SELLING AND RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
Content (Syllabus outline):
1. Introduction: A model for relationship selling and sales management (The customer,
Information, Value creation, Ethics, Relationship selling, Sales management); Issues
outside the circles: The selling; Environment (Internal, External).
2. Using Information to Understand Sellers and Buyers: The importance of information;
Selling as career; Key success factors in relationship selling; Selling activities;
Technology; Jobs types; Participants; Organizational buying decisions; Situation types;
CRM.
3. Value Creation in Buyer-Seller Relationships: Adding value; Clarifying the concept of
value; Communicating value (Product value, IMC, Synergy Sales-Marketing, Trust,
Service quality, Brand equity, Corporate image); Managing customer expectations.
4. Ethical and Legal Issues in Relationship Selling: Ethical concerns for sales people and
management, Legal Issues, A code of sales ethics.
5. Prospecting and Sales Call Planning: Prospecting, Sources of prospects (Loyal
customers, Endless chain referrals, Networking, Directories, Internet, Telemarketing,
Written correspondence, Trade shows), Prospecting plan, Planning the sales call (goals,
learning about prospect, plan to portray right image, determine your approach,
prepare a sales proposal); The sales manager role in prospecting and sales call
planning.
6. Communicating the Sales Message: Getting ready for a Sales presentation; Setting
objectives and goals; Approach the customer; Building the relationship; Keys to a great
presentation (Demonstrations, The value proposition, Nonverbal communication, What
to do when things go wrong); The sales manager’s role in the sales presentation.
7. Negotiating for Win-Win Solutions: Negotiating win-win solutions; Negotiations;
Common customers concerns; Specific negotiation strategies (Question, Direct denial,
Indirect
denial,
Compensating
for
deficiencies,
Feel-felt-found,
Third
party
endorsements, Bounce back, Defer, Trial offer); The sales manager’s role in
negotiating win-win solutions.
8. Closing the Sale and Follow-up: Closing methods (Assumptive close, Minor-point close,
Alternative choice close, Direct close, Summary up benefits, Balance sheet, Buy-now, In
closing practice makes perfect); Dealing with rejection; Identifying buying signals;
Common closing mistakes; Follow up enhances customer relationships; The sales
manager’s role in closing the sale and follow up.
9. Self-Management_Time
and
Territory:
The
importance
of
time
and
territory
management (reasons for salespeople and sales managers); Salespeople’s role in
time and territory management; Sales manager’s role in time and territory
management.
10. Salesperson Performance_Behavior, Motivation, and Role Perceptions: Salespersons
performance (Role perceptions, sales aptitude, Sales skill levels, Motivation, Rewards,
Satisfaction); How salespeople influence performance; How managers influence
performance.
11. Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople: Recruiting and selection issues (Establish
responsibility, Analyze job and determine selection, Criteria, Find and attract
applicants,
Develop
and
apply
selection
procedures);
Salespeople’s
role
in
recruitment.
12. Training Salespeople for Sales Success: Objectives of sales training; Developing
successful sales training programs; Training needs with time; Sales training topics;
Sales training methods; Measuring the costs and benefits of sales training; The
salesperson's role in sals training
13. Salesperson Compensation and Incentives: Overview of compensations and incentives;
Stratight
salary,
straight
commision
and
combination
plans;
Sales
contests;
Nonfinancial rewards; Expense accounts; Making compensation and incetive programs
work; Deciding on the mix and level of compensation.
14. Evaluating Salesperson Performance: Peformance vs. effectiveness; Objective measures
of performance; Subjective measures of performance; 360-Degree performance
feedback.
Objectives and competences:
Students will develop general competences:

the ability to link the knowledge from different areas (marketing, management, HRM,
retail marketing) and the use of these in practice,

the ability to discuss critically, using arguments about the broad issues of selling and
relationship marketing, including professional, societal and ethical views,

to emphasize how analytical CRM can help accomplish strategic marketing initiatives
and improve firm profitability
Students will develop course - specific competences:

to build their knowledge of a rapidly emerging marketing arena - customer-centric
marketing - which some claim is the beginning of a new business,

to recognize that there are often two sides to customer-centric marketing or customer
relationship management (CRM) - what is good for the firm may not always be good
for the customer, and that what is desirable from the customer’s point of view is not
always desirable for the firm,

to identify and examin in detail each of the elements in the relationship-selling
process,

to use critical precursors to the relationship-selling process - using information to
understand sellers and buyers and the concept of value creation and communication,
both of which are central to the buyer-seller relationship,

understand fundamental sales management concepts and learn how to assess
different skills, necessary for successful selling and relationship marketing.
Intended learning outcomes:
Knowledge and understanding:
Student will be able to:
 identify and define the concept of relationship selling,
 understand the importance of a firm being customer-centric,
 explain why value is a central theme in relationship selling (RS),
 identify the processes involved in RS,
 identify the elements in managing RS,
 discuss and give examples of the components of the internal and external environment for
RS,
 explain the historical basis for stereotyped views of selling in society,
 point out a variety of reasons why sales jobs can be highly satisfying,
 identify and explain key success factors for salesperson performance,
 discuss and give example of different types of selling jobs,
 list and explain the roles of various participants in and organizational buying center,
 describe the relationship between buying centers and selling centers and the nature of
team selling,
 outline the stages in organizational buyer decision making,
 understand the concept of CRM and how it serves to help salespeople manage
information,
 understand the concept of perceived value and its importance in RS,
 explain the relationship of the roles of selling and marketing within an organization,
 explain why customer loyalty is so critical to business success,
 recognize and discuss the value chain,
 identify and give examples for each categories of communicating value in the sales
message,
 understand how to manage customer expectations.,
 understand the importance of ethical behaviour in RS and sales management,
 identify the ethical concerns facing salespeople as they relate to customers and
employers,
 identify the ethical concerns facing sales managers as they relate to salespeople, company
policies, and international sales issues,
 discuss the legal issues in relationship selling,
 create a personal code of ethical ethics,
 describe how to qualify a lead as a prospect,
 explain why prospecting is important to long-term success in RS,
 list various sources of prospects,
 prepare a prospecting plan,
 explain call reluctance and point out ways to overcome it,l
 describe elements of the preapproach and why planning activities are important to sales
call success,
 understand the characteristics of a sales presentation to identify sales presentation
strategies,
 identify sales presentation strategies,
 discuss the steps in preparing for the sales presentation,
 discuss the steps involved in approaching the customer,
 understand how to apply your sales knowledge to the customer needs,
 understand how important product demonstrations are in the presentation,
 define the keys to a great sales presentation.
 understand the process of negotiating win-win solutions,
 know the common objections most salespeople encounter working with customers,
 know the basic points to consider in negotiating with customers,
 understand the specific negotiating strategies,
 define closing and explain how closing fits into the RS model,
 understand different closing methods and provide examles of each,
 discuss the concept of rejection and ways to deal with it,
 identify various verbal and nonverbal buying signals,
 know when to trial close,
 recognize and avoid common clasoing mistakes,
 explain aspects of follow-up that enhance customer relationships,
 explain efficient time management tools for salespeople,
 determine how salespeople should allocate their time,
 design an effective sales territory,
 measure sales territory performance,
 understand the model of salesperson performance,
 identify the various components that make up the model,
 discuss the role perception process,
 understand why salespeople are susceptible to role issues,
 understand the key issues that drive the recruitment and selection of salespeople,
 identify who is responsible for the recruitment and selection process,
 understand a job analysis and how selection criteria are determined,
 define the sources for new sales recruits,
 explain the selection procedures,
 identify key issues in sales training,
 understand the objectives of sales training,
 discuss how to develop sales training programs,
 understand the differences in training new recruits and experienced salespeople,
 define the topics covered in a sales training program,
 understand the various methods for conducting sales training,
 explain how to measure the costs and benefits of sales training,
 discuss the advantages and limitations of straight salary, straight commission and
combinations,
 explain how and why to use bonus component as an incentive,
 understand the effective use of sales contests, as well as the potential pitfalls,
 identify key nonfinancial rewards,
 recognize key issues of RS expense accounts
 describe how to male compensation and incentive programs work,
 discuss making decisions on the mix and level of compensation,
 explain the difference between performance and effectiveness,
 identify objective measures of performance.
 use ratio analysis as an objective approach to salesperson performance measurement,
 discuss key issues related to subjective measurement of performance and the forms that
might be used to administer such an evaluation,
 understand how a sales manager can make the performance review process more
productive and valuable for the salesperson,
 explain the benefits of 360-degree feedback.
Students grading
Weight (in %)
Assessment:
Type (examination, oral,
coursework, project)
20
Short written casework
20
Longer written casework
10
Presentations
60
Final examination
(written/oral)