BUS M 300 Lecture 12 Outline of Last Lecture I II III IV V VI VII Retailing Retailing Creates Value The Wheel of Retailing Forms of Ownership Online Retailing Wholesaling Agents and Brokers Outline of Current Lecture VIII Personal Selling IX Types of Selling X Forms of Personal Selling XI Stages in personal Selling XII The Follow Up XIII The Sales Management Process XIV Sales Plan Formulation XV Sales Plan Implementation Current Lecture Personal Selling o Personal Selling is an interpersonal communications process in which a marketer s representatives identify prospects These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute effective early on in the PLC determine needs Effective when products need to be customized to the customer present product information gain commitment follow up after sales relies heavily on individual salespeople o Transaction Focuses on selling Does more selling than listening Emphasizes adding new customers o Relationship Focuses on learning about needs Does more listening than selling Emphasizes building long term relationships through credibility trust and responsiveness Types of Selling o Field Sales Personal sales calls much autonomy Little cold calling often serving existing customers Costly to firm often 1 000 call High salary potential and personal growth Knows the customer better than any other in company o Sales Team Individuals from different function areas a sales rep an engineer a production person working together to satisfy customer needs Oracle will send both the sales rep and the network technician to a sales call o Sales Partnering a growing trend in marketing Also known as collaborative selling because an alliance is formed with a customer to meet ongoing customer needs Sales rep is an integral part of buyer s operation This means working with the client to help them achieve their goals and objectives Forms of Personal Selling o Order Taker Process routine orders or reorders for products already sold Two types Outside Order Takers visit customers arrange displays and replace inventory stocks of resellers Inside Order Takers Take care of customers who call on the retailer Order taker do very little selling They often represent products that are highly standardized o Order Getters Sell in the traditional sense They identify prospective customers Persuade customers to buy products Close sales and follow up on customers Used for complex products like automobile sales It is very expensive to use OG s Stages in Personal Selling o Prospecting Identify leads who have a need for your product or service This is accomplished by asking questions that probe for information about their customer base product line and their ability to make decisions about purchasing your product Sources for generating leads Tradeshows cold calling professional meetings Information lists o Pre Approach Used with pre qualified leads Involves researching the prospect in order understand their need for the salespersons product This includes Proper time to call on prospects Current products used by prospect Revenue generated by prospect business can they afford your product o Approach Involves setting up first meeting with prospect The objective is to gain the attention of the prospect and stimulate interest in the product First impression are critical at this stage This stage can take several meetings complete o Presentation The objective is to convert prospects into customers There are 3 major presentation formats Stimulus Response The sales person gets the customer to buy the product using suggestive comments Formula Selling Sales are made using a step by step selling procedure Caned Sales approaches are often used Needs Satisfaction Sales are made by probing for the customers needs by asking questions Two types o Adaptive Selling Involves adjusting the presentation to fit the selling situation o Consultative Selling The focus is on problem solving The salesperson serves as an expert Types of questions used in the needs and satisfaction sales format Situation questions collect facts information and background data about a lead s existing situation o Examples How long have you been in business Do you make the decisions about how your company advertises What type of advertising do you do What type of markets do you sell to What type of products do you sell Situation questions should be used sparingly during this phase The goal is to gather enough information so you can qualify the lead Problem questions uncover concerns the prospect is experiencing with their current product or services o Examples Has the newspaper ever failed to run your ad on time Do you feel your radio advertising is effectively reaching your customers Are you satisfied with the locations of your ads in the local newspaper Do the lights on your current billboard ever stop working How frequently do you see the sales representative from the local newspaper After uncovering the prospect s problem s you must then develop the consequences of these problems Implication questions are designed to o Investigate the consequences associated with problems your prospect is experiencing with their current product or services o Develop consequences to the point where the prospect feels the need to make a change in the type of product or services they are currently using o Used when talking to decision makers o Used in large sales where it is important to increase the size of the problem in the prospect s head o Implication questions have one weakness they make prospects more uncomfortable with problems o Implication questions must not be overused because they can make the prospect feel negative about using your current product or service Need Payoff questions are designed to o Ask about the value or usefulness of solving a problem o Focus the prospect s attention on the solution rather than the problem o Get the prospect to tell you the benefits of finding a solution to their problems o Increase the chances that the prospect will accept your product or service as the solution to their problems o Get the prospect to talk about which elements of the problem your solution can solve o Reduce objections from the prospect when you offer your product or service as the solution to their problems o Closing Stage In this stage the prospect has made the decision to CONSIDER switching from their current product or service The goal