Professional Salesmanship PDF

SELLING IS PERVASIVE SALESPEOPLE, UNDER THE LENS Is there a compelling reason for people to study selling? Salespeople engage in a wide range of activities for the Yes, in fact, there are plenty of reasons. The firm. They provide informati...

SELLING IS PERVASIVE SALESPEOPLE, UNDER THE LENS Is there a compelling reason for people to study selling? Salespeople engage in a wide range of activities for the Yes, in fact, there are plenty of reasons. The firm. They provide information about the firm's pervasiveness of selling in practically all human products and services to target market or customers, endeavors, occupations, preoccupations, and they remind and persuade customers to buy them. They professions that require contact and engagement with are the revenue-earners of the firm. people is by itself a compelling reason to formally study The types of job salespeople do depend on the firm's the art and science of selling. It is an art because it mission/vision, goals and objectives, and the role the requires skills that have to be constantly practiced to firm plays in the channel of distribution. Basically, the achieve, at least, a decent level of excellence or nature of the job is affected by the type of accounts perfection; on the other hand, it is also a science because salespeople handle, such as manufacturers, distributors, it is, in many respects, an organized common sense and wholesalers, retailers, or individual customers. borrows a lot from applied sciences like psychology and sociology. It may not be a sound management practice to stereotype effective salespeople. However, researches on the THE 21ST CENTURY, THE AGE OF SELLING characteristics of effective salespeople indicate that they are highly motivated, dependable, ethical, knowledgeable, If we are saying that the 21st century is the age of good communicators, flexible, and emotionally intelligent. marketing, we could also argue with a lot of reasons that it is also the age of selling. One good reason is that Fred Wiersema, the author of Customer Intimacy, has we all use selling techniques in good times and bad, at put it quite candidly that firms are in business because home, in the school, in the workplace, and in the global of their customers. Without satisfied and loyal community where we live. Whatever is your status or customers, businesses will not grow and prosper. Not stature in life, and wherever you are, whether you are a even the brilliance of their finance people, neither the lowly peasant or a high priest, a rank-and-file employee charisma of their CEO nor the products or services they or a top executive, a farmer or a firm's CEO, selling churn out every day, can make the business survive know-how is inherently integrated, important and without the customers. But Fred Wiersema was only crucial. In selling you get to meet different kinds of looking at one end of the continuum. Of course, there is people, with whom you could learn and share a salesperson at the other end! information and knowledge that could help you grow ATTRIBUTES OF AN EXCELLENT professionally. Likewise, in selling, you get to discover SALESPERSON lots of opportunities, which could help satisfy your lower (basic needs, like safety) well as as your higher As I have said, it may not be wise to stereotype the order needs (self-esteem food and station). One could attributes of an excellent salesperson. However, a list of make a career in selling, and go up the ladder from the attributes may serve as guide for would-be salespersons lowest rung to the topmost level in the hierarchy of the aspiring to enter the challenging arena of selling. organization, as follows: one can start as a sales clerk or Francis J. Kong, a columnist of the Philippine Star, has front desk order-taker, then aspire as field sales the following list of attributes descriptive of an excellent representative, district sales supervisor, regional sales salesperson: supervisor, sales manager, vice president for sales, until finally, as CEO of a marketing firm. 1. An excellent salesperson is a sight for sore eyes. He makes good first impression, always neat and well- groomed. He knows that he never gets a second chance to create a first impression; 2. An excellent salesperson loves to be with people. He 3) It builds business relationship. Especially for a wants to please his customers and prospects. He goes salesperson covering key business account, it is the extra mile, learns customers' preferences, and works incumbent upon him to be conversant about the to educate the customers and keep them informed business of the customer, and be able to speak the language of his customer. 3. An excellent salesperson is a good listener. He gently probes with questions, carefully listening to what his 4) It includes in-depth and frequent communication prospects are saying and then the brilliance is that he with the customer. This is one effective way of does not sell but he leads the customers to buy. establishing good rapport with the customer, which could lead to selling success. 4. An excellent salesperson behaves professionally. He does not bad-mouth their competitors. He will always SALES MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM TIDE point to the pluses and advantages that his product AND NIKE offers but he will not verbally tear down others; 5. An excellent salesperson is an expert with his products The above-mentioned shift in sales management or services. He knows his products inside and out. He is strategy is evident from the lessons learned from two fanatical with details. He embraces non-stop learning. leading brands, Tide (a leading laundry detergent) and He can answer even the most complicated questions Nike (a leading brand of sports shoes and apparels), as from customers without having to refer them to follows: someone else at the company. He always strives to be 1) They know their consumers intimately; better. He reads books, listens to tapes, and attends 2) They are sharply positioned and differentiated; non-company sponsored seminars; 3) They continuously innovate and deliver on their promise; 6. An excellent salesperson is driven to succeed. He is 4) They communicate their position effectively; and creative and assertive. He is energetic and has a very 5) Their products are rightly available. strong work ethic and you see him putting in more hours than his co-workers because he is extremely THE MULTIPLE ROLES OF SALESPEOPLE competitive. He does not compete against others but he competes against himself. Learning more, doing more The salespeople are the frontliners of the business. The and producing more; and customers regard them as the company, either in a face- to-face interaction or through the phone, like in 7. An excellent salesperson has a service mentality. He is telemarketing. As such, the way they dress, handle and able to step outside of himself and see things from the carry a conversation with the customers, and their customer's point of view. He does not focus on his overall demeanor should embody the culture, the benefit or commissions but he focuses on meeting all the mission and vision, the objectives and values of the customer's needs. company they represent. There are two ways of looking SALES MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, CURRENT at the roles salespeople do-as contributions to the PARADIGM marketing efforts, and as functional roles, or the different types of personal selling jobs. Current shift in today's sales management strategy is characterized by the following: 1) It is customer-focused, which means it attends to the interest and welfare of the customer. 2) It puts greater emphasis on knowledge, which means at the minimum, knowing the functional information about the product or service, but continuously striving to achieve everything there is to know about it. CONTRIBUTIONS OF PERSONAL SELLING TO This information is crucial for a) adjusting or refining MARKETING the selling strategy of the company's salesforce or the overall marketing program of the firm; b) innovations 1. Salespeople are the revenue-earners of the company. or improvements of existing product offerings; c) Personal selling contributes to producing sales revenue, development of new products or development of line meeting buyer expectations, and providing marketplace extensions; and d) strategic planning for new business information to the customers and from the customers, ventures. as well as from competition (feedback). The key to This task is oftentimes taken for granted by the successful marketing lies in understanding the salesforce, as it focuses and gives more time to selling requirements of customers, and then matching a firm's activities or sales quota achievement, which is the basis products and services to those requirements. Since for additional income in the form of commission for salespeople are often the most direct link between a firm making their quota, either monthly, quarterly or year- and its customers, they can heavily influence purchase end target. Typically, they are incentivized with decisions, for example, and the effectiveness of the firm's attractive bonus schemes for sales target achievement, marketing efforts. which may include pleasure trip to exotic places besides 2. Meeting buyer expectations. Salespeople are at the cash incentive. heart of relationship marketing. They are the human Today, however, with the pervasive use of information links of the company to the customers or markets; technology (IT) by most firms, like laptop computers technically, the only human component of the firm's for salespeople, sending of market information feedback integrated marketing communication. All the other links to headquarter has improved a lot. Some companies are nonhuman, e.g., television, radio, print also incentivize non-sale activities, such as market advertisements, outdoor billboards, etc. At the information gathering and reporting on new product minimum, they must meet buyer expectations when it opportunities. comes to information about the products and services of JOB ROLES OF SALESPEOPLE the company, as well as in their professional behavior. They establish good relationship with the customers, As frontliners of the company, the personal selling that and serve as the ambassador of goodwill for the firm. salespeople do, may be classified into two-business to Customers see the face of the firm through their business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C), as salespeople. They are on the front line as revenue shown in Table 1. producers, supported of course by marketing Table 1. Types of Personal Selling Jobs management, and other sectors of the business like Business to Business (B2B) R&D, channel management, finance, among others. In Promote the product or provide the pharmaceutical industry, generally, salespeople are technical service, e.g., account mobilized (with car and gasoline allowance, and per Sales support executives, detailers and medical diem) to cover (or, make business calls to) the medical representatives. Their focus is to achieve their sales target. practitioners who prescribe medicines, drugstores, and hospitals in a given geographic territory Develop new customers or new 3. Providing marketplace information. Because of their accounts, or new geographic face-to-face interaction with the buyer, salespeople can New business territories. Their focus is sales get immediate feedback from customers, as well as growth. market feedback and information about competition. Since most of the time they are in the marketplace, they Maintain and enhance relationships can assess the development trends and the activities of with an established customer base. competition, and other important market information, Existing business Includes salespeople who follow an which they can relay to management. established route, writing up routine orders. Business to Consumer (B2C) DEVELOPING A SELLING STRATEGY Represent the firm in transactions with ultimate consumers or users of the product. Includes retail Remember that marketing is war. And selling is the real salespeople, medical representatives, and combat happening in the trenches. A salesperson or the representatives of direct selling firms and most salesforce, for that matter, must therefore be equipped real estate and financial services. They foster relationship selling. with a winning strategy, aligned with the other components of promotions, an important element of the THE SALES PROCESS: AS A RELATIONSHIP 4Ps (product, price, place, and promotions). Otherwise, APPROACH sales quota achievement might be compromised, which is additional income to a sales quota achiever. This involves initiating, developing, and enhancing long- There is no dichotomy between these two selling term, mutually satisfying relationships with customers. approaches-relationship selling and need-satisfaction This view of selling is known as relationship selling. The selling. The aim of both approaches is to establish next level after relationship selling is partnership selling, business relationships with the customer. The key is to whereby buyer and seller regard each other as partners in have a plan or strategy on how to convert a prospect to business. Partnership selling may undoubtedly be the a customer who will buy and use your product or acme of salesmanship. service; and how to make that customer a product Relationship selling attributes. To succeed in customer- champion and thereby, preempt the entry of oriented, honest, dependable, are relationship competition. Without a workable plan or strategy, the emphasized in the selling, salespeople must be salesperson will be like a headless chicken in the competent, and likable. These attributes training room marketing arena. for new sales recruits. Definitely, resourceful salespersons can easily merge the two selling strategies when they do their prospecting, THE SALES PROCESS: AS A NEED- preapproach or precall planning, approaching the SATISFACTION APPROACH customer, sales presentation delivery, gaining customer commitment, and ultimately, developing customer This view of selling is under the stimulus-response relationships or business partnerships. selling format. It is called need-satisfaction selling, which focuses on identifying the needs of the customers and Usually, a canned sales presentation is fed to matching them with the products and services that the salespeople for uniformity in the delivery of marketing company can offer. Adaptive selling, which also falls campaign message. This approach is helpful for under stimulus-response format, is focused on adapting neophytes in the selling arena. However, veteran to the environment, situation during the selling process, salespeople frown upon this practice and gravitate more and the needs of the customer. to adaptive selling strategy, i.e., adjusting or making a fit to the needs of the customer and the selling Need-satisfaction selling attributes. To succeed in need- environment, without sacrificing the core marketing satisfaction selling, salespeople must be sharp and campaign message as embraced in the canned selling analytical in determining the needs of the customers; script. The important thing is to realize that as member they must be keen and creative at finding the match or of the salesforce, the individual salesperson's efforts and fit between the identified needs and the behavior must be aligned with the integrated marketing products/services of the company. communications of the firm, which include other nonhuman components like advertisements (tv, radio, prints, outdoor ads, and Internet), events &PR, sales promotions (coupons, raffles, flyers, e-mails, etc.), and direct marketing, among others.