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Chapter 22Personal Selling

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Personal Selling

Selling through a person-to-person communications process

Affected by increased emphasis on customer relationship management

Importance varies for each firm depending on: Nature of the product or service being marketed

Size of the organization

Type of industry

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Dyadic Communication

Direct and interpersonal communication

Allows sender to immediately receive and evaluate feedback from receiver

Messages can be changed to address the receiver’s specific needs and wants

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Factors that Determine the Role of Personal Selling

Determining the information to be exchanged

Examining promotional-mix alternatives

Evaluating the relative effectiveness of alternatives

Determining cost-effectiveness

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Characteristics of Stages of Personal Selling Evolution

Stages and description Customer needs Type of market

Nature and intensity of competition

Provider - Accepts orders and delivers to buyer

• Assumed to exist• Not a concern

Sellers’ • None

Persuader - Attempts to convince anyone to buy available offerings

• Created• Awakened

Buyers’ • Undifferentiated• Slight intensity

Prospector - Seeks out prospects with need for available offering andresources to buy

• Considered but inferred

Segmented • Differentiated• Growing

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Characteristics of Stages of Personal Selling Evolution

Stages and description Customer needs Type of market Nature and intensity of competition

Problem solver - Matchesavailable offerings to solve customer-stated problems

• Diagnosed with attention to customer input

Participative • Responsive and counteractive with increasing resources

Procreator - Creates a unique offering to match the buyer’s needs as mutually specified,involving any or all aspects of the seller’s total marketing mix

• Mutually defined• Matched with

tailored offering

Coactive • Focused• Growing in breadth

of market and service offerings

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New Role of Salespeople

Surveying Mapmaking

Guiding Fire starting

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Relationship Marketing

Organization’s effort to develop a long-term, cost-effective link with individual customers for mutual benefit

Customer relationship management (CRM): Support targeting, acquiring, retaining, understanding and collaborating with customers

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Figure 22.4 - The Eight Step Personal-Selling Process

Source: From Reds Communications, “The 8 Step Personal Selling Process—Let Us Help You,” www.redscommunications.co.za.

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Types of Sales Jobs Order taking: Accomplished by:

Inside order takers - Work inside the sales office and receive orders by phone, mail, or the Internet

Field order takers - Travel to customers to get their orders

Creative selling: Getting an order by: Assessing a situation and determining the needs

Presenting capabilities to satisfy the needs

Missionary sales: Introduce new products, promotions, and/or programs with the actual order to be taken Perform a support role

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Traits of a Salespeople

Successful salespeople

•Knowledgeable

•Professional

•Thorough

•Results-oriented

•Problem solving

•Relationship-oriented

•Customer-focused

•Responsive

•Good communicators

•Reliable

Most helpful to

customers

•Knowledge

•Empathy

•Well organized

•Promptness

•Follow-through

•Solutions

•Punctuality

•Hard work

•Energetic

•Honesty

Most objectionable to

customers

•Unprepared

•Uninformed

•Aggressive

•Undependability

•Poor follow-through

•Presumptuousness

•Calling without appointments

•Compulsive talkers

•Problem avoiders

•Lack of personal respect

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Personal Selling

Advantages

• Allows for two-way interaction

• Tailors the message

• Lack of distraction

• Involvement in the decision

process

• Source of research

information

Disadvantages

• Inconsistent messages

• Sales force/management

conflict

• High cost

• Poor reach

• Potential ethical problems

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Ways to Use Advertising to Sell More Save sales force time

Avoid lengthy explanations

Add impact to the presentation and reinforce selling points

Ego boosters and personal refreshers

Clues to prospects’ interests

Prove a point and create preference

Help prospects to make a decision

Provide follow-ups

Fight lower-priced competitors

Getting the customer into the act

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Combining Personal Selling with Other Promotional Tools

Public relations

Direct marketing

Sales Promotion

Internet

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Figure 22.12 - Factors to Be Considered in the Sales Review Process

Source: Steve Deist and Rich Johnson, “Developing an Effective Sales Force,” Industrial Distribution.

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Criteria Used to Evaluate Sales Forces

Measures Sales results Sales efforts

Quantitative measures • Orders• Sales volume• Margins• Customer accounts

• Sales calls• Selling expenses• Customer service

Qualitative measures • Selling skills • Sales-related activities

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Characteristics That Improve Performance Effectiveness

Strength of the field manager

Clear link between company culture and values to sales strategies

Rigorous management processes that drive performance

Consistent training that leads to consistent execution

Courage to change

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Criteria for Evaluating Personal Selling

Provision of marketing intelligence

Follow-up activities

Program implementations

Attainment of communications objectives

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