Chapter 1
Personal Selling and the
Marketing Concept
Definition of Personal Selling
• Occurs when a company representative
interacts directly with a customer or
prospective customer to present
information about a product or service
• Process of developing relationships;
discovering needs; matching the
appropriate products with these needs; and
communicating benefits through informing,
reminding, or persuading
What is a Product?
• Broadly interpreted to encompass
– Information
– Services
– Ideas
– Issues
Personal Selling Philosophy
• Adopt the marketing concept
• Value personal selling
• Assume the role of a problem solver or
partner in helping customers make
buying decisions
Information Economy
• Major advances in information
technology
• Strategic resource is information
• Business is defined by customer
relationships
• Sales success depends on adding
value
What is the Marketing Concept?
• A principal that holds that achieving
organizational goals depends on
knowing the needs and wants of target
markets and delivering the desired
products
• Customer focus and value are the
paths to sales and profits
Evolution of Personal Selling
• Early 1950s --marketing era begins
– Product orientation is replaced by a consumer
orientation
• Late 1960s to early 1970s--consultative
selling era
– Salesperson diagnoses customer’s needs and
offers well-considered recommendations
Evolution of Personal Selling
(con’t)
• Early 1980s--strategic selling era
– More structure and planning to find your niche
• 1990 and beyond--partnering era
– Creating long term relationships with
customers
Marketing Mix
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•
•
•
Product
Price
Place
Promotion
– advertising, public relations, sales promotion
and personal selling
The Importance of Personal Selling
• Often the major promotional method
used
• Employment data for the 500 largest
sales forces in America
– Produce over $4.5 trillion in sales
– Support 10.4 other jobs within the company
Consultative vs. Transitional Selling
• Consultative selling
– Emphasizes need identification which is
achieved through effective communication
between the salesperson and the customer
• Transitional selling
– Buyer is well aware of what they need and may
already know a great deal about the products
they intend to purchase (marketers use
telesales, direct mail and internet)
Major Features of Consultative
Selling
• The customer is seen as a person to be
served not a prospect to be sold
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–
–
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Need discovery using two-way communication
Selection of solution
Need satisfaction presentation
Servicing the sale
Strategic Selling
• The process that matches the firm’s
resources to its market opportunities
• Tactics--techniques, practices, or
methods you use when face-to-face with a
customer
• Strategies--carefully conceived plans
needed to accomplish a sales objective
• Adaptive selling--altering sales behaviors
during a customer interaction in order to
improve communication
Strategic/Consultative Selling
Model (see p. 14)
1. Develop a Personal Selling Philosophy
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•
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Adopt marketing concept
Value personal selling
Become a problem solver
2. Develop a Relationship Strategy
•
•
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Adopt win-win philosophy
Project professional image
Maintain high ethical standards
Strategic/Consultative Selling
Model (con’t)
3. Develop a Product Strategy
•
•
•
Become a product expert
Sell benefits
Configure value-added solutions
4. Develop a Customer Strategy
•
•
•
Understand the buying process
Understand buyer behavior
Develop prospect base
Strategic/Consultative Selling
Model (con’t)
5. Develop a Presentation Strategy
•
•
•
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Prepare objectives
Develop presentation plan
Provide outstanding service
Visual of strategic/consultative selling
model on p. 16
Evolution of Partnering
• Strategically developed, long-term
relationship that solves the customer’s
problems
• Strategic alliance is a form of partnering
where you team up with another company
whose products or services fit well with
your own
• Enhanced with high ethical standards and
customer relationship management (CRM
is sometimes referred to as sales
automation)
Value Creation
• The information economy will reward those
salespeople who have the skills, the
knowledge, and the motivation to
determine how to create value at every
step of the sales process
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–
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Understanding customer’s value needs
Creating the value proposition
Communicating the value proposition
Delivering the value proposition