Introduction to Sales Management &

Personal Selling
Learning Objectives
 Important functions/process of sales
Management
 What is the nature of personal selling and
changes about business shift to customer
orientation
 Understand the dimensions of sales
professionalism
Sales Management
 ‘’Sales Management’’ as the term implies means
management of sales. Often it is considered synonymous with
the management of personal sales. It involves the
understanding of the effort that goes into the management of
the sales force through various processes of sales
 The Definitions Committee of the American marketing
association defined sales management as ‘’The Planning,
direction & control of personal selling, recruiting, selecting,
equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying &
motivating as these tasks apply to personal sales force’’.
However, we shall also include indirect sales (wholesalers,
retailers, agents, distributors/dealers) through channels
within the ambit of sales management
Personal Selling
 Personal Selling is a critical aspect of a firm
promotional strategy
 It brings human element into marketing transactions
 Increases customer confidence in the supplier &
make buyer react immediately
 It simplifies the handling of individual customer
problems
The Nature of Personal Selling
 The Human Element is critical
 The Customer Confidence is Enhanced
 Customer can act immediately
 Customers are treated as Individuals
The Human Element is critical
 The salesperson becomes company for the customer to built
long term relationships
 Buyers deals more with salesperson rather then dealing with
the organization.
 Buyers feels hard to ignore sales personal as contrast to
advertising message.
The Customer Confidence is Enhanced
 Customer deals with manufacture through sales person which
relates to building potential customers confidence over
suppliers product.
 Personal selling offers opportunity for the salesperson to
build a basis of trust & confidence with customers which then
results in rising profits and marketing success today
Customer can act immediately
 Personal selling makes it more difficult for the customer to
delay or to forget a promised commitment in the future.
 It provides the opportunity for the salesperson to get the
decision that is wanted on spot.
Customers are treated as Individuals
 It is through salesperson personal contacts with the
customers make it possible to customize sales presentations
& to handle buyers problems on individual basis.
 By giving attention to customers individually unfolds their
needs & problems through value added benefit which is the
difference between success or failure in today’s very
competitive market. “What Extra we are doing to satisfy
customers’’
Marketing Concept
 Customer Orientation
 Coordination of all customer related activities
 Profit Direction
Customer Orientation
 The focal point of modern marketing
 Shifting from internal company perspective to the customer’s
viewpoint.
Example:
A car salesperson who knows that s customer is the head of
the family with budget constraints, realize that a sleek sports
model will not fit this customer’s needs.
Co-ordination of all customer related
activities
 Coordination between all of the customer-serving functions
of a business is the second fundamental point.
 For instance, when a salesperson write a large order,
production schedules must be adequate enough to fill it.
Profit Direction
 Profit are the goal of business unit
 Selling products without reasonable profit is
unacceptable.
 Satisfying needs of the customer needs is the means
to achieving sales with profits
Personal Selling in Marketing Mix
 Role of Personal Selling in Product Strategy
 Role of Personal Selling in Pricing Strategy
 Role of Personal Selling in Distribution Strategy
 Role of Personal Selling in Promotional Strategy
Role of Personal Selling in Product Strategy

 Under marketing concept, sales personnel help specify

desirable product features & benefits, and provide guidance
during the product development phase
 The participate in product testing & test marketing because of
their familiarity with the marketplace
 Sales force advice can also be useful with respect to product
sourcing ‘’ finding ways to sell through your business’’
Role of Personal Selling in Pricing Strategy
 Salespeople & Managers can advise senior management in pricing
decisions due to ascertain competitive pricing strategies & gauge market
reaction due to alternative pricing levels
 Demand oriented method: Method in which price of a product is changed
according to its demand higher price when the demand is strong, lower
price when it is weak.
 Competition oriented Method: Competitive-based pricing occurs when a
company sets a price for its good based on what competitors are selling a
similar product for. ‘’ Meeting the Competition”
 Parity Products: Items that must be at least equal pricing, as a products
which can command a premium, or as products which should be priced
lower than the competitiors’.
Role of Personal Selling in Distribution Strategy
 A channel of distribution is the route that the title to a
product takes from producer to ultimate user.
 Direct Distribution: the ultimate buyer acquires the title
directly from the manufacturer or provider of the product
 Indirect Distribution: involves the use of intermediaries
(wholesalers & retailers), it is used for frequently purchase
low priced items personal & health care items
 A product is wasted unless not well distributed
Role of Personal Selling in Promotional Strategy
 The presentation of informative & persuasive messages to the
firm’s target market in an attempt to stimulate sales
 Personal selling is a vital ingredient of this effort, working in
conjunction with advertising sales promotion, & public
relations.
 Sales promotion & public relations techniques support the
other aspects of promotional strategy
‘’Nothing happens until somebody sells something!”
Dimensions of Sales Professionalism
 Professionalism Enhances sales performance
 Ethical behavior is an important factor in
professionalism
Sales Professionalism
The concept of sales professionalism includes three
conditions:
a) Special training
b) Personal dedication
c) Established standards of conduct
Professionalism Enhances sales performance
 Sales people & managers must be informed, prepared &
dedicated to doing the best they can to satisfy the buyers
needs
 Most important aspect changes is the buyers with whom
salespeople & managers interact. Modern buyers are well
educated and they are knowledgeable about goods/services
 Its essential for sales people to be more trained to cater
complex buyers dealing industrial goods & services
Ethical behavior is an important factor in
professionalism
 Workplace ethics and behaviour are a crucial part of
employment, as both are aspects that can assist a company in
its efforts to be profitable. In fact, ethics and behaviour are
just as important to most companies as performance as high
morale and teamwork are two ingredients for success. Every
business in every industry has certain guidelines to which its
employees must adhere, and frequently outline such aspects
in employee handbooks.
Continue…
 Unethical sales practices can be very costly. A growing
number of lawsuits have cost businesses millions of dollars in
recent years in terms of penalties, legal fee& lost time
 Sales are lost due to image damage & lost sales from adverse
publicity
 ‘’Back-Door’’ selling less than ethical selling practice in which
a salesperson bypasses the purchasing department of an
organization and goes directly to the buying unit