Personal Selling and Sales Management

Explain the factors affecting the relative importance of personal selling in the promotional mix. 

      Personal selling is likely to be relatively more important in the following instances: (1) when consumers are concentrated geographically and relatively small in number; (2) when the products or services are expensive, are technically complex, require special handling or typically involve trade&-ins; (3) when channels are relatively short; and (4) when the price of the product is relatively high.

Contrast field selling, over&-the&-counter selling and telemarketing.

      Field selling involves sales calls to customers at their homes or businesses for the purpose of providing demonstrations or information about the good or service. Over&-the&-counter (retail) selling involves providing product information and arranging for completion of the sales transaction to customers at the retail location. Telemarketing is used to reduce the substantial cost involved in maintaining a sales force for making personal calls at customers' homes or businesses. It involves personal selling conducted entirely by telephone either outbound (when salespeople contact customers) or inbound (when customers call to obtain information and make purchases).

Identify the three basic sales tasks.

      Order processing is basically the routine handling of an order; it characterizes a sales setting in which the need is made known to and is acknowledged by the customer. Creative selling is

persuasion aimed at making the prospect see the value of the good or service being presented. Missionary sales are indirect selling, such as making goodwill&-type calls and providing technical or operational assistance.

Outline the steps in the sales process.

      The basic steps in the sales process are prospecting and qualifying, approach, presentation, demonstration, handling objections, closing, and follow&-up.

Describe sales, management's boundary&-spanning role.

      Sales managers link the salesforce to other aspects of the internal and external environments. The internal environment consists of top management, other functional units in the firm, such as advertising, and other internal information source. The external environment includes trade groups, customers, competitors, suppliers, and regulatory agencies.

List the functions of sales management.

            Sales management involves seven basic functions: recruitment and selection, training, organization, supervision, motivation, compensation, and evaluation and control.