Chapter 2
Sales Management, Personal Selling,
and Salesmanship
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Learning Objectives
• Understand the diversity of personal-selling situations
• Know the theories of selling
• Understand the different steps in the sales process
• Understand the importance of closing the sales
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Personal (‘Professional’) Selling
• The process of:
– Developing customer relationships
– Discovering customer needs
– Matching appropriate products with these needs, and
communicating benefits
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Benefits of Personal Selling
• High degree of personal attention
• Sales message can be customized
• Respond directly and promptly to customer questions and
concerns
• Good way of getting across large amounts of technical or
other complex product information
• Face-to-face sales gives the sales force chance to
demonstrate the product
• Opportunity to build good long-term relationships
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Salesmanship
• Salesmanship—One aspect of personal selling
The art of successfully persuading customers to buy
products or services from where they can derive suitable
benefits, thereby increasing their total satisfaction
• Earlier, the emphasis in salesmanship was wholly on
persuasion , today—it is on benefits attractive to
prospects and customers
• Advertising is ‘salesmanship in print’
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Conceptual Model of ‘Salesperson–Buyer’ Dyadic
Relationships
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Personal-selling Situations
• Inside order taker
• Delivery salesperson
• Route or merchandising salesperson
• Missionary
• Technical salesperson
• Creative salesperson of tangibles
• Creative salesperson of intangibles
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Theories of selling
• AIDAS
• Right set of circumstances
• Buying-formula
• The behavioral equation
• SPIN selling
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AIDAS
• Securing Attention
• Gaining Interest
• Kindling Desire
• Inducing Action
• Building Satisfaction
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SPIN Selling
Proposes four types of questions:
• Situation
• Problem
• Implication
• Need–Payoff
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Situation Questions
Deal with buyer’s existing situation.
Examples:
• How many people do you employ at this location?
• How many customers do you have?
Impact: Least powerful of the 4 Q’s
Advice: Eliminate unnecessary SQ’s by doing your
homework
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Situation Questions
• Focus SQ’s for key info to uncover buyer problems
– Will lead/develop into explicit needs
• High risk = Lose credibility and sale!
• Do NOT ask SQ’s…
– Late in the selling cycle
– About irrelevant business areas
– In excess (too many)
– About sensitive areas
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Problem Questions
Ask about the buyer's problems, difficulties, or
dissatisfactions. These give implied needs.
Examples:
• Which parts of the system create errors?
• How do you keep track of all your customer's phone calls
between two offices?
Impact: More powerful than SQ’s. People ask more PQs as
they sell more.
Advice: Think of what you’re selling in terms of the
problems they solve for your clients.
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Implication Questions
Asking about the impacts of the problem, before talking
about solutions, and develop the seriousness of the problem
to increase the buyer's motivation to change.
Examples:
• What effect does that problem have on output?
• Do you lose customers when people complain?
• What happens when patient’s report side effects of
painkillers?
Impact: The most powerful of all the SPIN questions … top
salespeople ask a lot
Advice: The hardest to ask … plan them carefully … in
advance
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Need–Payoff Questions
Focus the customer's attention on the solution rather than on
the problem. Helps to create a positive problem-solving
atmosphere where attention is given to solutions and actions,
not just problems and difficulties.
Examples:
• How do you think a faster machine would help you?
• How would it help if your offices were connected to a
centralized database?
Impact: Top salespeople show they are helpful and skillful
problem solvers.
Advice: Use NPQs to get the buyer to tell you the benefits
of your solution ….
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The Sales Process
Eight steps of the sales process:
1. Prospecting and qualifying
2. Pre-approach and planning
3. Need identification
4. Presentation
5. Handling objections
6. Closing/gaining commitment
7. Follow up
8. Maintaining the relationship
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The Sales Process
• Prospecting: Personal-selling function of identifying
potential customers.
• Qualifying: Determining that a prospect has the needs,
income, and purchase authority necessary for being a
potential customer.
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The Sales Process
• Pre-approach: The salesperson tries to learn everything
he can about the account.
• Pre-call planning: Use of information collected during
the prospecting and qualifying stages and during previous
contacts with the prospect to tailor the approach and
presentation to match the customer’s needs.
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The Sales Process
• Approach: Opening statement must get buyer’s
attention.
• Presentation: Salesperson describes product and how it
meets buyer’s needs.
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The Sales Process
Need-identification stage
Asking probing questions to the prospective customer to
determine needs.
Probing questions
• Open ended
• Close ended
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The Sales Process
Handling objections:
• Objections are expressions of sales resistance by the
prospect.
• Salesperson should approach the objection as a sign of
interest on the part of the prospect, and provide
information that will ensure the prospect’s confidence in
making the purchase.
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The Sales Process
Closing:
The salesperson must ask the customer for an order.
• Good closing:
– Reinforce decision to buy
– Confirm implementation schedule
– Thank the customer and ask for referrals
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The Sales Process
Follow-up:
• The salesperson should complete any agreed upon post-
sales actions.
• Helps build mutually beneficial long-term relationships.
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The Sales Process
Maintaining the relationship with the customers:
• Satisfied customers can become loyal customers.
• Defensive marketing to protect customers.
• Customer wants supplier they can trust and who will be
there when problems arise.
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Exercise 1
• Design Sales Process for a product of your choice.
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