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CHAPTER

Selling Today
Personal Selling Opportunities in the Age of Information

10th Edition

Manning and Reece

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Learning Objectives
Describe how personal selling skills contribute to work performed by knowledge workers Discuss the rewarding aspects of personal selling careers

Describe the opportunities for women and minorities in the field of personal selling
Discuss the characteristics of selling positions in four major employment settings: service, retailing, wholesaling, and manufacturing Identify the four major sources of sales training
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Personal Selling in the Age of Information

One can add value to information by:
Collecting it

Organizing it
Clarifying it Presenting it in a convincing manner Selling skills are transferable skills
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Knowledge Workers Benefit from Personal Selling Skills

Customer service representatives (CSR)
Professionals Entrepreneurs Managerial personnel
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Discussion Question
How can selling skills benefit the following people?
A teller at a local bank

An accountant at a small CPA firm

A company owner looking for franchisees

A regional manager for a national department store chain

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Your Future in Personal Selling

Students tend to view sales as dynamic and active but believe a selling career requires them to engage in deceitful or dishonest practices. These are OLD stereotypes Ethical sales practices are the key to success
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Sales Is Pervasive
500 largest sales forces in America employ 17.5 million salespeople These companies will seek to recruit 500,000 college graduates The number of sales positions is increasing in industrialized countries

Hundreds of selling career options to match individual interests, talents, and ambitions
Most occupations involve some form of selling
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Large U.S. Sales Forces

TABLE

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Sales Titles Vary

Account executive Account representative Sales consultant Client development manager

Sales account manager

Relationship manager District representative

Sales associate
Marketing representative Territory manager

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How Salespeople Spend an Average 46-Hour Work Week

FIGURE

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Rewards of Selling Careers

Above-average income Above-average psychic income Opportunity for advancement

Opportunities for women and minorities

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Executive and Sales Force Compensation

TABLE 2.2

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Women and Minorities

Growing opportunities for both women and minorities More women are turning to sales as a career Companies recognize a need for a more diverse sales force
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Employment Settings in Selling Today Selling a service

Selling for a retailer Selling for a wholesaler

Selling for a manufacturer

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Selling a Service
Financial services Radio, television, and Internet advertising Hotel, motel, and convention center services Real estate Insurance Banking Business services

Newspaper advertising

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Discussion Questions
In what ways are services different from hard goods? How can selling a service be different, and more difficult, than selling a hard good?
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Selling a Service

See the Website

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Special Case: Radio Advertising Sales

More than 10,000 radio stations in the United States Work with local, regional, and national accounts Local and national training, certification In medium markets, compensation can reach $100,000+
See the Website

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Retail Selling
Product categories like these usually require a high degree of personal selling
Automobiles Musical instruments Photographic equipment Fashion apparel Recreational vehicles Television and radio receivers Furniture/decorating supplies Tires and related accessories Computers
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Major appliances

Wholesale Selling
Inside salesperson
Relies heavily on phone orders More office-based Internet often used for support Inside sales growing in popularity as a costsaving move

Outside salesperson
On-the-road Duties vary

Often must be familiar with many products

Must know details of customers operation Serves as consultant to the customer
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Manufacturer Selling
Field salesperson
Gains new customers Increases sales for existing customers

Sales engineer
Knows technical details Must identify, analyze, solve customer problems

Detail salesperson
Assists clients with marketing, collects data Not compensated on amount sold

Inside salesperson
Takes orders Supports field staff

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Telemarketing Sales Channel

Telemarketing: a channel in which the sales process is conducted by telephone Serves two purposes: sales and service Inside sales, backup for outside sales Sometimes used to maintain contact with smaller customers Also used to find and qualify prospects
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Discussion Questions
Are salespeople made or are they born?
What reasons would someone give to support each side of this discussion?
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Learning How to Sell The principles of selling can be learned and applied by people whose personal characteristics are quite different.

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Four Sources of Sales Training

Corporate-sponsored training Training provided by commercial vendors Certification programs

College and university courses

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Corporate-sponsored Training
Many firms have established programs Millions are spent in training each year Salespeople among the most intensively trained employees Training for consultative selling may be a few months to a year Some Web-based training used
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Commercial Vendor: Huthwaites SPIN Selling

See the Website

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Commercial Vendor: Acclivus Corporation

See the Website

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Certificate Programs: The Certified Medical Representative

See the Website

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University Courses: A Sales Training Facility

Courtesy: Nicholls State University

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