1 to show the
connection between marketing strategy and sales force compensation.
3. The Personal Selling Process can be covered in 15 minutes. Be sure to work with the
students to ensure their understanding of each step of the process. Having them team up
to “sell” something to other teams is often helpful in this section, ensuring that they
“prospect,” develop their preapproach and approach, and then present, close, and
follow-up. Figure 13.3 shows the complete selling process.
4. The Sales Promotion section is a packed section. Spend 20 minutes here, paying
particular attention to the subsections on the various types of sales promotion programs.
PROFESSORS ON THE GO
Personal Selling and Sales Promotion
Key Concepts
The nature of personal selling and the role of the sales force
Designing the sales force strategy and structure
Managing the sales force
According to the chapter, salespeople serve “two masters.” What does this mean? Is it
a good or bad thing?
The ability to build relationships with customers is the most important of a
salesperson’s key talents. Do you agree with this statement? Explain.
What is the role of the sales force in modern business?
Key Concepts
Seven steps in the personal selling process
Customer relationship management
The text emphasizes the link between personal selling and customer relationship
management. Why is this link such an important concept?
Suppose your grade in one of your classes is hovering between an A and B. How
would you apply the seven steps in the personal selling process to convince your
professor that you deserve an A?
Demonstrate how a salesperson could prospect for sales customers via the Internet.
Which search sites seemed to be the most effective in your search effort? Try to be as
specific as possible with the illustration you chose.
How should salespeople strive to build relationships? What is relationship marketing?
Key Concepts
The different types of sales promotion objectives
Customer promotions
Sales promotion objectives vary greatly. Suppose you are interested in spurring
short-term customer buying of your product. What type of sales promotion do you
believe would be the most appropriate? Why?
Go to your local department of discount store. List and describe four examples of
customer promotions you see. Which do you believe to be the most effective?
