Assignment for Chapter One- Salesmanship- BMT 2481

Sales Application Questions 1-5, page 34-35

Sarah A. Lott

1.Salesmanship as a term encompasses many types of sales

jobs. Some of the types of major sales jobs available are dependent
upon what category you choose. There are three categories of sales
jobs. According to our text, these are: retail sale, wholesale and,
manufacturing representation. This seems simple, limited. That is until
you break it down and really look behind the scenes.

Our text states that the three common types of retail sales jobs
are: In-store, Direct selling and, telephone sales. Customer contact
person is the same as a salesperson. The second category is wholesale
(or distribution). Wholesale salespersons are called wholesaling
middlemen or intermediaries. There is some difficulty in classifying
them because they differ in the products they sell, the markets they
cater to and their chosen method of operation. Wholesalers might
resale, building supplies type or organizations buying their own
supplies. Finally, yet importantly, we have manufacturer’s sales. These
folks work directly for the organizations that make the product(s). The
types of positions vary a bit more than the first two types in that there
are five main types of manufacturing sales positions. These are:
Account Representatives, Detail Salespersons, Sales Engineers,
Industrial Products Salespersons and, the Service Salespersons.

2.There are characteristics of successful salespersons, described

in our text, to which they are currently selling product(s) for national
companies that I will discuss. Some of the characteristics that are
listed are as follows: looking for a bigger challenge, hard working, long
hours not problematic, enjoy helping customers with problems or what
they want/need. Professional, personal interest in what is sold, believe
in what they sell, honest, legally moral, willing to help their customers
even if they do not make the sale (creating rapport with the customer)
and do not count out kindness. My grandpa told me once, “You can
catch more flies with honey than with vinegar”.

I personally believe that all the characteristics that successful

salespersons display are very important to most if not all jobs. Like the
text states, “From an early age, you develop communications
techniques for trying to get your way in life.” So, unless you are
planning to join the market as a henchman for the local mafia, or stand
on a street corner trying to sell something illegal, my firm guess is that
it takes your very best to also display these characteristics in any job
to succeed. Even at home or as a patient in a hospital, you are your
own salesperson to better succeed at how you want to live your own
life and how you wish to be treated.

3.I think the reason someone might choose a particular career in

the sales industry would likely stem from what the text states as “the
six major reasons for choosing a sales career.” These reasons are:
Service to others, Variety of sales jobs, Freedom, Challenge,
Advancement and, Rewards. (As listed in Exhibit 1.4)

The emotional satisfaction of providing service to others was a

major reason I LOVED my sales job when I worked for Best Buy. While I
did not ever have the opportunity to cross-train (variety of sales jobs,
mainly due to the fact I was awesome at sales in the Media
Department, which was hard to sell there), I loved that I had the
freedom to cross-sell in other departments; I loved especially the
holiday seasons. My first there was during Thanksgiving. It was the
store’s first holiday as we had opened October 20 that year. Black
Friday was a blast. At first being a new sales representative, I was
frightened that amongst all the movement I would either be lost in
confusion or surely trampled. Nevertheless, I hung in there. I had a
challenge to meet. I was not particularly concerned with advancement,
unless it was getting a pay raise. Although I was non-commissioned,
there were plenty of rewards. First, I noticed I was having real fun
selling, my days went by in a blink of an eye. I was not working; I was
playing. In addition, I became the top salesperson in the store; there
were always incentives to get. Like customer care appreciation cards
that were selected from a fishbowl later to pick out free products, like
CD’s or DVD’s. I loved that when I was not even at the store, my
customers recognized me and would ask me questions. I was always
up front and honest with them, and they valued that. I felt like I was on
top of the world.

4.The upward order of job movements during any salespersons

sales career is what is intended by the term, ‘career path’. For the
most part, what I understood from reading our text is that many
companies value having a person start at the sales level. The reason
for this is that they gain experience, and with experience is gained
credibility, knowledge, and the basis to take on a superior rank in the
group, cooperation or company they for whom they are working.

According to exhibits 1-6 and 1-7 on pages 14 and 15 of our text,

there are different modes of rank increase. The first one, (1-6), refers
to seven sales job categories as they increase from one point to the
end of that line. It starts with ‘order takers’, and advances to ‘order
getters’. The first one on the order taker end of the line is Inside retail
sales, then Outside delivery, Entry-level consumer goods, Missionary in
the middle, followed by Sales engineers, Creative sales of tangibles
(material goods), then at the very end Creative sales of intangibles
(services or ideas). The other exhibit, 1-7, suggests a sales personnel’s
linear career path, if one were to succeed at moving all the way to the
top of the company. It starts with the Sales Trainee, then to the
Salesperson, Key Account Salesperson, District Sales Manager,
Regional Sales Manager, Divisional Sales Manager, National Sales
Manager, to the Vice President of Marketing, and at the very top, the
President. This still does not represent everyone’s career path. Some
salespersons choose to stay at the level of salesperson, sometimes
with better rewards and pay than at times even the president of that
same company does. Some of these rewards are of a financial and
non-financial (emotional knowing of a job well done, not provided by
the company).

5.To Describe the Golden Rule of Personal Selling, I first refer to

exhibit 1-3 of our text. The exhibit shows the differences between a
traditional, professional and Golden Rule Salespeople. To understand
what is regarded as being part of this rule, you must know its' other
lesser counterparts. There is the Traditional Salesperson, the
Professional Salesperson and then the Golden Rule Salesperson. Before
explaining how each type of salesperson operates, the Golden Rule
Salesperson will treat their customers as they would their ‘proverbial’
grandmother.

Traditional Salespeople are described as doing what they can get

away with to make a sale. They are interested in themselves. They
think the results of their sales are due to their own personal efforts and
not that perhaps the customer would have bought from them before
they even attempted to sell to them. They seek to be known for ‘their’
efforts, thus not sharing with others. They are prideful and ego driven.
Money is their motivation. Then there is the Professional Salesperson
who acts within legal guidelines, they take care of their customers and
recognize that personal efforts are not the only reason for their
success. Their employer, their customers and the economy also
matter. They are sometimes prone to share recognition if it works for
them to look better. They are like the traditional salesperson in that
they also are pride and ego driven. Money to them is important but not
if it going to disadvantage their customers. Then we have the Golden
Rule Salesperson, who does the ‘Right’ thing, find’s their customer’s
interests the most important, gives others credit for their results in
their sales and their performance. They are not prideful or egotistical.
Serving others is more important and money is shared amongst those
who make the sales possible.