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Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management 1
CHAPTER 17 Personal Selling and Sales Management
This chapter begins with the learning outcome summaries, followed by a set of lesson plans for you to use to
deliver the content in Chapter 17.
• Lecture (for large sections) on page 3
• Company Clips (video) on page 4
• Group Work (for smaller sections) on pages 5
Review and Assignments begin on page 6
Review questions
Application questions
Application exercise
Ethics exercise
Video assignment
Case assignment
Great Ideas for Teaching Marketing from faculty around the country begin on page 13
2 Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management
LEARNING OUTCOMES
17-1 Understand the sales environment
Salespeople can be consumer-focused (as in the case of retail) or business-focused. The sales environment changes
constantly as new competitors enter the market and old competitors leave. The ways that customers interact with
salespeople and learn about products and suppliers are changing due to the rapid increase in new sales technologies. In
order for companies to successfully sell products or services using a sales force, they must be very effective at personal
selling, sales management, customer relationship management, and technology—all of which play critical roles in
building strong long-term relationships with customers.
17-2 Describe personal selling
Personal selling is direct communication between a sales representative and one or more prospective buyers in an attempt
to influence each other in a purchase situation. Broadly speaking, all businesspeople use personal selling to promote
themselves and their ideas. Personal selling offers several advantages over other forms of promotion. Generally
speaking, personal selling becomes more important as the number of potential customers decreases, as the complexity of
the product increases, and as the value of the product grows. Technology plays an increasingly important role in
personal selling. If salespeople do not stay well informed about the products they’re selling, consumers may enter the
store knowing even more than they do.
17-3 Discuss the key differences between relationship selling and traditional selling
Relationship selling is the practice of building, maintaining, and enhancing interactions with customers to develop long-
term satisfaction through mutually beneficial partnerships. Traditional selling, on the other hand, is transaction focused.
That is, the salesperson is most concerned with making a one-time sale and moving on to the next prospect. Salespeople
practicing relationship selling spend more time understanding a prospect’s needs and developing solutions to meet those
needs.
17-4 List and explain the steps in the selling process
The selling process is composed of seven basic steps: (1) generating leads, (2) qualifying leads, (3) approaching the
customer and probing needs, (4) developing and proposing solutions, (5) handling objections, (6) closing the sale,
and (7) following up. The actual sales process depends on the features of the product or service, characteristics of
customer segments, and internal processes in place within the firm (such as how leads are gathered). Some sales take
only a few minutes to complete, but others may take much longer. Like other forms of promotion, the steps of
selling follow the AIDA concept.
17-5 Understand the functions of sales management
The sales manager’s basic job is to maximize sales at a reasonable cost while also maximizing profits. The sales
manager’s responsibilities include (1) defining sales goals and the sales process, (2) determining the sales force structure,
(3) recruiting and training the sales force, (4) compensating and motivating the sales force, and (5) evaluating the sales
force.
17-6 Describe the use of customer relationship management in the selling process
Companies that have CRM systems follow a customer-centric focus or model. The interaction between the customer and
the organization is the foundation on which a CRM system is built. Only through effective interactions can organizations
learn about the expectations of their customers, generate and manage knowledge about them, negotiate mutually
satisfying commitments, and build long-term relationships. If a company has identified its best customers, then it should
make every effort to maintain and increase their loyalty.
Terms
campaign management
lead qualification
relationship selling (consultative
selling)
cold calling
needs assessment
Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management 3
customer-centric
negotiation
sales presentation
follow-up
networking
sales process (sales cycle)
interaction
point-of-sale interactions
sales proposal
knowledge management
preapproach
touch points
lead generation (prospecting)
referral
quota
LESSON PLAN FOR LECTURE
Brief Outline and Suggested PowerPoint Slides:
Learning Outcomes and Topics
PowerPoint Slides
LO1 Understand the sales environment
17-1 The Sales Environment
1: Personal Selling and Sales Management
2: Learning Outcomes
3: Learning Outcomes
4: The Sales Environment
5: The Sales Environment
LO2 Describe Personal Selling
17-2 Personal Selling
6: Personal Selling
7: Advantages of Personal Selling
LO3 Discuss the key differences between relationship
selling and traditional selling
17-3 Relationship selling
8: Relationship Selling
9: Relationship Selling
10: Exhibit 17.1: Comparison of Personal Selling and
Advertising/Sales Promotion
11: Exhibit 17.2: Key Differences between Traditional
Selling and Relationship Selling
LO4 List and explain the steps in the selling process
17-4 Steps in the Selling Process
12: Steps in the Selling Process
13: Steps in the Selling Process
14: Generating Leads
15: Cold Calling
16: Qualifying Leads
17: Approaching the Customer and Probing Needs
18: The Consultative Salesperson
19: Developing and Proposing Solutions
20: Handling Objections
21: Closing the Sale
22: Following Up
23: The Impact of Technology
LO5 Understand the functions of sales management
17-5 Sales Management
24: Sales Management
25: Sales Management
26: Sales Goals and the Sales Process
27: Sales Force Structure
28: The Sales Force
29: Compensating the Sales Force
30: Evaluating the Sales Force
Learning Outcomes and Topics
PowerPoint Slides
LO6 Describe the use of customer relationship
management in the selling process
17-6 Customer Relationship Management and
the Sales Process
31: Customer Relationship Management and Personal
Selling
32: Customer Relationship Management
33: Identify Customer Relationships
34: Interactions of the Current Customer Base
35: Capturing Customer Data
36: Leveraging Customer Information
37: Chapter 17 Video
Suggested Homework:
• The end of this chapter contains assignments for the New Balance Hubway video and a case assignment on
protecting customers
• This chapter’s online study tools include flashcards, visual summaries, practice quizzes, and other resources that can
be assigned or used as the basis for longer investigations into marketing.
LESSON PLAN FOR VIDEO
Company Clips
Segment Summary: New Balance Hubway
New Balance Hubway is a bike-sharing system located in Boston Massachusetts designed to augment existing
transportation systems in the greater Boston area. In this clip, Hubway discusses how they generate buzz and get funding
to build their bike share network.
These teaching notes combine activities that you can assign students to prepare before class, that you can do in class
before watching the video, that you can do in class while watching the video, and that you can assign students to
complete as assignments after watching the video in class.
During the viewing portion of the teaching notes, stop the video periodically where appropriate to ask students the
questions or perform the activities listed on the grid. You may even want to give the students the questions before
starting the tape and have them think about the answer while viewing the segment. That way, students will be engaged in
active viewing rather than passive viewing.
PRE-CLASS PREP FOR YOU:
PRE-CLASS PREP FOR YOUR STUDENTS:
• Preview the Company Clips video segment for
Chapter 17. This exercise reviews concepts for
LO1–LO6.
• Review your lesson plan.
• Make sure you have all of the equipment needed
to show the video to the class, including the
DVD and a way to project the video.
• You can also stream the video HERE
• Have students review and familiarize themselves with the
following terms and concepts: personal selling and
relationship selling.
• Have students bring written definitions of the above terms to
class.
• Have students call a retailer of choice and ask the manager
what reps the store works with to buy its inventory. If a store
does not use reps, the students should try calling other stores
until they find a one that does. They should also query the
manager about the benefits of using reps.
VIDEO REVIEW EXERCISE
ACTIVITY
Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management 5
Warm Up
Briefly discuss students’ findings from the final activity in the Pre-Class Prep. Review the types of
products sold at the store, the number of reps the store works with, and the benefits derived from
working with reps.
In-class
Preview
• Review Exhibit 17.1, Comparison of Personal Selling and Advertising/Sales Promotion.
• Discuss the steps in the selling process. Focus on generating leads, qualifying leads, approaching
the customer and probing needs, closing the sale, and following up.
• Discuss the issues involved in sales force management. Pay special attention to sales force
structure, recruiting and training the sales force, compensating and motivating the sales force,
evaluating the sales force, and the impact of technology on personal selling.
• Have copies of the Company Clips questions (below) available for students to take notes on while
viewing the video segment.
Viewing
(solutions
below)
1. How do you know that Hubway strongly encourages relationship selling?
2. Discuss the importance of social media to Hubway. What impact does it have on customer
relationship management?
Follow-up
• Discuss the role of relationship selling at Scholfield Honda.
• Ask students, “How is the recruiting process similar to the selling process?”
• Divide students into groups of three to five and have them devise a compensation and motivation
program for Scholfield Honda. Give them 10 to 15 minutes to develop a proposal. Have as many
groups as time allows share their outlines with the class.
Solutions for Viewing Activities
1. How do you know that Hubway strongly encourages relationship selling?
Answers will vary, but the discussion about focusing on one-to-one interaction either face to face or through social
2. Discuss the importance of social media to Hubway. What impact does it have on customer relationship
management?
Hubway relies on social media for the bulk of its ability to spread the word (sharing user posts about Hubway), keep
LESSON PLAN FOR GROUP WORK
In most cases, group activities should be completed after some chapter content has been covered, probably in the second
or third session of the chapter coverage. (See “Lesson Plan for Lecture” above.)
Application question 1 translates well to group work. Divide the class into small groups of four or five people. Each
group should read the question and then use their textbooks, or any work that was completed previously, to perform the
exercise. Then each group should discuss or present their work to the class.
Class Activity – Sales Force Structure and Compensation
The purpose of this exercise is to determine the best structure for a sales force in a variety of industries. Divide the class
into teams. Each team will represent a new company that is creating a sales force to sell the product or service to a
6 Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management
national market. The teams can represent one of the following product categories (no two teams should have the same
category): 1) a video game targeted to kids ages 8 to 12; 2) a book about budget travel around the world, targeted to
college students; 3) a Smartphone; 4) an ergonomic backpack targeted to high school and college students; and 5)
sneakers with rollers targeted to the teen market.
Each team should determine the following:
• A realistic distribution channel for the product
• How to structure the sales force across the entire United States (each team should assume that the product will
be sold nationally)
• How the sales force should be compensated
When all the teams complete the above, they should present their ideas to the class.
REVIEW AND ASSIGNMENTS FOR CHAPTER 17
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the role of personal selling in promoting products. What advantages does personal selling offer over
other forms of promotion?
2. What are the major advantages of personal selling to the company selling a product? What are the
advantages to the person or company buying the product?
Personal selling is considerably more effective than other forms of promotion in obtaining a sale and gaining a
3. What are the key differences between relationship selling and traditional methods of selling? Which types of
products or services do you think would be conducive to relationship selling?
The answer for the first part of the question should focus on the key differences highlighted in the text Exhibit 17.2.
4. Based on the key differences between traditional and relationship selling, which type of sales approach would
you use as a salesperson? Do the different approaches require different personal strengths or attributes?
Students’ answers will vary.
5. What does sales follow-up entail? Why is it an essential step in the selling process, particularly from the
perspective of relationship selling? How does it relate to cognitive dissonance?
Although students’ answers will vary, they should address some of these points: A salesperson who properly follows
Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management 7
6. Consider each step in the selling process. Which steps could be conducted through technology (Internet,
webinars, etc.)? Which are most important to handle “face-to-face”?
7. How does each of the sales management functions contribute to a successful, high-performing sales
force?
Students should consider the contributions of goal setting, effective sales process and structure, recruiting and
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
1. You are a new salesperson for a well-known medical software company, and one of your clients is a large
group of physicians. You have just arranged an initial meeting with the office manager. Develop a list of
questions you will ask at this meeting to uncover the group’s specific needs.
Although students’ answers will vary, they should address some of these points: The need-satisfaction approach
2. How many ways can ZapData (http://www.zapdata.com) benefit salespeople? Which of its services would be
most useful to marketing managers? Other businesspeople?
Students’ responses will vary.
3. Consider each step in the selling process. Which steps could be conducted through technology (Internet,
webinars, etc.)? Which are most important to handle “face-to-face”?
Students’ answers will vary.
4. What kinds of sales management opportunities are available at Amway and Quixtar? Use the companies’
Web sites (www.amway.com; www.quixtar.com) to research one of these companies and determine its
sales process, sales force structure, and how it recruits and trains its salespeople.
Students’ reports will vary.
APPLICATION EXERCISE
Have you ever waited forever to get a fast-food hamburger? Have you ever been left to languish in a dressing room by a
salesperson that left for a coffee break? If so, you already know that sales and customer service are integral parts of
marketing. While you are working on this chapter, keep a journal of your personal sales and customer service
experiences with local merchants. Don’t ignore the details. Even such things as how crowded a store or restaurant is
when you visit may affect your perceptions of the service you received.
Activities
1. Keep your journal for a week, recording all sales and service transactions, if possible, on the day they
occur.
2. At the end of the week, examine your journal, and pick the most noteworthy entry. Provide the basic
information about the transaction: company where it occurred, type of transaction (purchase, return,
complaint, etc.), type of good or service involved, and so forth.
3. Once you have the outlined the situation, evaluate the experience. Use the information about selling in this
chapter as support for your evaluation. For example, did the salesperson seem to treat the situation as an
individual, discrete transaction, or did he or she seem interested in building a relationship?
4. Finally, make recommendations as to how the company can improve its sales or service. Suggestions
should be logical and achievable (meaning you have to consider the cost of implementing your suggestion).
Purpose: To have students think critically about sales and sales experiences from the customer and sales rep point of
view.
Setting It Up: This works best as an individual assignment. The journal format allows for collection of data as well as
reflection on their meaning.
This exercise was inspired by the following Great Idea in Teaching Marketing:
John Ronchetto
University of San Diego
SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENTIAL JOURNAL AND PAPER
During the first 10 weeks of a personal selling course, students keep a journal or diary of their separate sales and
customer service experiences with local merchants. For each interaction, they register factual information (where, when,
nature of interaction), key selling or conflict resolution techniques utilized by the sales or service person, and any other
relevant observations. For example, whether or not the establishment was crowded may very well affect their
experiences. Students are advised to make entries on the same day that they personally participated or observed the sales
or service encounter. Their journals should be current, detailed, and organized in a consistent manner. After the first
three weeks of the term, students are liable to be called upon to initiate class discussion based upon information
contained in their journals. Also, during the fifth and eighth weeks, student journals are collected and their comments are
reviewed for clarity of writing style and relevancy to specific sales or service concepts covered in the course.
In the second phase of this assignment, students write about one of their most noteworthy experiences in terms of
learning value. They discuss the organization, the sales or service situation (e.g., buying a new product), the type of good
or service (e.g., personal computer), and other items of significance (e.g., time of day, location of business, layout of
store). In addition, based on their reading of the personal selling text, acting as participants and observers of in-class
student sales role-plays, and class discussions on sales and service concepts and practices, students evaluate this
experience.
In their written analysis and evaluation of this specific sales or service encounter, students recommend the most
important actions the sales or service person should take to change the result (e.g., modify his or her closing technique to
obtain the order). Some suggestions might be directed toward the sales or store managers. Students are cautioned to be
selective and focus on the most important steps because their papers are limited to five typewritten pages. Grading
criteria include the following: 1) How suitably and extensively are sales concepts from the course readings and lectures
included? 2) How reliable is the diagnosis of probable causes of success or failure of the encounter? 3) how logical and
achievable (i.e., cost effective) are the recommendations? 4) How clearly is the paper organized and written?
Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management 9
ETHICS EXERCISE
Sally Burke works for Hi-Tech Electronics. Her responsibilities include selecting items to advertise in her company’s
Sunday newspaper FSIs. One hot item is a 74-inch flat-panel 3D plasma TV. The list price is $2,999, but her manager
tells her to advertise it at $1,999, since customers can apply for a $1,000 mail-in rebate. The advertised price has
attracted many people to buy the TV; however, Sally has heard several complaints from customers who found the rebate
process unusually complex and were denied a rebate because the manufacturer claimed they hadn’t provided the required
information. She would prefer to advertise the “real” list price, knowing that customers are not guaranteed to receive a
rebate.
1. Is it unethical to advertise products at their post-rebate price in order to increase sales? Why or why not?
What is another sales promotion method Hi-Tech Electronics could use to persuade customers to buy their
plasma TV at the store?
Students’ answers will vary, but they should include the following points: Most products containing a rebate will
2. Rebate programs are commonly used by electronic manufacturers because the rebates arouse consumers’
interest in buying products; yet only half of purchasers ultimately claim their rebates. Is a rebate program
itself unethical if the manufacturer knows consumers are unlikely to receive their money?
3. Visit a local electronics store or Web site and find a product being sold with a mail-in rebate offer. Are the
rebate instructions clear? Would you take the time to complete the process?
Students’ answers will vary.
VIDEO ASSIGNMENT: Scholfield Honda
New Balance Hubway is a bike-sharing system located in Boston Massachusetts designed to augment existing
transportation systems in the greater Boston area. In this clip, Hubway discusses how they generate buzz and get funding
to build their bike share network.
1. By crunching the numbers and awarding highest-use members “Gold-club” t-shirts, Hubway was performing which
step in the CRM system?
a. Identifying Customer Relationships
b. Understanding the interactions of the customer base
c. Capturing customer data
d. Leveraging customer information
2. For Hubway, PR launch events function as a point-of-sale interaction.
a. True
b. False
10 Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management
3. Based on this video clip, New Balance Hubway uses advertising and promotion more than personal selling.
a. True.
b. False.
4. Twitter allows Hubway to talk and respond directly to customers, and all social media allows Hubway to give one
person a direct message, creating a strong relationship and encouraging word of mouth. It also allows for
conversations to happen in a one-on-one way. Social media is the modern version of personal selling.
a. True.
b. False.
5. Customers coming out to events, such as the one at the Boston Public Library, and buying annual memberships
makes those events
a. Learning opportunities
b. Campaign management
c. Touch points
d. Relationship selling
CASE ASSIGNMENT: Protecting Customers
Many companies are looking for better ways to protect their customers’ information. This is particularly true of
banks and online marketplaces like eBay. One way eBay is working to protect its customers is by using their
information to help identify fraud. Using data mining, eBay is able to process large amounts of transaction
information and product descriptions to detect sellers who are attempting fraud. According to eBay, fraud has
decreased significantly since the company began implementing security measures based on data mining. Similarly,
Ford uses data collected from four million cars to improve in-car features, such as voice recognition and vehicle
safety. In-car sensors relay information to Ford about how customers drive and how they use various features of the
car. Ford then uses this data to fine-tune features in the following year’s models. Customers can also use Ford’s
remote management system, which provides the company with notifications about any malfunctions or maintenance
needs such as brake pads that need to be replaced. Because eBay and Ford go above and beyond to make customer
protection a main priority, these companies forge stronger, more personal bonds with their customers.
Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management 11
SOURCE: Michael Hickins, “For Some, Security is a Starting Point for Big Data,” Wall Street Journal, May 3,
2012, http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/05/03/for-some-security-is-a-starting-point-for-big-data/ (Accessed March 26,
2013); Rachel King, “Ford Gets Smarter about Marketing and Design,” Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2012,
http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2012/06/20/ford-gets-smarter-about-marketing-and-design/ (Accessed March 26, 2013).
TRUE/FALSE
1. Protecting customers’ information is a reasonable component of a relationship selling strategy.
2. Determining the level of data collection and protection that a prospective customer desires before offering those services
to the customer is a crucial part of lead qualification.
3. A salesperson at a popular Ford dealership may be assigned a quota, a statement of the salesperson’s sales goals, usually
based on sales volume.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Why does Ford use personal selling to sell automobiles?
a.
Personal selling allows salespeople to demonstrate the company’s high-tech safety features.
b.
Salespeople can vary their message according to the motivations and interests of individual customers.
c.
Personal selling allows Ford to qualify customers through direct conversations, credit checks, and other
methods.
d.
Personal selling is the most effective way to completing the sale of an automobile.
e.
All of these.
2. Which of the following is not a trait that Ford likely looks for in its sales representatives?
a.
They should have strong, healthy self-esteems.
b.
They should be capable of understanding complex ideas.
c.
They should have a sense of urgency and competitiveness.
d.
They should avoid risk and focus on sure things.
e.
They should be empathetic toward customers.
12 Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management
ANS: D
Great salespeople are willing to put themselves in less-than-assured situations, and in doing so, often are able to close
unlikely sales.
PTS: 1 OBJ: LO: 17-5 TOP: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
KEY: CB&E Model: Promotion MSC: BLOOMS: Level III Application
3. Based on the case, which of the following benefits of Internet-assisted selling is most useful to eBay in its mission to
protect customers?
a.
The Internet allows salespeople to be more accessible to both clients and the company.
b.
The Internet frees salespeople from tedious administrative tasks like shipping catalogs, placing routine
orders, and tracking orders.
c.
The Internet facilitates cost-effective processing of orders and service requests.
d.
The Internet has become a powerful tool for customers to access accurate and up-to-date information.
e.
The Internet provides salespeople with vast resources of information on clients, competitors, and the
industry.
Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management 13
GREAT IDEAS FOR TEACHING CHAPTER 17
Rich Brown, Freed-Hardeman University
GREEN EGGS AND HAM MAKE FOR A GREAT FINAL EXAM
This is the final exam I use in my Personal Selling classes. On seeing the exam, students often initially react as if I have
gone crazy. They end up enjoying the test, are able to show what they have learned in class, and many of them tell me
they learn more about selling and themselves while taking the test. I strongly encourage them to be creative in their
answers and presentation of them. Many put their answers in book form or include a small Dr. Seuss toy with them. I
have been served actual green eggs and ham on two occasions. Before passing out the exam, I always read the book to
the class. I introduce it as “one of the greatest sales help books ever written.”
In my class, we use Robert Cialdini’s Influence: Science and Practice in addition to a traditional selling text. The fourth
part of the exam should be dropped if you do not cover this material. I highly recommend Cialdini’s book to every one
who is interested in selling.
THE TEST
I have put a copy of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham on reserve in the library. You may want to buy your own copy;
you should never let yourself get so busy you don’t have time to read a Dr. Seuss book to a little kid. You are not to work
together.
In the book Green Eggs and Ham Sam successfully convinces his prospect to become a consumer of the aforementioned
poultry and pork products. Demonstrate your mastery of the material we have covered this semester by doing the
following: First, identify and discuss factors that contributed to Sam’s success as a “salesperson.” Think about each step
in the selling process. Persistence is not the only “success factor” you should see when looking at Sam. Second, there are
some things Sam did not do at all; identify and discuss the ones you think most important. Third, using Sam as your
salesperson, provide examples and discussion of things you can imagine Sam doing and saying to improve his sales
presentation. Fourth, be sure to include discussion, or examples, of how Sam did or could have used each of Cialdini’s
six Principles of Ethical Influence.
Stretch your mind, be creative. You will seldom achieve greatness by thinking and being like everyone else!
GRADING HELP
Things Sam Did Well
Things Sam Could Have Done Better
Stayed optimistic: smile, body language
No evidence of prospecting/qualifying
Showmanship
No trial closes or dealing with objections
Tremendous belief in product
No real presentation to develop demand
Persistence
No attempt at negotiation
14 Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management
Linda Warren and Katie Wootten, Truman State University
MONOPOLY SALES SIMULATION
The purpose of this game is to introduce the friendly, but competitive spirit of sales through an in-class simulation
adapted to the Monopoly board game. The game incorporates many marketing and sales functions that the sales team can
use in a selling scenario—from building a sales force to closing a sale. Students get excited, competitive, and creative
about this game!
Pre-game Preparation
The instructor chooses two students to act as Vice Presidents of Marketing for two separate teams. They will use
interview processes discussed in class for recruiting their sales managers. The sales managers will then recruit their sales
force to form the team. The numbers of sales representatives may vary based on the size of the class, but a minimum of 4
for each team are recommended.
The sales team will name and position their business, make business cards, formulate their marketing and promotional
strategies, and create their brand identities. Sales managers will be responsible for training their sales team (with
instructor guidance) and should include topics such as sales techniques, ethics, and customer relationship management.
Sales approaches, territories, negotiation, and closing methods should also be included with training.
Student Roles – Defining the Game Rules and Parameters
Each team will get an equal number of Monopoly properties to sell. To encourage an open and competitive marketplace,
the printed property prices are concealed. The price paid for the property minus the actual value will equal the profit
earned on the properties.
Teams will use business cards, signage, and promotional activities in their overall strategies to approach customers and
sell properties. Each team will have a total $200 in Monopoly money to use as sales incentives or rebates. The sales
manager will determine the amount each sales representative will receive.
The rest of the students in the class will assume the role of consumers with distinct and unique buying needs or
requirements. B2B and B2C are suggested roles, plus other roles are listed in Appendix A. Larger classes may use
protected territories of properties on the board.
At least one student will need to assume the role of banker to receive and disperse Monopoly funds.
As an interesting twist in the game, a constable position is recommended to enhance the strategic balance of the game
and to introduce contingencies. The constable introduces unknown surprise market factors and demonstrates some of the
risks of selling in the marketplace. The constable may assign fines to sales representatives for unethical conduct or
crossing territorial lines. The constable may assess and collect property tax and place a sales rep in “jail” for a two
minute penalty. All fines are paid to the banker. Fines are given to “lawbreakers” by using Monopoly Community Chest
cards.
Game Day
Set up the Monopoly board or an overhead slide of the board with the prices concealed. The banker should disperse
Monopoly funds to the role-playing customers using the formula $6100+$200(number of customers)/#of customers and
distribute the $200 incentive to each sales team. Sales VPs will oversee final marketing activities like set-up and signage.
The instructor will signal the beginning of the game. A green Monopoly house is placed on sold consumer properties and
a red Monopoly house is placed on sold business or commercial properties.
The constable begins patrol and monitors the action and hands out fines or assessments. Buyers will receive deeds for
properties they purchase from the banker using a contract provided by the sales representative. Game playing time is
approximately 20 to 30 minutes.
Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management 15
The instructor will call time and each team will calculate their profits. The VPs will keep a record of sales, property
values, and profits. The banker will verify the sales and profit and the winning team will be declared by the instructor.
Profits are determined by computing the selling price minus the actual price of the properties and adding back any
remaining incentives.
Post-Game Class
Discuss some of the selling tools and techniques the teams used during the simulation and how they were customized to
different buyers. Also discuss methods employed to address buyer reluctance and negotiation techniques.
Notes
This game is adaptable to classes in Marketing Principles as well as Selling and Sales Management classes.
Appendix A
Consumer Role Suggestions
Consumer 1 Couple with 2 children, desire upscale neighborhood
Consumer 2 Single, professional, 25, prefers urban setting
Consumer 3 Couple, no children, both professionals, urban or suburban housing
Consumer 4 Artist, 25–30, desires housing/workplace combined, low cost
Consumer 5 Single, retired, fixed income, upscale reasonably priced
Consumer 6 Small business owner, desires storefront near high-traffic area
Consumer 7 Doctors, desire office building close to a suburban area or school
Consumer 8 Business partners, desire urban location to build nightclub
Consumer 9 Dry-cleaning chain, desires location near families in upscale area
Consumer 10 Single blue-collar worker, low-cost property close to work
16 Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management
Julie M. Pharr, Tennessee Technological University
CONDUCTING A SALES MANAGEMENT AUDIT
Students taking a sales management course can learn a great deal about the duties and responsibilities of a sales
manager by conducting a sales management audit. To conduct the audit, group students into pairs. Have each pair of
students contact a sales manager whose job entails directly supervising field sales representatives. The manager may be
selected by the students themselves or assigned by the instructor. The following audit information may be gathered by
personal interview, telephone, or e-mail.
Audit Questions
General:
• What product or service does your company sell?
Territory Management:
• Explain how the sales territories are designed.
• How do you decide who gets which territory?
• Are all the territories equal in sales potential? Workload?
• How often do you make changes in the territory design?
• When a sales rep leaves, how do you reassign the territory?
• How do you determine the importance of accounts within a territory?
Training:
• What methods do you use to train new sales reps?
• Who does the training, and how long does it last?
• What ongoing training is done for existing sales reps?
• What objectives do you stress in your training programs?
• How do you evaluate the results of training?
• Who is responsible for designing the training program(s)?
Compensation:
• What methods are used to compensate your sales reps?
• What is the average compensation for a new sales rep? A senior rep?
• What type of quotas do you use, if any?
• How do you reward sales reps when they meet or exceed quota?
o If a sales rep does not meet quota consistently, what measures are taken to improve the situation?
Evaluation:
• How do you evaluate job performance?
• How often are evaluations done?
• How is the information from the job evaluation used (for promotions, etc.)?
Recruiting:
• How do you find recruits?
• How does your company inform the public about a job opening?
• What qualities do you look for or believe are most important in a sales recruit?
• What information on the resume or application do you look for or believe is most important?
• Are education and experience weighted equally?
• Is the interview the final determinant of whom you will hire?
• Do you check references? If so, how many (on average)?
• Do you require any type of testing in the hiring process (aptitude, personality, etc.)?
Instructors not wishing to furnish teams with a full list of audit questions may have students brainstorm their own
questions in each of the above areas. Questions can then be critiqued and compiled to form a master list for use by the
entire class. After completion of the written audit, students should compare results by giving oral reports of their
findings. The audit demonstrates the variety and complexity of sales
Chapter 17 ♦ Personal Selling and Sales Management 17
Kathleen M. Bailey, Loyola University of New Orleans
LEARNING ABOUT SALES PRESENTATIONS:
SALESPERSON INTERVIEW
I have each student go out and interview a salesperson and go on a few calls with the salesperson. They do this after they
themselves have done sales presentations (which are videotaped) for the class.
Outline for Interview with Salesperson:
1. Name, job title, company, product lines
2. How long has he or she been there?
3. How long has she or he been in sales? Describe other sales jobs.
4. Describe his or her customers.
5. Things he or she likes most about the job
6. Things he or she likes least about the job
7. What is his/her selling philosophy?
8. What type of training did he/she receive?
9. Attitude about quotas, paperwork and sales managers.
10. Income: ask how much someone makes starting out and then five years later.
11. Is it salary, commission, bonus, or some combination?
12. What perks come with the job?
13. What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to him or her during a call?
14. What was the most satisfying sale he or she ever made?
15. Would he or she recommend a career in sales?
Outline for Things to Observe During Sales Call
Before the sales call, have salesperson tell who is being called on and purpose of the call.
1. Identify the customer type.
2. What type of selling model did he or she use?
3. How did the salesperson begin the presentation?
4. How did the salesperson uncover needs?
5. How many objections did the customer bring up?
6. Did you hear any trial closes? What were they? When did they occur?
7. Did the buyer give any closing signals?
8. How many times did the salesperson try to close? What techniques did they use?
9. Did the salesperson try to relieve post-purchase dissonance?
James S. Cleveland, Sage College of Albany
DISCUSSION BOARD TOPICS TO ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION
Discussion board questions provided to students to encourage them to engage in thinking and writing about the content
of the Principles of Marketing course usually take the form of a provocative statement to which students are asked to
respond. An example of this would be “All PR is good PR.”
Discussion topics such as this one are abstract and often require that the instructor provide an initial reply to show
students what is expected of them in their own replies. For students with limited work experience, this approach may be
quite appropriate. For adult students with extensive experience as employees and consumers, however, the abstract
nature of such topics can be frustrating.
I have developed, therefore, a series of discussion board questions to use with experienced, adult students. These
questions are designed to encourage them to use their experiences as employees and consumers as doorways to better
understand the course material, and to make their own responses more interesting to themselves and to the other students
in the class who will read and comment on them.
Each question has three parts:
1. First, there is a sentence or two from the students’ textbook introducing the topic. By using the text author’s
own words, students are enabled to locate relevant material in the text more easily, the text content is
reinforced, and confusion resulting from use of variant terms or expressions is minimized.
2. Second, there is a reference to text pages the students should review before proceeding. Since the goal of the
exercise is for students to apply the course content to their own experiences, reviewing the content first is
important.
3. Third, there is a request for the students to think about or remember some specific situation in their experience
to which they can apply the text material, and a question or questions for them to address in their replies.
Here are additional such discussion board questions developed for Chapter 17 of MKTG10. Each is written to fit the
same text cited above but could easily be rewritten and revised to fit another text.
Series A
1. Until recently, personal selling focused almost entirely on making a one-time sale and then moving on to the
next prospect. Modern views of personal selling emphasize the relationship that develops between a salesperson
and a buyer.
2. Review the information on relationship selling on pages 290–291 of your text.
3. Then identify a recent experience when you either bought or sold something. Was relationship selling used? If
so, how? If not, how could it have been used? Did or would relationship selling make the selling or buying
experience more pleasant? How?
