Theories of Selling

Is selling a science, with easily taught basic concepts or an art learned through experience? In a survey of 173 marketing executives, 46 percent perceived selling as an art, 8 percent as a science, and 46 percent as an art evolving into a science.[1] The fact that selling is considered an art by some

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SPIN Selling

SPIN Selling by Neil Rackman[1] was developed by observation of 35,000 sales calls. It suggests the significance of asking the right questions in the sale process. SPIN Selling is an abbreviation of four types of questions (Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-payoff). It emphasizes that the quality of questions asked by a salesperson are critical

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Sales Prospecting

Time management and thorough planning of work are earmarks of above-average salespersons. They look for ways to “stretch” productive selling time. They arrange travel and call schedules to economize on time spent en route and distance traveled. They make appointments to avoid prolonged waiting for callbacks. They do not waste time trying to sell

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Sales Resistance

Prospects show sales resistance by pointing out real or imagined obsta­cles, and by voicing objections, sincere or insincere. In analyzing sales resistance, the salesperson needs skill for accurate and rapid appraisal of people and their motivations. A prospect’s expressed sales resistance is either an obstacle or an objection. An obstacle is real or unreal;

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Closing Sales

The selling tactics followed affect the ease of closing the sale. Low-pressure sales are closed more easily than are high-pressure ones. In low-pressure sales, prospects feel that they are reaching the buying decisions themselves, and primarily through rational processes of thought, so there is no need for extra push just before the sales are

Types of Personal-Selling Objectives

The qualitative personal-selling objectives are long term and concern the contributions management expects personal selling to make in achieving long-term company objectives. These objectives generally are carried over from one period’s promotional program to the next. Depending upon company objectives and the promotional mix, personal selling may be assigned such qualitative objectives as To

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Some Important Terms in Setting Personal-Selling objectives

Before examining the planning and analytical work involved in setting sales volume objectives, it is important to define three terms: market poten­tial, sales potential, and sales forecast. Some executives use these terms synonymously, but, as the following discussion indicates, there are good reasons to distinguish among them. 1. Market Potential A market potential is

Analyzing Market Potential

1. Market Identification The first step in analyzing a product’s market potential is to identify its mar­ket. Market identification requires finding out Who buys the product? Who uses it? Who are the prospective buyers and/or users? Some companies find answers to these questions in their internal records, but most companies, especially those that use

Market Indexes

A market index is a numerical expression indicating the degree to which one or more market factors associated with a given product’s demand is present in a given market segment—usually a given geographical market segment. Market indexes are expressed in relative terms, such as in per­centages, rather than in absolute numbers. In analyzing the

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Sales Potential and Sales Forecasting

Sales potentials, as defined earlier, are quantitative estimates of the max­imum possible sales opportunities present in particular market segments open to a specified company selling a good or service during a stated future period. They are derived from market potentials after analyses of historical market share relationships and adjustments for changes in com­panies’ and

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Sales Forecasting Methods

There are two steps in this method: (1) high-ranking executives estimate probable sales, and (2) an average estimate is calculated. The assumption is that the executives are well informed about the industry outlook and the company’s market position, capabilities, and marketing program. All should support their estimates with factual material and explain their rationales.

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Converting Industry Forecast to Company Sales Forecast

Many companies forecast both their own sales and sales of the industry. Of those using multimethod forecasting procedures, nearly all—at one or more stages—provide for the making of an industry sales forecast. In fact, of the six sales forecasting methods discussed in this chapter, only in two— the poll of sales force opinion and

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Derivation of A Sales Volume Objective

A sales volume objective for the coming operating period is the hoped-for outcome of a company’s short-range sales forecasting procedure. A sales forecast (1) contains an estimate of sales tied to a proposed marketing plan or program and (2) assumes a particular set of economic and other forces outside the unit for which the

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Evaluation of Sales Forecasts

Before submitting forecasts to higher management, sales executives eval­uate them carefully, regardless of the extent of their personal involvement in the preparation. Every forecast contains elements of uncertainty. All are based on assumptions. So a first step in evaluating a sales forecast is to examine the assumptions (including any hidden ones) on which it

Product Policies – What to Sell

The products a company sells determine its basic nature. As its organiz­ers visualize opportunities to make and/or market certain products, the company comes into existence. As it grows, management makes key deci­sions on products—whether to drop old ones, whether to add new ones, whether to expand the product line or add new lines—and on

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Distribution Policies – Who to Sell

Distribution policies are important determinants of the functions of the sales department. The choice of a particular marketing channel, or chan­nels, sets the pattern for sales force operations, both geographically and as to the customers from whom sales personnel solicit orders. The decision on the number of outlets at each distribution level affects the

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Pricing Policies

The sales executive’s role in formulating pricing policies is advisory, but all sales executives are responsible for implementing pricing policies. Field sales personnel are the company employees whose jobs consist most directly of persuading buyers to accept the products at the prices asked. Field sales personnel do the actual implementing of pricing policies, but

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Competitive Settings and Personal-Selling Strategy

Individual companies operate in different competitive settings. Industries dif­fer as to the maturity level and the number of competitors. These differences result in different competitive settings. Economists identify four basic kinds: [1] pure competition, (2) monopolistic competition, (3) oligopolistic com­petition, and (4) no direct competition. Assuming different levels of impor­tance in each competitive setting

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Personal-Selling Objectives and Personal-Selling Strategy

The qualitative personal-selling objectives vary with the kind of competitive setting. These objectives concern the nature of the contribution management expects personal selling to make in achieving long-term company objectives. These objectives influence both the nature of the sales job (that is, the kind of sales personnel needed) and the size of the sales

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Sales-Related Marketing Policies and Personal-Selling Strategy

Sales-related marketing policies are the guidelines within which the company seeks to reach both qualitative and quantitative personal-selling objectives. They provide guidance on what to sell (product policies) and to whom to sell (distribution policies). Decisions on what to sell and to whom to sell shape the fundamental nature of a company and are

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