Module One
Welcome to the world of Sales
Why I took this course ?
Why I don’t like being a Salesman ?
Why I like being a Sales Man !
Who is a Salesman ?
What does he do?
What are his qualities ?
What is his role in an organization ?
A Day in a Sales Manager’s Life
An Expert’s Viewpoint:
Von Oliver is currently national sales manager for a
division of Lockheed Martin Corp. Von’s typical day starts
at 7:30 A.M. going through e-mail and prioritizing the days
events. During the morning he will review reports, and
spend time with his sales reps. He will have lunch with
customers and spend the afternoon making sales calls
with his sales reps. He spends late afternoon reconciling
the days activities and setting his agenda for the next day.
Action
A Day in a Sales Manager’s Life
An Expert’s Viewpoint:
Result
Von Oliver is involved in a variety of different activities.
He spends much of his time interacting with
individuals, especially salespeople and customers.
But, he also plans strategies and continuously
monitors performance. In other words, he performs all
the major sales management functions.
Sales Management
• Sales Management- is the attainment of sales force
goals in an effective and efficient manner through
planning, staffing, training, leading, and controlling
organizational resources (Futrell1998)
• Sales Management means “the planning,direction and
control of personal selling,including recruiting
selecting,equipping,assigning,routing ,supervising,
paying,and motivating as these tasks apply to personal
sales force ( American Management Association)
Sales Management Trends
Transactions Relationships
Individuals Teams
Sales Volume Sales Productivity
Management Leadership
Local Global
Sales Teamwork Approaches
Core Selling Team Selling Center
Relatively permanent, Relatively temporary,
customer-focused group transaction-focused group
Membership determined by Membership determined by
job assignment to a specific involvement in sales
buying organization transaction
One selling center per
One team per buying unit
sales opportunity
Sales Teamwork Approaches
Core Selling Team Selling Center
Membership Membership
relatively stable very fluid
Characteristics of team Characteristics of team
depend on characteristics depend on characteristics
of buying organization of sales opportunity
Mission is strategic with Mission is tactical
respect to the buying with respect to the
organization sales opportunity
Leadership Trends
Yesterday Today
Natural resources Knowledge
defined power is power
Leaders commanded Leaders empower
and controlled and coach
Leaders Leaders
were warriors are facilitators
Managers Managers
directed delegate
Effective Sales Managers:
Utilize a Strategic Perspective Focused
on Customers
Attract, Keep, and Develop Sales Talent
Leverage Technology
Customizing the Sales Approach
An Expert’s Viewpoint:
Lisa Gregg, Director of Sales Development for American Express had
this to say about customizing the sales approach: “Depending on the
application, the card may have hundreds of different benefits. A
supermarket manager has different needs than a client in the furniture
business. We wanted to create a message to fit the specific needs of
our customers.” Sales representatives now input specific customer
information, then the database produces sales materials ranging from
industry data sheets to Power Point slides that can be used in the
sales presentation.
Action
Customizing the Sales Approach
An Expert’s Viewpoint:
Result
Customers now receive sales presentations based on their
unique needs, and American Express has greatly improved the
efficiency of its sales organization.
Evolution of Personal Selling
Peddlers selling door Selling function
to door . . . served became more
as intermediaries structured
1800s 1900s 2000s
Industrial
As we begin Post-Industrial
the 21st century, selling
War and
continues toModern
develop,
Revolution
becomingRevolution
more professional
Depression
and more relational
Era
Selling function
Business organizations
became more
employed salespeople
professional
Continued Evolution of Personal Selling
Change Salesforce Response
More emphasis on developing
Intensified and maintaining trust-based,
competition long-term customer
relationships
Increased use of technology
More emphasis Increased use of lower-cost-
on improving per-contact methods
sales productivity More emphasis on profitability
objectives
Continued Evolution of Personal Selling
Change Salesforce Response
Demand for in-depth, Team selling
specialized knowledge
as an input to purchase More emphasis on customer-
decisions oriented sales training
Role of a sales manager
• Sales forecaster
• Strategic planner
• Market analyst
• Observer of buyer behavior
• Leader
• Cost and profit analyst
• Budget manager
• communicator
Responsibilities of a sales manager
• Hiring
• Training
• Coaching
• Motivating
• Leading
• Setting targets and tracking results
• Rewarding performance
• Sales support
• Organizing
• Conducting sales meetings
• Allocation of scarce resources
Responsibilities of a sales executive
• Identify potential clients from available datebase
• Prioritize sales calls
• Deciding the selling approach
• Administering sales order
• Provide service
• Information gathering and reporting
• Skill upgradation
• Administrative responsibilities
Sales
• Buyer seller Dyads
• -interaction
• Similarity among buyer and seller
• Initial conditioning
• Consumer perception of sellers behaviour
Contributions of Personal Selling:
Salespeople and Society
• Salespeople help
stimulate the economy
• Salespeople help with
the diffusion of innovation
Contributions of Personal Selling:
Salespeople and the Employing Firm
• Salespeople generate revenue
• Salespeople provide market
research and customer feedback
• Salespeople become future
leaders in the organization
Contributions of Personal Selling:
Salespeople and the Customer
• Salespeople provide solutions to
problems
• Salespeople provide expertise
and serve as information
resources
• Salespeople serve as advocates
for the customer when dealing
with the selling organization
Contributions of Personal Selling:
Buyer Preferences
Industrial buyers prefer to deal with salespeople who:
• Are honest
• Understand general business and economic
trends, as well as the buyer's business
• Provide guidance throughout the sales process
• Help the buyer to solve problems
• Have a pleasant personality and a good
professional appearance
• Coordinate all aspects of the product and service
to provide a total package
Classification of
Personal Selling Approaches
• Stimulus Response
• Mental States
• Need Satisfaction
• Problem Solving
• Consultative Selling
Classification of
Personal Selling Approaches
Stimulus Response
– The key idea is that various stimuli can
elicit predictable responses.
– An example of the stimulus response view
of selling would be continued affirmation.
Stimulus Response Selling
Continue
Salesperson Buyer
Process until
Provides Responses
Purchase
Stimuli Sought
Decision
Classification of
Personal Selling Approaches
Mental States
– Assumes the buying process is essentially
identical for most buyers
– Buyers are led through certain mental states
– AIDA (attention, interest, desire, and action)
Mental States Selling
Attention Interest Conviction Desire Action
Classification of
Personal Selling Approaches
Need Satisfaction
– Based on the notion that the customer is
buying to satisfy a need
– Salesperson uses questioning, probing
tactic to uncover important buyer needs
Need Satisfaction Selling
Present Continue
Uncover and
Offering to Selling until
Confirm Buyer
Satisfy Buyer Purchase
Needs
Needs Decision
Classification of
Personal Selling Approaches
Problem Solving
– An extension of need satisfaction selling
– Sometimes competitors’ offerings are
included as alternatives
Problem Solving Selling
Continue
Generate Evaluate Selling
Define
Alternative Alternative until
Problem
Solutions Solutions Purchase
Decision
Consultative Selling
Business Consultant
The process of helping
customers reach their
strategic goals by using
Strategic Orchestrator
the products, service,
and expertise of the
selling organization.
Long-term Ally
The Sales Process: An Overview
Salesperson
Attributes
Selling
Foundations
Initiating Developing Enhancing
Customer Customer Customer
Relationships Relationships Relationships
Selling
Strategy
The Sales Process:
Salesperson
Attributes
Selling Foundations
In order to be successful in today’s global business
environment, salespeople must have a solid relationship
building foundation. They must:
Be Trustworthy and
Behave Ethically
Possess Excellent
Communication Skills
Understand Buyer Behavior
The Sales Process:
Selling Strategy
In order to be successful in today’s global business
environment, salespeople must also think and act
strategically. The must develop strategies for:
Their Sales Territory
Each Customer
Each Sales Call
Salesperson The Sales Process
Attributes
Initiating Developing Enhancing
Customer Customer Customer
Relationships Relationships Relationships
• Prospecting
• Preapproach
• Presentation Planning
• Approaching the Customer
Salesperson The Sales Process
Attributes
Initiating Developing Enhancing
Customer Customer Customer
Relationships Relationships Relationships
• Sales Presentation Delivery
• Earning Customer Commitment
Salesperson The Sales Process
Attributes
Initiating Developing Enhancing
Customer Customer Customer
Relationships Relationships Relationships
Adding Value through Follow-up,
Self-leadership, and Teamwork
