Introduction to Sales

Management
Benefits of being in the sales profession:
1)
Independence: It is a lot like having your own
business
2)
Extreme self management skills are needed
3)
You get to solve other peoples problems
4)
Variable income
5)
It teaches how to get into another persons
shoes
6)
The creativity and flexibility many sales people
gain makes them very eligible for executive
suites

Introduction to Sales Management

Sales management is defined as the planning, direction &
control of personal selling, including recruiting,
selecting, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising,
paying & motivating, as these tasks apply to the
personal sales force
Basically they are responsible for organising the entire
sales effort, both inside and outside the company
They have to work in close coordination with their
department as well as other departments; also interact
with outside world, including building & maintaining a
distribution network

Introduction to Sales
Management
Particularly they have to coordinate with the
marketing department, in following ways:
1)
Provide information from the field and help in
implementation of the marketing program
2)
They are an integral part of any new marketing
campaign, or new product; at times they help
set the break up between advertising,
distribution, price, etc.
3)
Aggressive pushing of the distribution network
is done by them to ensure that the company
meets its objectives through the channel

Introduction to Sales
Management
Salesmanship is the art of successfully
persuading prospects or customers to buy
products or services from which they can derive
suitable benefits, hence enhancing their total
satisfaction

Personal Selling is a wider concept, which also

involves coordinating with the other departments
for implementation of marketing program

Introduction to Sales
Management
Diversity of personal selling roles:
Group A - Service selling: It aims to obtain sales
from existing customers
a)
Inside order taker
b)
Delivery salesperson
c)
Route or merchandising salesperson
d)
Missionary salesperson
e)
Technical salesperson

Introduction to Sales
Management
Group B - Developmental selling seeks to convert
prospects into customers. It can involve selling tangibles
or intangibles
Group C - Developmental selling with unusual
creativity:
a)
Political, indirect or backdoor salesperson, who provides
services to clients not related to the product/service in
question
b)
Salesperson engaged in multiple sales in an organisation

Introduction to Sales
Management
It is important to understand how a relationship
builds between a buyer and a seller or what
is the buyer-seller DYAD

Franklin Evans, after researching the insurance

industry, concluded that:
1)
Customers who knew the buyer and/or the
company were more likely to buy
2)
Buyers would buy often from salespeople who
were more like them in factors like age, height,
income, religion, education, as well as in beliefs
and values

Introduction to Sales
Management

Henry Tosi studied sellers to wholesale/retail

drug manufacturers, he added that if the
salesperson performed in congruence with the
prospects perception of ideal performance, the
dyad would move on successfully

The buyers initial prejudice w.r.t. selling also

plays a huge role

Introduction to Sales
Management
Sales Theories:
1)
AIDAS Theory: The prospect goes through the
stages of Attention, Interest, Desire, Action &
Satisfaction
a)
In the attention stage, look for great conversation
openers and lower the buyers guard; generally
salespeople talk favourably about the prospects
business
b)
To gain interest, the salesperson will then start
the presentation; during which he has to show a
contagious enthusiasm for the product, and also
take hints.

Introduction to Sales
Management
c)

d)

e)

Kindling desire: Keep the buyer focused towards

the sale and remove objections, preferably
before they are even raised. Should never allow
the discussion to go off track
Inducing action: Once all objections are cleared,
then we have to close the sale in a subtle way.
Sense the right time to close & ask for the order
straightaway; without fear of yes or no
Building satisfaction: Should make the customer
feel good about his decision and also help in
clearing post-sales issues

Introduction to Sales
Management
2) Right set of Circumstances theory:
Salesperson must know how to manipulate
circumstances in a manner that the desirable action
results
3) Buyer Formula Theory of Selling:
Adequacy

Need/problem
Satisfaction

Adequacy

Product/Service and/or Trade Name

Pleasant
feelings

Pleasant
feelings

Purchase

Introduction to Sales
Management
As per the buying formula, the stress should be on
establishing a buying habit for your product/service
4) Behavioural equation theory: It defines buying
behaviour in terms of the purchasing decision process,
which involves a learning process. Four essential
elements of this process are:
a)
Drives are strong stimuli that influence the buyers
response
b)
Cues are weak stimuli from the
product/salesperson/company that determine when the
buyer will respond. They can be triggering or nontriggering.

Introduction to Sales
Management
Response is the action taken by the buyer
d)
Reinforcement is any event that strengthens the
buyers tendency to make a response
B=PxDxKxV
B = response or internal response tendency
P = Predisposition or force of habit
D = Present drive level
K = Incentive potential; value of the product for the
buyer
V= Intensity of all cues; triggering, product or
informational
c)

Introduction to Sales
Management
Salesperson can influence the predisposition and
also the drive level, besides providing the
triggering cues. The difficulty mainly comes
when either the product or the salesperson-client
relationship is new. In these cases, buyer
dissonance is very high.

Sales responsibilities
Besides selling a product, salesperson has other key
responsibilities:
1) Prospecting: Searching for customers who have
not purchased from the company. Sources of
prospects include:
a) Existing customers
b) Trade Directories
c) Enquiries that come as a natural consequence or
through numbers given in advertisements.
d) The press
e) Cold canvassing

Sales responsibilities
2) Customer records & information feedback:
Maintaining proper records and updating them on
a regular basis can never be underestimated in
terms of importance. Records that are important:
Name of company, potential as client, current
products used, key people and contact numbers,
current attitude towards companys product, what
kind of buying habits and processes, when u met
last, past sales, and future follow up
3) Dealing with complaints: Realising that
whoever is responsible for delayed service, the
customer relationship has been built by you.

Sales Responsibilities
4)
5)

Providing consulting to the customer

Implementing marketing strategies:
Salespeople cannot work in a manner that goes
against the overall marketing strategy of the
company.

Sales responsibilities
Preparation for selling and sales negotiations:
1) Product knowledge & benefits: Customise
them as per the buyer
2) Competitors product knowledge and
benefits: Can be gained from reading their
brochures, making cold calls as customers,
talking to buyers (esp. those loyal to competing
brand), et al. Salespeople must organise this
information and keep it in a separate file for
ready reference.

Sales responsibilities
Sales presentation planning: It has several advantages:
1) Salesperson is less likely to miss out important points.
2) Visual aids can be used to reinforce specific points that
may appeal to that customer.
3) Make sure you are ready for possible objections before
hand.
Setting objectives: Has to be done with respect to the sales
cycle of the prospective customer and on which stage he is
currently.
Understanding buyer behavior: Over time it reduces
unpredictability and ensures that you can plan better and
move faster into the account.

Sales responsibilities
Sales negotiations: They are inevitable in the
selling process. Balance of power is an important
part of this negotiation process and it is
determined by:
1) Number of options with each party
2) Quantity and quality of information available
with each party
3) Need recognition and satisfaction
4) Pressure on the parties

Sales Responsibilities
Negotiation objectives, when clearly defined, make
the job easier: Two types of objectives may be
considered:
1)

2)

Must have objectives which are the minimum

requirements of the bargainer
Would like objectives which are the maximum
you can reasonably expect to get

Sales responsibilities
S would
like
Price

B must
have
S must
have
B would
like

Sales Management
Personal selling
process
Openin
g

Follow
up

Need & problem

identification

Closing

Negotiati
on

Presentation &
demonstration

Dealing with
objections

Sales Management
Opening:

Be professional and business-like in appearance and

mannerisms. Its useful to have a positive approach.
Avoid clumsiness
If you are known to the buyer, then you may have a casual
approach, else come straight to the point.
Buyers may tend to divert from the topic, but it is
important that the salesperson keeps control

Sales Management
Need & problem identification:
Prefer open ended rather than close ended questions
Open ended like: What are you looking for in terms of a new
house? OR What do you think about this kind of layout and
location?
Close ended like: How many rooms in your current house? Or
Where are you staying currently?
Close ended may not encourage a buyer to talk, and this
way you cannot identify his need.
The end result of this stage should be that you have a fairly
clear idea of the buyers primary requirements and his
budget. And he should also be comfortable.

Sales management
Presentation & demonstration:
Sell POPs and PODs of the product by linking them to the
buyers needs
Do try and pause between presentation and confirm the
prospect is with you; and encourage him to keep asking
questions.
Buyer resistance can be reduced by:
a) Reference selling
b) Demonstrations
c) Guarantees followed by penalty clauses
d) Trial orders

Sales management
Dealing with objections: There can be many ways
1) Listen and dont interrupt: It maintains buyer respect and
chances are high that the buyer will also hear you out well.
2) Agree & counter: Agree with the prospect and then make
your point, Yes, but technique
3) Straight denial: Sometimes a buyer has an extremely wrong
perception that needs to be corrected immediately, but it must
be done in a polite manner.
4) Question the objection: If the exact nature of the objection
is not apparent, this technique can be used.
5) Forestall the objection: Even before the buyer raises it, you
anticipate it, and clarify it at an appropriate time. But in doing
so, you may raise questions the buyer was not considering.

Sales Management

6.

Turn the objection into a trial close: If this is clear, will you buy?
Hidden objections: Ask the prospect for objections since they may not raise it
otherwise.

Negotiation:
a) Start high but be real
b) Give and take philosophy
c) Buyers negotiating technique: Some popular ones are:

Shotgun approach: Unless you reduce prices, we are looking elsewhere for a
supplier depends on balance of power

Sell cheap, the future looks bright look at credibility

Noahs Ark: You will have to do better with the price call his bluf

Sales Management
Closing the sale: Timing is of crucial importance. There are
a number of techniques:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

Ask for the order

Summarise and ask for the order
Concession close
Alternative close: ask which alternatives he would like
Objection close
Action agreement: Look for a positive development in the
next meeting.

Follow up