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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