Sales Responsibilities and
Preparation
Chapter - 7
1
• Sales responsibilities: The primary
responsibility of a sales person is to
conclude a sales successfully
• This task will involve the identification of
customer needs, presentation and
demonstration, negotiation, handling
objections and closing the sale
• In order to generate sales successfully, a
number of secondary functions are also
carried out by most sales people
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• Although termed secondary, these
functions are vital to long-term sales
success
• These functions are:
• Prospecting
• Database and knowledge management
• Self-management
• Handling complaints
• Providing service
3
• Prospecting: It is searching for and calling
upon customers who, hitherto, have not
purchased from the company
• Sources of prospects:
• Existing customers: asking satisfied
customer about new one
• Trade directories yellow pages
• Enquiries: word of mouth
• The press and the internet
• Cold canvassing; calling on every prospect
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• Data base and knowledge management:
• A systematic approach to customerrecord keeping is to be recommended to
all repeat-call sales
• Salespeople should also be encouraged to
send back to head office information which
is relevant to the marketing of company
products
• Self-management: This aspect of the sales
job is of particular importance since a
sales person is often working alone with
the minimum of personal supervision
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• Handling complaints
• Providing service: The sales people can
provide
• Consultancy service
• Trade selling – merchandisers
• Customer service – make correct choice
• After sales service – sales engineers to
help in orientation or break-down
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• Implementing sales and marketing
strategies:
• The sales force is also charged with the
responsibility of implementing sales and
marketing strategies designed by
management
• Preparation
• Sales negotiation – timing of delivery,
price, product extras, payment and credit
terms
• Pure selling no uthority
7
• Preparation for pure selling and sales
negotiation:
• A number of factors can be examined in
order to improve the chances of sales
success in both sales negotiations and
pure selling
• Product knowledge and benefits
• Knowledge of competitors’ products and
their benefits
• Sales presentation planning
• Setting sales objectives
• Understanding buyer behavior
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• Preparation for sales negotiations:
• Apart from the points mentioned in the earlier
slides, a sales negotiator will benefit by paying
attention to the following additional factors
during preparation
• Assessment of the balance of power:
• The number of options available to each party
• The quantity and quality of information held by
each party
• Need recognition and satisfaction
• The pressures on the party
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Determination of negotiating objectives:
Must have objectives; minimum price
Would like objectives; high price
Concession analysis:
The kinds of issue that may be examined during
concession analysis include the following:
Price and its breakup
Timing of delivery
The product- its specification, optional extras
Payment – terms
Trade- in terms
Proposal analysis
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