Chapter 17 Personal Selling and Sales Management 17 1 Personal Selling Personal selling is a purchase situation involving a personal paid for communication between 2 people in an attempt to influence each other Advantages provides a detailed explanation of the product good for complex new products message can be varied according to the customer and questions can be answered can be controlled by adjusting the size of the sales force more effective Personal selling becomes more important as the number of potential customers decreases the complexity of the product increases and the value of the product grows 17 2 Relationship Selling Marketers used to be concerned with making a one time sale and then moving onto the next prospect o Traditional personal selling sell products focus on closing sales limited sales planning spend most contact time telling customers about product lone wolf approach to the account presentations based on pricing and product features sales follow up is short term Modern views emphasize the relationship that develops between a salesperson and a buyer Relationship selling consultative selling a sales practice that involves building maintaining and enhancing interactions with customers in order to develop long term satisfaction through mutually beneficial partnerships focus on personalization empathy and trust o Sell advice assistance and counsel focus on improving customer s bottom line consider sales planning as top priority team approach to the account presentations based on profit impact and strategic benefits to the customer sales follow up is long term 17 3 Customer Relationship Management and Personal Selling Customers take center stage in any organization and the business must manage the customer relationship across all points of customer contact throughout the entire organization Identify customer relationships o Customer centric a philosophy under which the company customizes its product and service offering based on data generated through interactions between the customer and the company o Learning an informal process of collecting customer data through customer comments and feedback on product service performance o Knowledge management the process by which customer information is centralized and shared in order to enhance the relationship between customer and the organizations o Interaction the point at which a customer and a company representative exchange information and develop learning relationships Understand interactions of the current customer base o CRM system is built on the current interaction between the customer and the organization o Touch points areas of a business where customers have contact with the company and data might be gathered data gathered at touch points can be interpreted and used to help marketing efforts o Social CRM requires understanding where customers interact online and finding who the major influencers are o Net promoter score measures how much a customer influences the behavior of other customers through recommendations on social media o Point of sale interactions a touch point in stores or information kiosks that use software to enable customers to easily provide information about themselves without feeling violated Capture customer data Leverage customer information o Data mining identifies the most profitable customer and prospects and then managers can design tailored marketing strategies o CRM marketing database o Campaign management developing product or service offerings customized for the appropriate customer segment and then pricing and communicating these offerings for the purpose of enhancing customer relationships all areas of the company participate o Retaining loyal customers loyalty programs o Cross selling other products and services o Designing targeted marketing communications track a consumer s relationship to the products and modify the marketing mix 17 4 Steps in the Selling Process Sales process cycle the set of steps a salesperson goes through in a particular organization to sell a particular product service 7 steps in the personal selling process 1 Generating Leads o Initial groundwork must precede communication between the potential buyer and the salesperson o Lead generation prospecting identification of those firms and people most likely to buy the seller s offerings o Referral a recommendation to a salesperson from a customer or business associate High qualified leads higher closing rates larger initial transactions shorter sales cycle o Networking a process of finding out about potential clients from friends business contacts coworkers acquaintances and fellow members in professional and civic organizations o Cold calling a form of lead generation in which the salesperson approaches potential buyers without any prior knowledge of the prospects needs or financial status 2 Qualifying Leads o Lead qualification determination of a sales prospect s recognized need buying power and receptivity and accessibility Handled by a telemarketing group or a sales support person who prequalifies the lead for the salesperson o First consider prospects who are aware of a need 3 Approaching the Customer and Probing Needs o Pre approach a process that describes the homework that must be done by a salesperson before he or she contacts a prospect look at company website facebook ect decide whether the actual approach should be in person a phone call a letter ect o Needs assessment a determination of the customer s specific needs and wants and the range of options the customer has for satisfying them o As part of the needs assessment the salesperson must know everything about the following The product service customers and their needs competition industry o Create a customer profile o Summarize the prospect s needs problem and interest get some sort of commitment from the prospect 4 Developing and Proposing Solutions o Sales proposal a formal written document or professional presentation that outlines how the salesperson s product service will meet or exceed the prospect s needs o Sales presentation a formal meeting in which the salesperson presents a sales proposal to a prospective buyer 5 Handling Objections 6 Closing the Sale o Ask the customer how he would like to proceed o Requires courage and skill o Negotiation the process during which both the salesperson and the prospect offer special concessions in an attempt to arrive at a sales agreement Avoid using price as a negotiation tool 7 Following Up o
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