MODERN SELLING

Selling, Sales Management & Salesmanship

Selling & Salesmanship: It refers to an art of persuasion by means of preaching
attributes of the products / service and suitable benefits, thereby increasing total
satisfaction so that prospective customers can make purchase or have positive
image/mindset towards offerings of the firm.
AMA: “a process of persuading a person to buy goods and services. It is a method of
arriving at a common point of view with the prospects with regard to the desirability of
some articles, service or idea. The act of salesmanship consists of
“one human mind influencing another human mind”
Thus
Salesmanship is seller initiated efforts that provides prospective buyers with information
and other benefits, motivating and persuading them to decide in favor of seller’s product
or service.

Sales Management: Sales management originally referred exclusively to the direction

of sales force personnel who undertake the responsibility of selling.
AMA: Sales management refers to the planning, direction, and control of personal selling
including recruiting, selecting, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying and
motivating as these tasks apply to the personnel sales force.”

“a planned proposition of work of any commercial, personal sales unit, which includes
admission, selection, training to handle the equipment, regulation, investigation,
payment and incentive, and this is applied to personal sales”
 Sales Management & Exchange Process

Elements of Exchange Process

1. Two or more social units (people or organization) must be involved with wants to be
satisfied
2. Each party must have something of value to contribute in the exchange process
3. Parties must be involved voluntarily to achieve objectives
4. Parties must be able to communicate with each other

Thus
5. Sales personnel represent their firm in the exchange process
6. They contribute their firm’s offering in the exchange process
7. They get involved in the exchange process to convert firm’s offering into cash
8. They communicate attributes of the offering along with terms and conditions with the
prospective buyers

Hence
• Sales process is based on the philosophy of Exchange process
• Sales force personnel are the FRONT END of the firm
 B2B & B2C Buyers
B2B Buyer: Aims to maximize business and commercial values
B2C Buyer: Aims to maximize utilitarian (functional) and hedonic (non-functional) values

B2C Buyer B2B Buyer

Make purchase for individual and Purchase for the purpose other than
household consumption personal/household consumption
Decisions usually made by individuals Decisions usually made my several people
Purchase often made based on price, Purchase made according to precise
brand value and with little or no expertise technical specifications based on product
expertise
Purchase also made on emotions and Purchase made on rational criteria
attractiveness of promotion
Purchase may require quick decisions Purchase follow lengthy and time
consuming decisions
Non-commercial values derived from Commercial values derived from
purchased product purchased product
 Selling through Channels

1. Services Channel
Consumer / Example: Real Estate,
Service Provider Service Salesperson Business Users Hotel, Convention Center,
Event Mgt., etc .

2. B2B Channels
Example: Industrial
Industrial products, Business
Manufacturer Industrial salesperson Customer Solutions, etc.

manufacturer Missionary Salesperson Industrial Example: High value

Customer machine, IT Solution

Trade Distributor’s Example: Low value

Distributor machine, IT
Salesperson Salesperson peripheral, etc.
3. Selling through Consumer Channels

MANUFACTURER/ SERVICE PROVIDER

Direct Sales Indirect Sales

Broker

Wholesaler Wholesaler
Direct
Call by
Mfg. Field or Tele-
Web Phone Market Own Retail
Reps Store Store Retailer Retailer
Site ing

CONSUMER
 Characteristics of Modern Selling

Database & Marketing the

Knowledge Digital Technology Product
Management &
E-commerce

Customer
Solution-oriented Customer Relationship
Selling Management

E-commerce
Satisfying Needs & Customer Retention
& Adding Value Digital Technology & Deletion

Role of Modern Selling

• To generate profitable sales volume
• To contribute significantly in the maximization of profit by cost reduction
• To ensure sustained growth and long term performance of the firm
• To develop corporate image
• To bring maximum satisfaction among customers & consumers
• To achieve marketing objectives of the firm
 Evolution of Consultative and Relationship Selling
Sales & Marketing Emphasis Selling Emphasis
Marketing Era Begins (1950s) • Major recognition of salesperson’s
• Product orientation replaced by customer orientation position who collect product, market
• Marketers determine need and wants of target and service information concerning the
markets buyer’s need
• Adapt themselves to delivering desired satisfaction

Consultative-selling Era Emerged (late 1960s - 1970s) • Two-way communication for the
• Salespeople are becoming diagnostician of identification of buyer needs
customers’ needs • Manipulation is replaced by
• Act like consultant offering well-considered information sharing and negotiation
recommendations tactics
• Mass markets are breaking into target markets

Strategic-selling Era Emerged (Early 1980s) • Strategic selling skills & tactics
The evolution of more complex sales environment • USP (attention given to Product
needing positioning)
• Greater emphasis on niche Markets , and • Account management
• More detailed planning and greater structural clarity • Team selling

Partnering Era Emerged (1990s onward) • Customer replacing product to drive

Salespeople are encourage to plan in the context of sales
• Long-term & high quality relationship with customers • Create unique value for customer
• Salesforce automation for deeper customer strategically (UVP)
information and relationship management • Adaptive selling
Paradigm shift in Dimensions of Selling Concept
# Selling Products to providing “Solutions” #
Pre-sales & During-sales Services to “Post-sales Services” for differential Experience #
From managing Territory to “Development and Growth” of the Territory #
One-time-sale to “Life-time-sales”
Shift from Traditional to Relationship Selling

Traditional Personal Selling Relationship Selling

Sell products Sell advice, assistance, counsel
Focus on closing sales Focus on customer’s bottom line
Limited sales planning Sales planning is top priority
Emphasize on product Build problem-solving environment
Focus on USP UVP (Profit impact and strategic benefit)
Short-term sales follow-up Long-term sales follow-up
 Relationship Selling

Focus: Goal:
Building Long-Term
Value-Added
Mutual
Benefits to
Trust Buyer
(value maximization)
 DIVERSITY OF SELLING SITUATIONS

1. Service Selling
# Inside Order Taker: Assisting consumers in the right selection and choice
# Delivery Sales Persons: Making delivery of ordered products ordered
# Route or Merchandising sales Person: Act as order taker from the field
# Missionary: Aims only to build goodwill or to educate actual/potential
user/buyer
# Technical sales Person: Impart technical knowledge

2. Developmental Selling: Exploring New Demand for Product/Service

3. Unusual Creativity: Political, Indirect or Back-order

 FUNCTIONS OF Front Line SALES MANAGERS
Objectives: Growth, profitability, corporate image and customer satisfaction

To achieve above objectives, role of sales managers are

1. Coordination with the firm
# Higher authorities in marketing & sales departments
# Other functional areas who have interface with sales
2. Coordination with Planning (Marketing)
# Other marketing programs like product development, ad, sales promotion,
MR, MIS etc.
# Distribution network
# Local promotion through distribution network
# Reconciling business goals
3. Management of Salesforce
# Recruitment, selection, training, development, supervision, compensation,
motivation and evaluation of sales force
4. Management of Distribution Network
# Appointment, motivation, retention, training & development, and conflict-free
partnering channel relationships
5. Business Intelligence
# About consumer profile, reseller profile, competitors’ actions and reactions
6. Customer care, support and relationships
 Role of Front Line Sales Mangers/Executives
1. RS (Re-distribution Stockiest) Management
# Represent company before RS #
Understand RS objectives & resource capabilities # Monitor health of RS
along with its ROI # Improve RS infrastructural facilities &
professional acumen # Qualitative & quantitative market coverage by
training sales people # Channelize firms’ marketing and Sales Policies (Deals,
Credit, etc.) # Seek RS confidence in FIRM by developing partnering
Relationships

2. Territory Management
# Regular availability and Prevention of Stock-out # Creating Visibility
of own Products at all Outlets # Effective use of Trade
Promotion/Deals as well as Credit # Finding new Outlets for your products
# Acquiring new customers for Growth & Development of the
territory # Appraising RS Service quality # Profiling
Competitors’ Actions & Reactions # Maximize Sales from all Outlets
in Right Product-mix
3. Business Intelligence
# Secondary Demand Pattern (consumer Demand) # Primary Demand
Pattern (RS Demand) # Competitors’ Actions & Reactions
# Feed-back about present marketing & Sales Practices
# Market Research # Innovative Ideas for further
Growth & Development

4. Competitors’ Profiling
# Monitor Competitors’ Action & Reactions Continuously # Identify
your immediate Rivals and Major competitors # Find out Strengths
& Weakness of their marketing strategies & product features # Compare them
with your Own & identify differential points # Also identify your
competitors capability to copy your current marketing practices

5. Merchandising
• Inventory : How much product at each POP
• Position : Where to place product at each POP
• Presentation : How to display product in the POP for consumer to desire it

…. Both Marketing and Merchandising work together in

a hard-in-glove relationship
 Qualities of Successful Sales Executives

Physical : Good Health, Appearance, Voice, Neatly Dressed

Mental : Alert, Initiative, Self-confidence, Imaginations, Responsiveness,
Perseverance, Memory and Vision
Social : Courtesy, Refinement, Open-mindedness, Ability to meet & move
with people
Human : Maturity, Straight forwardness, Loyalty
Character : Honesty, Reliability, Stability, Ambition
Knowledge : About market, product and competition
 Selling and Buying Styles
The Customers Friend The problem solver
Blake and Mouton Model
9
(1,9) People Oriented (9,9) Problem-solution Oriented
I am customer’s friend, I want I consult with the customer so as
8 to understand him and to inform myself of all the needs
respond to his feelings and in his situation that my products
interests so that he will like can satisfy. We work towards a
Concern for the customers

7 me. It is the personal bond that sound purchase decision on his

leads him to purchase from part, which yield him the benefits
6 me. he expects from it.
(5,5) Sales technique Oriented
I have tried an effective routine for Compromise “Method”
5 approach
getting a customer to buy. It
motivates through a blended
4 personality and product emphasis
(1,1) Take it or Leave it (9,1) Push the product Oriented
3
I place the product before the I take challenge of the customer
customer and it sells itself as and hard sell him, pulling on all
2 and when it comes. the pressure it takes to make
him buy
1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

The Order Taker Concern for the company The Pressure Salesman
 Organizational Buying situations
1. New-task Buy 2. Straight Rebuy
3. Modified Rebuy 4. Building strategic alliances

Organizational Buying Processes

Typical Buying Process Consultative Presentation based

Buying Process Relationship Buying
Needs Awareness
Needs Discovery Approach
Evaluation of Solutions
Product Selection Need Discovery
Resolution of Problems
Need Fulfillment Presentation
Purchase
Services Negotiation
Implementation
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