resume

Aaron Rodriguez

Phone: 858-342-5921         Email: aaronconrad@gmail.com

Los Angeles, CA 90032

Work Experience

Souplantation: Dining Room Attendant                                                                           May 2017- August 2017

·         Provided excellent customer service and maintain a strong customer base

·         Supported the management team by maintaining supplies

·         Arrange the restaurant to create an inviting and creative environment for customers

Leadership Affiliations:

Alpha Phi Omega: Service Vice President, Public Relations Director                         September 2015- Present

·         Manage and maintain social media presence by increasing follower count by 200% over 2 years

·         Provide new and exciting new programs to entice new recruits

·         Recruit 100+ new members (approximately 40 per semester)

·         Coordinate and work with a team and encourage team success 

·         Established and maintained relations with organizations on campus

Volunteering

Forget-Us-Not Benefit Concert: Marketing Director, Chief Operations Officer                               May 6, 2017

·         Established and maintained relations with organizations on campus

·         Maintain relations with non-profit organizations and provide services to them  

·         Design a social media campaign to raise awareness of the concert

·         Used social media tools to acquire new talents to preform

·         Maintain contact with talents to provide logistical information about the concert 

·         Raise $490 for Together We Rise

Skills:

Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)

Leadership development skills cultivated through Launch and Explore workshops

Familiarity with CRM system

Awards and Certification:

BOTS: BOTW Award                                                                               December 11, 2017: December 11, 2015 

Online Marketing Foundations,                                                               February 16, 2018

SEO Foundations,                                                                                    February 16, 2018

Marketing Foundations Growth Hacking                                                February 16, 2018             

Education

California State University, Los Angeles                                                            Expected Graduation: May 2019

Business Administration Option: Marketing Management                                                                                                       

On Distinction

By Ann Morning

Published on: Jun 07, 2006

Ann Morning, assistant professor of sociology at New York University, has published a number of articles having to do with race and ethnicity, especially racial classification. Her most recent work is "From Sword to Plowshare: Using Race for Discrimination and Antidiscrimination in the United States" (with Daniel Sabbagh), forthcoming in International Social Science Journal.

In 2001 and 2002, I interviewed over 40 university professors in biology and anthropology about their definitions of the term “race.” Their views varied widely. Almost 40 percent of these academics took what can be called an “essentialist” view: they described races as groups of people who share certain innate, inherited biological traits. In contrast, over 60 percent held a “constructionist” perspective: they argued that races do not correspond to patterns of human biological variation, but rather that racial groupings are “constructed” through social processes that take place in particular historical, political and economic contexts. In other words, the jury was out on the scientific nature of race.

Despite their differing conclusions about race, however, the scientists I interviewed largely shared the same fundamental ideas about the nature of human biological variation. They agreed that human beings vary biologically, both genetically and phenotypically (e.g., in surface appearance); that this variation is shaped by evolutionary processes; that the patterns of variation are linked to geographic locale; and that each variant usually shades gradually into the next, without sharp, crisp borders separating people with trait A from those with trait B (think for example of how skin colors change gradually, not abruptly, over geographic spaces). None took the extreme view that is sometimes attributed to constructionists—namely, that there is “no difference” between any two human beings. Nor did anyone believe the old essentialist view that there are clear cut, sharply-defined discrete race groups, all of whose members share some trait (or traits) that no members of other races share. And even though not all of my interviewees brought up social processes of racial classification—for example, the political and bureaucratic measures that alter our census racial categories from one decade to the next, or the 20th-century court cases that ruled whether Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Armenian, Syrian, Mexican and other petitioners could be classified as “white”—I don’t think any of them would deny these are part of our historical record.

With a basic consensus, then, on human biological diversity and its gradual pattern of variation across the globe, as well as some awareness of the sociopolitical influences on historical racial classification, how could these professors not come to a common conclusion about the existence of biological races in our species? With a commonly-accepted set of facts, why did they arrive at different opinions about whether the groupings we call races actually exist “in nature,” independent of our study of them, or whether these groups are ones that we humans construct, guided by our cultural presuppositions, and then impose like an artificial grid on the fuzzy reality of human diversity?

The divide I encountered centered on the notion of “distinction.” That word and its variants were integral to my interviewees’ discussions of their understandings of race. One biology professor described races as “subpopulations within a species that are characterized by a suite of distinctive traits.” In this essentialist view, there are recognizable subpopulations that objectively share common traits. Another biologist saw racial categorization as involving “false, overly stringent, or overly clear, unrealistically clear, distinctions between groups.” In this constructionist view, racial distinctions are “false” or “unrealistic”—they do not mirror objective biological reality.

Race, Human Biological Variation, and Distinctiveness

Dr. Leroi’s article also stumbles on the problem of “distinction.” This is perhaps most apparent in the loose array of what he presents as “races”: If “Negritos,” Europeans, Basques, Ibos and Castilians are all races, then exactly what tools or taxonomic principles are guiding the identification of races? In other words, how are we measuring what counts as a “racial” distinction?

This question really entails a series of inquiries. First, which indicators do we choose to measure racial difference? How much difference do we believe signals “racial” distinctiveness? And finally, do we decide in advance which groups of people make up races, and then look selectively for evidence that corroborates our classification scheme? Or do we first choose traits that we think are appropriate measures of race, and then see which clusters of human beings share them or not? In short, measuring racial difference—like virtually every other type of scientific inquiry—involves a series of judgment calls: conscious decisions that govern how we collect and analyze complex data. Racial differences do not just “jump out” unambiguously from biological data.

The strategy of identifying races by taking multiple indicators into account—for example, not just skin color but also hair texture and eye shape—offers a good example of the decisions and ambiguities involved in the process of distinguishing. First, Dr. Leroi suggests that a single trait like skin color is insufficient for delineating races because it would not distinguish Senegalese individuals from Solomon Islanders. The unspoken presumption is that a good measure of race would categorize the former separately from the latter. But another researcher might not agree. In the first part of the 20th century, anthropologists would have classified both groups as members of the “Ethiopian” or “Negroid” race, with the Senegalese representing its “African” component and the Solomon Islanders its “Negrito” or “Oceanic Pygmy” wing. And yet another researcher might expect a racial framework to be able to distinguish west African Senegalese from the Sudanese to their east.

Second, the multiple-trait approach to outlining races—a kind of triangulation process—does not eliminate the question of which traits should be selected to make this determination. A handpicked collection of characteristics like skin and hair color, eye and nose shape, might well delineate the groups that we commonly understand to be races: Africans, Europeans, Asians, Native Americans, and perhaps Australians. But we could also choose other traits to analyze together, and come up with a different picture of which races exist in the world. If we overlaid a map of the sickle-cell trait (found in malarial areas like western and central Africa, the Mediterranean basin, and South Asia) on top of that for lactose intolerance (likely distinguishing northwest Europe from the rest of the world), would we still obtain a clear picture of black, white, yellow and red races? And which would be better indicators of difference: surface traits like skin color or those related to blood and digestion?

The choice of characteristic(s) used to measure race has an effect not just on which groups emerge as races, but how many. As Dr. Leroi acknowledges, the multiple-trait procedure for triangulating racial groupings could yield countless races: “Study enough genes in enough people and one could sort the world’s population into 10, 100, perhaps 1,000 groups, each located somewhere on the map.” Incorporating more information makes it possible to refine our racial categories to smaller and smaller detailed groupings. Yet even with the complex biological data now available, it is rare to hear calls to do away with our 18th-century Linnaean taxonomy of four or five races. As a result, the scientific debate that effectively emerges about race is whether or not to accept the longstanding Western framework of black, white, yellow, and red races as a good approximation of human diversity.

Finally, there is a more basic decision involved in trying to compile proof of the existence of biological races. For some researchers, it is sufficient to determine in advance how many and which groups are races, and then seek the data to support this presumed breakdown. The genetic genealogy industry operates in this way, pre-identifying three or so races, sampling the DNA of a few hundred people they believe to be representative of those races, and then sifting through the genetic data to find similarities between members of the same race while discarding the evidence of genetic traits that are shared across these races. The result is a genetic profile for each “race.” In a similar vein, disease prevalence statistics have been interpreted as proof of the existence of continental races. The widely-shared assumption is that if one can detect genetic differences between any two groups—African Americans and European Americans, Koreans and Japanese, south Indians and north Indians, Basque and Icelanders—then we have discovered “racial” differences. But such discoveries do not tell us anything about where the boundaries lie of the larger races that these subgroups supposedly represent. Does a genetic difference between African Americans and European Americans represent just dissimilarity between those two groupings, or does it tell us something about the huge groups we call the “black” and “white” races, which include Ivorians, Afro-Caribbeans, Ethiopians and Angolans on the one hand, and Swedes, Spaniards, Greeks and Poles on the other?

The varied decisions that go into scientists’ measurement of racial difference lend support to the idea that we don’t “find” races so much as we “construct” them. There are no given, objective racial boundaries, but rather, we determine which information should be used to classify races—and how—and as a result, the type and number of races will vary. As has been the case since Linnaeus and Blumenbach elaborated some of the first taxonomies of racial groups in the 18th century, there is no agreement among experts on the true number or boundaries of the world’s races. But if these problems of making distinctions are perhaps the bedrock issue that separates academic essentialists from constructionists, the more heated controversy revolves around the related question of how social context shapes our attempts to draw racial boundaries.

Race Distinctions in Social Context

Dr. Leroi suggests that race is “merely a shorthand that enables us to speak sensibly, though with no great precision, about genetic rather than cultural or political differences.” This is astonishing for someone who, according to armandleroi.com, grew up partly in South Africa and did graduate work in the United States. Since its emergence in the imperial age of the 16th and 17th centuries, race has been first and foremost a way of talking about political, social, and economic differences, rights, and membership. Race differences distinguished the citizen from the alien, the slave from the free, the property owner from the owned. Today, race is hardly the stuff of dispassionate technical jargon. Race is a daily newspaper topic not because of DNA configurations but because of social configurations. Enduring beliefs in the characteristics of different races make race a way for us to talk about crime and innocence, worth and worthlessness, the monied and the disadvantaged.

Even to scientists, race has clearly meant more than just biology. In his early human taxonomy, Linnaeus described Homo sapiens Afer (African Homo sapiens) as “crafty, indolent, negligent; anoints himself with grease; governed by caprice,” and Homo sapiens Europeaeus as “gentle, acute, inventive; …governed by laws”; race was a guide not just to physical difference but to the valuation of temperament, ability, and behavior. Moreover, social and biological scientists have long been active participants in the development of race-related public policies. Their evidence of black inferiority helped justify slavery in the face of abolitionist protest; their conclusion that the unfit American Indian race was doomed to perish in the presence of the superior white race made the results of a concerted public campaign of extermination seem like a “natural” Darwinian outcome; and their early-20th-century discoveries of important differences between the crania of native and immigrant groups fueled the eventual shutdown of immigration from eastern and southern Europe. From these examples, it seems clear that the cultural context of the time had a hand not just in the research results that scientists obtained, but even in the questions they asked in the first place. In the same way, we have to ask how the contemporary debate on the nature of race relates to the cultural outlook and the policy dilemmas of our times.

As it turns out, we don’t have to look far to find connections between contemporary scientific conceptions of race and broader social and policy debates. Both constructionists and essentialists see their views as bearing on matters of public interest. In my interviews, scientists who argued that races were socially constructed believed that claims of the “natural” or objective existence of races have been used for destructive purposes in the past, and had the potential to support racist policies in the future. For example, claims of innate, racial differences in intelligence might discourage policymakers from addressing racial inequalities in access to quality education.

Those who lean toward an essentialist perspective on race may have an even broader range of social or policy concerns. Several interviewees expressed the concern that constructionism amounted to an attack on or rejection of science. Similarly, they perceived the constructionist interpretation of race as a denial of an important truth; hence Leroi’s exhortation that “Scientists should admit that there is such a thing as race.” The rejection of science in general or the truth about race in particular then represents a roadblock to the advancement of scientific knowledge—for example, about human evolutionary history or about critical medical disorders to which we would all like to find solutions. It is particularly important for essentialists to stress their approach as promising health benefits for the people who have traditionally been disadvantaged by the use of race categories (and scientific research); they are quite aware of the history of racial classifications and often take pains to disassociate themselves from beliefs about the inferiority or superiority of particular races. Finally, some essentialists are concerned that the notion that race is constructed lends itself to public policies that they believe are wrongheaded. For example, physical anthropologist Vincent Sarich (co-author of Race: The Reality of Human Differences), has written: “We believe the case for the reality of race and of human differences must be presented…against the political temper of our times in which the view that race is a social construction…has come to be invoked as the justification for public policies based on racial privileges.”

The debate about whether distinct biological races exist is often at risk of being interpreted as a dispute over innate equality or inequality. Despite the efforts of essentialists who stress that the existence of races does not necessarily imply a hierarchy of races, and of constructionists who insist that their rejection of the biological race concept does not mean they believe all human beings are the same, the concepts of “difference” and “inequality” are often confused for each other when the topic is race. The belief—or fear—that innate difference necessarily reflects innate inequality can be detected among both essentialists and constructionists. Consider, for example, commentator Andrew Sullivan’s analysis of Harvard president Lawrence Summers’ recent comments on women’s intrinsic capacity for scientific achievement: "Summers is putting his finger on one of liberalism's great contemporary problems: how to reconcile the moral equality of human beings and the political equality of citizens with increasingly accurate scientific discoveries of aspects of human life that reflect our innate, biological inequality." Although many scientists would no doubt reject the interpretation of scientific study of sex differences as a matter of inferiority or superiority, the concept of inequality casts a long shadow on the debate about difference.

Conclusion

In one of his most widely-read works, sociologist Pierre Bourdieu used the word “Distinction” to title his book, taking advantage of its double meanings. On one hand, it refers to a process—the act of identifying differences between people, for example. But as a noun, it also bears the connotation of a property like “classiness”— an apparently effortless or “natural” quality of superiority. Bourdieu plays with the double-entendre to show us how hierarchical differences that seem—well, “natural”—are in fact cemented in place through a lot of hard work at drawing up social boundaries.

After conducting my interviews on race with anthropologists and biologists, I came away feeling that it wasn’t really so hard to reconcile essentialist and constructionist views on race after all. We could find common ground if both camps made some important admissions. Constructionists could acknowledge that we make judgment calls about where to draw dividing lines all the time, and that we often refer to groups whose boundaries are imperfectly defined —like “constructionists” and “essentialists”—in an effort to describe social or physical phenomena. And when conducting statistical analyses, for example, we accept arbitrary cutoffs as thresholds for declaring which results are “significant” and which are not. But essentialists must admit that the dividing lines we draw are not simply “out there” awaiting human discovery, but rather that they reflect a process of human deliberation about the how, when and why of measuring distinctions, a process that is socially embedded and should be open to questioning. In short, while human biological variation certainly seems to be real, the ways that we cut it up, name and describe it are the product of our scientific imagination.

marketing 3210 book

Professional Selling

A Trust-Based Approach

Fourth Edition

Fourth Edition

Ingram • LaForge • Avila

Schwepker Jr.. Williams

Fourth Edition

Professional Selling

A Trust-Based Approach

Thomas N. Ingram Colorado State University Raymond W. LaForge University of Louisville Ramon A. Avila Ball State University

Charles H. Schwepker Jr. University of Central Missouri Michael R. Williams Illinois State University

Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach, Fourth Edition Thomas N. Ingram, Raymond W. LaForge, Ramon A. Avila, Charles H. Schwepker, Jr., Michael R. Williams

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To Jacque —Thomas N. Ingram

To Susan, Alexandra, Kelly, and in memory of my Mom and Dad —Raymond W. LaForge

To Terry, Sarah, Nathan, Anne, Ryan, Laura, Kate, and my parents —Ramon A. Avila

To Laura, Charlie III, Anthony, Lauren, my Mom, and in memory of my Dad, ‘‘Big C ’’ —Charles H. Schwepker Jr.

To Marilyn, Aimee and Rodney, Kerri and Bart, my Mom, and in memory of my Dad —Michael R. Williams

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Brief Contents

Preface xix About the Authors xxvii

Module 1- Overview of Personal Selling 1 Appendix 1- Sales Careers 23

Part 1- The Foundations of Professional Selling 31

Module 2- Building Trust and Sales Ethics 33 Module 3- Understanding Buyers 61 Module 4- Communication Skills 105

Part 2- Initiating Customer Relationships 137

Module 5- Strategic Prospecting and Preparing

for Sales Dialogue 139 Module 6- Planning Sales Dialogues and Presentation 159

Part 3- Developing Customer Relationships 181

Module 7- Making the Sales Call: Creating

and Communicating Values 183 Module 8- Addressing Concerns and Earning

Commitment 211

Part 4- Enhancing Customer Relationships 233

Module 9- Expanding Customer Relationships 235 Module 10- Adding Value: Self-Leadership and Teamwork 261

Experiential Exercises- 297 Glossary- 407 Notes- 417 Index- 423

v

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Contents

Preface xix About the Authors xxvii

Module 1- Overview of Personal Selling 1

Key to Sales Success: Talk With the Customer, not At the Customer 1 Evolution of Personal Selling 1 Origins of Personal Selling 3 Industrial Revolution Era 3 Post–Industrial Revolution Era 4 War and Depression Era 4 Professionalism: The Modern Era 5 Contributions of Personal Selling 6 Salespeople and Society 6 Salespeople as Economic Stimuli 6 Salespeople and Diffusion of Innovation 7 Salespeople and the Employing Firm 7 Salespeople as Revenue Producers 7 Market Research and Feedback 7 Salespeople as Future Managers 7 Salespeople and the Customer 8 Classification of Personal Selling Approaches 8 Stimulus Response Selling 10 Mental States Selling 10 Need Satisfaction Selling 12 Problem-Solving Selling 12 Consultative Selling 13 Sales Process 13 Summary 16 Making Professional Selling Decisions 20 Case 1.1: Biomod, Inc. 20 Case 1.2: Plastico, Inc. 21 Appendix 1- Sales Careers 23 Characteristics of Sales Careers 23 Job Security 23

vii

viii Contents

Advancement Opportunities 23 Immediate Feedback 24 Prestige 24 Job Variety 25 Independence 25 Compensation 25 Classification of Personal Selling Jobs 25 Sales Support 26 New Business 26 Existing Business 27 Inside Sales 27 Direct-to-Consumer Sales 27 Combination Sales Jobs 27 Qualifications and Skills Required for Success by Salespersons 28 Empathy 28 Ego Drive 29 Ego Strength 29 Interpersonal Communication Skills 29 Enthusiasm 30 Comments on Qualifications and Skills 30 Part 1- The Foundations of Professional Selling 31 Module 2- Building Trust and Sales Ethics 33

Developing Trust and Mutual Respect with Clients 33 What Is Trust? 35 Why Is Trust Important? 35 How to Earn Trust 36 Expertise 36 Dependability 37 Candor 38 Customer Orientation 38 Compatibility/Likability 39 Knowledge Bases Help Build Trust and Relationships 40 Industry and Company Knowledge 41 Product Knowledge 42 Service 42 Promotion and Price 43 Market and Customer Knowledge 43 Competitor Knowledge 44 Technology Knowledge 45 Sales Ethics 45 Image of Salespeople 47 Deceptive Practices 47 Illegal Activities 49

Contents ix

Noncustomer-Oriented Behavior 49 How Are Companies Dealing with Sales Ethics? 49 Summary 51 Making Professional Selling Decisions 57 Case 2.1: Schmidt Business Forms 57 Case 2.2: Sales Ethics: A Case Study 58 Module 3- Understanding Buyers 61

Understanding Your Buyers Is the Key to Sales Success 61 Types of Buyers 62

Distinguishing Characteristics of Business Markets 64 Concentrated Demand 64 Derived Demand 64 Higher Levels of Demand Fluctuation 64 Purchasing Professionals 64 Multiple Buying Influences 65 Close Buyer–Seller Relationships 65 The Buying Process 65 Phase One—Recognition of the Problem or Need: The Needs Gap 67 Types of Buyer Needs 68 Phase Two—Determination of the Characteristics of the Item and the Quantity Needed 69 Phase Three—Description of the Characteristics of the Item and the Quantity Needed 71 Phase Four—Search for and Qualification of Potential Sources 71 Phase Five—Acquisition and Analysis of Proposals 71

Procedures for Evaluating Suppliers and Products 71 Assessment of Product or Supplier Performance 72 Accounting for Relative Importance of Each Characteristic 72 Employing Buyer Evaluation Procedures to Enhance Selling Strategies 73 Phase Six—Evaluation of Proposals and Selection of Suppliers 74 Phase Seven—Selection of an Order Routine 74 Phase Eight—Performance Feedback and Evaluation 75

Understanding Postpurchase Evaluation and the Formation of Satisfaction 75 The Growing Importance of Salespeople in Buyer’s Postpurchase Evaluation 75

x Contents

Types of Purchasing Decisions 76 Straight Rebuys 77 New Tasks 78 Modified Rebuys 78 Understanding Communication Styles 79 Mastering Communication Style Flexing 82 Multiple Buying Influences 82 Current Developments in Purchasing 87 Increasing Use of Information Technology 87 Relationship Emphasis on Cooperation and Collaboration 88 Supply Chain Management 88 Increased Outsourcing 89 Target Pricing 89 Increased Importance of Knowledge and Creativity 90 Summary 90 Making Professional Selling Decisions 101 Case 3.1: Candoo Computer Corporation 101 Case 3.2: American Seating Company 103 Module 4- Communication Skills 105

Capturing the Power of Collaborative Communication in Sales Conversations 105 Sales Communication as a Collaborative Process 106 Verbal Communication: Questioning 107 Types of Questions Classified by Amount and Specificity of Information Desired 109 Open-End Questions 109 Closed-End Questions 109 Dichotomous/Multiple-Choice Questions 109 Types of Questions Classified by Strategic Purpose 109 Probing Questions 109 Evaluative Questions 109 Tactical Questions 109 Reactive Questions 110 Strategic Application of Questioning in Trust-Based Selling 111 SPIN Questioning System 111 ADAPT Questioning System 112 Verbal Communication: Listening 116 Using Different Types of Listening 118 Active Listening 119 Verbal Communication: Giving Information 120

Contents xi

Understanding the Superiority of Pictures over Words 120 Impact of Grammar and Logical Sequencing 121 Nonverbal Communication 122 Facial Expressions 122 Eye Movements 122 Placement and Movements of Hands, Arms, Head, and Legs 123 Body Posture and Orientation 123 Proxemics 123 Variations in Voice Characteristics 123 Speaking Rates and Pause Duration 124 Pitch or Frequency 124 Intensity and Loudness 124 Using Nonverbal Clusters 125 Summary 126 Making Professional Selling Decisions 134 Case 4.1: Pre-Select, Inc. 134 Case 4.2: STAGA Financial Services 135

Part 2- Initiating Customer Relationships 137

Module 5- Strategic Prospecting and Preparing

for Sales Dialogue 139 Identifying Sales Opportunities: Three Examples 139 Prospecting: Importance and Challenges 140 Strategic Prospecting 140 Generating Sales Leads 141 Determining Sales Prospects 142 Prioritizing Sales Prospects 142 Preparing for Sales Dialogue 142 Locating Prospects 142 Cold Canvassing 142 Networking 143 Company Sources 144 Published Sources 145 Strategic Prospecting Plan 147 Preparing for Sales Dialogue: Gathering and Studying Prospect Information 148 Obtaining Information on the Buyer 149 Gathering Information on the Prospect’s Organization 150 Sources of Information 150 Determining Other Buyers’ Influences 151 Summary 152 Making Professional Selling Decisions 157

xii Contents

Case 5.1: How to Prospect 157 Case 5.2: Prospecting and Gaining Prospect Information 157 Module 6- Planning Sales Dialogues and Presentation 159

Successful Sales Presentations Require Planning, Customer Focus 159 Planning Sales Dialogue and Presentation 159 Sales Communications Formats 160 Canned Sales Presentations 160 Written Sales Proposals 161 Writing Effective Proposals 162 Sales Dialogues and Presentations 165 Sales Dialogues and Presentation Template 168 Section 1: Prospect Information 170 Section 2: Customer Value Proposition 170 Section 3: Sales Call Objective 171 Section 4: Linking Buying Motives, Benefits, Support Information, and Other Reinforcement Methods 172 Section 5: Competitive Situation 172 Section 6: Beginning the Sales Dialogue 173 Initiating Contact 174

Section 7: Anticipate Questions and Objections 174 Section 8: Earn Prospect Commitment 175 Section 9: Build Value through Follow-Up Action 175 Engaging the Customer 175 Summary 176 Making Professional Selling Decisions 180 Case 6.1: The New Salesperson 180 Case 6.2: The Overhead Door 180

Part 3- Developing Customer Relationships 181

Module 7- Making the Sales Call: Creating

and Communicating Values 183 Face-to-Face with the Customer: Salesperson Behavior Is Key to Success 183 Needs-Gap Analysis: Selecting Appropriate Customer Offerings by Assessing Needs 184 Creating Value: Linking Solutions to Needs 185 Benefit Selling: Features, Potential Benefits, and Confirmed Benefits 185 Encouraging Buyer Feedback 188 Sales Tools for Maximizing Presentation Effectiveness 189 Verbal Support 189

Contents xiii

Voice Characteristics 190 Examples and Anecdotes 191 Comparisons and Analogies 191 Sales Call Setting 192 Location 192 Positioning and Seating Arrangements 192 Disruptions 193 Proof Providers 194 Statistics 194 Testimonials 194 Case Histories 195 Visual Aids 195 Product Demonstrations and Models 195 Printed Materials 196 Photographs and Illustrations 196 Charts and Graphs 197 Electronic Media 197 Computer-Based Presentations 197 Video 197 Slides 198 Overhead Transparencies 198 Using Tools and Sales Aids in the Presentation 198

State the Selling Point and Introduce the Sales Aid 198 Present the Sales Aid 198 Explain the Sales Aid 198 Summarize 199 Group Sales Presentations 199 Sales Tactics for Selling to Groups 200 Arrival Tactics 199 Eye Contact 200 Communications Tips 200 Handling Questions in Group Presentations 201 Summary 203 Making Professional Selling Decisions 208 Case 7.1: Texas Paint & Coatings (TPC) 208 Case 7.2: All Risk Insurance and National Networks 208 Module 8- Addressing Concerns and Earning

Commitment 211 Fewer Earning Commitment Techniques Work! 211 Addressing Concerns 211 Anticipate and Negotiate Concerns and Resistance 211

xiv Contents

Reasons Why Prospects Raise Objections 212 Types of Objections 213 Need Objections 214 Product or Service Objections 215 Company or Source Objections 215 Price Objections 216 Time Objections 217 Using LAARC: A Process for Negotiating Buyer Resistance 217 Recommended Approaches for Responding to Objections 218 Forestalling 218 Direct Denial 220 Indirect Denial 220 Translation or Boomerang 220 Compensation 221 Questioning or Assessing 221 Third-Party Reinforcement (or Feel-Felt-Found) 221 Coming-to-that or Postpone 222 Summarizing Solutions to Confirm Benefits 222 Securing Commitment and Closing 222 Guidelines for Earning Commitment 223 Techniques to Earn Commitment 224 Probe to Earn Commitment 226 Traditional Methods 226 Summary 227 Making Professional Selling Decisions 231 Case 8.1: Thompson Engineering 231 Case 8.2: Data Computers 231

Part 4- Enhancing Customer Relationships 233

Module 9- Expanding Customer Relationships 235 Building Goodwill 235 Assess Customer Satisfaction 237 Harness Technology to Enhance Follow-up and Buyer–Seller Relationships 237 Assure Customer Satisfaction 240 Provide Useful Information 241 Expedite Orders and Monitor Installation 243 Training Customer Personnel 244 Correct Billing Errors 245 Remember the Customer after the Sale 245 Resolve Complaints and Encourage Critical Encounters 245 A Procedure to Handle Complaints 247

Contents xv

Build the Relationship to the Point That Your Customers Are Comfortable Complaining 247 Listen Carefully and Get the Whole Story 247 Ask Customers How They Would Like Their Complaint Resolved 247 Gain Agreement on a Solution 248 Take Action—Educate the Customer 248 Follow-through on All Promises—Add Value 248 Maintain Open, Two-Way Communication 249 Expand Collaborative Involvement 249 Work to Add Value and Enhance Mutual Opportunities 249 Provide Quality Customer Service 249 Customer Expectations 251 Develop a Service Strategy 251 Customer Service Dimensions 252 Summary 252 Making Professional Selling Decisions 258 Case 9.1: The Reluctant Sales Force 258 Case 9.2: Whatever It Takes to Get the Order 258 Module 10- Adding Value: Self-Leadership

and Teamwork 261 The 3 Ts of Sales Success: Task-Oriented Planning, Technology, and Teamwork 261 Effective Self-Leadership 262 Stage One: Setting Goals and Objectives 263 What Makes a Good Goal? 263 Working with Different Levels and Types of Goals 265 Stage Two: Territory Analysis and Account Classification 265 Account Classification 266 Single-Factor Analysis 266 Portfolio Analysis 267 Stage Three: Development and Implementation of Strategies and Plans 269

Establishing and Implementing Selling Task and Activity Plans 269 Establishing Territory Routing Plans 270 Straight Line 272 Cloverleaf 272 Circular 273 Leapfrog 273 Major City 274 Stage Four: Tapping Technology and Automation 275 Computers 276

xvi Contents

Internet and World Wide Web 277 Pagers and Cell Phones 278 Voice Mail 279 High-Tech Sales Support Offices 279 Stage Five: Assessment of Performance and Goal Attainment 279 Increasing Customer Value through teamwork 279 Internal Partnerships and Teams 279 Sales Partnerships 280 Marketing Partnerships 281 Design and Manufacturing Partnerships 281 Administrative Support Partnerships 281 Shipping and Transportation Partnerships 281 Customer Service Partnerships 282 Building Teamwork Skills 282 Summary 284 Making Professional Selling Decisions 293 Case 10.1: Emron Control Corp. 293 Case 10.2: Mark Cassidy and Milligan Adhesives Corporation 294

Experiential Exercises- 297 1.1 Discovering Attitudes Toward Sales Careers 298 1.2 Words That Identify Salespeople and a Sales Career 301 1.3 Salesperson and Buyer Interviews 304 A.1 What Are the Options? 308 A.2 How Salespeople Spend Their Time 312 A.3 What Attributes Are Essential to a

Successful Sales Career? 314 A.4 Re ́sume ́ Writing I: Identifying

Your Accomplishments and Skills 316 A.5 Re ́sume ́ Writing II: Preparing

Your Re ́sume ́ 321 A.6 Re ́sume ́ Writing III: Developing

a Marketing Letter 329 2.1 Ethics Scale 332 2.2 Building Relationships after the Sale 335 2.3 Comparing the Traditional Selling

Process with the Process of Trust-Based Relationship Selling 337 3.1 Gathering Information about

the Buyer 340 3.2 Key Questions during the Buying Process 343 3.3 Triggering the Buying Process—

Needs Awareness 345

Contents xvii

4.1 Activating the ADAPT Process for Developing and Confirming

Customer Needs 348 4.2 Role Plays for ADAPTive

Questioning 351 4.3 Effective Questioning 355 4.4 Thank-You Letters 358 5.1 Assessing the Effectiveness of Different Customer Contact

Methods 362 5.2 Assessing the Lifetime Value

of a Customer 365 5.3 Prospecting Effectiveness 367 6.1 Developing Feature and

Benefit Statements for Your School 369 6.2 Presentation Effectiveness—

Discussion Questions 372 6.3 Sales Call Planning Report 373 7.1 Helpful Hints for Sales

Presentations 379 7.2 Generating Buyer Involvement 381 8.1 Why Salespeople Fail

to Gain Commitment 385 8.2 Gaining Commitment—

Caution Signals 386 8.3 Reasons for Sales Resistance 388 8.4 Negotiating Buyer Resistance 392 9.1 Postpresentation Follow-up:

Analyzing a Sales Call 394 9.2 What to Do after Gaining Commitment 397 9.3 Enhancing Customer

Relationships 399 10.1 Written Sales Proposals—

Summarizing Quantitative Data 401 10.2 Gaining Commitment with

Buying Teams 403

Glossary- 407 Notes- 417 Index- 423

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Preface

The fourth edition of Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach is intended to con- tinue to provide students and professors with comprehensive coverage of contemporary professional selling in an interesting and challenging manner. We integrate the most recent sales research and leading personal selling practice into our effective and time- tested pedagogical format. The major professional selling topics are organized into ten modules and presented in a logical sequence from the perspective of a professional salesperson. The ten-module format makes it easy for professors to cover the modules in a semester or quarter and have plenty of time for role plays and other experiential exercises. This makes it possible for students to learn the important concepts and pro- cesses from the text and then apply them in various types of active-learning activities. The most exciting aspect of the fourth edition of Professional Selling: A Trust- Based Approach is the new trust-based sales process. The official definition of market- ing was recently revised with a focus on creating, communicating, and delivering value, and managing customer relationships. We think this new definition has impor- tant implications for professional selling, since salespeople play a key role in value cre- ation, communication, and delivery, and in managing customer relationships. In addition, most sales processes imply that salespeople deliver a sales presentation that is largely a monologue. Yet, most successful sales interactions are an active dia- logue between the buyer and seller. Thus, our new trust-based sales process empha- sizes creating, communicating, and delivering value; initiating, developing, and enhancing customer relationships; and collaborative sales dialogue throughout the entire process. This new model is presented in Module 1 and emphasized in the remaining modules. We have changed the names of several modules to reflect the focus on value, relationships, and dialogue. Our new trust-based sales process has been tested in our classes and students really like it. It helps to overcome the neg- ative stereotypes many students have about personal selling. Students seem to embrace a concept of professional selling based on value, relationships, and dialogue. We are delighted with student response to our new sales process model.

STRENGTHS OF THIS EDITION

We have maintained what has worked well in previous editions, revised all modules to incorporate the latest developments in sales thought and practice, and added new content and pedagogy. The key strengths of the fourth edition of Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach are:

 The new trust-based sales process as the major organizing framework for the

entire text. The overall model is presented in Module 1 and all remaining modules are linked to it. This provides a coherent, organized framework for the text and for a professional selling class.   One of the ways we present leading professional selling practice is through comments

made in each module from our Professional Selling Panel. We have added several new sales professionals to this panel. These sales professionals represent a variety

xix

xx Preface

of different industries. They share what they and their companies are doing now. These ‘‘Professional Selling in the 21st Century’’ boxes give students an accurate picture of the ‘‘real world’’ of professional selling in today’s business environment.   The Opening Vignettes for all modules are new. The purpose of these vignettes is

to engage students by generating interest in the material to be covered in a module. These vignettes typically present well-known firms and their up-to-date professional selling practices.   Numerous role plays are in every module. An icon in the margin indicates each role play. The role plays are normally tied to the ‘‘Ethical Dilemma’’ boxes, exercises in the ‘‘Building Professional Selling Skills’’ section at the end of each module, and the short cases in the ‘‘Making Professional Selling Decisions’’ section at the end of each module. Each role play provides the characters, the scene, specific directions, and questions to guide a discussion of completed roles plays. We use these role plays in our classes and students learn a great deal from participating and discussing them.   At the end of the text we provide a complete section of ‘‘Experiential Exercises.’’

These exercises are in addition to those found at the end of each module. The ‘‘Experiential Exercises’’ are numbered to reflect the appropriate module for the exercise. We have tried to provide a large number of different types of exercises so that professors can find ones that meet their needs the best.   The video package was developed specifically for the text. Therefore, it demon-

strates and teaches the specific concepts and skills covered in the text. Experienced actors present clear examples of important concepts and skills. An off-camera spokesperson provides narrative explanations and asks a variety of questions for students to think about and answer. We have found the video package to be an effective learning aid in our professional selling classes.

We are excited about the fourth edition of Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach. We have used the text successfully in our professional selling classes. Stu- dents find the book to be readable and interesting, like the many examples and active-learning exercises, and many indicate they are going to keep the book to use in their career. Most students complete the course with a more favorable attitude toward professional selling and many decide to pursue sales jobs and careers. The positive impact that Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach has had on students over the years is a source of immense satisfaction for us.

MODULE PEDAGOGY

The following pedagogical format is used for each module to facilitate the student learning process.

Objectives. Specific learning objectives for the module are stated in behavioral terms so that students will know what they should be able to do after the module has been covered.

Opening Vignettes. All modules are introduced by an opening vignette that typi- cally consists of a recent, real-world company example addressing many of the key points to be discussed in the module. These opening vignettes are intended to gen- erate student interest in the topics to be covered and to illustrate the practicality of the module coverage.

Key Words. Key words are highlighted in bold type throughout each module and summarized in ‘‘Understanding Professional Selling Terms’’ at the end of the mod- ule to alert students to their importance.

Boxed Inserts. Each module contains two boxed inserts titled ‘‘Professional Selling in the 21st Century.’’ The comments in these boxes are provided by members of our Professional Selling Panel and were developed specifically for our text.

Preface xxi

Figure Captions. Every figure in the text includes a summarizing caption designed to make the figure understandable without reference to the module discussion.

Module Summaries. A module summary recaps the key points covered in the mod- ule by restating and answering questions presented in the learning objectives at the beginning of the module.

Developing Professional Selling Knowledge. Ten discussion questions are pre- sented at the end of each module to review key concepts covered in the module. Some of the questions require students to summarize what has been covered, while others are designed to be more thought provoking and extend beyond module coverage.

Building Professional Selling Skills. Application exercises are supplied for each module, requiring students to apply what has been learned in the module to specific personal selling situations. Many of these exercises allow students to record responses directly in the book. This encourages active learning in a workbook format.

Making Professional Selling Decisions. Each module concludes with two short cases. Most of these cases represent realistic and interesting professional selling situa- tions. Many are designed so that students can role play their solutions.

SUPPLEMENTS

Instructor’s Resource CD (IRCD)

The Instructor’s Resource CD delivers all the traditional instructor support materials in one handy place: a CD. Electronic files are included on the CD for the complete Instructor’s Manual, Test Bank, computerized Test Bank and computerized Test Bank software (ExamView), and chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint presentation files that can be used to enhance in-class lectures.

 Instructor’s Manual

The Instructor’s Manual for the fourth edition of Professional Selling: A Trust- Based Approach contains many helpful teaching suggestions and solutions to text exercises to help instructors successfully integrate all of the materials offered with this text into their class. Each module includes the following materials designed to meet the instructor’s needs.

 Learning objectives   Module outline and summary   Ideas for student involvement   Possible answers to review sections in the text, ‘‘Developing Professional

Selling Knowledge’’ and ‘‘Building Professional Selling Skills’’   Ideas for how to incorporate the ‘‘Role Play’’ exercises found in the text into

the classroom setting, as well as suggestions for grading the ‘‘Role Plays’’   Suggestions on how to effectively integrate the video package into the

classroom discussion

The Instructor’s Manual files are located on the IRCD in Microsoft Word format.   Test Bank

The revised and updated Test Bank includes a variety of multiple choice and true/ false questions, which emphasize the important concepts presented in each chapter. The Test Bank questions vary in levels of difficulty so that each instructor can tailor his or her testing to meet his or her specific needs. The Test Bank files are located on the IRCD in Microsoft Word format.   ExamView (Computerized) Test Bank

The Test Bank is also available on the IRCD in computerized format (ExamView), allowing instructors to select problems at random by level of difficulty or type,

xxii Preface

customize or add test questions, and scramble questions to create numerous versions of the same test.   PowerPoint Presentation Slides

Created by Scott Inks of Ball State University, this package brings classroom lectures and discussions to life with the Microsoft PowerPoint presentation tool. Extremely professor friendly and organized by chapter, these chapter-by-chapter presentations outline chapter content. The eye-appealing and easy-to-read slides are tailored specifically to the Professional Selling text from the Ingram author team. The PowerPoint presentation slides are available on the IRCD and as downloadable files on the text support site (www.thomsonedu.com/marketing/imgram).

Web Site

Visit the text Web site at www.thomsonedu.com/marketing/ingram to find instructor’s support materials as well as study resources that will help students practice and apply the concepts they have learned in class.

 Student Resources

 Online quizzes for each chapter are available on the Web site for those students

who would like additional study materials. After each quiz is submitted, automatic feedback tells the students how they scored and what the correct answers are to the questions they missed. Students are then able to e-mail their results directly to the their instructor if desired.   Crossword quizzing of glossary terms and definitions arranged by chapter is

also available for extra review of key terms found in the text.   Students can download the PowerPoint presentation slides from the Web site.   Instructor Resources

 Downloadable Instructor’s Manual files are available in Microsoft Word

format and Adobe Acrobat format.   Downloadable PowerPoint presentation files are available in Microsoft

PowerPoint format.

Videos

In response to many requests for contemporary, relevant, and up-to-date videos, the authors and a team of experienced selling educators have updated the video package specifically designed for Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach, Fourth Edition. The videos illustrate the concepts and skills of relationship and consultative selling. Each video has been developed to accurately and effectively demonstrate and teach specific selling concepts. Experienced actors provide clear examples and an off-cam- era spokesperson provides a narrative explanation and reinforcement. Students are asked to consider and answer a variety of teaching-related questions.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writing of a book is a long and arduous task that requires the dedicated efforts of many individuals. The contributions of these individuals are greatly appreciated and deserve special recognition. We are especially grateful for the efforts of the reviewers who continue to help us make this a great text.

A substantial amount of credit for this book should go to all of the wonderful peo- ple at Thomson South-Western. Their expertise, support, and constant encourage- ment turned an extremely difficult task into a very enjoyable one. We would like to recognize specifically the tremendous efforts of the following professionals and friends: Neil Marquardt, Mike Guendelsberger, Patrick Cosgrove, Clara Kuhlman, Sarah Rose, and Stacy Shirley. Without their efforts the fourth edition would not have been

Preface xxiii

possible. We also wish to thank the many individuals with whom we did not have direct contact but who assisted in the development and production of this book.

We are also very appreciative of the support provided by our colleagues at Colo- rado State University, the University of Louisville, Central Missouri State University, Ball State University, and Illinois State University. We also wish to extend a special thanks to Scott A. Inks of Ball State University.

Thomas A. Ingram Raymond W. LaForge Ramon A. Avila Charles H. Schwepker, Jr. Michael R. Williams.

MODULE FORMAT

Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach was written for students. Therefore, its aim is to provide comprehensive coverage of professional selling in a manner that you will find interesting and readable. Each module blends recent research results with current professional selling practice in a format designed to facilitate learning.

At the beginning of each module, ‘‘Objectives’’ highlight the basic material that the student should expect to learn. These learning objectives are helpful in reviewing modules for future study. An opening vignette then illustrates many of the important ideas to be covered in the module, using examples of companies in various industries to illustrate the diversity and complexity of professional selling. Most of the compa- nies described in the vignettes are well known, and most of the situations represent recent actions by these firms.

Key words in the body of each module are printed in bold letters, and figures and exhibits are used liberally to illustrate and amplify the discussion in the text. Every fig- ure contains an explanation so that it can be understood without reference to the text. Each module contains two boxed inserts entitled Professional Selling in the 21st Century. The examples in both boxes have been provided specifically for this text- book by sales executives from various companies whom we recruited to serve as a Professional Selling Panel. To ensure that the textbook includes the latest practices from leading sales organizations, each executive was asked to provide specific exam- ples of ‘‘best practices’’ in their company. Backgrounds of each executive are pro- vided at the end of this section.

Salespeople are confronted with various ethical issues when performing their job activities. Many of these ethical issues are addressed in An Ethical Dilemma boxes that appear throughout the modules. You will be presented with realistic ethical situa- tions faced by salespeople and you will be asked to recommend appropriate courses of action.

A module summary is geared to the learning objectives presented at the begin- ning of the module. Understanding Professional Selling Terms lists the key words that appear in bold throughout the module. Developing Professional Sell- ing Knowledge presents ten questions to help you develop an understanding of important professional selling issues and relationships. Building Professional Sell- ing Skills consists of three exercises in which you can apply the professional selling knowledge learned in the module. Making Professional Selling Decisions includes two interesting case situations that allow you to make important profes- sional selling decisions. If you understand professional selling terms, develop pro- fessional selling knowledge, and build professional selling skills, you will be prepared to make successful professional selling decisions. Opportunities for student role plays are identified with this icon:

xxiv Preface

PROFESSIONAL SELLING PANEL

Tom Avila’s title of sales engineer for Davis and Davis has him representing approximately 20 differ- ent companies in protected territories in the process- control industry. Based in Denver, Colorado, Tom holds a B.S. in business with a focus in finance, man- agement, and marketing from Ball State University.

Darrell Beaty is manager of business development for Ontario Systems. In his position, he provides leadership and direction to members of the business development group. The primary responsibility of the group is to build strong relationships with stra- tegic clients and assist with strategic goals of Ontario Systems. Darrell attended Ball State University.

Greg Burchett is a district sales manager for Wal- lace Computer Services in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He supervises four salespeople who sell commercial printing and supplies to businesses and organiza- tional customers. Greg has a B.S. in marketing from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Kari Darding is a manager at Wells Fargo Finan- cial. Kari and her sales team utilize the trust- based, collaborative selling process to provide a diverse array of financial products designed to meet the specific needs of each individual customer. Kari graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in marketing.

Kim Davenport is a senior district sales manager for Shering-Plough Labs. He manages 16 pharma- ceutical sales representatives in Arizona and New Mexico. Kim holds a B.S. in marketing and general business administration from Ball State University.

John Haack is the senior vice president of sales and marketing for Ball Foster Glass. He has held various sales and marketing management positions in the packaging industry throughout his career. John holds a B.S. in business from Ball State University.

Jerry Heffel started with The Southwestern Com- pany as a college student salesperson in 1965, and has been president of the company since 1980. He is responsible for current profitability and set- ting the future direction for the company. Jerry has a B.A. in history from Oklahoma State Univer- sity, and an M.B.A. from the University of Oklahoma.

Jamie Howard is the vice president of Chicago- based Active Solutions where he has direct respon- sibility for managing the organization’s sales and marketing programs and personnel. Jamie has achieved a solid record of sales success in the highly competitive contract furniture industry, including a

host of national and regional top performance awards. He provides his sales force with the benefits of his exceptional knowledge and expertise in trust- based selling. Widely known for his proficiency in sales training and development, Jamie regularly gives his time to work with university sales classes and mentor up-and-coming sales professionals. Jamie holds a B.S. in business with a major in mar- keting from Illinois State University.

John Klich is a financial representative and college unit director for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. Based in Schaumburg, Illinois, John has established a successful career in life insurance, investments, and financial planning. He is also active in and responsible for the development of career agents and manages a top-ranked college internship program.

Steve Kehoe, CFP, CLU, is president of Kehoe Financial Services LLC in Cincinnati, Ohio. Steve provides financial services to more than 1,300 cli- ents. He has a B.S. from Ball State University and a Master’s of Science from Indiana University.

David Laube is the securities principal at the Bloo- mington, Illinois office of GCG Financial. David has built a successful sales and sales management career over the past 20 years by helping his clients solve complicated financial problems with innova- tive and customized solutions. He actively works with his diverse base of clients, mentors, and coaches his sales team, serves on the boards of two universities, and has been a qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table since 1998. In addition to his professional designations of Char- tered Life Underwriter (CLU), Certified Funds Specialist (CFS), and Chartered Financial Consul- tant (ChFC), David holds an M.A. in communica- tion from the University of lowa and a B.A. in English/speech from the University of Northern lowa. He is also a graduate of the Purdue College of Management at Purdue University and the Lead- ership Forum from the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

John K. Marcum, CFM, is vice president, senior financial advisor, for Merrill Lynch in Indianapolis, Indiana. John has a B.S. from Ball State University.

Jim Micklos is a Senior Account Manager with Motivation Excellence, Inc., Schaumburg, Illinois. Jim has more than 30 years sales experience. He started his career with the Belden Corporation. Jim has a B.S. in business from Ball State University.

Preface xxv

L.A. Mitchell is sales planner of business manage- ment for Lucent Technologies. She works with the sales team as a strategic financial partner with the sales directors, which involves financial analysis, forecasting, and the identification of sales opportu- nities. L.A. has a B.S.B.A. in marketing and an M.S. in marketing from Colorado State University.

Kelly Osterling is a sales representative with R R. Donnelly in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has recently been responsible for strategic sales planning in her region. Kelly has a B.S. in marketing from Ball State University.

Cole Proper is the director of business develop- ment at AFFINA—the Customer Relationship Company where he manages the sales and market- ing of AFFINA’s suite of outsourced contact center services to Fortune 500, midsize, and government organizations. Cole attributes his consistent record of sales success to his focus on creating unique, value added solutions for business clients. Cole is a graduate of Illinois State University where he maj- ored in marketing.

Steve Roe is a sales representative for King Systems (Medical Supplies) Indianapolis, Indiana. He has over 30 years of sales experience. Steve has a B.S. in Business from Ball State University.

Aaron Simmons is an agent for State Farm Insur- ance. He has succeeded in establishing and building a highly successful insurance and financial services business. With full responsibility for all sales and marketing strategies and activities related to his central-Illinois-based agency, Aaron works closely with a wide variety of consumer as well as business clients. Prior to joining State Farm, Aaron was a top performing salesperson and district manager with Wallace. His combined experiences in sales and marketing provide him with a rich background of valuable business experience, which he readily shares with others in training programs and univer- sity-level classes. Aaron is a graduate of Illinois State University.

Adam Spangler is an investment representative for Edward D. Jones & Co. His sales office is located in central Illinois where he has developed a strong 100-plus client base consisting of individuals, fam- ilies, and businesses. He manages over $9,000,000 in assets. Adam holds a B.S. in business with a major in marketing from Illinois State University.

Missy Harbit Rust is an executive sales representa- tive for Glaxo Wellcome, Inc. Her pharmaceutical accounts territory is in central Indiana. Missy attended Ball State University and has a B.S. in marketing and fashion merchandising.

Stephanie Urich is an area manager for Hormel Foods Corporation. Her unit is responsible for food service sales to institutional customers in the Chicago area. Stephanie has a B.S. in marketing from Ball State University.

David Waugh is a national account executive with Confio Software in Boulder, Colorado. In a short period of twelve years, David has established a solid record of success in sales and marketing roles for companies such as ADP, Platinum Tech- nology, and IBM. David graduated from Illinois State University as a marketing major with a con- centration in personal selling and sales management.

Dave Wheat is an area manager for TransWestern Publishing in Muncie, Indiana. He has held various sales and marketing positions throughout his career. Dave has a B.S. in marketing from Ball State University.

Jon Young is a National Account Manager with Ontario Systems Corporation, Muncie, Indiana. He is responsible for the western half of the United States. Jon has a B.S. and MBA from Ball State University.

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About the Authors

Thomas N. Ingram (Ph.D., Georgia State University) is professor of marketing and First Bank Professor of Business Administrations at Colorado State University. Before commencing his academic career, he worked in sales, product management, and sales management with Exxon and Mobil. Tom is a recipient of the Marketing Educator of the Year award given by Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI). He was honored as the first recipient of the Mu Kappa Tau National Mar- keting Honor Society recognition award for Outstanding Scholarly Contributions to the Sales Discipline. On several occasions, he has been recognized at the university and college level for outstanding teaching. Tom has served as the editor of the Jour- nal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, chair of the SMEI Accreditation Insti- tute, and as a member of the Board of Directors of SMEI. He is the former editor of the Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice. Tom’s primary research is in personal selling and sales management. His work has appeared in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, among others. He is the coau- thor of one of the ‘‘Ten Most Influential Articles of the 20th Century’’ as designated by the Sales and Sales Management Special Interest Group of the American Market- ing Association.

Raymond W. (Buddy) LaForge is the Brown-Forman Professor of Marketing at the University of Louisville. He is the founding executive editor of the Marketing Edu- cation Review, founding executive editor of the Sales Educator Network, has served as associate editor for the Sales Education and Training section of the Journal of Per- sonal Selling & Sales Management, has coauthored Marketing: Principles & Perspec- tives, Sales Management: Analysis and Decision Making, Professional Selling: A Trust- Based Approach, The Professional Selling Skills Workbook, and coedited Emerging Trends in Sales Thought and Practice. His research is published in many journals including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Decision Sciences, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. Buddy has served as vice president/marketing for the Academy of Business Education, vice president of marketing, teaching, and conferences for the American Marketing Association Academic Council, chair of the American Mar- keting Association Sales Interest Group, and on the Direct Selling Education Foun- dation Board of Directors and Academic Program Committee, DuPont Corporate Marketing Faculty Advisory Team for the Sales Enhancement Process, Family Busi- ness Center Advisory Board, and Strategic Planning Committee for the National Conference on Sales Management. He currently serves as vice chair for awards and recognition for the AMA Sales SIG and administers the AMA Sales SIG/DSEF Sales Dissertation Grants.

Charles H. Schwepker, Jr. (Ph.D., University of Memphis) is Professor of Market- ing at the University of Central Missouri. He has experience in wholesale and retail sales. His primary research interests are in sales management, personal selling, and marketing ethics. His articles have appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Market- ing Science, the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of Public Policy and

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xxviii About the Authors

Marketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Service Research, and the Journal of Business Ethics, among other journals, various national and regional proceedings, and books including Marketing Communications Classics and Environmental Marketing. He has received both teaching and research awards, including the James Comer Award for best contribution to selling and sales manage- ment theory awarded by the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management and two ‘‘Outstanding Paper’’ awards at the National Conference in Sales Management, among others. He is on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Journal of Relationship Marketing, Journal of Selling and Major Account Management, and the Southern Business Review, and has twice won awards for outstanding reviewer. He is a coauthor of Sales Management: Analysis and Decision Making.

Ramon A. Avila (Ph.D., Virginia Tech University) is the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Marketing at Ball State University. Before coming to Ball State, he worked in sales with the Burroughs Corporation. He has held two vis- iting professorships at the University of Hawaii and another at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. In 2003, Ramon earned Ball State’s Outstanding Fac- ulty Award. In April 2002, Ramon received a Leavey Award. This award was given for innovation in the classroom with his advanced selling class. Ramon was presented the 1999 Mu Kappa Tau’s Outstanding Contributor to the Sales Profession. He is only the third recipient of this award. Ramon has also received the University’s Outstand- ing Service award, the University’s Outstanding Junior Faculty award, the College of Business Professor of the Year, and the Dean’s Teaching award every year since its inception in 1987. Ramon also sits on five editorial review boards. Ramon’s primary research is in personal selling and sales management. His work has appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, The Journal of Management, Industrial Marketing Management, The Marketing Management Journal, and the Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice, among others. He is the coauthor of The Professional Selling Skills Workbook.

Michael R. Williams (Ph.D., Oklahoma State University) is professor of marketing and director of the Professional Sales Institute at Illinois State University. Prior to his academic career, Mike established a successful 30-plus year career in industrial sales, market research, and sales management and continues to consult and work with a wide range of business organizations. He has co-authored The Professional Selling Skills Workbook, Sales Management: Analysis and Decision Making, and a variety of executive monographs and white-papers on sales performance topics. Mike’s research has been published in many different national and international journals including the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, International Journal of Pur- chasing and Materials Management, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Quality Management Journal, and Journal of Industrial Technology. His work has also received numerous honors, including Outstanding Article for the Year in Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, the AACSB’s Leadership in Innovative Busi- ness Education Award, and the Marketing Science Institute’s Alden G. Clayton Competition. In 2004, Mike was honored with the Mu Kappa Tau Marketing Soci- ety recognition award for Outstanding Scholarly Contributor to the Sales Discipline. He has also been honored with numerous university, college, and corporate teaching and research awards including Old Republic Research Scholar, the presentation of a seminar at Oxford’s Braesnose College, Who’s Who in American Education, and Who’s Who in America. Mike has and continues to serve in leadership roles as an advisor and board member for sales and sales management associations and organi- zations including the University Sales Center Alliance, National Conference in Sales and Sales Management, and Vector Marketing.

MODULE1 overview of personal selling

EVOLUTION OF PERSONAL SELLING

The successful professional salesperson of today and the future is likely a better listener than a talker, is more oriented toward developing long-term relationships with cus- tomers than placing an emphasis on high-pressure, short-term sales techniques, and has the skills and patience to endure lengthy, complex sales processes. Like the sales- people in the opening vignette, today’s salesperson strives to deliver relevant presenta- tions based on unique customer needs, and meeting those customer needs requires teamwork between salespeople and others in the organization. For more on teamwork, see ‘‘Professional Selling in the 21st Century: The Importance of Teamwork in Sales.’’ Personal selling is an important part of marketing, which is usually a separate organ- izational function that creates, communicates, and delivers value to customers and man- ages customer relationships in ways that benefit both the organization and its

Objectives

After completing this module, you should be able to

1 Describe the evolution

of personal selling from ancient times to the modern era.

2 Explain the contributions of personal selling to society, business firms, and customers.

3 Distinguish between Text not available due to copyright restrictions

transaction-focused traditional selling and trust-based relationship selling.

4 Discuss five alternative

approaches to personal selling.

5 Describe the three

primary roles fulfilled by consultative salespeople.

6 Understand the sales

process as a series of interrelated steps.1

2 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

professional selling in the 21st century

The Importance of Teamwork in Sales

Jerry Heffel, president of the Southwestern Company, offers his perspective on teamwork:

Sometimes the salesperson is referred to as the lead car in the business train. But just having a lead car doesn’t make a train. For this reason, a salesperson who is effective long term is also an effective team player—he or she realizes they need coordinated involvement from many different parts of the

organization in order to serve the customer. At the same time, whenever they see themselves as part of the customer’s team, and that they are both striving for the same outcome, they become an indispensable part of the value chain for that customer. Southwestern’s sales training philosophy stresses this team aspect: We tell our salespeople that they are the gas and oil of the free enterprise system, but they also need the tires, the car body, the drive train, and what’s in the trunk to get anywhere significant.

stakeholders.1 Personal selling also involves creating, communicating, and delivering customer value, and trust-based professional selling (a form of personal sell- ing) focuses primarily on interpersonal communication between buyers and sellers to ini- tiate, develop and enhance customer relationships. It requires that salespeople earn customer trust and that their selling strategy meets customer needs and delivers value. The interpersonal communications dimension sets personal selling apart from other marketing communications such as advertising and sales promotion, which are directed at mass markets. Personal selling is also distinguished from direct marketing and electronic marketing in that salespeople are talking with buyers before, during, and after the sale. This allows a high degree of immediate customer feedback, which becomes a strong advantage of personal selling over most other forms of marketing communications.

Although advertising is far more visible to the general public, personal selling is actually the most important part of marketing communications for most businesses. This is particularly true in firms that engage in business-to-business marketing, where more money is spent on personal selling than on advertising, sales promotion, pub- licity, or public relations. In this book, we typically describe personal selling in this business-to-business context, in which a salesperson or sales team interacts with one or more individuals from another organization.

As personal selling continues to evolve, it is more important than ever that sales- people focus on delivering customer value while initiating, developing, and enhancing customer relationships. What constitutes value will likely vary from one customer to the next depending on the customer’s situation, needs, and priorities, but customer value will always be determined by customers’ perception of what they get in exchange for what they have to give up. In the simplest situations, customers buy a product in exchange for money. In most situations, however, customers define value in a more complex manner, by addressing questions such as:

 Does the salesperson do a good job in helping me make or save money?   Is this salesperson dependable? Does this salesperson help me achieve my strategic priorities?   Is the salesperson’s company easy to work with, i.e., hassle-free? Does the salesperson enlist others in his or her organization when needed to create

value for me?   Does the sales representative understand my business and my industry?

Another important development in personal selling is the recognition that cus- tomers want to be heard loud and clear when expressing what they want from sup- pliers and their salespeople. In days gone by, as illustrated in the opening vignette, personal selling often consisted of delivering a message or making a pitch. That approach was typically associated with a ‘‘product push’’ strategy in which customers were pressured to buy without much appreciation for their real needs. Today’ sales organizations are far more interested in establishing a productive dialogue with cus- tomers than in simply pitching products that customers may or may not want or

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 3

need. In our highly competitive world, professional buyers have little tolerance for aggressive, pushy sales people.

Sales dialogue refers to the series of conversations between buyers and sellers that take place over time in an attempt to build relationships. The purposes of these con- versations are to:

 determine if a prospective customer should be targeted for further sales attention.   clarify the prospective customer’s situation and buying processes. discover the prospective customer’s unique needs and requirements.   determine the prospective customer’s strategic priorities. communicate how the sales organization can create and deliver customer value.   negotiate a business deal and earn a commitment from the customer. make the customer aware of additional opportunities to increase the value

received.   assess sales organization and salesperson performance so that customer value is

continuously improved.

As you can see, sales dialogue is far more than idle chitchat. The business conversa- tions that constitute the dialogue are customer-focused and have a clear purpose; otherwise there would be a high probability of wasting both the customer’s and the salesperson’s time, which no one can afford in today’s business environment. Whether the sales dialogue features a question-and-answer format, a conversation dominated by the buyer conveying information and requirements, or a formal sales presentation in which the salesperson responds to buyer feedback throughout, the key idea is that both parties participate in and benefit from the process.

Throughout this course, you learn about new technologies and techniques that have contributed to the evolution of the practice of personal selling. This module provides an overview of personal selling, affording insight into the operating ration- ale of today’s salespeople and sales managers. It also describes different approaches to personal selling and presents the sales process as a series of interrelated steps. The appendix at the end of the module discusses several important aspects of sales careers, including types of selling jobs and characteristics and skills needed for sales success. In the highly competitive, complex environment of the world business community, personal selling and sales management have never played more critical roles.

Origins of Personal Selling

Ancient Greek history documents selling as an exchange activity, and the term sales- man appears in the writings of Plato.2 However, true salespeople, those who earned a living only by selling, did not exist in any sizable number until the Industrial Revo- lution in England, from the mid-eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century. Prior to this time, traders, merchants, and artisans filled the selling function. These predecessors of contemporary marketers were generally viewed with contempt because deception was often used in the sale of goods.3

In the latter phase of the Middle Ages, the first door-to-door salesperson appeared in the form of the peddler. Peddlers collected produce from local farmers, sold it to townspeople, and, in turn, bought manufactured goods in town for sub- sequent sale in rural areas.4 Like many other early salespeople, they performed other important marketing functions—in this case, purchasing, assembling, sorting, and redistributing of goods.

Industrial Revolution Era

As the Industrial Revolution began to blossom in the middle of the eighteenth cen- tury, the economic justification for salespeople gained momentum. Local economies were no longer self-sufficient, and as intercity and international trade began to flour- ish, economies of scale in production spurred the growth of mass markets in geo- graphically dispersed areas. The continual need to reach new customers in these dispersed markets called for an increasing number of salespeople.

4 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

It is interesting to note the job activities of the first wave of salespeople in the era of the Industrial Revolution. The following quotation describes a salesperson who served the customer in conjunction with a producer:

Thus, a salesman representing the producing firm, armed with samples of the firm’s products, could bring the latter to the attention of a large num- ber of potential customers—whether buying for sale to others or for their own production requirements—who might not, without the salesman’s visit, have learnt of the product’s existence, and give them the opportu- nity of examining and discussing it without having to go out of their way to do so .... Even if the salesman did not succeed in obtaining an order, he frequently picked up valuable information on the state of the market, sometimes the very reasons for refusal.... This information could be very useful to the producer.5

Post–Industrial Revolution Era

By the early 1800s, personal selling was well-established in England but just begin- ning to develop in the United States.6 This situation changed noticeably after 1850, and by the latter part of the century, salespeople were a well-established part of busi- ness practice in the United States. For example, one wholesaler in the Detroit area reported sending out 400 traveling salespeople in the 1880s.7

At the dawning of the twentieth century, an exciting time in the economic history of the United States, it became apparent that marketing, especially advertising and personal selling, would play a crucial role in the rapid transition of the economy from an agrarian base to one of mass production and efficient transportation.

Glimpses of the lives of salespeople in the early 1900s, gained from literature of that period, reveal an adventuresome, aggressive, and valuable group of employees often working on the frontier of new markets. Already, however, the independent maverick salespeople who had blazed the early trails to new markets were beginning to disappear. One clear indication that selling was becoming a more structured activ- ity was the development of a canned sales presentation by John H. Patterson of the National Cash Register Company (NCR). This presentation, a virtual script to guide NCR salespeople on how to sell cash registers, was based on the premise that sales- people are not ‘‘born, but rather they are made.’’8

Sales historians noted the changes occurring in personal selling in the early twen- tieth century. Charles W. Hoyt, author of one of the first textbooks on sales manage- ment, chronicled this transition in 1912, noting two types of salespeople:

The old kind of salesman is the ‘‘big me’’ species.... He works for himself and, so far as possible, according to his own ideas.... There is another type of salesman. He is the new kind. At present he is in the minority, but he works for the fastest growing and most successful houses of the day. He works for the house, and the house works for him. He welcomes and uses every bit of help the house sends to him.9

Hoyt’s observations about the ‘‘old’’ and the ‘‘new’’ salesperson summed up the changing role of personal selling. The managements of firms in the United States were beginning to understand the tremendous potential of personal selling and, simultaneously, the need to shape the growth of the sales function. In particular, a widespread interest arose in how to reduce the cost of sales. According to Hoyt, this did not mean hiring lower-cost salespeople, but instead called for ‘‘distributing much larger quantities of goods with less motion.’’10

War and Depression Era

The 30-year span from 1915 to 1945 was marked by three overwhelming events— two world wars and the Great Depression in the United States. Because economic

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 5

activity concentrated on the war efforts, new sales methods did not develop quickly during those periods. During the Great Depression, however, business firms, starved for sales volume, often employed aggressive salespeople to produce badly needed rev- enue. Then, with renewed prosperity in the post–World War II era, salespeople emerged as important employees for an increasing number of firms that were begin- ning to realize the benefits of research-based integrated marketing programs.

Professionalism: The Modern Era

In the middle 1940s, personal selling became more professional. Not only did buyers begin to demand more from salespeople, but they also grew intolerant of high-pressure, fast-talking salespeople, preferring instead a well-informed, customer-oriented salesper- son. In 1947, the Harvard Business Review published ‘‘Low-Pressure Selling,’’11 a classic article followed by many others that called for salespeople to increase the effectiveness of their sales efforts by improving their professional demeanor.

An emphasis on sales professionalism is the keynote of the current era. The term has varied meanings, but in this context we use it to mean a customer-oriented approach that uses truthful, nonmanipulative tactics to satisfy the long-term needs of both the customer and the selling firm. The effective salesperson of today is no longer a mere presenter of information but now must stand equipped to respond to a variety of customer needs before, during, and after the sale. In addition, sales- people must be able to work effectively with others in their organizations to meet or exceed customer expectations.

In examining the status of sales as a true profession, one study found that sales meets four of the six criteria that define professions, and that progress is still needed on the other two dimensions.12 This study concluded that sales meets the criterion of operating from a substantial knowledge base that has been developed by academ- ics, corporate trainers and executives, and professional organizations. Sales also meets the criterion of making a significant contribution to society, which is dis- cussed in the next section of this module. Third, through professional organizations such as the Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA) and through a common sales vocabulary such as that found in textbooks and training materials, sales meets the professional criterion of having a defined culture and organization of colleagues. Fourth, sales does have a unique set of professional skills, though these skills vary depending on the specific nature of a given sales position.

Two areas in the study indicated that sales needs additional progress to be viewed as a profession on a par with law, medicine, and other long-recognized professions. The first area has to do with how much autonomy salespeople have to make decisions and the amount of public trust granted to salespeople. While many business-to-business salespeople have considerable decision-making autonomy, others have very little. Pub- lic trust could be improved by a widely accepted certification program such as the CPA designation for accountants. At present, however, very few salespeople have profession- al certification credentials. While many salespeople do have considerable autonomy, public trust in certification programs is modest; thus the results are mixed as to whether the sales profession meets this professional criterion.

The final area where sales needs to improve is to adhere to a uniform ethical code. While many companies have ethical codes and some professional organizations have ethical codes for salespeople, there is no universal code of ethics with a mechanism for dealing with violators. Until such a code is developed and widely accepted in busi- ness, some members of society will not view sales as a true profession.

Whether or not sales is viewed as a true profession, comparable to law and med- icine, salespeople can benefit tremendously by embracing high ethical standards, par- ticipating in professional organizations, and working from a continually evolving knowledge base. In so doing, they will not only be more effective, they will also help advance sales as a true profession.

Future evolution is inevitable as tomorrow’s professional salesperson responds to a more complex, dynamic environment. Also, increased sophistication of buyers and

6 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

EXHIBIT 1.1 Continued Evolution of Personal Selling

Change Salesforce Response

Intensified competition More emphasis on developing and maintaining trust-based,

long-term customer relationships More focus on creating and delivering customer value

More emphasis on improving

sales productivity

Increased use of technology (e.g., laptop computers, electronic

mail, databases, customer relationship management software) Increased use of lower-cost-per-contact methods

(e.g., telemarketing for some customers) More emphasis on profitability (e.g., gross margin) objectives

Fragmentation of traditional

customer bases

Sales specialists for specific customer types Multiple sales channels (e.g., major accounts programs,

telemarketing, electronic networks) Globalization of sales efforts

Customers dictating quality standards and inventory/ shipping procedures to be met by vendors

Team selling Salesforce compensation sometimes based on customer

satisfaction and team performance More emphasis on sales dialogues rather than sales pitches

Demand for in-depth,

specialized knowledge as an input to purchase decisions

Team selling More emphasis on customer-oriented sales training

of new technologies will demand more from the next generation of salespeople. Exhibit 1.1 summarizes some of the likely events of the future.13

CONTRIBUTIONS OF PERSONAL SELLING

As mentioned earlier in this module, more money is spent on personal selling than on any other form of marketing communications. Salespeople are usually well- compensated, and salesforces of major companies often number in the thousands. For example, Microsoft has 16,000 salespeople, American Express has 23,000, and Pepsico has 36,000.14

We now take a look at how this investment is justified by reviewing the contribu- tions of personal selling to society in general, to the employing firm, and to customers.

Salespeople and Society

Salespeople contribute to their nations’ economic growth in two basic ways. They act as stimuli for economic transactions, and they further the diffusion of innovation.

Salespeople as Economic Stimuli Salespeople are expected to stimulate action in the business world—hence the term economic stimuli. In a fluctuating economy, salespeople make invaluable contribu- tions by assisting in recovery cycles and by helping to sustain periods of relative prosperity. As the world economic system deals with issues such as increased global- ization of business, more emphasis on customer satisfaction, and building compet- itiveness through quality improvement programs, it is expected that salespeople will be recognized as a key force in executing the appropriate strategies and tactics nec- essary for survival and growth.

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 7

Salespeople and Diffusion of Innovation Salespeople play a critical role in the diffusion of innovation, the process whereby new products, services, and ideas are distributed to the members of society. Consum- ers who are likely to be early adopters of an innovation often rely on salespeople as a primary source of information. Frequently, well-informed, specialized salespeople provide useful information to potential consumers who then purchase from a lower-cost outlet. The role of salespeople in the diffusion of industrial products and services is particularly crucial. Imagine trying to purchase a companywide com- puter system without the assistance of a competent salesperson or sales team!

While acting as an agent of innovation, the salesperson invariably encounters a strong resistance to change in the latter stages of the diffusion process. The status quo seems to be extremely satisfactory to many parties, even though, in the long run, change is necessary for continued progress or survival. By encouraging the adop- tion of innovative products and services, salespeople may indeed be making a positive contribution to society.

Salespeople and the Employing Firm

Because salespeople are in direct contact with the all-important customer, they can make valuable contributions to their employers. Salespeople contribute to their firms as revenue producers, as sources of market research and feedback, and as can- didates for management positions.

Salespeople as Revenue Producers Salespeople occupy the somewhat unique role of revenue producers in their firms. Consequently, they usually feel the brunt of that pressure along with the manage- ment of the firm. Although accountants and financial staff are concerned with profit- ability in bottom-line terms, salespeople are constantly reminded of their responsibility to achieve a healthy ‘‘top line’’ on the profit and loss statement. This should not suggest that salespeople are concerned only with sales revenue and not with overall profitability. Indeed, salespeople are increasingly responsible for improv- ing profitability, not only by producing sales revenues, but also by improving the productivity of their actions.

Market Research and Feedback Because salespeople spend so much time in direct contact with their customers, it is only logical that they would play an important role in market research and in provid- ing feedback to their firms. For example, entertainment and home products retailer Best Buy relies heavily on feedback from its sales associates in what it calls a customer- centricity initiative, which places the customer at the center of its marketing strategy. Feedback from sales associates helps Best Buy offer tailored products to specific cus- tomer segments, design appealing in-store merchandising formats, increase sales vol- ume for in-home services, and improve the effectiveness of customer-support call centers. Results of the customer-centricity program have been so positive that Best Buy is rapidly increasing the number of participating stores as it tries to fend off Wal-Mart and other major competitors.15

Some would argue that salespeople are not trained as market researchers, or that salespeople’s time could be better used than in research and feedback activities. Many firms, however, refute this argument by finding numerous ways to capitalize on the salesforce as a reservoir of ideas. It is not an exaggeration to say that many firms have concluded that they cannot afford to operate in the absence of salesforce feedback and research.

Salespeople as Future Managers In recent years, marketing and sales personnel have been in strong demand for upper management positions. Recognizing the need for a top management trained in sales,

8 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

an ethical dilemma

Terry Kelly, sales representative for EFAX, a computer software company, has just concluded a sales call with Landnet, one of his distributors. During the call, purchasing agent Linda Meyer mentioned that Ron Hawkins, Landnet’s top sales- person, had suddenly resigned and moved out of the state. Meyer said that this unexpected resignation could not have come at a worse time, as several key customer contracts were pending renewal, and

many firms use the sales job as an entry-level position that provides a foundation for future assignments. As progressive firms continue to emphasize customer orientation as a basic operating concept, it is only natural that salespeople who have learned how to meet customer needs will be good candidates for management jobs. Salespeople and the Customer

Given the increasing importance of building trust with customers and an emphasis on establishing and maintaining long-term relationships, it is imperative that sales- people be honest and candid with customers. Salespeople must also be able to dem- onstrate knowledge of their products and services, especially as they compare competitive offerings. Customers also expect salespeople to be knowledgeable about market opportunities and relevant business trends that may affect a custom- er’s business. There has been a long-standing expectation that salespeople need to be the key contact for the buyer, who expects that they will coordinate activities within the selling firm to deliver maximum value to the customer.

The overall conclusion is that buyers expect salespeople to contribute to the suc- cess of the buyer’s firm. Buyers value the information furnished by salespeople, and expect salespeople to act in a highly professional manner.16 See ‘‘An Ethical Dilemma’’ for a scenario in which the salesperson must think about where to draw the line in sharing information with customers.

As salespeople serve their customers, they simultaneously serve their employers and society. When the interests of these parties conflict, the salesperson can be caught in the middle. By learning to resolve these conflicts as a routine part of their jobs, sales- people further contribute to developing a business system based on progress through problem solving. Sales ethics will be discussed in detail in Module 2.

CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONAL SELLING APPROACHES

In this section, we take a closer look at alternative approaches to personal selling that professionals may choose from to best interact with their customers. Some of these approaches are simple. Other approaches are more sophisticated and require that the salesperson play a strategic role to use them successfully. More than three decades ago, four basic approaches to personal selling were identified: stimulus response, mental states, need satisfaction, and problem solving.17 Since that time, another approach to personal selling, termed consultative selling, has gained popularity. All five approaches to selling are practiced today. Furthermore, many salespeople use elements of more than one approach in their own hybrids of personal selling.

As a prelude to our discussion of approaches to personal selling, an expansion of two key points is in order. Recall that personal selling differs from other forms of marketing communications because it is a personal communication delivered by employees or agents of the sales organization. Because the personal element is present, salespeople

Landnet had no candidates to replace Hawkins. On his way to his next sales call with Netserve, his largest distributor, Kelly debated whether or not he should share the news of Hawkins’ resignation. After all, the buyer at Netserve viewed Kelly as a great source of market information, and Kelly figured that the Netserve buyer would hear the news anyway before the day was over. What should Kelly do?

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 9

have the opportunity to alter their sales messages and behaviors during a sales presen- tation or as they encounter unique sales situations and customers. This is referred to as adaptive selling. Because salespeople often encounter buyers with different personal- ities, communications styles, needs, and goals, adaptive selling is an important concept. A second point is that personal selling is moving from transaction-based methods to relationship-based methods. Rather than trying to maximize sales in the short run, relationship-based selling approaches focus on solving customer problems, providing opportunities, and adding value to the customer’s business over an extended period. Exhibit 1.2 illustrates how transaction-based selling differs from relationship-based sell- ing. We now explore one element of Exhibit 1.2 in detail—personal selling approaches.

Comparison of Transaction-Focused Traditional Selling EXHIBIT 1.2 with Trust-Based Relationship Selling

Transaction-Focused

Trust-Based Traditional Selling

Relationship Selling

Typical skills required Selling skills Selling skills

Information gathering Listening and questioning Strategic problem solving Creating and demonstrating unique,

value-added solutions Teambuilding and teamwork

Primary perspective The salesperson and the

The customer and the customer’s selling firm

customers

Personal selling approaches Stimulus response, mental

states

Continued follow-through to:

 Ensure customer satisfaction   Keep customer informed Add customer value   Manage opportunitiesNeed satisfaction, problem solving, consultative

Desired outcome Closed sales, order volume Trust, joint planning, mutual benefits,

enhance profits

Role of salesperson Make calls and close sales Business consultant and long-term ally

Key player in the customer’s business

Nature of communication One-way, from salesperson

to customer

Two-way and collaborative Strive for dialogue with the customer Pushing products

Degree of salesperson’s

involvement in customer’s decision-making process

Isolated from customer’s

decision-making process

Actively involved in customer’s decision-

making process

Knowledge required Own company’s products Own company’s products and resources

Competition Competition Applications Applications Account strategies Account strategies Costs Costs Opportunities Opportunities

General business and industry knowledge

and insight Customer’s products, competition, and

customers

Post-sale follow-up Little or none: move on to

conquer next customer

10 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

Stimulus Response Selling

Of the five views of personal selling, stimulus response selling is the simplest. The theoretical background for this approach originated in early experiments with animal behavior. The key idea is that various stimuli can elicit predictable responses. Salespeople furnish the stimuli from a repertoire of words and actions designed to produce the desired response. This approach to selling is illustrated in Figure 1.1.

An example of the stimulus response view of selling would be continued affirma- tion, a method in which a series of questions or statements furnished by the salesper- son is designed to condition the prospective buyer to answering ‘‘yes’’ time after time, until, it is hoped, he or she will be inclined to say ‘‘yes’’ to the entire sales prop- osition. This method is often used by telemarketing personnel, who rely on compre- hensive sales scripts read or delivered from memory.

Stimulus response sales strategies, particularly when implemented with a canned sales presentation, have some advantages for the seller. The sales message can be structured in a logical order. Questions and objections from the buyer can usually be anticipated and addressed before they are magnified during buyer–seller interac- tion. Inexperienced salespeople can rely on stimulus response sales methods in some settings, and this may eventually contribute to sales expertise.

The limitations of stimulus response methods, however, can be severe, especially if the salesperson is dealing with a professional buyer. Most buyers like to take an active role in sales dialogue, and the stimulus response approach calls for the salesperson to dominate the flow of conversation. The lack of flexibility in this approach is also a disadvantage, as buyer responses and unforeseen interruptions may neutralize or damage the effectiveness of the stimuli.

Considering the net effects of this method’s advantages and disadvantages, it appears most suitable for relatively unimportant purchase decisions, when time is severely constrained and when professional buyers are not the prospects. As consum- ers in general become more sophisticated, this approach will become more problematic.

Mental States Selling

Mental states selling, or the formula approach to personal selling, assumes that the buying process for most buyers is essentially identical and that buyers can be led through certain mental states, or steps, in the buying process. These mental states are typically referred to as AIDA (attention, interest, desire, and action).

FIGURE 1.1 Stimulus Response Approach to Selling

Salesperson Provides Stimuli: Statements Questions Actions Audio/Visual Aids Demonstrations

Buyer

Continue Responses

Process Until Sought:

Purchase Favorable

Decision Reactions and Eventual Purchase

The salesperson attempts to gain favorable responses from the customer by providing stimuli, or cues, to influence the buyer. After the customer has been properly conditioned, the salesperson tries to secure a positive purchase decision.

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 11

Appropriate sales messages provide a transition from one mental state to the next.Like stimulus response selling, the mental states approach relies on a highly struc- tured sales presentation. The salesperson does most of the talking, as feedback from the prospect could be disruptive to the flow of the presentation.

A positive feature of this method is that it forces the salesperson to plan the sales presentation prior to calling on the customer. It also helps the salesperson recog- nize that timing is an important element in the purchase decision process and that careful listening is necessary to determine which stage the buyer is in at any given point.

A problem with the mental states method is that it is difficult to determine which state a prospect is in. Sometimes a prospect is spanning two mental states or moving back and forth between two states during the sales presentation. Consequently, the heavy guidance structure the salesperson implements may be inappropriate, confus- ing, and even counterproductive to sales effectiveness. We should also note that this method is not customer oriented. Although the salesperson tailors the presentation to each customer somewhat, this is done by noting customer mental states rather than needs. See ‘‘An Ethical Dilemma’’ for a situation in which the salesperson is contemplating the movement of the prospect into the ‘‘action’’ stage.

The mental states method is illustrated in Exhibit 1.3.18 Note that this version includes ‘‘conviction’’ as an intermediate stage between interest and desire. Such minor variations are commonplace in different renditions of this approach to selling.

an ethical dilemma

Rachel Duke sells advertising for her college newspaper. One of her potential clients is contem- plating buying an ad for an upcoming special issue featuring bars and restaurants. Over the past two weeks, Duke has tried unsuccessfully to get a commitment from the restaurant owner to place an ad. Her sales manager has suggested that Rachel call the prospect and tell him that there is only one remaining ad space in the special issue, and that she

must have an immediate answer to ensure that the prospect’s ad will appear in the special issue. The sales manager said, ‘‘Rachel, this guy is stalling. You’ve got to move him to action, and this technique will do the trick.’’ Duke was troubled by her manager’s advice, since the special issue had plenty of ad space remaining. If you were Duke, would you follow her sales manager’s advice? Why or why not?

Mental States View of Selling EXHIBIT 1.3 Mental State Sales Step Critical Sales Task

Curiosity Attention Get prospects excited, then you get them to like you.

Interest Interest Interview: needs and wants

Conviction Conviction ‘‘What’s in it for me?’’

Product—‘‘Will it do what I want it to do?’’ Price—‘‘Is it worth it?’’ ‘‘The hassle of change’’

‘‘Cheaper elsewhere’’ Peers—‘‘What will others think of it?’’ Priority—‘‘Do I need it now?’’ (sense of urgency)

Desire Desire Overcome their stall.

Action Close Alternate choice close: which, not if!

12 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

FIGURE 1.2 Need Satisfaction Approach to Selling

Uncover and Confirm Buyer Needs

Present Offering

Continue Selling to Satisfy Buyer

Until Purchase Needs

Decision

The salesperson attempts to uncover customer needs that are related to the product or service offering. This may require extensive questioning in the early stages of the sales process. After confirming the buyer’s needs, the salesperson proceeds with a presentation based on how the offering can meet those needs.

FIGURE 1.3 Problem-Solving Approach to Selling

Define Problem

Need Satisfaction Selling

Need satisfaction selling is based on the notion that the customer is buying to satisfy a particular need or set of needs. This approach is shown in Figure 1.2. It is the sales- person’s task to identify the need to be met, then to help the buyer meet the need. Unlike the mental states and stimulus response methods, this method focuses on the customer rather than on the salesperson. The salesperson uses a questioning, prob- ing tactic to uncover important buyer needs. Customer responses dominate the early portion of the sales interaction, and only after relevant needs have been established does the salesperson begin to relate how his or her offering can satisfy these needs.

Customers seem to appreciate this selling method and are often willing to spend considerable time in preliminary meetings to define needs prior to a sales presenta- tion or written sales proposal. Also, this method avoids the defensiveness that arises in some prospects when a salesperson rushes to the persuasive part of the sales mes- sage without adequate attention to the buyer’s needs.

Problem-Solving Selling

Problem-solving selling is an extension of need satisfaction selling. It goes beyond identifying needs to developing alternative solutions for satisfying these needs. The problem-solving approach to selling is depicted in Figure 1.3. Sometimes even com- petitors’ offerings are included as alternatives in the purchase decision.

The problem-solving approach typically requires educating the customer about the full impact of the existing problem and clearly communicating how the solution delivers significant customer value. This is true even in cases where the solution seems

Evaluate Alternative Solutions

The salesperson defines a customer problem that may be solved by various alternatives. Then an offering is made that represents at least one of these alternatives. All alternatives are carefully evaluated before a purchase decision is made.

Generate Alternative Solutions

Continue Selling Until Purchase Decision

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 13

to be an obviously beneficial course of action for the buyer. For example, SoftSwitch- ing Technologies’ Dynamic Sag Corrector (DySC) practically eliminates expensive power-related downtime in manufacturing processes. Competitive products are expensive and hard to maintain. Yet the company found that DySC did not sell because buyers were used to having downtime in manufacturing and were not sure DySC would be a solution.19 To be successful in problem-solution selling, salespeo- ple must be able to get the buyer to agree that a problem exists and that solving it is worth the time and effort required.

The problem-solving approach to selling can take a lot of time. In some cases, the selling company cannot afford this much time with each prospective customer. In other cases, the customers may be unwilling to spend the time. Insurance salespeo- ple, for example, report this customer response. The problem-solving approach appears to be most successful in technical industrial sales situations, in which the par- ties involved are usually oriented toward scientific reasoning and processes and thus find this approach to sales amenable.

Consultative Selling

Consultative selling is the process of helping customers reach their strategic goals by using the products, services, and expertise of the sales organization.20 Notice that this method focuses on achieving strategic goals of customers, not just meeting needs or solving problems. Salespeople confirm their customers’ strategic goals, then work collaboratively with customers to achieve those goals.

In consultative selling, salespeople fulfill three primary roles: strategic orchestra- tor, business consultant, and long-term ally. As a strategic orchestrator, the sales- person arranges the use of the sales organization’s resources in an effort to satisfy the customer. This usually calls for involving other individuals in the sales organiza- tion. For example, the salesperson may need expert advice from production or logis- tics personnel to fully address a customer problem or opportunity. In the business consultant role, the salesperson uses internal and external (outside the sales orga- nization) sources to become an expert on the customer’s business. This role also includes an educational element—that is, salespeople educate their customers on products they offer and how these products compare with competitive offerings. As a long-term ally, the salesperson supports the customer, even when an immediate sale is not expected.

Yellow Book USA, the largest independent yellow pages company with 600 directories in the Unites States and the United Kingdom, uses consultative selling to satisfy the needs of a wide variety of small businesses. Typically, Yellow Book’s customers operate on a very tight budget and need to know the return on their expenditures. It is also common for small business owners to wear many hats, serv- ing as the sales manager, buyer, and budget director. To be successful, Yellow Book’s salespeople must be able to understand and explain the value of their adver- tising in the context of the customer’s overall business strategy and be able to fur- nish details of the expected and actual return on investment from their advertising. Accordingly, Yellow Book incorporates these topics into its sales training pro- gram.21 For more on consultative selling, see ‘‘Professional Selling in the 21st Cen- tury: Consultative Selling.’’

SALES PROCESS

The nonselling activities on which most salespeople spend a majority of their time are essential for the successful execution of the most important part of the salesperson’s job, the sales process. The sales process has traditionally been described as a series of interrelated steps beginning with locating qualified prospective customers. From there, the salesperson plans the sales presentation, makes an appointment to see the customer, completes the sale, and performs post-sale activities.

14 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

As you should recall from the earlier discussion of the continued evolution of personal selling (refer to Exhibit 1.1), the sales process is increasingly being viewed as a relationship management process, as depicted in Figure 1.4. In this conceptu- alization of the sales process, salespeople strive to attain lasting relationships with their customers. The basis for such relationships may vary, but the element of trust between the customer and the salesperson is an essential part of enduring rela- tionships. To earn the trust of customers, salespeople should be customer oriented, honest and dependable. They must also be competent and able to display an appro- priate level of expertise to their customers. Finally, the trust-building process is

FIGURE 1.4 Trust-Based Sales Process

Selling Foundations

• Trust and Ethics

• Understanding Buyers

Understanding Customer Value

Initiating Customer

Developing Customer

Enhancing Customer Relationships

Relationships

Relationships

• Communications Skills

• • Strategic Assessing prospecting

the prospect,s

• Engaging prospects and customers through sales dialogue and presentations

Selling Strategy

• Co-creating and validating customer Based on Customer

value Needs and Value

• Earning customer

• Sales Territory

commitment

• Each Customer

• Each Sales Call

The three major phases of the sales process are initiating, developing, and enhancing customer relationships. Salespeople must possess certain attributes to earn the trust of their customers and be able to adapt their selling strategies to different situations. Throughout the sales process, salespeople should focus on customer value, first by understanding what it is, then by working with customers to create value, communicate value, and continually increase customer value.

• Building value through post-sale follow-up

• situation Discovering prospect,s needs

• Planning value-based sales dialogue and presentations

• Activating the buying process

• Assessing value and relationship performance

• Creating new value opportunities

• Increasing customer value through self- leadership and teamwork

Creating and Communicating Customer Value

Delivering and Increasing Customer Value

professional selling in the 21st century

Consultative Selling

L. A. Mitchell, sales planner for Lucent Technol- ogies, comments on the increasing use of consulta- tive selling.

Professional selling is becoming much more of a consultative process than in years past. The pace of business has accelerated, and it is hard for indivi- dual buyers to be experts on everything they buy. That’s where consultative selling comes in. When buyers know they have a problem, but don’t know how

to solve it, our salespeople can offer a tailored solution. The solution must fit within the buyer’s allotted budget, and it must be consistent with the goals and strategies within the buying organization. Consultative salespeople must also be on the scene after the sale to be sure that any necessary training and service issues are handled to the client’s satisfac- tion. With consultative selling, making the sale is important, but the real focus is on providing expertise which enables clients to improve company operations and productivity.

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 15

facilitated if salespeople are compatible with their customers, that is if they get along with and work well with each other.22 These attributes are reflected by Blake Conrad, who sells medical supplies for Centurion Specialty Care. Conrad, based in Denver, says:

You simply cannot have productive relationships with your customers unless they trust you. I work really hard to show customers that I care about their bottom line, and I would never sell them something they don’t really need. If I don’t have an answer for them on the spot, I make every effort to get the answer and get back to them the same day. Customers appreciate the fact that I do what I say and follow up on all the details. To me, being customer oriented and dependable is just part of my job. It makes selling a lot more fun when your cus- tomers trust you, and—guess what—I sell more to customers who trust me.23

Another important element of achieving sound relationships with customers is to recognize that individual customers and their particular needs must be addressed with appropriate selling strategies and tactics. In selling, we discuss strategy at four levels: corporate, business unit, marketing department, and the overall sales func- tion. An individual salesperson is strongly guided by strategy at these higher levels in the organization but must also develop selling strategies and tactics to fit the sales territory, each customer, and ultimately, each sales call. Our coverage in this text focuses on developing sales strategies for individual customers and specific sales calls.

When studying the sales process, we should note that there are countless ver- sions of the process in terms of number of steps and the names of the steps. If, how- ever, you were to examine popular trade books on selling and training manuals used by corporations, you would find that the various depictions of the sales process are actually more alike than truly unique. The sales process shown in Figure 1.4 is com- parable to most versions of the sales process, with the exception of those versions that advocate high-pressure methods centering on how to get the customer to ‘‘say yes’’ rather than focusing on meeting the customer’s true needs. Our version of the sales process suggests that salespeople must have certain attributes to inspire trust in their customers and that salespeople should adapt their selling strategy to fit the situation.

Another point that should be stressed is that the sales process is broken into steps to facilitate discussion and sales training, not to suggest discrete lines between the steps. The steps are actually highly interrelated and, in some instances, may overlap. Further, the stepwise flow of Figure 1.4 does not imply a strict sequence of events. Salespeople may move back and forth in the process with a given customer, some- times shifting from step to step several times in the same sales encounter. Finally, claiming a new customer typically will require multiple sales calls.

The remainder of this book explores the sales process shown in Figure 1.4. Part I, comprised of Modules 2–4, covers the Foundations of Professional Selling. Module 2 discusses the important topics of building trust and sales ethics. Module 3 provides in-depth coverage of buyer behavior, while Module 4 focuses on the communica- tions skills necessary for sales success. Part II, Initiating Customer Relationships, opens with strategic prospecting in Module 5. Module 6 covers planning value- based sales dialogue and presentations as well as initiating contact with the customer. Developing Customer Relationships is treated in Part III. Module 7 discusses issues that arise during sales dialogues and presentations, while Module 8 discusses how salespeople can validate customer value and earn customer commitment. Part IV, Enhancing Customer Relationships, focuses on how salespeople add customer value through follow-up in Module 9, and through self-leadership and teamwork in Mod- ule 10. To learn more about careers in professional selling, please see Appendix 1 at the end of Module 1.

16 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

SUMMARY

1. Describe the evolution of personal selling from ancient times to the modern era. The history of personal selling can be traced as far back as ancient Greece. The Industrial Revolution enhanced the importance of salespeople, and personal sell- ing as we know it today had its roots in the early twentieth century. The current era of sales professionalism represents a further evolution.

2. Explain the contributions of personal selling to society, business firms, and customers. Salespeople contribute to society by acting as stimuli in the economic process and by assisting in the diffusion of innovation. They contribute to their employers by producing revenue, performing research and feedback activities, and comprising a pool of future managers. They contribute to customers by pro- viding timely knowledge to assist in solving problems.

3. Distinguish between transaction-focused traditional selling and trust-based relationship selling. As summarized in Exhibit 1.2, trust-based selling focuses more on the customer than does transaction-focused selling. The salesperson will act as a consultant to the customer in trust-based selling, whereas transaction- based selling concentrates more on making sales calls and on closing sales. There is far more emphasis on post-sales follow-up with relationship selling than with transaction selling, and salespeople must have a broader range of skills to practice relationship selling.

4. Discuss five alternative approaches to personal selling. Alternative approaches to personal selling include stimulus response, mental states, need satisfaction, problem solving, and the consultative approach. Stimulus response selling often uses the same sales presentation for all customers. The mental states approach pre- scribes that the salesperson lead the buyer through stages in the buying process. Need satisfaction selling focuses on relating benefits of the seller’s products or services to the buyer’s particular situation. Problem-solving selling extends need satisfaction by concentrating on various alternatives available to the buyer. Con- sultative selling focuses on helping customers achieve strategic goals, not just meeting needs or solving problems. In consultative selling, salespersons fulfill three primary roles: strategic orchestrator, business consultant, and long-term ally to the customer.

5. Describe the three primary roles fulfilled by consultative salespeople. The three roles are strategic orchestrator, business consultant, and long-term ally. As a strategic orchestrator, salespeople coordinate the use of the sales organiza- tion’s resources to satisfy the customer. As a business consultant, the salesper- son becomes an expert on the customer’s business and educates the customer on how his or her products can benefit the customer. The consultative salesper- son acts as a long-term ally to the customer, acting in the customer’s best inter- est even when an immediate sale is not expected.

6. Discuss the sales process as a series of interrelated steps. As presented in Figure 1.4, the sales process involves initiating, developing, and enhancing customer rela- tionships. Salespeople must possess certain attributes to earn the trust of their cus- tomers and be able to adapt their selling strategies to different situations. Throughout the sales process, salespeople should focus on customer value, first by understanding what customer value is to the customer, then by working to cre- ate, communicate, and continually increase that value. Salespeople initiate cus- tomer relationships through strategic prospecting, assessing the prospect’s situation, planning value-based sales dialogue, and activating the buying process. Relationships are then further developed through engaging prospects in a true

dialogue to earn commitment from those prospects. Salespeople enhance cus- tomer relationships by following up after the sale, taking a leadership role, and sometimes working as part of a team to constantly increase the value received by the customer. The details of the sales process are covered in Modules 5–10 in this book.

UNDERSTANDING SALES MANAGEMENT TERMS

marketing trust-based professional selling customer value sales dialogue canned sales presentation sales professionalism economic stimuli diffusion of innovation revenue producers adaptive selling stimulus response selling

continued affirmation mental states selling AIDA need satisfaction selling problem-solving selling consultative selling strategic orchestrator business consultant long-term ally sales process

DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL SELLING KNOWLEDGE

1. What factors will influence the continued evolution of personal selling? 2. How do salespeople contribute to our society? Are there negative aspects of

personal selling from a societal perspective? 3. What are the primary contributions made by salespeople to their employers? 4. Most businesses would have a difficult time surviving without the benefits of the

salespeople who call on them. Do you agree? 5. How are need satisfaction and problem-solving selling related? How do they

differ? 6. How does the consultative selling approach differ from problem-solving and

need satisfaction selling? Explain the three key roles of consultative salespersons. 7. When do you think stimulus response selling would be most effective? 8. How important is teamwork between the customer and the sales organization in practicing consultative selling? How does teamwork within the sales organization factor into consultative selling? 9. Is adaptive selling as important in domestic markets as it is in international

markets? 10. Discuss the final step of the sales process (enhancing customer relationships) as

related to the continuing evolution of personal selling.

BUILDING PROFESSIONAL SELLING SKILLS

1. Situation: Assume you are a salesperson for a packaging manufacturing company that supplies retail stores with custom-imprinted shopping bags. The company has manufacturing facilities in Texas, Georgia, New York, and California. There are five functional areas in the company: marketing (includes sales), production, finance and accounting, customer service and shipping, and human resources. You work out of the California plant, which serves the United States west of

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 17

18 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

the Rocky Mountains. Within the marketing department, your key contact is the product manager who routinely interacts with individuals from production, cus- tomer service, and shipping to coordinate production runs with promised delivery dates. The product manager has no direct authority over any of the personnel in production or customer service and shipping. For the following situations, explain how you would try to gain the cooperation of the right people to meet customer needs. It is important that you achieve customer satisfaction but not at the expense of profitability. Scenario A: A large customer unexpectedly runs out of shopping bags and is

requesting a shipment within 72 hours. Normal lead time for exist- ing customers is 10 working days. Production is fully booked, that is, there is no idle capacity in the California plant. Scenario B: A long-time customer buys three sizes of shopping bags, all

shipped in identical corrugated boxes. The smallest bags are packed 500 to a box, the medium-sized bags 250 to a box, and the largest 100 to a box. Black-and-white labels on one end of the corrugated boxes denote bag sizes. The customer wants labels in three differ- ent colors to denote bag size. According to the customer, store employees could then tell at a glance if stock for a particular size was running low and thus place prompt requests for reorders. Cur- rently, the black-and-white labels are applied by a machine as part of the manufacturing process. The color labels would have to be custom produced and hand-fed into the labeling machine, whereas existing labels are printed inexpensively in large quantities and fed automatically into the labeling machine.

2. Your knowledge of selling can help you get started in a sales career. Landing a job is like making a major sale in that your knowledge, skills, and attitudes must meet the needs of the employer. One way to match up with employer needs is to use the feature-advantage-benefit (FAB) approach to assess yourself relative to employer needs. In selling, a feature is a factual statement about the product or service, for example, ‘‘at 10 pounds, it is the lightest electrical motor in its per- formance category.’’ An advantage describes how the product can be used or help the customer, for example, ‘‘it is light enough to be used in portable appli- cations.’’ The benefit is the favorable outcome the customer will experience from the advantage, for example, ‘‘your customers no longer will have to come to the repair center for assistance, as service reps will be able to use portable repair kits in the field.’’ To translate this method to the job search, think of yourself as the ‘‘product.’’ Select an appropriate company and discover what they are looking for in sales job applicants. You can use classified ads, the college placement

The FAB Job-Search Matrix (Example)

A B C D Need Feature Advantage Benefit

Employer or Problem Student Employer

‘‘This job requires ...’’ ‘‘I have ...’’ ‘‘This means ...’’ ‘‘You will ...’’

frequent sales presentations to individuals and groups

taken 10 classes that required presentations

I require limited or no training in making presentations

save on the cost of training; you have ability and confi- dence to be productive early

(List additional needs, features, advantages, and benefits.)

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 19

center, personal contacts, or other sources to find a sales position that you are interested in. Using the following example as a starting point, complete an FAB worksheet that shows how you are qualified for the job. In a real job search, this information could be translated to your re ́sume ́ or cover letter requesting an interview.

3. Many industry observers believe that entrepreneurs must have strong selling skills to succeed. At a minimum, entrepreneurs should understand the sales process well enough to direct the sales efforts of others. To better understand the linkages between entrepreneurship and selling, visit the Inc magazine Web site at http://www.inc.com. From the home page, click on the ‘‘Sales’’ link under the ‘‘Resource Centers’’ menu. Check under the ‘‘Departments’’ menu for ‘‘How- To Guides’’ and ‘‘Articles by Topic’’ to identify material related to this module. Write a brief report summarizing your findings.

20 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

MAKING PROFESSIONAL SELLING DECISIONS

Case 1.1: Biomod, Inc. Background Biomod, Inc., a California-based manufacturer of educational models of the human body, has been in business since the mid-1960s. The company’s products, sold primarily to middle schools in the United States, are available in plastic or as computer images. Accompanying products include lesson plans for teachers, and workbooks and computer programs for students. Biomod has enjoyed healthy sales increases in recent years, as schools increas- ingly integrated computer-assisted instruction into their curricula. Five years ago, Biomod began selling consumer versions of its models through selected specialty educational toy stores and recently began selling on its own Web site. In addi- tion, Biomod is also selling on the Web through Hypermart.com and Ed-Toys. Further, Biomod has had discussions with Toys ‘‘ R’’ Us, and the giant retailer seems eager to stock Biomod products.

Current Situation Biomod has employed Zack Wilson, a recent grad- uate of San Diego State University, for the past six months. He has become familiar with all aspects of marketing the Biomod product line and is now the sales representative for electronic retailing accounts. Wilson is truly excited about his job, as he sees the explosive growth potential for selling Biomod products on the Internet. His first big success came when he convinced Hypermart.com to sell Biomod products. After all, Hypermart has the rep- utation in most circles as the premier electronic retailer. Thirty days after his initial sales to Hyper- mart, Wilson was thrilled to land Ed-Toys as his second electronic retailer.

No doubt about it, Zack Wilson was on a roll. Securing commitments from Hypermart and Ed- Toys within a month was almost too good to be true. In fact, there was only one problem facing Wilson. Hypermart had begun discounting the Bio- mod product line as much as 20 percent off sug- gested retail, and Ed-Toys was unhappy with the intense price competition. The following conversa- tion had just taken place between Wilson and Ed- Toys buyer Andrea Haughton:

Haughton: Zack, your line looked really promising

to us at suggested retail prices, but meeting Hypermart’s pricing sucks the profit right out of the equation. Are you selling Hypermart at a lower price than us? Wilson: Absolutely not! Hypermart just decided

to promote our line with the discounts.

Haughton: So the discounts are just a temporary pro-

motion? When will Hypermart stop discounting? Wilson: Well, I don’t really know. What I mean

by that is that Hypermart often discounts, but in the case of the Biomod line, I’ve got to believe it’s just a temporary thing. Haughton: Why do you think so? Wilson: Because they haven’t asked me for a lower

price. Like you, they can’t be making much of a profit after the discounts. Haughton: Well, Zack, we need to stop the bleed-

ing! I can’t go on meeting their prices. If they’re not making money either, maybe it’s time you get them to stop the discounting. Can you talk with them about getting up to sug- gested retail? Wilson: Andrea, you know I can’t dictate retail sell- ing prices to them any more than I could to you. Haughton: Nor am I suggesting you try to dictate

prices. I am simply suggesting that you let them know that if they choose to go back to suggested retail, we will surely follow. If we can’t sell at suggested retail, we will have little choice but to stop selling the Biomod line. I’m sure you can appreciate the fact that we have profit expectations for every line we sell. At 20 percent off, Zack, the Biomod line just doesn’t cut it for us. Wilson: O.K., I will see what I can do.

Later in the day, Wilson checked his e-mail and found a disturbing message from Barbara Moore, a Biomod sales representative for the retail store division. Moore’s message informed Wilson that one of her key retailers had visited the Hypermart Web site and was extremely upset to see the heavy discounting on the Biomod line. Moore claimed that she was in danger of losing her account and that she feared a widespread outcry from other spe- cialty stores as word of the Hypermart discounting would quickly spread. Moore strongly urged Wilson to do what he could to get Hypermart back to suggested retail. Wilson noted that Moore had copied both her sales manager and Rebecca Stanley, Wilson’s sales manager, with her e-mail message.

The following day, Wilson called on Warren Bry- ant, Hypermart’s buyer for the Biomod line. He conveyed to Bryant that Ed-Toys and some of the store retailers were upset with the discounting. Bry- ant shrugged off the news, commenting only that ‘‘it’s a dog-eat-dog’’ world and that price competi- tion was part of the game. Wilson asked Bryant if he was happy with the profit margins on the Biomod line, and Bryant responded that he was more con- cerned with growing Hypermart’s market share than with profit margins. He told Wilson, ‘‘Our

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 21

game plan is grab a dominant share, then worry about margins.’’ At this point, Bryant gave Wilson something else to think about:

Bryant: Hey, Zack, I noticed you guys are selling

the same products on your own Web site as the ones we’re selling on ours. Wilson: True, what’s the problem? Bryant: Well, I just read in the trade press where

Home Depot told their vendors that they don’t buy from their (Home Depot’s) competi- tors and that they view vendor Web sites as competitors to their retail business. Maybe we feel the same way. We sell on the Web, and if you do too, then you’re really a competitor for us. Wilson: Warren, you know that we only do a little volume on the Web. Our site is really more of an information site. Bryant: But you do offer an alternative to other electronic retailers and us by selling on your own site. And by the way, don’t your store retailers oppose your selling on the Web? Wilson: At this point, most of them are small retailers, and frankly speaking, they view you as more of a threat than us selling on our own site. Besides, our store division salesforce is working on a software package that will enable our store retailers to easily set up their own Web sites over the next six months or so. Bryant: Unbelievable! What you’re saying is that another division in your company is creating even more Web-based competition for me! I thought we had a real future together, but I’ve got to do some heavy-duty thinking on that. Thanks, Zack, but I’m really busy and need to move on to some other priorities this afternoon. Call me if you have any new thoughts on where we go from here.

Wilson left Hypermart and began the hour-long drive back to the office. ‘‘Good thing I’ve a little time to think about this situation,’’ he thought as he drove along. ‘‘I need to talk with Rebecca Stan- ley just as soon as I get to the office.’’

Questions 1. How do you think Wilson got into this

dilemma? 2. If you were Rebecca Stanley, Wilson’s sales

manager, what would you advise Wilson to do?

Situation: Read Case 1.1. Characters: Zack Wilson, Biomod

sales representative; Rebecca Stanley, Biomod sales manager.

Scene 1: Location—Stanley’s office.

Action—Wilson explains to Stanley what has occurred with the Ed- Toys and Hypermart accounts. Rather than telling Wilson how to deal with Hypermart and Ed-Toys from this point forward, Stanley directs Wilson to devise his own strategy. Rebecca then tells Wilson that she would like to visit both accounts with him within a week, and that she would like to review his strategy for Hypermart and Ed-Toys within 48 hours. Upon completion of the role play, address the follow- ing questions:

1. Is Stanley justified in telling Wilson to devise

his own strategy rather than giving him spe- cific direction at this time? What are the advan- tages and disadvantages of her approach? 2. How could this situation have been prevented? Scene 2: Location—Stanley’s office. Action—

Wilson presents his strategy to Stanley. Upon completion of the role play, address the follow- ing questions:

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Wilson’s interaction with Ed-Toys and Hypermart? 2. What further suggestions can you make for

dealing with Hypermart and Ed-Toys?

Case 1.2: Plastico, Inc. Background Plastico, Inc., located in New York, is a manufac- turer of plastic components. The company is noted for producing high-quality products. Its salesforce calls on large accounts, such as refrigerator manufac- turers who might need large quantities of custom- made products, such as door liners. Recent increases in new-home sales over the past several years have fueled refrigerator sales and, subsequently, sales at Plastico. Moreover, federal regulations requiring that dishwasher liners be made of plastic, rather than porcelain, have enhanced Plastico’s sales.

Current Situation Sharon Stone had recently been assigned to the central Michigan territory. Although this was her first sales job, she felt confident and was eager to begin. She had taken a sales course in college and had just completed the company’s training pro- gram. The company stressed the use of an organ- ized sales presentation in which the salesperson organizes the key points into a planned sequence

that allows for adaptive behavior by the salesperson as the presentation progresses. She was familiar with this approach because she had studied it in her col- lege sales course.

Stone’s first call was at a small refrigerator man- ufacturer in Ann Arbor. She had called the day before to set up an appointment with materials pur- chasing manager David Kline at 9:00 A.M. On the morning of her meeting, Stone was running behind schedule because of an alarm clock malfunction. As a result, she ended up in traffic she did not antici- pate and did not arrive for her appointment until 9:10 A.M. When she informed the receptionist she had an appointment with Kline, she was told he was in another meeting. He did agree, however, to see Stone when his meeting was finished, which would be about 9:45 A.M. Stone was upset Kline would not wait 10 minutes for her and let the receptionist know it.

At 9:50 A.M. Stone was introducing herself to Kline. She noticed his office was filled with Uni- versity of Michigan memorabilia. She remembered from her training that the first thing to do was build rapport with the prospect. Thus she asked Kline if he went to the University of Michigan. This got the ball rolling quickly. Kline had grad- uated from Michigan and was a big fan of the bas- ketball and football teams. He was more than happy to talk about them. Stone was excited; she knew this would help her build rapport. After about 25 minutes of football and basketball chit- chat, Stone figured it was time to get down to business.

After finally getting Kline off the subject of sports, Stone began to discuss the benefits of her product. She figured if she did not control the con- versation Kline would revert to discussing sports. She went on and on about the material compounds comprising Plastico plastics, as well as the processes used to develop plastic liners. She explained the customizing process, the product’s durability, Plas- tico’s ability to provide door liners in any color, and her company’s return and credit policies. After nearly 25 minutes, she finally asked Kline if he had any questions.

Kline asked her if she had any product samples with her. Stone had to apologize—in all the confu- sion this morning she ran off and left the samples at home. Then Kline asked her about the company’s turnaround time from order to delivery. Knowing quick turnaround was important to Kline, and feel- ing this prospect may be slipping away, she told him it was about four weeks, although she knew it was really closer to five. However, she thought, if Kline ordered from them and it took a little longer, she could always blame it on production. When the

22 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

issue of price emerged, Stone was not able to clearly justify in Kline’s mind why Plastico was slightly higher than the competition. She thought that she had clearly explained the benefits of the product and that it should be obvious that Plastico is a better choice.

Finally, Kline told Stone he would have to excuse himself. He had a meeting to attend on the other side of town. He thanked her for coming by and told her he would consider her offer. Stone thanked Kline for his time and departed. As she reflected on her first call she wondered where she went wrong. She thought she would jot down some notes about her call to discuss with her sales manager later.

Questions 1. What problems do you see with Stone’s first

sales call? 2. If you were Stone’s sales manager, what would

you recommend she do to improve her chances of succeeding?

Situation: Read Case 1.2. Characters: Sharon Stone, Plastico

sales representative. Scene: Location—Plastico’s Michigan office during a weekly sales meeting shortly after her sales call with David Kline. Action—Stone reviews her sales call with Kline with other Plastico sales representatives and their sales man- ager. This is a regular feature of the weekly meetings, with the idea being that all sales representatives can learn from the experiences of others. Stone has decided to com- pare her call with Kline to some of the material from her sales training with Plastico. This material, which contrasts transaction-focused selling with trust-based relationship selling, is shown in Exhibit 1.2. Her review will analyze whether she did or did not practice trust-based relationship selling during her call with Kline. Upon completion of the role play, address the follow- ing questions: 1. Is Stone’s review of her sales call accurate? 2. What steps should Stone take to begin to

develop a strong relationship with Kline?

APPENDIX1 sales careers

This appendix is designed to give an in-depth look at sales careers. We first discuss characteristics of sales careers, then describe several different types of personal selling jobs. The appendix concludes with a discussion of the skills and qualifications neces- sary for success in sales careers.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SALES CAREERS

Although individual opinions will vary, the ideal career for most individuals offers a bright future, including good opportunities for financial rewards and job advance- ment. As you read the following sections on the characteristics of sales careers, you might think about what you expect from a career and whether your expectations could be met in a sales career. The characteristics to be discussed are

 job security   advancement opportunities   immediate feedback prestige   job variety independence compensation

Job Security

Salespeople are revenue producers and thus enjoy relatively good job security com- pared with other occupational groups. Certainly, individual job security depends on individual performance, but in general, salespeople are usually the last group to be negatively affected by personnel cutbacks.

Competent salespeople also have some degree of job security based on the univer- sality of their basic sales skills. In many cases, salespeople are able to successfully move to another employer, maybe even change industries, because sales skills are largely transferable. For salespeople working in declining or stagnant industries, this is heart- ening news.

There looks to be a fairly strong demand for salespeople within the 2004–2005 time period. Overall U.S. job growth is expected to be approximately 13 percent in that time, which represents above average opportunities in technical sales, adver- tising, real estate, some services sectors, and in sales management positions. (See Exhibit 1A.1.)1 Even life insurance, where expected overall job growth is less than average in 2004–2014, offers strong opportunities for those with college degrees.2

Advancement Opportunities

As the business world continues to become more competitive, the advancement oppor- tunities for salespeople will continue to be an attractive dimension of sales careers. In highly competitive markets, individuals and companies that are successful in determin- ing and meeting customer needs will be rewarded with opportunities for advancement. One reason that many successful salespeople ultimately find their way into top manage- ment is that they display some of the key attributes required for success in executive

23

24 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

EXHIBIT 1A.1 Occupational Outlook for Salespeople

Projected Growth Job Type 2004 Employment 2004–2012 Percentage

Manufacturers and Wholesalers (nontechnical) 1,453,625 12.9

Manufacturers and Wholesalers (technical) 397,421 14.4

Advertising Sales Representatives 154,370 16.3

Real Estate Agents 348,358 14.7

Insurance Agents 399,652 6.6

Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services 280,906 11.5

Other Services 380,476 18.7

Retail 4,256,138 17.3

Sales Engineers 73,617 14.0

Sales Managers 336,514 19.7

positions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, top executives must have highly developed personal skills, be able to communicate clearly and persuasively, and have high levels of self-confidence, motivation, business judgment, and determination.3

Immediate Feedback

Salespeople receive constant, immediate feedback on their job performance. Usually, the results of their efforts can be plainly observed by both salespeople and their sales managers—a source of motivation and job satisfaction. On a daily basis, salespeople receive direct feedback from their customers, and this can be stimulating, challeng- ing, and productive. The opportunity to react immediately to customer feedback during sales presentations is a strong benefit of adaptive selling, and distinguishes selling from other forms of marketing communications such as advertising and public relations. The spontaneity and creativity involved in reacting to immediate feedback is one dimension of selling that makes it such an interesting job.

Prestige

Traditionally, sales has not been a prestigious occupation in the eyes of the general public. There is some evidence that as the general public learns more about the activ- ities and qualifications of professional salespeople, the image of salespeople, and thus the prestige of selling, is improving. An analysis of the popular press (excluding busi- ness publications) reveals that there are more positive than negative mentions of news-making salespeople. In a positive light, salespeople are frequently seen as knowledgeable, well-trained, educated, and capable of solving customer problems. The negative aspects of salespeople’s image often center on deception and high- pressure techniques.4

Another study indicates that salespeople historically have been depicted in movies and television programs more often than not in a negative light.5 Even so, the strug- gling, down-and-out huckster as depicted by Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s 1949 classic Death of a Salesman is hardly typical of the professional salesperson of today and the future. Professional salespeople destroy such unfavorable stereotypes, and they would not jeopardize customer relationships by using high-pressure sales tech- niques to force a premature sale.6 These perceptions are especially true in the busi- ness world, where encounters with professional salespeople are commonplace.

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 25

Job Variety

Salespeople rarely vegetate due to boredom. Their jobs are multifaceted and dynamic. For a person seeking the comfort of a well-established routine, sales might not be a good career choice. In sales, day-to-day variation on the job is the norm. Customers change, new products and services are developed, and competition introduces new elements at a rapid pace.

The opportunity to become immersed in the job and bring creativity to bear is demonstrated by General Mills, whose salesforce has been named one of the best in America. According to John Maschuzik, vice president of sales in the western United States, salespeople’s customization of promotional efforts for their customers is crucial to the company’s success. Maschuzik says that General Mills gives their salespeople a lot of latitude and the opportunity to be creative in spending retail pro- motion money.7

Independence

Sales jobs often allow independence of action. This independence is frequently a by- product of decentralized sales operations in which salespeople live and work away from headquarters, therefore working from their homes and making their own plans for extensive travel.

Independence of action and freedom to make decisions are usually presented as advantages that sales positions have over tightly supervised jobs. College students who prefer sales careers rate freedom to make decisions second only to salary as an important job consideration.8 Despite its appeal, however, independence does present some problems. New recruits working from their homes may find the lack of a company office somewhat disorienting. They may need an office environment to relate to, especially if their past work experience provided regular contact in an office environment.

The independence of action traditionally enjoyed by salespeople is being scruti- nized by sales managers more heavily now than in the past. The emphasis on sales pro- ductivity, accomplished in part through cost containment, is encouraging sales managers to take a more active role in dictating travel plans and sales call schedules.

Compensation

Compensation is generally thought to be a strong advantage of sales careers. Pay is closely tied to performance, especially if commissions and bonuses are part of the pay package.

Starting salaries for inexperienced salespersons with a college degree typically aver- age $40,000. Between the extremes of the highly experienced salesperson and the inexperienced recruit, an average salesperson earns approximately $50,000– $70,000 per year. More experienced salespeople, including those who deal with large customers, often earn in the $85,000–$135,000 range. Top salespeople can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, with some exceeding a million dol- lars in annual earnings.

CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONAL SELLING JOBS

Because there are so many unique sales jobs, the term salesperson is not by itself very descriptive. A salesperson could be a flower vendor at a busy downtown intersection or the sales executive negotiating the sale of Boeing aircraft to the People’s Republic of China.

We briefly discuss six types of personal selling jobs:

 sales support   new business

26 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

 existing business   inside sales (nonretail)   direct-to-consumer sales combination sales jobs

Sales Support

Sales support personnel are not usually involved in the direct solicitation of pur- chase orders. Rather, their primary responsibility is dissemination of information and performance of other activities designed to stimulate sales. They might concen- trate at the end-user level or another level in the channel of distribution to support the overall sales effort. They may report to another salesperson, who is responsible for direct handling of purchase orders, or to the sales manager. There are two well-known categories of support salespeople: missionary or detail salespeople and technical support salespeople.

Missionary salespeople usually work for a manufacturer but may also be found working for brokers and manufacturing representatives, especially in the grocery industry. There are strong similarities between sales missionaries and religious mis- sionaries. Like their counterparts, sales missionaries are expected to ‘‘spread the word’’ with the purpose of conversion—to customer status. Once converted, the cus- tomer receives reinforcing messages, new information, and the benefit of the mis- sionary’s activities to strengthen the relationship between buyer and seller.

In the pharmaceutical industry, the detailer is a fixture. Detailers working at the physician level furnish valuable information regarding the capabilities and limitations of medications in an attempt to get the physician to prescribe their product. Another sales representative from the same pharmaceutical company will sell the medication to the wholesaler or pharmacist, but it is the detailer’s job to support the direct sales effort by calling on physicians.

Technical specialists are sometimes considered to be sales support personnel. These technical support salespeople may assist in design and specification processes, installation of equipment, training of the customer’s employees, and follow-up ser- vice of a technical nature. They are sometimes part of a sales team that includes another salesperson who specializes in identifying and satisfying customer needs by recommending the appropriate product or service.

New Business

New business is generated for the selling firm by adding new customers or introduc- ing new products to the marketplace. Two types of new-business salespeople are pio- neers and order-getters.

Pioneers, as the term suggests, are constantly involved with either new products, new customers, or both. Their task requires creative selling and the ability to counter the resistance to change that will likely be present in prospective customers. Pioneers are well-represented in the sale of business franchises, in which the sales representa- tives travel from city to city seeking new franchisees.

Order-getters are salespeople who actively seek orders, usually in a highly com- petitive environment. Although all pioneers are also order-getters, the reverse is not true. An order-getter may serve existing customers on an ongoing basis, whereas the pioneer moves on to new customers as soon as possible. Order-getters may seek new business by selling an existing customer additional items from the product line. A well-known tactic is to establish a relationship with a customer by selling a single product from the line, then to follow up with subsequent sales calls for other items from the product line.

Most corporations emphasize sales growth, and salespeople operating as pioneers and order-getters are at the heart of sales growth objectives. The pressure to perform in these roles is fairly intense; the results are highly visible. For these reasons, the new-business salesperson is often among the elite in any company’s salesforce.

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 27

Existing Business

In direct contrast to new-business salespeople, other salespeople’s primary responsi- bility is to maintain relationships with existing customers. Salespeople who specialize in maintaining existing business include order-takers. These salespeople frequently work for wholesalers and, as the term order-taker implies, they are not too involved in creative selling. Route salespeople who work an established customer base, taking routine reorders of stock items, are order-takers. They sometimes follow a pioneer salesperson and take over the account after the pioneer has made the initial sale.

These salespeople are no less valuable to their firms than the new-business sales- people, but creative selling skills are less important to this category of sales personnel. Their strengths tend to be reliability and competence in assuring customer conven- ience. Customers grow to depend on the services provided by this type of salesper- son. As most markets are becoming more competitive, the role of existing-business salespeople is sometimes critical to prevent erosion of the customer base.

Many firms, believing that it is easier to protect and maintain profitable customers than it is to find replacement customers, are reinforcing sales efforts to existing cus- tomers. For example, Frito-Lay uses 18,000 route service salespeople to call on retail customers at least three times weekly. Larger customers see their Frito-Lay represen- tative on a daily basis. These salespeople spend a lot of their time educating custom- ers about the profitability of Frito-Lay’s snack foods, which leads to increased sales for both the retailer and for Frito-Lay.

Inside Sales

In this text, inside sales refers to nonretail salespeople who remain in their employ- er’s place of business while dealing with customers. The inside-sales operation has received considerable attention in recent years, not only as a supplementary sales tac- tic, but also as an alternative to field selling.

Inside sales can be conducted on an active or passive sales basis. Active inside sales include the solicitation of entire orders, either as part of a telemarketing operation or when customers walk into the seller’s facilities. Passive inside sales imply the accep- tance, rather than solicitation, of customer orders, although it is common practice for these transactions to include add-on sales attempts. We should note that cus- tomer service personnel sometimes function as inside-sales personnel as an ongoing part of their jobs.

Direct-to-Consumer Sales

Direct-to-consumer salespeople are the most numerous type. There are approxi- mately 4.3 million retail salespeople in this country and perhaps another million sell- ing real estate, insurance, and securities directly to consumers. Add to this figure another several million selling direct to the consumer for such companies as Tupper- ware, Mary Kay, and Avon.

This diverse category of salespeople ranges from the part-time, often temporary salesperson in a retail store to the highly educated, professionally trained stockbroker on Wall Street. As a general statement, the more challenging direct-to-consumer sales positions are those involving the sale of intangible services such as insurance and financial services.

Combination Sales Jobs

Now that we have reviewed some of the basic types of sales jobs, let us consider the salesperson who performs multiple types of sales jobs within the framework of a sin- gle position. We use the case of the territory manager’s position with GlaxoSmith Kline Consumer Healthcare (GSK) to illustrate the combination sales job concept. GSK, whose products include Aqua-Fresh toothpaste, markets a wide range of con- sumer healthcare goods to food, drug, variety, and mass merchandisers. The territory

28 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

manager’s job blends responsibilities for developing new business, maintaining and stimulating existing business, and performing sales support activities.

During a typical day in the field, the GSK territory manager is involved in sales support activities such as merchandising and in-store promotion at the individual retail store level. Maintaining contact and goodwill with store personnel is another routine sales support activity. The territory manager also makes sales calls on chain headquarters personnel to handle existing business and to seek new business. And it is the territory manager who introduces new GSK products in the marketplace.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS REQUIRED FOR SUCCESS BY SALESPERSONS

Because there are so many different types of jobs in sales, it is rather difficult to gen- eralize about the qualifications and skills needed for success. This list would have to vary according to the details of a given job. Even then, it is reasonable to believe that for any given job, different persons with different skills could be successful. These conclusions have been reached after decades of research that has tried to correlate sales performance with physical traits, mental abilities, personality characteristics, and the experience and background of the salesperson.

Success in sales is increasingly being thought of in terms of a strategic team effort, rather than the characteristics of individual salespersons. For example, three studies of more than 200 companies that employ 25,000 salespersons in the United States and Australia found that being customer-oriented and cooperating as a team player were critical to salespersons’ success.9

Being careful not to suggest that sales success is solely a function of individual traits, let us consider some of the skills and qualifications that are thought to be espe- cially critical for success in most sales jobs. Five factors that seem to be particularly important for success in sales are empathy, ego drive, ego strength, verbal commu- nication skills, and enthusiasm. These factors have been selected after reviewing three primary sources of information:

 a study of more than 750,000 salespeople in 15,000 companies (Greenberg and

Greenberg)10   two reviews of four decades of research on factors related to sales success (Comer

and Dubinsky; and Brown, Leigh, and Haygood)11   surveys of sales executives12

Empathy

In a sales context, empathy (the ability to see things as others would see them) includes being able to read cues furnished by the customer to better determine the customer’s viewpoint. According to Spiro and Weitz, empathy is crucial for successful interaction between a buyer and a seller.13 An empathetic salesperson is presumably in a better position to tailor the sales presentation to the customer during the plan- ning stages. More important, empathetic salespeople can adjust to feedback during the presentation.

The research of Greenberg and Greenberg found empathy to be a significant pre- dictor of sales success. This finding was partially supported in the review by Comer and Dubinsky, who found empathy to be an important factor in consumer and insur- ance sales but not in retail or industrial sales. Supporting the importance of empathy in sales success is a multi-industry study of 215 sales managers by Marshall, Goebel, and Moncrief.14 These researchers found empathy to be among the top 25 percent of skills and personal attributes thought to be important determinants of sales success. Even though some studies do not find direct links between salesperson empathy and success, empathy is generally accepted as an important trait for successful salespeople.

Module One Overview of Personal Selling 29

As relationship selling grows in importance, empathy logically will become even more important for sales success.

Ego Drive

In a sales context, ego drive (an indication of the degree of determination a person has to achieve goals and overcome obstacles in striving for success) is manifested as an inner need to persuade others in order to achieve personal gratification. Greenberg and Greenberg point out the complementary relationship between empathy and ego drive that is necessary for sales success. The salesperson who is extremely empathetic but lacks ego drive may have problems in taking active steps to confirm a sale. How- ever, a salesperson with more ego drive than empathy may ignore the customer’s view- point in an ill-advised, overly anxious attempt to gain commitment from the customer.

Ego Strength

The degree to which a person is able to achieve an approximation of inner drives is ego strength. Salespeople with high levels of ego strength are likely to be self-assured and self-accepting. Salespeople with healthy egos are better equipped to deal with the possibility of rejection throughout the sales process. They are probably less likely to experience sales call reluctance and are resilient enough to overcome the disappoint- ment of inevitable lost sales.

Salespeople with strong ego drives who are well-equipped to do their jobs will likely be high in self-efficacy; that is, they will strongly believe that they can be suc- cessful on the job. In situations in which their initial efforts meet resistance, rejection, or failure, salespeople high in self-efficacy are likely to persist in pursuing their goals. In complex sales involving large dollar amounts and a long sales cycle (the time from first customer contact to eventual sale), it is crucial to continue working toward a dis- tant goal despite the very real possibility of setbacks along the way. For example, air- plane manufacturers hoping to land contracts with the airlines typically pursue such contracts for several years before a buying decision is made. For those who persevere, however, the payoff can be well worth the extended effort.

Interpersonal Communication Skills

Interpersonal communication skills, including listening and questioning, are essential for sales success. An in-depth study of 300 sales executives, salespeople, and customers of 24 major sales companies in North America, Europe, and Japan found that effective salespeople are constantly seeking ways to improve communica- tion skills that enable them to develop, explain, and implement customer solutions. The companies in the study are some of the best in the world at professional selling: Sony, Xerox, American Airlines, Fuji, and Scott paper.15

Another major study across several industries found that three communications skills in particular were among the top 10 percent of success factors for professional salespeople.16 The highest-rated success factor in this study was listening skills, with ability to adapt presentations according to the situation and verbal communications skills following close behind.

To meet customer needs, salespeople must be able to solicit opinions, listen effec- tively, and confirm customer needs and concerns. They must be capable of probing customer expectations with open- and closed-ended questions and responding in a flexible manner to individual personalities and different business cultures in ways that demonstrate respect for differences.17 This requires adaptable, socially intelligent salespeople, especially when dealing with multicultural customers.18

The importance of communication skills has been recognized by sales managers, recruiters, and sales researchers. These skills can be continually refined throughout a sales career, a positive factor from both a personal and a career development perspective.

30 Module One Overview of Personal Selling

Enthusiasm

When sales executives and recruiters discuss qualifications for sales positions, they invariably include enthusiasm. They are usually referring to dual dimensions of enthusiasm—an enthusiastic attitude in a general sense and a special enthusiasm for selling. On-campus recruiters have mentioned that they seek students who are well beyond ‘‘interested in sales’’ to the point of truly being enthusiastic about career opportunities in sales. Recruiters are somewhat weary of ‘‘selling sales’’ as a viable career, and they welcome the job applicant who displays genuine enthusiasm for the field.

Comments on Qualifications and Skills

The qualifications and skills needed for sales success are different today from those required for success two decades ago. As the popularity of relationship selling grows, the skills necessary for sales success will evolve to meet the needs of the mar- ketplace. For example, Greenberg and Greenberg’s research has identified what they call an ‘‘emerging factor’’ for sales success, a strong motivation to provide service to the customer. They contrast this service motivation with ego drive by noting that, although ego drive relates to persuading others, service motivation comes from desir- ing the approval of others. For example, a salesperson may be extremely gratified to please a customer through superior postsale service. Greenberg and Greenberg con- clude that most salespeople will need both service motivation and ego drive to suc- ceed, although they note that extremely high levels of both attributes are not likely to exist in the same individual. Nonetheless, there is a growing interest in bringing ser- vice concepts and practices into the world of professional selling. While it may be dif- ficult to recruit salespeople who are high on the service dimension, it is certainly feasible to provide appropriate training and to reinforce the desired service behaviors through sales management practices. Without significant emphasis on servicing exist- ing customers, a company is not truly practicing relationship selling.19

Our discussion of factors related to sales success is necessarily brief, as a fully descriptive treatment of the topic must be tied to a given sales position. Veteran sales managers and recruiters can often specify with amazing precision what qualifi- cations and skills are needed to succeed in a given sales job. These assessments are usually based on a mixture of objective and subjective judgments.

Professional selling offers virtually unlimited career opportunities for the right per- son. Many of the skills and qualifications necessary for success in selling are also impor- tant for success as an entrepreneur or as a leader in a corporate setting. For those interested in learning more about sales careers, consult these sources: Sales & Market- ing Management magazine at http://salesandmarketing.com; Selling Power magazine at http://sellingpower.com; and Sales and Marketing Executives International, a professional organization, at http://www.smei.org.

UNDERSTANDING SALES MANAGEMENT TERMS

sales support personnel missionary salespeople detailer technical support salespeople pioneers order-getters order-takers inside sales

combination sales job empathy ego drive ego strength self-efficacy interpersonal communications skills enthusiasm service motivation

PART1

The Foundations of Professional Selling

The three modules in Part One provide the important foundations for successful pro- fessional selling. In Module 2 we will discuss building trust with customers and sales ethics. Trust between the buyer and seller is essential for long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. Ethical sales behavior is an important ingredient in the trust-building process.

Module 3 provides in-depth coverage of buyer behavior in business markets. Busi- ness buyers and buyers for other types of organizations are often quite sophisticated in their purchasing practices. In contrast to most consumer purchases, most business purchase situations are more complex, demanding well-planned and well-executed sales communications.

In Module 4, we focus on the communications skills necessary for sales success. In particular, questioning and listening are covered in-depth. The SPIN and ADAPT ques- tioning methods are presented as important tools for determining buyer needs and advancing the sale.

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MODULE2 building trust and sales ethics

DEVELOPING TRUST AND MUTUAL RESPECT WITH CLIENTS

Motivation Excellence Inc. (MEI) is a full-service performance improvement com- pany that specializes in highly creative and results-oriented incentive systems. Their incentive planning process is focused on exceeding clients’ sales and marketing goals and providing those clients with a solid return on investment. The ability of their sales team and executive management to develop client relationships on a rock-solid foundation of mutual respect, trust, and confidence has been critical to MEI’s long-term success.

The company was founded by Greg Lewis in 1985 and is dedicated to the high- est standards of integrity, mutual respect, and trust and to creating an environment that provides unparalleled client service while building client relationships into long-lasting partnerships. Their mission statement clearly defines the criticality of developing trust and mutual respect with clients, suppliers, and their employees.

MEI develops custom solutions to address their clients’ sales and marketing chal- lenges, which requires the gathering of highly confidential and extremely market- sensitive information in order to be effective in developing the structure of incentive programs.

Jim Micklos (senior account executive with MEI) spends anywhere from several months to several years developing the respect of his clients and prospects. He knows it can take five to ten or more touches (sales calls) to gain the credibility he needs to do business with a client. Once this credibility is established, Micklos utilizes two key documents to obtain the critical information required. First is the two-sided Mutual Confidentiality Agreement that was specifically written to protect both the client’s and MEI’s confidential information. Second is a list of Program Design Questions that details the sales, profit margin, market share, go-to-market strategies, etc., that provide the fundamental data to build the foundation for the incentive pro- gram. The companies MEI works with have to be very comfortable to pass on this type of sensitive information.

Simply stated, building trust and securing clients’ confidence are critical to MEI’s success.

The performance improvement process includes targeted mailings to clients’ person- nel, highlighting their award-earning opportunities. The reward for superior perfor- mance may include deluxe travel to well-known resorts throughout the world as well as a selection of high quality, brand name merchandise from MEI’s catalogue of awards. During the award redemption and fulfillment process, MEI lives by the intent of their mission statement. Client contacts may be tempted to ask for free or discounted personal travel benefits and/or sample merchandise items, but the company is unwilling to arrange such benefits. It lives by the ethical standards articulated by the founder and detailed in the mission statement.

MEI’s focus on exceeding client expectations by providing unsurpassed client service and delivering programs with extraordinary ROIs is reflected in their client retention rate in excess of 95 percent in an industry where 55 to 60 percent is the norm. It all starts with developing the mutual respect and trust required to obtain the data that enables development of their custom solutions.

Objectives

After completing this module, you should be able to

1 Explain the importance of

trust.

2 Discuss the distinguishing characteristics of trust- based selling.

3 Discuss how to earn trust.

4 Explain how knowledge

bases help build trust and relationships.

5 Understand the

importance of sales ethics.

6 Discuss three important

areas of unethical behavior.

33

34 Part One The Foundations of Professional Selling

Mutual respect, trust, confidence, and ethical behavior cannot be overemphasized in today’s business environment. MEI’s success is a result of client relationships built on that foundation.

Source: Interview with Jim Micklos, Motivation Excellence Inc., July 20, 2006.

Trust reflects the extent of the buyer’s confidence that it can rely on the salesper- son’s integrity. That being said, it is important to note that trust means different things to different people. According to John Newman,1 vice president of Inte- grated Supply Chains Segment at A. T. Kearney, trust is defined in many ways. Buyers define trust with such terms as openness, dependability, candor, honesty, confidentiality, security, reliability, fairness, and predictability, as well as other things. For example, in the Kearney study, one manufacturer related trust to cred- ibility and said, ‘‘What trust boils down to, in a nutshell, is credibility, and when you say you are going to do something, you do it, and the whole organization has to be behind that decision.’’ Another manufacturer related trust to confidentiality in that ‘‘they were afraid that the sales guys were going around and telling account B what account A is doing’’ and identified this as a violation of trust. Another company related trust to openness in that ‘‘we have to share information that traditionally is not shared.’’ One president told how his engineers were sharing manufacturing secrets with their suppliers that would have cost the engineers their jobs if they had held the discussion prior to the past five years.2

A salesperson has to determine what trust means to each of his or her buyers, as shown in Figure 2.1. If it is confidentiality, then the salesperson must demonstrate how his or her company handles sensitive information. If credibility is the concern, then the salesperson must demonstrate over time that all promises will be kept. Therefore, trust is whatever it means to the buyer, and it is the salesperson’s job through questioning to determine what trust attributes are critical to relationship building for a specific buyer.

In this module, we first discuss the meaning of trust in the sales context. Next we explore the importance of trust to salespeople. This is followed by a discussion of how to earn trust and what knowledge bases a salesperson can use to build trust in buyer–seller relationships. Finally, the importance of sales ethics in building trust is reviewed.

FIGURE 2.1 Trust Builders

Expertise Compatibility

Trust

Customer Orientation

Candor

Dependability

Trust means different things to different people. Trust can be developed by using any of the trust builders. It is the salesperson’s job through questioning to determine what trust attributes are critical to relationship building for a specific buyer.

Module Two Building Trust and Sales Ethics 35

What Is Trust?

‘‘The essence of trust is that the industrial buyer believes that he can rely on what the salesperson says or promises to do in a situation where the buyer is dependent upon the salesperson’s honesty and reliability.’’3 One of the keys to a long-term relation- ship with any client is to create a basis of trust between the sales representative and the client organization.4

Thus, gaining credibility in the trust area is essential in order to be seen as a reli- able salesperson. Long-term sales success in any industry will generally be built on the concept of referral, and trust plays an important role. Clients obviously seek a sales- person they can trust. The problem is, depending on the industry and the situation, they may have had bad experiences that have lowered their hopes of ever finding a trustworthy partner. ‘‘An Ethical Dilemma’’ illustrates how easy it is for a salesperson to lose the trust of a buyer even when it is an innocent misunderstanding. Consulta- tive salespeople are in a unique position to capitalize on building credibility with cus- tomers who place a high value on trust. Because customers are looking for a trustworthy partner with whom to do business but may have difficulty trusting most salespeople, this equates to an opportunity for the salesperson.

The ‘‘trust’’ described here is beyond the typical transaction-oriented trust schema. Issues—such as, Will the product arrive as promised? Will the right product actually be in stock and be shipped on time? Will the invoice contain the agreed-on price? Can the salesperson be found if something goes wrong?—are only initial con- cerns. In relationship selling, trust is based on a larger set of factors due to the expanded intimacy and longer-term nature of the relationship. The intimacy of this relationship will result in the sharing of information by both parties that could be damaging should either side leak it or use it against the partner.

Trust answers the questions:

1. Do you know what you are talking about?—competence; expertise 2. Will you recommend what is best for me?—customer orientation 3. Are you truthful?—honesty; candor 4. Can you and your company back up your promises?—dependability 5. Will you safeguard confidential information that I share with you?—customer

orientation; dependability

‘‘Trust’’ is an integral part of the relationship between customers and suppliers and results in increased long-term revenues and profits.5

WHY IS TRUST IMPORTANT?

In today’s increasingly competitive marketplace, buyers typically find themselves inundated with choices regarding both products and suppliers. In this virtual buyers’ market, traditional selling methods that focused on closing the sale have been found

an ethical dilemma

Jasmine Alexander, account manager for a large copy company, had been calling on the purchasing department of the local college. She thought the purchasing agent Tom Smith, was receptive, but she was not sure he was passing on her literature to the copy center. She had asked several times if she could call directly on the copy center but was told no.

Several weeks later while attending a party, she met the director of the copy center, Terry Wolf, and they talked about their respective jobs. Alexander was invited by Wolf to stop by and look over the center. She gladly accepted. A few days later Alexander received a message from Smith not to call on the college anymore. Did Alexander do anything wrong? How would you have handled the situation?

36 Part One The Foundations of Professional Selling

to be inefficient and often counterproductive to the organization’s larger, longer- term marketing strategy. In this new competitive environment, buyers are demand- ing unique solutions to their problems—product solutions that are customized on the basis of their particular problems and needs. Additionally, the adversarial, win- lose characteristics so customary in traditional selling are fading fast. In their place, longer-term buyer–seller relationships are evolving as the preferred form of doing business. Although buyers are finding it more effective and efficient to do more busi- ness with fewer suppliers, sellers are finding it more effective to develop a continuing stream of business from the right customers.

This shift toward relationship selling has altered both the roles played by salespeo- ple and the activities and skills they exercise in carrying out these roles—the selling process itself. Today’s more contemporary selling process is embedded within the relationship marketing paradigm. As such, it emphasizes the initiation and nurturing of long-term buyer–seller relationships based on mutual trust and value-added ben- efits. As Jim Micklos of MEI pointed out in the opening vignette, it can take from five to ten or more sales calls to establish the trust needed to do business with a pros- pect. The level of problem-solving activity common to relationship selling requires deliberate and purposeful collaboration between both parties. These joint efforts are directed at creating unique solutions based on an enhanced knowledge and understanding of the customer’s needs and the supplier’s capabilities so that both parties derive mutual benefits. The nature of this integrative, win-win, and collabo- rative negotiation relies on augmented communication and interpersonal skills that nurture and sustain the reciprocal trust that allows all parties to fully share informa- tion and work together as a strategic problem-solving team.

The skills and activities inherent to relationship selling can be classified according to their purpose as (1) initiation of the relationship (Modules 5 and 6); (2) develop- ment of the relationship (Modules 7 and 8); and (3) enhancement of the relationship (Modules 9 and 10). As the activities comprising the selling process have changed, so too have the relative importance and degree of selling effort devoted to each stage of the process.

HOW TO EARN TRUST

Trust is critically important to any relationship. Several variables are critical in helping salespeople earn a buyer’s trust, such as expertise, dependability, candor, customer orientation, and compatibility. Each is briefly discussed as to its importance.

Expertise

Inexperience is a difficult thing for a young salesperson to overcome. Most recent college graduates will not have the expertise to be immediately successful, especially in industrial sales. Companies spend billions of dollars to train new recruits in the hope of speeding up the expertise variable. Training to gain knowledge on company products and programs, industry, competition, and general market conditions are typical subjects covered in most sales training programs. Young salespeople can shadow more experienced salespeople to learn what it takes to be successful. They must also go the extra yard to prove to their customers their dedication to service. For example, Missy Rust, of GlaxoSmithKline, had recently spent a few minutes with an anesthesiologist discussing a new product, a neuromuscular blocker. A few days later, the physician called her at 1 A.M. to discuss a patient whom he thought was a good candidate for this drug. He was unsure of the correct dosage and needed Rust’s expertise in this matter. Rust immediately drove to the hospital and was in the operating room for more than four hours observing the surgery and answering the doctor’s questions about this new drug.6

Another factor to consider is that many organizations have recently been down- sized, thus dramatically cutting the purchasing area in terms of both personnel and

Module Two Building Trust and Sales Ethics 37

support resources. As a result, buyers are having to do more with less and, as such, are thirsty for expertise, be it current insights into their own operations, financial sit- uation, industry trends, or tactical skills in effectively identifying emerging cost cut- ting and revenue opportunities in their business. Of course, expertise will be even more critical with certain buyers who are technical, detail-driven, and/or just uninformed in a certain area.

Salespeople should be striving to help their clients meet their goals. As an exam- ple, individuals or business owners can go online and trade stocks for themselves, but if they think someone else (e.g., financial planner, securities company) is more knowl- edgeable and brings more expertise to the table, then they will use him or her.

Today’s buyers will respond positively to any attempts to assist them in their efforts to reach bottom-line objectives, be it revenue growth, profitability, or finan- cial or strategic objectives. Thus, ‘‘expertise’’ will take on an even more important role in the customer’s assessment of the seller’s credibility. For some buyers, espe- cially those with economic or financial responsibilities (e.g., CFO, treasurer, owner-manager), a representative’s ability to ‘‘contribute’’ to the bottom line will dominate the perception of a seller’s credibility. This is a very important con- sideration for salespeople, given their pivotal strategy of penetrating accounts at the economic buyer level. Salespeople are seeking to convince clients that they are (1) actively dedicated to the task of positively influencing their bottom-line objectives and (2) capable of providing assistance, counsel, and advice that will pos- itively affect the ability to reach objectives.7 This is easier said than done because salespeople frequently do not understand the long-term financial objectives of their client.8

Buyers today want recommendations and solutions, not just options. Salespeople must be prepared to help their clients meet their goals by adding value.

Buyers are continually asking themselves: Does the salesperson have the ability, knowledge, and resources to meet his or her prospective customers’ expectations? Not only are salespeople selling their knowledge but the entire organization and the support that they bring to the buyer. Does the salesperson display a technical command of products and applications (i.e., is he or she accurate, complete, objec- tive)? During one sales call, a buyer asked about a specific new product that the com- pany was promoting in its advertising. The salesperson responded that the product was launched before he was trained on it. This not only cast doubts on the salesper- son’s ability but also on the company for failing to train the salesperson.

Expertise also deals with the salesperson’s skill, knowledge, time, and resources to do what is promised and what the buyer wants. Small customers must think that they are being treated as well as larger customers and have access to the same resources. Salespeople must exhibit knowledge generally exceeding that of their customer, not just in terms of the products and services they are selling but in terms of the full scope of the customer’s financial and business operations (e.g., products, pro- grams, competitors, customers, vendors). They must bring skills to the table, be it discovery, problem solving, program and systems development, financial manage- ment, or planning. These skills must complement those of the customer and offer insight into the best practices in the customer’s industry. It is not enough to be an expert. This expertise must translate into observable results and contributions for the buyer.

Dependability

Dependability centers on the predictability of the salesperson’s actions. Buyers have been heard to say, ‘‘I can always depend on her. She always does what she says she is going to do.’’ Salespeople must remember what promises they make to a customer or prospect. Once a promise is made, the buyer expects that promise to be honored. The buyer should not have to call the salesperson to remind him or her of the prom- ise. The salesperson should take notes during all sales calls for later review. It is harder to forget to do something if it is written down. A salesperson is trying to establish

38 Part One The Foundations of Professional Selling

an ethical dilemma

Jesse Powell was a sales representative for a large restaurant supply company in the Nashville, Tennes- see, area, and he had made a number of friendships with several franchise owners. One of the owners, Tom Stafford, told Powell that he was about to buy some land for a new outlet near the Grand Ole Opry Hotel. That evening Powell stayed in town at one of the local hotels and mentioned to the desk clerk that they were about to get a new restaurant neighbor.

that his or her actions fit a pattern of prior dependable behavior. That is, the sales- person refuses to promise what he or she cannot deliver. The salesperson must also demonstrate an ability to handle confidential information. Buyers and sellers are depending on each other to guard secrets carefully and keep confidential informa- tion confidential! ‘‘An Ethical Dilemma’’ demonstrates the importance of trust and the issue of confidentiality.

Candor

Candor deals with the honesty of the spoken word. One sales manager was over- heard telling his salesforce ‘‘whatever it takes to get the order.’’ One of the sales- people replied, ‘‘Are you telling us to stretch the truth if it helps us get the order?’’ The manager replied, ‘‘Of course!’’ The trustworthy salesperson understands doing ‘‘anything to get an order’’ will ultimately damage the buyer–seller relationship.

Salespeople have more than words to win over the support of the buyer; they have other sales aids such as testimonials, third-party endorsements, trade publications, and consumer reports. The salesperson must be just as careful to guarantee that the proof is credible. It takes only one misleading (even slightly) event to lose all credibility.

Customer Orientation

Customer orientation means placing as much emphasis on the customer’s interests as your own. An important facet of customer orientation is that salespeople work to satisfy the long-term needs of their customers rather than their own short-term goals. A salesperson who has a customer orientation gives fair and balanced presenta- tions. This includes covering both the pros and cons of the recommended product. The pharmaceutical industry has done a good job understanding this principle, as many firms require their salespeople to describe at least one side effect of their drug for each benefit given. This is done not only because of the legal consideration but also to demonstrate to the physician expertise and trustworthiness. Traditional salespeople often ignored negative aspects of a product, which can turn off many buyers. A customer orientation should also include clear statements of benefits and not overpower the buyer with information overload.

Salespeople with a customer orientation really turn into advisors; that is, they advise rather than ‘‘sell.’’ It is critical not to push a product that the buyer does not need to meet a short-term goal. Kim Davenport of Shering-Plough (see ‘‘Profes- sional Selling in the 21st Century: Being in Sync with Your Customers’’) states, ‘‘It is critically important to have a customer orientation. The ultimate goal of any relation- ship is to transform the personal relationship into a business relationship.’’9

As it happened, the desk clerk’s uncle owned several competitive restaurants in the area and was very interested to hear this news. Within a day or two the land was sold out from under Stafford. He knew the only person he told was Powell and was able to trace the story back to him. Stafford has asked Powell to stop calling on him. What areas of trust may Powell have violated? Should Powell have been surprised by Stafford’s decision to cut off their relationship?

Module Two Building Trust and Sales Ethics 39

Salespeople must truly care about the partnership, and they must be willing to ‘‘go to bat’’ for the client when the need arises. A warehouse fire left one company without any space to store inventory. The salesperson worked out same-day delivery until the warehouse was rebuilt. This left a lasting impression on the buyer. They knew that if they ever needed any help, their salesperson would come through for them.

Salespeople must be fully committed to representing the customer’s interests. Although most salespeople are quick to ‘‘talk the talk’’ about their absolute alle- giance to their customer’s interests, when it comes to ‘‘walking the walk’’ for their customer on such issues as pricing, production flexibility, and design changes, many lack the commitment and/or skills necessary to support the interests of their clients.

To be an effective salesperson and gain access to a customer’s business at a part- nership level, the client must feel comfortable with the idea that the salesperson is motivated and capable of representing his or her interests. Exhibit 2.1 looks at some of the questions salespeople need to answer satisfactorily to gain the buyer’s trust and confidence.

Compatibility/Likability

Customers generally like to deal with sales representatives whom they know, they like, and they can feel a bond with. Doug Lingo of Hoechst Marion Roussel Phar- maceutical states that his best friends are his physicians. He goes to Indiana Univer- sity and Indiana Pacer basketball games with them, he has gone camping with the physicians and their families, and he even had a family vacation shared with one of

Expertise: Does the salesperson know what he or she needs to know? Does the salesperson and his or her company have the ability and resources to get the job done right?

Dependability: Can I rely on the salesperson? Does the salesperson keep promises?

Candor: Is the salesperson honest in his or her spoken word? Is the salesperson’s presentation fair and balanced?

Customer Orientation: Does the salesperson truly care about the partnership? Will the salesperson go to bat for the customer (i.e., wrong order, late delivery)?

Compatibility: Will the buyer like doing business with the salesperson? Will the buyer like doing business with the salesperson’s company?

Questions that Salespeople Need to Satisfactorily Answer to EXHIBIT 2.1 Gain a Buyer’s Trust

professional selling in the 21st century

Being in Sync with Your Customers

Kim Davenport, district manager with Shering- Plough Pharmaceutical Company, discusses his philo- sophy in building relationships. It is critically important that his field reps have the ability to initiate relation- ships, manage relationships, and transform relation- ships into long-term partnerships. His salespeople call on physicians and their staff with the ultimate goal of not only building long-term relationships but also increasing the sales in each of their accounts.

I tell my reps, if you are uncomfortable forming a new relationship with a physician, how will you ever be able to connect with receptionists, office managers, nurses, and nurse practitioners, and others in the practice? This takes a real knack of trying to get to know a lot of different personalities who perform different functions in the office. Anyone of these individuals can be of equal importance for us to get our foot in the door and gain new business.

40 Part One The Foundations of Professional Selling

his physicians. He goes on to state that ‘‘compatibility’’ is critical to his success as a salesperson.10

Some salespeople are too quick to minimize the importance of rapport building in this era of the economic buyer. It also may be true that today’s buyers are not as prone to spend time discussing personal issues in sales calls as they might have been 10 or 15 years ago. Salespeople today have to be more creative and resourceful when attempting to build rapport. It is not unusual for a pharmaceutical salesperson to take a lunch for the entire staff into a physician’s office. These lunches can be for as many as 20 to 40 persons. The salesperson now has time to discuss his or her prod- ucts over lunch to a captive audience.

Salespeople have to be aware that their buyers are under considerable time pres- sure and that some will find it difficult to dedicate time to issues outside of the busi- ness. However, remember that buyers are human and do value compatibility, some more, some less.

Compatibility and likability are important to establishing a relationship with key gatekeepers (e.g., receptionists and secretaries). First impressions are important, and a salesperson’s ability to find commonalities with these individuals can go a long way in building much-needed allies within the buying organization. Likeability is admit- tedly an emotional factor that is difficult to pin down, yet a powerful force in some buyer–seller relationships.

If a salesperson has done a good job of demonstrating the other trust-building characteristics, then compatibility can be used to enhance trust building. Buyers do not necessarily trust everyone they like, but on the other hand, it is difficult to trust someone they do not like.

KNOWLEDGE BASES HELP BUILD TRUST AND RELATIONSHIPS

The more the salesperson knows, the easier it is to build trust and gain the confidence of the buyer. Buyers have certain expectations of the salesperson and the knowledge that he or she brings to the table. As outlined in Figure 2.2, salespeople may draw

FIGURE 2.2 Knowledge Bases

Industry

Competitor Possible

Knowledge

Product Bases

The more the salesperson knows, the easier it is to build trust and gain the confidence of the buyer. Buyers have certain expectations of the salesperson and the knowledge that he or she brings to the table. Most knowledge is gained from the sales training programs and on-the-job training.

Technology Company

Market/ Customer Service Knowledge Price Promotion

Module Two Building Trust and Sales Ethics 41

 Industry history   Company history and policies   Product –promotion –price   Market –line of business (know your customer) –manufacturing –wholesaling –financial –government –medical, etc.   Competitive knowledge   Selling techniques Initiating customer relationship –prospecting –precall –approaching the customer   Developing customer relationships –sales presentation delivery –handling sales resistance   Enhancing customer relationships –follow-up –customer service

from several knowledge bases. Most knowledge is gained from the sales training pro- gram and on-the-job training.

Sales training will generally concentrate on knowledge of the industry and com- pany history, company policies, products, promotion, prices, market knowledge of customers, competitor knowledge, and basic selling techniques. Exhibit 2.2 sum- marizes topics generally covered during initial sales training programs.

Industry and Company Knowledge

Salespeople may be asked what they know about their company and industry. Every industry and company has a history. The personal computer industry has a short his- tory of 20 years, fax technology even shorter. Other industries have been around for centuries. Some industries change so quickly, such as the pharmaceutical industry through multiple mergers, that it is critical for the salesperson to know his or her industry to keep physicians informed on new companies, drugs, and procedures. Many buyers are too busy to stay informed and count on their salespeople to help them make sound decisions.

Salespeople should be familiar with their own company’s operation and policies. Buyers may ask the salesperson questions such as: How long has your company been in the market? How many people does the company employ? Does the com- pany have a local, regional, national, or international customer base? Who started the company? Who is the president? CEO? What is their market share? What is their market share on this particular product? Salespeople who could not answer such questions would not inspire the trust of the buyer.

Each company initiates policies to ensure consistent decisions are made through- out the organization. An organization implements policies to control factors such as price, guarantees, warranties, and how much money can be spent per week taking cli- ents out to lunch. Knowing the company’s policies prevents misunderstanding.

EXHIBIT 2.2 Topics Generally Covered during Initial Sales Training Programs

42 Part One The Foundations of Professional Selling

For example, if a representative says yes to a customer’s request to return goods 60 days after receipt when company policy is 30 days, the shipping department might refuse to accept the returned merchandise. The salesperson looks incompetent to both sales management and the customer. If the customer is not allowed to return the goods to the factory, the angry customer probably will never buy from the sales- person again.

Salespeople must understand their company policies. This includes being familiar with the company’s formal structure and key personnel. It is important to work as a team with all company personnel. This helps build team spirit and a willingness to cooperate when a salesperson needs help in meeting a customer’s need. It is difficult to provide outstanding service when the sales department is not on good terms with shipping and delivery, for instance.

Product Knowledge

Product knowledge includes detailed information on the manufacture of a product and knowing whether the company has up-to-date production methods. What mate- rials are used when making the products? What quality control procedures are involved? Who are the design engineers?

Salespeople representing their company are expected to be experts on the prod- ucts they sell. The fastest way to win the respect of a buyer is to be perceived as being an expert. If the buyer truly feels the salesperson knows what he or she is talk- ing about, then the buyer will be more willing to discuss the salesperson’s solution to the buyer’s problems or opportunities.

The salesperson must know what his or her product can and cannot do. Just knowing product features is insufficient.

Service

The effective salesperson must be ready to address service issues such as:

 Does the company service its products or does the company send them to a third

party?   Does the company service its products locally or send them off to another state for

service?   Does the price include service or will there be a service charge when service is

needed?   What does the service agreement include? Shipping? Labor? Or none of these?   How long does the service generally take? Same day? Within a week? Will a loaner

be provided until the product is fixed?   Are there any conditions that make service not available? After five years? Damage

from flood? fire?

Buyers need to be comfortable with answers to these questions, and a good salesper- son will make sure they are answered appropriately.

Darrell Beaty from Ontario Systems in Muncie, Indiana, spends quite a bit of time discussing service with each of his prospects.11 His company sells collection software (i.e., receivables) that requires support from his field engineers. Ontario Systems also has an 800 support group that takes calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Why is this important to Beaty? One of his major competitors also has 800 support, but only 8–5, Monday through Friday. Beaty knows that he has service superiority. Salespeo- ple who can offer the better service have an advantage for generating new business and taking away business from the competition. The salesperson’s service mission is to provide added value for the customer. It is important for the salesperson to understand what service dimensions are a concern to the buyer.

For instance, delivery, installation, training, field maintenance, and investing are all issues that a salesperson may be prepared to talk about. Buyers, however, may only be concerned with inventory because their present supplier runs out of stock frequently.

Module Two Building Trust and Sales Ethics 43

What Service Superiority EXHIBIT 2.3 Dimension Potential Superiority

1. Delivery Can our company demonstrate speed? Deliver more often? 2. Inventory Can we meet the demands of our customers at all times? 3. Training Do we offer training? At our site? At our customer’s? 4. Field maintenance Do we go to the field to fix our products? Do our customers have

to bring their equipment to us to fix? 5. Credit and

financial consideration

are our guarantees? How long? What do we cover? 8. Others Do we offer anything unique that our competition does not?Do we grant credit? Do we help finance? 6. Installation Do we send a team to your site for start-up? 7. Guarantees and

warranties

Exhibit 2.3 reviews service dimensions in which a salesperson could demonstrate service superiority. Additions may be made depending on specific customer demands.

Promotion and Price

Promotion and price knowledge are other knowledge tools that the salesperson must understand. The ability to use this knowledge often makes the difference between a well-informed buyer who is ready to make a decision and another buyer who is reluctant to move the sales process forward. Hershey Foods Corporation sup- ports its retailers with heavy promotions during Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. The promotional programs must be explained properly so the buyer can place the correct order size during the promotion. How many dollars are to be spent? Is it a national program? Is this a co-op program? What will it cost the buyer? If these ques- tions are answered properly, the buyer will be more at ease and ready to make a purchase.

Price can be another area that makes a buyer hesitant if not properly explained. Knowledge of pricing policies is important because the salesperson often is responsi- ble for quoting price and offering discounts. As a representative of the selling firm, these quotes legally bind a company to their completion.

Salespeople need complete understanding of their companies’ pricing policies. Does the company sell its products for a set price or can the salesperson negotiate? Can the salesperson give additional discounts to get a potential client whom the company has been after for years? Does the company allow trade-ins?

Market and Customer Knowledge

Market and customer knowledge is critical to the success of today’s salesperson. Some companies today, because of their size, send their salesforce out to call on all customer types. Larger companies typically break their customers into distinct markets. Computer manufacturers may break out their customer types by markets (i.e., salespeople sell to a particular line of business). For instance, the salesperson may only sell to manufacturers, wholesalers, financial institutions, government, education, or medical companies. This allows the salesperson to become an expert in a line of business. For a salesperson to be effective, the salesperson must learn what the client needs, what benefits the client is seeking, and how the salesperson’s products satisfy the buyers’ specific needs. Buyers are not interested in factual knowledge unless it relates to fulfilling their specific needs. Having the salesforce learn one line of business well allows the salesperson to concentrate on the needs of a specific market. The salesperson can become an expert in one line of business

44 Part One The Foundations of Professional Selling

professional selling in the 21st century

Do What You Say You Are Going to Do!

Jon Young, national account manager for Ontario Systems Corporation, discusses his philosophy on why buyers buy from whom they do.

I’ve been in the sales business for over 25 years now, and I know what my buyers want. They want me to do what I say I am going to do! I have learned to measure my words carefully. It is easy to agree with the prospect or buyer when they ask for something, just to get an order signed. The trouble comes in when it is time to make it happen, and we can’t. Then my company and I look bad. It can cost us the order down the road or, at the very least, a lot of ill will that takes a long time to make right.

The cornerstone of my selling philosophy is trust and expertise. I have to know what I am talking about— but, equally important, my customers and prospects have to trust what I am saying. Sometimes it is better to give up business to a competitor than to over- promise and under-deliver. Clients and prospects talk to their friends when you do a good job for them. They also tell their friends when you screw up and don’t keep your promises. As I said before, I measure my words carefully. I want to be able to keep every promise I make during the time frame the customer expects the promise to come true. I live by this golden rule of keeping promises, and it does pay huge dividends in the long run.

more quickly than if he or she had to know how the entire marketplace used the salesperson’s products.

Information about customers is gathered over time and from very different sources. A salesperson can use trade associations, credit agencies, trade magazines, trade directo- ries, newspapers, and the World Wide Web as valuable resources. The AT&T Toll-free Internet Directory has directories on people, business, and Web sites. Using the Web to do an initial search on a company can tell a salesperson about what products a company makes, what markets they serve, and so on. A salesperson must use his or her time wisely when gathering information. Jon Young, national account manager for Ontario Sys- tems Corporation, (see ‘‘Professional Selling in the 21st Century: Do What You Say You Are Going to Do!’’) states, ‘‘I have to know what I am talking about—but, equally important, my customers and prospects have to trust what I am saying.’’

Competitor Knowledge

Salespeople will probably be asked how their product stands up against the competi- tion. The buyer may ask, Who are your competitors in our marketplace? How big are you compared with your competitors? How do your company’s prices compare with others in your industry? How does your product quality compare with the industry norm? These are important questions that every salesperson must be prepared to answer. Salespeople must have knowledge of their competitor’s strengths and weak- nesses to better understand their own products’ position when comparing. A good salesperson must adjust his or her selling strategy depending on whom he or she is selling against.

Salespeople must be able to deliver complete comparative product information in a sales presentation. Comparisons of competitors’ products for a customer’s decision are critical especially when your features and benefits are superior to those of the competition.

It is important that salespeople distinguish their products from the competition. The ultimate question a buyer asks is, Why should I use your product over the one I am presently using? A salesperson must have competitive knowledge to answer this question. What are the competitor’s relative strengths and weaknesses? What weaknesses make this competitor vulnerable? Once the salesperson can determine the competitor’s limitations, the salesperson can demonstrate the superiority of his or her product. A salesperson must answer the questions, How are you different from the competition? How are you better than the competition? A salesperson must be able to determine his or her differential competitive advantage.

Module Two Building Trust and Sales Ethics 45

EXHIBIT 2.4 Using Technology to Build Bridges to Customers

Technology Bridge

World Wide Web Price updates can be placed on the Web for customers to access.

New product information can be made available to customers and prospects.

E-mail Buyer and salesperson can virtually communicate 24 hours a day.

Mass communications can be sent out to all customers and prospects.

Pagers Buyers with an emergency have immediate access to their salesperson

by having them paged.

Facsimile Nonelectronic documents can be transmitted 24 hours a day.

Fax on demand.

Cell Phones Buyer and seller have immediate access to each other.

Voice-mail Salesperson and buyer can leave messages for each other and save time

and effort.

Technology Knowledge

Salespeople must use technology to their advantage. Twenty years ago, salespeople had to know where a reliable pay phone was located in each of the cities they visited. Many opportunities were missed because salespeople could not reach prospects while they were in the field. Today’s salesperson has the luxury of cell phones, facsimile technol- ogy, the World Wide Web, pagers, voice-mail, and e-mail. Salespeople should commu- nicate in the manner preferred by their prospects and clients. Some clients use e-mail extensively and want to use e-mail over phone conversations. Some buyers like to fax orders in and would rather not meet the salesperson face to face. A good salesperson must recognize these preferences and act accordingly. Each of these can either be a bridge to the customer or an obstacle. Salespeople should be building bridges to all their prospects and customers by using technology appropriately (see Exhibit 2.4). If a pager number is on a salesperson’s business card, then the salesperson must return pages within a reasonable period of time. Likewise, if a facsimile number is given to prospects, then the fax machine must be turned on at all times and working properly. Probably the most oversold form of technology is voice-mail. Many companies have gone to this method of communication hoping to free secretaries and making it easier to leave messages for the salesperson. The difficulty arises when a customer wants to talk to a salesperson and can get only a recording. Sometimes, the voice-mail is full and it is impossible to leave a message. It is also possible to use voice-mail to screen calls, and many buyers and salespeople complain that it is virtually impossible to make contact when their counterpart refuses to return their call.

Technology can be a friend or a foe of a salesperson. If used properly, technology can build bridges to prospects and clients and develop relationships. If technology is not used properly, then a salesperson can find him- or herself alienating the customers and turn a potential resource into a reason for a prospect not to do business with the salesperson.

SALES ETHICS

Ethics refers to right and wrong conduct of individuals and institutions of which they are a part. Personal ethics and formal codes of conduct provide a basis for decid- ing what is right or wrong in a given situation. Ethical standards for a profession are based on society’s standards, and most industries have developed a code of behaviors that are compatible with society’s standards. Professions in this country owe much of their public regard to standards of conduct established by professional organizations. Reflecting this, the American Marketing Association has adopted a code of ethics, which appears in Exhibit 2.5.12

46 Part One The Foundations of Professional Selling

EXHIBIT 2.5 The American Marketing Association’s Code of Ethics

Code of Ethics Members of the American Marketing Association (AMA) are committed to ethical professional conduct. They have joined together in subscribing to this Code of Ethics embracing the following topics.

Responsibilities of the Marketer Marketers must accept responsibility for the con- sequences of their activities and make every effort to ensure that their decisions, recommendations, and actions function to identify, serve, and satisfy all relevant publics: customers, organizations, and society.

Marketers’ professional conduct must be guided by: 1. The basic rule of professional ethics: not know-

ingly to do harm. 2. The adherence to all applicable laws and

regulations. 3. The accurate representation of their education,

training, and experience. 4. The active support, practice, and promotion of

this Code of Ethics.

Honesty and Fairness Marketers shall uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the marketing profession by: 1. Being honest in serving consumers, clients,

employees, suppliers, distributors, and the public. 2. Not knowingly participating in a conflict of interest

without prior notice to all parties involved. 3. Establishing equitable fee schedules, including the payment or receipt of usual, customary, and/or legal compensation for marketing exchanges.

Rights and Duties of Parties in the Marketing Exchange Process Participants in the marketing exchange process should be able to expect that: 1. Products and services offered are safe and fit for

their intended uses. 2. Communications about offered products and

services are not deceptive. 3. All parties intend to discharge their obligations,

financial and otherwise, in good faith. 4. Appropriate internal methods exist for equitable

adjustment and/or redress of grievances con- cerning purchases.

It is understood that the above would include, but is not limited to, the following responsibilities of the marketer.

In the area of product development and management:   Disclosure of all substantial risks associated with

product or service usage.

 Identification of any product component substitution that might materially change the product or impact on the buyer’s purchase decision.   Identification of extra cost-added features.

In the area of promotions:   Avoidance of false and misleading advertising.   Rejection of high-pressure manipulations or mis-

leading sales tactics.   Avoidance of sales promotions that use deception or

manipulation.

In the area of distribution:   Not manipulating the availability of a product for

purpose of exploitation.   Not using coercion in the marketing channel.   Not exerting undue influence over the reseller’s

choice to handle a product.

In the area of pricing:   Not engaging in price fixing.   Not practicing predatory pricing.   Disclosing the full price associated with any

purchase.

In the area of marketing research:   Prohibiting selling or fund-raising under the guise of

conducting research.   Maintaining research integrity by avoiding misrep- resentation and omission of pertinent research data.   Treating outside clients and suppliers fairly.

Organizational Relationships Marketers should be aware of how their behavior may influence or impact on the behavior of others in organizational relationships. They should not demand, encourage, or apply coercion to obtain unethical behavior in their relationships with others, such as employees, suppliers, or customers. 1. Apply confidentiality and anonymity in profes-

sional relationships with regard to privileged information. 2. Meet their obligations and responsibilities in contracts and mutual agreements in a timely manner. 3. Avoid taking the work of others, in whole, or in part,

and representing this work as their own or directly benefiting from it without compensation or consent of the originator or owner. 4. Avoid manipulation to take advantage of situa-

tions to maximize personal welfare in a way that unfairly deprives or damages the organization of others.

Any AMA member found to be in violation of any provision of this Code of Ethics may have his or her Association membership suspended or revoked.

Module Two Building Trust and Sales Ethics 47

According to a survey of 327 customers, salespeople are acting unethically if they: 1. Show concern for own interest, not clients’ 2. Pass the blame for something they did wrong 3. Take advantage of the poor or uneducated 4. Accept favors from customers so the seller feels obliged to bend policies 5. Sell products/services that people don’t need 6. Give answers when they don’t really know answers 7. Pose as market researcher when doing phone sales 8. Sell dangerous or hazardous products 9. Withhold information 10. Exaggerate benefits of product 11. Lie about availability to make sale 12. Lie to competitors 13. Falsify product testimonials

Salespeople are constantly involved with ethical issues. A sales manager encourages his or her salesforce to pad their expense account in lieu of a raise. A salesperson sells a product or service to a customer that the buyer does not need. A salesperson exag- gerates the benefits of a product to get a sale. The list can go on and on.

Recall that sales professionalism requires a truthful, customer-oriented approach. Cus- tomers are increasingly intolerant of nonprofessional, unethical practices. Sales ethics is closely related to trust. Deceptive practices, illegal activities, and non-customer-oriented behavior have to be attempted only once for a buyer to lose trust in his or her sales- person. Research has identified some of the sales practices deemed unethical as shown in Exhibit 2.6.13

Image of Salespeople

Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI) has been concerned with the image of salespeople and has developed a code of ethics as a set of principles that out- line the minimum requirements for professional conduct. SMEI has developed a 20- to 30-hour certification process that declares that a salesperson shall support and pre- serve the highest standards of professional conduct in all areas of sales and in all rela- tionships in the sales process. Exhibit 2.7 14 is the SMEI Code of Ethics that pledges a salesperson will adhere to these standards.

A sales professional deserves and receives a high level of respect on the job. Buyers who do not interact with professional salespeople on a regular basis may believe in the negative stereotype of the salesperson as a pushy, shifty, not-to-be-trusted sort. Where does this stereotype come from? Some salespeople are not professional in their approach, and this contributes to the negative stereotype. In the past, television programs, movies, and even Broadway productions have fostered the negative image of salespeople. During the 1960s and 1970s, the popular press also contributed to the negative image of salespeople. A study of how salespeople are portrayed in the popular press found that salespeople are often associated with deceptive, illegal, and non-customer-oriented behavior.15 Three of the more important areas of uneth- ical behavior, deceptive practices, illegal activities, and non-customer-oriented behav- ior, are discussed.

Deceptive Practices Buyers have been known to be turned off by all salespeople because a few are unscru- pulous and are even scam artists. This is unfortunate because all salespeople (good and bad) pay the price for this behavior. Unfortunately, some salespeople do use quota pressure as an excuse to be deceptive. The salesperson has the choice to either

EXHIBIT 2.6 What Types of Sales Behaviors Are Unethical?

48 Part One The Foundations of Professional Selling

EXHIBIT 2.7 SMEI Certified Professional Salesperson® Code of Ethics

The SMEI Certified Professional Salesperson (SCPS) Code of Ethics is a set of principles that outline minimum requirements for professional conduct. Those who attain SCPS status should consider these principles as more than just rules to follow. They are guiding standards above which the salesperson should rise.

An SCPS shall support and preserve the highest standards of professional conduct in all areas of sales and in all relationships in the sales process. Toward this end an SCPS pledges and commits to these standards in all activities under this code.

As an SCPS I pledge to the following individuals and parties:

I. With respect to The Customer, I will:

Maintain honesty and integrity in my relationship with all customers and prospective customers.

Accurately represent my product or service in order to place the customer or prospective customer in a position to make a decision consistent with the principle of mutuality of benefit and profit to the buyer and seller.

Continually keep abreast and increase the knowledge of my product(s), service(s), and industry in which I work. This is necessary to better serve those who place their trust in me.

II. With respect to The Company and other parties whom I represent, I will:

Use their resources that are at my disposal and will be utilized only for legitimate business purposes.

Respect and protect proprietary and confidential information entrusted to me by my company.

Not engage in any activities that will either jeopardize or conflict with the interests of my company. Activities that may be or which may appear to be illegal or unethical will be strictly avoided. To this effect I will not participate in activities that are illegal or unethical.

III. With respect to The Competition, regarding those organizations and individuals that I compete with in

the marketplace, I will:

Only obtain competitive information through legal and ethical methods.

Only portray my competitors, and their products and services in a manner which is honest, truthful, and based on accurate information that can or has been substantiated.

IV. With respect to The Community and society which provide me with my livelihood, I will:

Engage in business and selling practices which contribute to a positive relationship with the communities in which I and my company have presence.

Support public policy objectives consistent with maintaining and protecting the environment and community.

Participate in community activities and associations which provide for the betterment of the community and society.

I AM COMMITTED to the letter and spirit of this code. The reputation of salespeople depends upon me as well as others who engage in the profession of selling. My adherence to these standards will strengthen the reputation and integrity for which we strive as professional salespeople.

I understand that failure to consistently act according to the above standards and principles could result in the forfeiture of the privilege of using the SCPS designation.

Candidate’s Signature

Signature Date

Module Two Building Trust and Sales Ethics 49

ignore the trust-building approach and persuade the customer to buy or go to the next sales meeting and catch the wrath of his or her sales manager for being under quota. Salespeople giving answers when they do not know, exaggerating product benefits, and withholding information may appear to only shade the truth, but when it causes harm to the buyer, the salesperson has jeopardized future dealings with the buyer.

Illegal Activities Misusing company assets has been a long-standing problem for many sales organiza- tions. Using the company car for personal use, charging expenses that did not occur, and selling samples for income are examples of misusing company assets. Some of these violations of company property also constitute violations of the Internal Reve- nue Service (IRS) law and are offenses that could lead to jail or heavy fines.

Bribes are another area that causes some salespeople to run afoul of the law. A competitor may be offering bribes; this, in turn, puts pressure on the salesperson’s company to respond with bribes of its own. It is difficult for a salesperson to see potential sales going to the competition. Salespeople offering bribes on their own can be punished. Companies that engage in bribery may find themselves being pros- ecuted and fined. Rockwell International and Lockheed made illegal payments to for- eign customers and had to suffer the humiliation of the bad publicity and the fines. Another area of legal concern that involves the salesforce is product liability. Sales- people can create product liabilities for a company in three ways: express warranty, misrepresentation, and negligence. A salesperson can create a product warranty or guarantee that obligates the selling organization even if they do not intend to give the warranty. Express warranties are created by any affirmation of fact or promise, any description, or any sample or model that a salesperson uses, which is made part of the basis of the bargain.

Basis of the bargain is taken to mean that the buyer relied on the seller’s state- ments in making the purchase decision. If a salesperson tells a prospect that a machine will turn out 50 units per hour, a legal obligation has been created for the firm to supply a machine that will accomplish this. Misrepresentation by a sales- person can also lead to product liability even if the salesperson makes a false claim thinking it is true. The burden of accuracy is on the seller. Salespeople are required by law to exercise ‘‘reasonable care’’ in formulating claims. If a salesperson asserts that a given drug is safe without exercising reasonable care to see that this claim is accurate, the salesperson has been negligent. Negligence is a basis for product liabil- ity on the part of the seller.

Although these tactics may increase sales in the short run, salespeople ruin their trust relationship with their customer and company. Given the legal restrictions that relate to selling practices, a salesperson, as well as the selling organization, should exercise care in developing sales presentations.

Non-Customer-Oriented Behavior Most of today’s sales organizations emphasize trust-building behaviors and are customer-oriented. Unfortunately, there are a few salespeople and companies today that concentrate on short-term goals and allow outmoded sales tactics to be practiced. Most buyers will not buy from salespeople who are pushy and practice the hard sell. Too much is at stake to fall for the fast-talking, high-pressure salesper- son. Buyers have been through their own training, and they understand the impor- tance of developing a long-term relationship with their suppliers. Exhibit 2.8 summarizes these practices.

How Are Companies Dealing with Sales Ethics?

Many companies spend time covering ethics in their training programs. These pro- grams should cover topics such as the appropriateness of gift giving, the use of

50 Part One The Foundations of Professional Selling

EXHIBIT 2.8 Areas of Unethical Behavior

Deceptive Practices Illegal Activities

Deceive Defraud

Hustle Con

Scam Misuse company assets

Exaggerate

Withhold bluff

Non-Customer-Oriented Behavior

Pushy

Hard sell

Fast talking

High pressure

expense accounts, and dealing with a prospect’s unethical demands. Each company will have its own policies on gift giving. John Huff of Shering-Plough states, ‘‘Just a few years ago, I could spend my expense account on Indiana Pacers tickets or a golf outing with doctors. That is not the case today. There is a lot of gray area con- cerning gift giving by salespeople to their business and prospects. The pharmaceutical industry has policed itself so now gift giving has all but been eliminated. I must know the rules of my company and industry.’’16 Receiving Christmas gifts is another area that must be explained during training. Some buyers are not allowed to accept gifts from salespeople.

Another important training area is the use of expense accounts. Salespeople should be trained in how to fill out the expense account form and what is acceptable for sub- mission. Some companies allow personal mileage to be included; others do not. If guidelines are established, then there is less of a chance for a misunderstanding by the salesperson.

Sometimes unethical behavior is not initiated by the salesperson but by the buyer. Salespeople must be trained in dealing with prospects who make unethical demands. Buyers can be under pressure from their company to stay within budget or to move up the timetable on an order. A buyer may ask a salesperson to move him or her up on the order list in exchange for more business down the road. One pharmacist set up a deal with a salesperson to buy samples illegally. The trust- based salesperson has to shut down any short-term gain for long-term success. A salesperson’s career is over if the word circulates that he or she cannot be trusted.

A salesperson must also be concerned with our legal system and that of other countries. It cannot be an excuse for today’s well-trained salesperson to say he or she did not know that a law was being broken. When in doubt the salesperson must check out all state and local laws. In addition, there are industry-specific rules and regulations to be considered. Exhibit 2.9 covers a number of legal reminders.

A salesperson has his or her reputation to tarnish only once. In this day and age of mass communication (phone, e-mail, Web sites), it is easy for a buyer to get the word out that a salesperson is acting unethically and end that salesper- son’s career.

Module Two Building Trust and Sales Ethics 51

EXHIBIT Legal Reminders 2.9 For salespeople: 1. Use factual data rather than general statements of praise during the sales presentation. Avoid

misrepresentation. 2. Thoroughly educate customers before the sale on the product’s specifications, capabilities, and limitations. 3. Do not overstep authority, as the salesperson’s actions can be binding to the selling firm. 4. Avoid discussing these topics with competitors: prices, profit margins, discounts, terms of sale, bids or intent

to bid, sales territories or markets to be served, rejection or termination of customers. 5. Do not use one product as bait for selling another product. 6. Do not try to force the customer to buy only from your organization. 7. Offer the same price and support to buyers who purchase under the same set of circumstances. 8. Do not tamper with a competitor’s product. 9. Do not disparage a competitor’s product without specific evidence of your contentions. 10. Avoid promises that will be difficult or impossible to honor.

For the sales organization:

1. Review sales presentations and claims for possible legal problems. 2. Make the salesforce aware of potential conflicts with the law. 3. Carefully screen any independent sales agents used by the organization. 4. With technical products and services make sure the sales presentation fully explains the capabilities and

dangers of products and service.

SUMMARY

1. Discuss the distinguishing characteristics of trust-based selling. Trust means different things to different buyers. It can be defined as confidentiality, openness, dependability, candor, honesty, confidence, security, reliability, fairness, and pre- dictability. It is the salesperson’s job to determine what trust means to each of his or her buyers. Salespeople must question their buyers as to what trust attributes are their greatest concerns.

2. Explain the importance of trust. In today’s increasingly competitive market- place, buyers typically find themselves inundated with choices regarding both products and suppliers. Buyers are demanding unique solutions to their problems, which are customized on the basis of their specific needs. This shift toward rela- tionship selling has altered both the roles played by salespeople and the activities and skills they exercise in carrying out these roles—the selling process itself. Today’s more contemporary selling process is embedded within the relationship marketing paradigm. As such, it emphasizes the initiation and nurturing of long-term buyer–seller relationships based on mutual trust and value-added ben- efits. The level of problem-solving activity common to relationship selling requires deliberate and purposeful collaboration between both parties. These joint efforts are directed at creating unique solutions based on an enhanced knowledge and understanding of the customer’s needs and the supplier’s capabilities so that both parties derive mutual benefits.

3. Discuss how to earn trust. Buyers are constantly asking themselves whether the salesperson truly cares about them. Salespeople can answer this question for the buyer by demonstrating trust-building activities. Trust can be earned by demon- strating expertise, dependability, candor, customer orientation, competence, and compatibility.