Personal Selling and
Direct Marketing
Chapter 17
Objectives
Understand the role of a
company’s salespeople in
creating value for customers and
building customers relationships.
Understand the personal selling
process, and how to distinguish
between transaction-oriented
marketing and relationship
marketing.
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Objectives
Know the six major sales
force management steps.
Learn about direct marketing
and its benefits to customers
and companies.
Know the major forms of
direct marketing.
17- 2
c
Lear
Record-breaking
earnings and sales
growth
Outstanding sales
force; rated as one
of America’s best.
Sales force
focuses on
customer success
Sales force is
organized into
separate divisions
dedicated to specific
customers
Division platform
teams work with
customers and are
linked to customer
operations
17- 3
What is Personal Selling?
Involves Two-Way, Personal
Communication Between Salespeople
and Individual Customers Whether:
face to face,
by telephone,
through video conferencing,
or by other means.
17- 4
The Nature of Personal Selling
Involves an individual acting for a company
by performing one or more of the following
activities:
 Prospecting,
 Communicating,
 Servicing,
 Information Gathering.
The term salesperson covers a wide
spectrum of positions from:
 Order Taking
 Order Getting
 Missionary Selling
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The Role of the Sales Force
Personal Selling is effective because salespeople
can:
- Probe customers to learn more about their
needs
- Adjust the marketing offer
- Build long-term personal relationships
The Sales Force serves as a critical link between
a company and its customers since they:
 Represent the company to customers
 Represent customers to the company.
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Steps in the Selling Process
Step 1. Prospecting and Qualifying
Identifying and Screening For
Qualified Potential Customers.
Step 2. Preapproach
Learning As Much As Possible
About a Prospective Customer
Before Making a Sales Call.
Step 3. Approach
Knowing How to Meet the
Buyer to Get the Relationship
Off to a Good Start.
Step 4. Presentation/ Demonstration
Telling the Product “Story” to
the Buyer, and Showing the
Product Benefits.
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Steps in the Selling Process
Step 5. Handling Objections
Step 6. Closing
Step 7. Follow-Up
Seeking Out, Clarifying, and
Overcoming Customer
Objections to Buying.
Asking the Customer for the
Order.
Following Up After the Sale to
Ensure Customer Satisfaction
and Repeat Business.
17- 8
BusinessNow
MarketSoft Video Clip
Trade shows are
often an excellent
source of sales
leads.
Click the picture above to play video
17- 9
Relationship Marketing
Process of creating, maintaining,
and enhancing strong, value-laden
relationships with customers and
other stakeholders.
Based on the idea that important
accounts need focused and
continuous attention.
17- 10
But, All Accounts Are Not
Created Equal!
Segmentation and Targeting!!!
Intrinsic Value Buyers 
Transactional Selling
 Extrinsic Value Buyers 
Consultative Selling
 Strategic Value Buyers 
Enterprise Selling
17- 11
Definition
Sales Force Management
 The analysis, planning,
implementation, and control of sales
force activities. It includes setting and
designing sales force strategy; and
recruiting, selecting, training,
supervising, compensating, and
evaluating the firm’s salespeople.
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Managing the Salesforce
Designing Salesforce Strategy and Structure
Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople
Training Salespeople
Compensating Salespeople
Supervising Salespeople
Evaluating Salespeople
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Setting Salesforce Strategy
Salesforce Structure
Salesforce Size
Salesforce Compensation
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Designing Sales Force
Strategy and Structure
Types of Sales Force Structure
Territorial
Exclusive Territory to
Sell the Company’s
Full Product Line
Product
Sales Force Sells Along
Product Lines
Customer
Sales Force Sells Along
Customer/ Industry Lines
Complex
Combination of Above Types of Sales Force Structures
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Designing Sales Force Strategy
and Structure
Sales Force Size
Other Sales Force Strategy and Structure Issues
Who Will Be Involved in the
Selling Effort?
How Will Sales and Sales Support
People Work Together?
Outside Sales Force
Inside Sales Force
Team Selling
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Other Sales Force Strategy
and Structure Issues
Outside Sales
Force
Travel to Call on
Customers
Sells to Major
Accounts
Finds Major
New
Prospects
Inside Sales
Force
Conduct Business From Their
Offices Via Phone or Buyer Visits
Technical
Support
People
TeleMarketing
Sales
Or
Assistants
Internet
17- 17
Team Selling
to service large,
complex
accounts.
Finds problems,
solutions, and
sales
opportunities.
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Sales Force Size
one of a company’s most productive and
expensive assets.
Sales forces have been shrinking in size
because of:
Many companies use some form of
workload approach to set sales force size:
 Group accounts into different size
classes,
 How many people are needed to call on
them.
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Compensating Salespeople
Sales Force Compensation Plans Can Both Motivate
Salespeople and Direct Their Activities.
Salary
Benefits
Components
of
Compensation
Bonus
Commission
17- 20
Recruiting and Selecting
Salespeople
Some Characteristics
of Salespeople
Recruiting Procedures
Salesperson Selection
Process
•Enthusiasm and Self-Confidence
•Persistence
•Initiative
•Job Commitment
•Current Salespeople
•Employment Agencies
•Classified Ads
•College Campuses
•Sales Aptitude
•Analytical & Organizational Skills
•Personality Traits
•Other Characteristics
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Types of Salesperson Recruitment Criteria
Order Takers
 Can take orders, presentable, personable,
high school education
Order Getters
 good communicator, quick learner,
persuasive, college graduate
Problem Solvers
 quick learner, empathetic, technical
background, college graduate
Training Salespeople
The Average Sales Training Program lasts for Four Months and
Has the Following Goals:
Help Salespeople Know & Identify
With the Company
Learn How the Products Work
Learn About Competitors’
and Customers’ Characteristics
Learn How to Make
Effective Presentations
Understand Field Procedures
and Responsibilities
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U.S. companies spend more that $7 billion
annually on training salespeople and devote
more than 22 hours per year to the average
salesperson.
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Types of Salesperson Training Objectives
Order Takers
 teach operating procedures and standards,
ensure good delivery
Order Getters
 gain understanding of company products
and related service requirements, teach
selling methods, develop technical
knowledge
Problem Solvers
 gain full understanding of the customer's
industry, acquire ability to develop custommade solutions to fill customer needs
Supervising
Salespeople
Directing
Salespeople
Motivating
Salespeople
• Identify Customer Targets
& Set Call Norms
• Organizational Climate
• Develop Prospect Targets
• Positive Incentives
• Use Sales Time Efficiently
– Annual Call Schedule
– Time-and-Duty Analysis
– Sales Force Automation
• Sales Quotas
– Honors
– Awards
– Merchandise/ Cash
– Trips
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How Salespeople Spend
Their Time
Service Calls
12.7%
Administrative
Tasks
16%
Telephone
Selling
25.1%
Face-to-Face
Selling
28.8%
Waiting/
Traveling
17.4%
Companies Look
For Ways to
Increase the
Amount of Time
Salespeople
Spend Selling.
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Evaluating Salespeople
Expense
Reports
Call
Reports
Sales
Report
Sources
of
Information
Work
Plan
Annual
Territory
Marketing Plan
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Direct Marketing
Direct Marketing
Benefits: Buyers




Convenient
Easy to use
Private
Access to a
wealth of
information
 Immediate
 Interactive
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Direct Marketing
Direct Marketing Benefits: Sellers
 building relationships
 targeting of small groups or individuals
with customized offers in a
personalized fashion
 access to buyers that couldn’t be
reached via other channels
 Low-cost, effective alternative for
reaching specific markets
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Direct Marketing
Customer Databases & Direct
Marketing
 Databases include customer profile,
purchase history, and other detailed
information
 Databases can be used to identify
prospects, profile customers, and
select customers to receive offers, and
to build relationships
17- 31
Figure 17-4:
Forms of Direct Marketing
17- 32
Direct Marketing
Telephone Marketing
 Inbound toll-free 800
numbers are used to
receive orders from
print or TV ads
 New legislation and
technological
advances threaten
the future of
telemarketing
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Direct Marketing
Direct-Mail
Marketing
 New trends
include fax, mail,
e-mail, and voice
mail
Catalog
Marketing
 Many
cataloguers
have migrated to
the web
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Direct Marketing
Direct-Response
Television
Marketing
 Direct-response
advertising
 Infomercials
 Home shopping
channels
Kiosk Marketing
17- 35