Contemporary Selling, 5e
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Outline: Introduction to Contemporary Selling
Value-Added Information in Chapter 1
• Global Connection – “Shift to Value-Added Selling Is Biggest Challenge in Global
Sales”
• Exhibits
o Exhibit 1.1 – “Test Your Customer Mindset”
o Exhibit 1.2 – “Transactional Selling versus Relationship Selling”
I. Introduction to Contemporary Selling
II. A Model for Contemporary Selling
A. Building Relationships, Creating Value
B. Understanding Sellers and Buyers
E. Selling Process
1. Prospecting and Sales Call Planning
2. Communicating the Sales Message
3. Negotiating for Win-Win Solutions
F. Sales Management
1. Salesperson Performance: Behavior, Motivation, and Role Perceptions
III. Issues Outside the Circles: The Global Selling Environment
A. Internal Environment
1. Goals, Objectives, Culture
2. Human Resources
3. Financial Resources
B. External Environment
1. Economic Environment
2. Legal and Political Environment
IV. Summary
V. Key Terms
VI. Role Play
Discussion Questions
1. Think about the general concept of a relationship, not necessarily in a business
setting, but just relationships in general between any two parties. What aspects of
relationships are inherently favorable? What aspects tend to cause problems? List
some specific ways one might work to minimize the problems and accentuate the
favorable aspects.
Student answers will vary. Here is a sample answer:
Several aspects of relationships are inherently favorable:
• Mutual trust
• Loyalty
Several aspects of relationships also cause problems:
• Win-lose approach – one side taking advantage of the relationship
• Parties not being open with one another
To minimize the problems and accentuate the favorable aspects, the parties to a relationship
should:
• Be considerate of one another – put oneself in the other party’s shoes and treat them as
you would wish to be treated.
2. What is value? In what ways does a relationship selling approach add value to your
customers, to you the salesperson, and to your sales organization?
Value is the net bundle of benefits the customer derives from the product one is selling. A
relationship selling approach adds value to customers by putting them at the center of everything
3. When a firm shifts from transactional selling to a value-added approach, a number of
changes have to take place in the way a salesperson approaches customers as well as
• The salesperson must spend more time developing an understanding of the buyer’s needs
rather than on closing the sale. This is the core difference between transactional selling
and value-added selling. The focus is on the front end, i.e., understanding needs, rather
than the back end of closing the sale. If the customer’s needs are understood and a
relationship is established, closing the sale will be an easy, natural part of the process.
• The salesperson must build the relationship for the long term rather than pushing the
customer to meet or buy. With a relationship approach, the traditional “push” strategy of
salespeople is not the core of the job.
• The salesperson must listen more than talk. Understanding customer needs begins with
listening to them.
• The salesperson must give a useful number of options. He or she must be considerate and
not confuse the customer to the point of being unable to make a buying decision, but at
4. Has transactional selling gone the way of the dinosaur? That is, are there ever any
situations in which a transactional selling approach to selling would be an
appropriate approach today? If so, what are the conditions and why would
transactional selling be appropriate in those cases?
Transactional selling has not yet completely gone the way of the dinosaur, but frankly in many
settings it is nearing extinction. As you learned in Exhibit 1.2, a transactional selling approach
5. Why is it important to talk about selling solutions instead of products or services?
How does selling solutions further the success of a relationship selling approach?
When a salesperson has a relationship with a customer, it is based on trust and meeting needs,
not just a hard sell. To meet the customer’s needs means to solve a problem rather than to sell a
6. The chapter mentions negotiating for win-win solutions. Think of a time when you
negotiated with someone over something and one of you “lost” and the other “won.”
How did that happen? Why didn’t you work toward a win-win solution? If you could
do it over again, what might you do to promote a win-win approach?
Student answers will vary. Here is a sample answer:
In a negotiation, parties have objections to the transaction, but they are not clearly communicated
to one another. For example, when buying a car, a buyer may have a need to be met that is
7. Another salesperson in your company says to you: “Closing techniques today are
moot. We know all our customers and their needs too well to have to employ ‘closing’
techniques on them. Doing so would ruin our relationships.” How do you respond to
this? Is the person correct, incorrect, or both? Why?
The person is both correct and incorrect. “Traditional” closing techniques—awkward, high-
pressure pushes for a sale—are indeed moot in relationship selling and inconsistent with the win-
win approach. There is still a “closing” in relationship selling, but it really unfolds as a natural
8. Think about the various courses you have taken during your college career. What
motivates you to work harder and perform better in some courses than others? Why?
What rewards are you seeking from your college experience?
Student answers will vary. Here is a sample answer:
Motivation refers to the amount of effort one chooses to expend on an activity or task. It is based
on the expectancy or probability that expending effort on a task will lead to improved
9. Sales managers ranked success factors for sales recruits as “listening skills” first,
“follow–up skills” second, and “ability to adapt sales style from situation to
situation” third in importance. Why do you think managers find these particular
success factors so important? How does each contribute to a relationship selling
approach?