SALES MANAGEMENT

Introduction Personal selling

Originally referred to only as management and direction of sales force, this has now a broad meaning covering a mix of many of the marketing activities, such as;

Personal selling
Advertising Sales promotion Physical distribution Marketing research Pricing Merchandising

Sales force management

SALES MANAGEMENT

Introduction Personal selling

OBJECTIVES The three major objectives of sales management are; Sales volume Contribution to profits Increase in sales volume Higher profits

Continuing growth

Overall growth

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Objectives of Personal selling

Personal selling is very important for the long term objectives of the company The definition of personal selling could be; A personal presentation by the companys sales force for the purpose of making sales and long-term customer relationship Thus we may say that personal selling is the process of communication, interaction , persuasion, negotiation and exchange between a seller and a prospective buyer The objectives of personal selling are; Informative provide information of the product/service, the features, benefits, values and all the answers to queries of the customers. Helps in increasing awareness about the company and the product so as to help the customers decide about buying the product

Persuasive helps in generating the interest and conviction in the customers and convert to actual buying. It may be;
Stimulate customers to buy a product on trial Motivates to get more information about the product/company

Gives support to intermediaries

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Objectives of Personal selling

Relational objectives by providing prompt deliveries, installation, training customers or demonstration of the product/service, after sales service or financial services Image building aimed at creating image of the company or goodwill

The essentials of personal selling are; Knowing the company Knowledge of competition

Knowing selling process (shall discuss later)

Selling skills Motivation

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Objectives of Personal selling

Depending upon the company objectives and other promotional mixes the qualitative objectives of personal selling are; 1. To do the entire selling job 2. To service existing accounts 3. To search for new customers 4. To get customers co-operation in stocking and promoting the product or entire product line 5. To keep customers informed of changes in product or any strategy of the company 6. To assist customers in selling products 7. To provide technical advice 8. To assist in training salesmen of the middleman 9. To advise middleman on management problems 10. To collect information on market or competing products and any other relevant details for the management

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Objectives of Personal selling

Modern Selling Approach With globalisation of the world and competition in both international as well as domestic fronts, it is becoming more challenging to the salesman in; Understanding customer needs Assisting them and Putting more thrust on after sales service and alliances

Modern selling therefore basically hinges on serving the customers with the best of solutions to their purchasing problems in a better and more efficient manner as compared to their competitors.
Todays customers are far more informative and discerning unlike in the earlier years. They have the ability to compare and contrast different products and companies should never be under-estimated . The sales people must therefore be a step ahead in knowing about in-depth knowledge of the product, the customer approach and behavior, competitors, and modern technology

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Objectives of Personal selling

Todays competition is not based on core and tangible features alone but also on augmented and peripheral benefits. The more a company differentiates its products and services, more are the chances of acquisition or retaining. Example; a refrigerator is basically an equipment to protect and save edible products from spoiling due to environment . However the companies do offer different sizes, shapes and colours, the availability at convenient markets and after sales service. New techniques therefore are;

Telephonic selling
Teleshopping Web based selling Tele-conferencing

IT has made the customer interaction much easier and quicker. This has also helped in easier order placements, inventory management and planning and sales forecasting. Customer Information Systems help in right and proper information to and from customers and in resolving their complaints faster through eCRM systems

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Objectives of Personal selling

Types of Selling Depending upon the type of customers, the products/services required by the customers, there are basically three types of selling; Industrial Selling (B2B) selling to industries or a large customer including to any institution and government departments (not buying for individual self use) is Industrial selling Service Selling selling of services like financial, advisory, consultancy, major industrial services like payrolls, taxation, maintenance, security, providing personnel etc, airlines, railways, roads, banking, insurance, events, shows, cinema are all service selling Retail Selling selling of consumer and consumer durable products are retail selling which are normally through intermediaries

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Objectives of Personal selling

Ethics in Selling Ethics are the building blocks of business based on moral principles and values and lends honesty and transparency of the dealings between the buyers and sellers. It is not only governed by the just Economic Relationship but by social and legal procedures and ethical procedures. The customers have a right to get the RIGHT (technically the product/service), and a RIGHT marketing mix.

The customer has a right to know not just about the advantages but also disadvantages which must equate to the value of the product.
One must understand that ethical values are not the same as legal codes. The ethical values mean the moral justifications of an enterprises virtues and integrity to take the lead role to persuade the customers, while legal codes demand compliance of business to the laws of the land and social standards constituted by the government.

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Un-ethics Practices - examples

Objectives of Personal selling

Delivering inferior products/service against standards promised by way of ads or leaflets or any other printed materials or variations between the specifications of the products

Discriminations of prices between the buyers

Showing wrong test reports for selling the product Use of unsafe packaging materials Wrong information or not full information on the label of the products Willful condemning the competition Not delivering products at the right time Not attending to customer complaints

To sum up, a customer has; Right to safety Right to be informed Right to choose

Right to be heard

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Prospecting

Diversity of Personal Selling The diversity may be Service or Development Selling Service Selling may be selling to existing customers while Developmental selling is to convert prospectus into customers The grouping may be as under A. Service selling i. Inside order taker (call center people selling on phone)

ii. Delivery salesman iii. Route / Merchandising salesman iv. Missionary

v. Technical Selling

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Prospecting

B. Developmental selling i. Creative salesperson of Tangible durables like car, vacuum cleaners etc

ii. Creative salesperson of Intangibles insurance, advertising services, educational programmes etc C. Developmental selling with unusual creativity i. Commodity selling to someone for applications for other customers plastics granules/steel selling companies develop applications and then give to processors for manufacturing item for others

ii. Engaged in multiple sales needs to make presentations to many departments / ministry for selling aircraft or large plant and equipments where persons from various functions are present

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Buyers Seller Dyads

The buyer-seller interactions are DYADS by socialists. A salesman and the prospective buyer when interact are an example of buyer-seller dyad. THE DICTIONERY MEANING OF DYAD IS A PAIR OF UNITS TREATED AS ONE. An advertisement by a company, which motivate the buyers to buy the products is another example of buyer seller dyad.

Salesman-customer

Role & characteristics

Personal characteristics Personal affiliation

Needs and expectations

Adjustments

Choice of Strategy

Negotiation

Adapt

Exchange Experiences forming good or bad notions giving repeat sales Or no orders for future

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THEORIES OF SELLING

Theories of selling

While some experts say that selling is an art, many also believe that it is science. In actual practice, it is a combination of both.

AIDAS Theory of Selling

Securing Attention need to be skilled to draw attention of the customers even if the appointment is secured Gaining Interest explain product, its features

Kindling Desire must keep the dialogues for creating a desire for buying the product, removing obstacles or objections
Inducing Actions convincing for a buy leading towards closing the sale Building Satisfaction to assure that the decision is correct. Providing timely delivery and other services RIGHT SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES Theory of Selling The circumstances internal and external both, when handled properly, by the skill of the salesmen, result in sales.

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Theories of selling

BUYING FORMULA Theory of Selling buyer oriented Need------Solution------Purchase-------Satisfaction In this the buyers needs are important and the salesman must try to help buyer find a solution to the problems

BEHAVIORAL EQUATIONS Theory of Selling The four essential elements of the learning process in this stimulus-response model are; Drive could be due to physiological needs or social needs Cues the cues may be Triggering or Non-triggering. Triggering cues may activate purchases while non triggering may operate at any other time and may be sometime informational Response what the buyer does Reinforcement when the buy action is reinforced

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Prospecting

THE SELLING PROCESS Prospecting It is efficient organisation of TIME and VISIT The organisation of planned or scheduled visits of the sales persons so that optimum results are obtained with every visit of the person They try avoiding wastage of time and money spent in traveling to the customers who are not likely to be buyers (by either not visiting or by fixing appointments in advance so that the waiting / idle time is minimal) The 4 steps in prospecting are; 1. Searching out potential accounts - Trade directories - Business magazines

- References
2. Relating company products to each prospects requirements 3. Qualifying prospects and determining probable requirement

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4. Formulating prospect definitions

Prospecting
- Is the buyer willing - Financial capability - Authority to buy / or influence buying decisions

These steps may also be classified as Pre-approach, Approach, Need Identification and Presentations
Sales Resistance/Handling Objections The prospects show signs of resistance which may be real or imagined and may show objections. The sales persons therefore need to be skilled, prepared to face such resistances, be ready with and have complete knowledge of all mix elements, to successfully make a sale. The resistances may be following types; 1. Obstacles to sales 2. Sales objections Closing Sales Implementation and follow up