Sales Management

Personal Selling and Sales Management

 Sales - Definition

- A sale is the pinnacle activity involved in

selling products or services in return for
money or other compensation. It is an
act of completion of a commercial
activity.
- Sales is everything that you do to close
the sale and get a signed agreement or
contract.
 Marketing – Definition
• Marketing is the process associated with promotion for sale goods
or services. It is considered a "social and managerial process by
which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want
through creating and exchanging products and values with others.”
It is an integrated process through which companies create value
for customers and build strong customer relationships in order to
capture value from customers in return.
• Marketing is used to create the customer, to keep the customer
and to satisfy the customer. With the customer as the focus of its
activities, it can be concluded that marketing management is one
of the major components of business management. The evolution
of marketing was caused due to mature markets and overcapacities
in the last decades. Companies then shifted the focus from
production more to the customer in order to stay profitable.
 Sales and Marketing
What's the Difference?

Sales
• Sales starts with seller & is
preoccupied all the time with
the needs of the seller
• Emphasizes on saleable
surplus available with the
company
• Seeks to convert products in
to cash
• Views business as – goods
producing process
• Sales views the customer as
the last link in the business
Marketing
• Marketing starts with the
buyer and focuses constantly
on the needs of the buyer
• Emphasizes on identification
of market opportunity
• Seeks to convert customer
needs in to products
• Views business as – a
customer satisfying process
• Marketing views the customer
as the very purpose of
business
 The sales and marketing relationship

• Marketing and sales are very different, but have the

same goal.
• Marketing improves the selling environment and plays
a very important role in sales.
• The marketing department's goal is to increase the
number of interactions between potential customers
and company, which includes the sales team using
promotional techniques such as advertising, sales
promotion, publicity, and public relations, creating
new sales channels, or creating new products (new
product development), among other things.
 Sales Management

• Sales management is attainment of an

organization's sales goals in an effective &
efficient manner through planning, staffing,
training, leading & controlling organizational
resources. Revenue, sales, and sources of
funds fuel organizations and the management
of that process is the most important
function.
 Objectives of Sales Function.

• To achieve Sales Targets

• To achieve Market share targets
• To manage dealer network
• To organize sales training
• To handle customer complaints
• To manage Sales promotion campaigns
• To effectively cover market
 Sales Management…

• Managing Sales Force

• Offering Sales Training
• Managing Channel partners
• Managing Direct sales
• Managing Sales Promotion
• Managing Sales Territories
• Managing Sales Targets
PERSONAL
SELLING
 Personal Selling
Personal selling occurs where an individual salesperson sells a product,
service or solution to a client. Salespeople match the benefits of
their offering to the specific needs of a client. Today, personal
selling involves the development of longstanding client
relationships. In comparison to other marketing communications
tools such as advertising, personal selling tends to:
• Use fewer resources, pricing is often negotiated.
• Products tend to be fairly complex (e.g. financial services or new
cars).
• There is some contact between buyer and seller after the sale so
that an ongoing relationship is built.
• Client/prospects need specific information.
• The purchase tends to involve large sums of money.
‘Everyone lives by selling something’ R.L. Stevenson
 Personal selling and its fit in the
promotional mix

• Usually more appropriate in B2B than

consumer markets.
• Advantageous in promoting and selling high
cost, complex items.
• Operates more effectively when customers
are on the verge of making a final decision
and committing themselves.
 Characteristics of personal selling

• Impact - sales representatives have a much greater

chance of engaging initial attention and responding
to situations.
• Precision - targeting and message precision.
• Cultivation - sales force plays an important role in
creating and maintaining buyer – seller relationships.
• Cost - personal selling is very labour intensive so
comes at a cost.
Sales representatives - typical tasks
 Forms of personal selling
• Order takers - external and internal.
• Order makers - finding prospective customers,
identifying customer specific problems and needs,
selling product and assisting with installation and
training, and maintaining relationship.
• Sales support - augment the efforts of mainstream sales
force.
• Missionary sales representatives - focus on particular
segment of product to give enquiries and sales an initial
lift.
• Sales engineers - focus on the technical or application
problems of the product.
The personal selling process
Stages and objectives of the personal
selling process
Sources of prospects
 Personal selling process (1) Prospecting
Identify the potential customers
Making warm contacts rather than cold calling

• Leads - prospective customers.

• Prospects – before a contact, find they with potential.

• Qualified prospects – after a contact, find they with

great potential.
 Personal selling process (2) Preparation
and planning

It is to look for:

• Customer’s buying criteria and needs

• Customer organisation’s purchasing
structures
• The application of the prodcut and the
features and benefits required.
Personal selling process (3) Initial contacts

It is to build up mutual rapport, respect and trust

between the buyer and seller before the
formal and serious business discussion.
Two approaches:
• Initial phone call for a meeting appointment
• Could calling/visiting for a lucky meeting
arrangement
 Personal selling process (4) -Sales
presentation
It is to show how the product offering and the
customer’s needs match.

• Stimulus response.

• Formula selling.

• Need satisfaction.
 Personal selling process (5) Handling
typical objections
Typical objections:
Your: company, product, service, pricing;
You; you are not competitive enough
I can’t afford it; I don’t need it
• Ask the objection back.
• Agree and counter.
• Boomerang.
• Feel, felt, found.
• Denial.
 Personal selling process (6) Types of
negotiations

• Co-operative or win-win - trading concessions

results in a better deal for both parties.

• Competitive negotiation - hard bargain

focused on short term gain.
Personal selling process (7) Types of sales
closure
It has reached the point where the customer
agrees to purchase.

• Alternative close.
• Assumptive close.
• Time pressure close.
Personal selling process (8) Follow-up and account management

The role of personal contact

The sales management process