MARKETING MANUAL FOR BEGINNERS

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01. Introduction

02. Marketing and Success

03. Market And Price

04. Six ‘P’s of Marketing

05. Advertisement

06. Innovative Marketing and Selling

07. Customer Satisfaction

08. Superior Products

09. Customer Traits & Training

10. Increase in Manpower

11. Few steps to Success

12. Customer’s World

 INTRODUCTION
01
The success of any business depends on Marketing.

Since time immemorial, the pattern of changes has

been improving in marketing. From the Copper Age to
modern times, the changing era in the field of marketing
has undergone a tremendous revolution. Every day,
advancement is taking place in the field of marketing, using
various methods to succeed.

High quality is maintained by large companies during

production. There is competition in price and quality, but then,
why is it that only a few succeed, and others fail? Let us explore
the strategies adopted by many successful companies and
study the failures of organizations and business groups. To a
great extent, many industries may not have taken marketing
and advertising seriously, or they may not have adequate
funds to market their products. Failures can be attributed
to many more reasons. Always make a micro-level study. For
example, when Apollo 13 failed to land on the moon, the team
of scientists involved got back together and analyzed the
whole mission part by part, product by product and found
the failure. This attitude helped them move towards success.

5
This helped in their future missions to achieve success, even
though it was painstaking.

Many products fail due to a lack of marketing and skills of the

organizations. Countries like the U.S.A., Japan, and France
are giants in the field of marketing.

They know how to sell their products. Needs of the market

are studied well in advance and their ways are also very
innovative. They encourage entrepreneurs and at the same
time, the laws are stringent too. Great importance is given
today to eco-friendly products and labour exploitation
is unheard of by employers and employees. They have a
routine medical check-up and many other benefits in the
organization. The evil of the hire and fire policy also prevails.

When we think about quality products, the first thought that

comes to the mind is German products which are accepted
globally. In the past, it was the barter system. The system has
undergone tremendous changes and government bodies
have control checks on these products. It is advantageous to
the buyers as he or she has tremendous knowledge of the
market. The controls brought in by the government are good
for any country as it checks the unhealthy practices if any, and
the government bodies can lay certain standards. Periodical
checks are undertaken by the organization to maintain high
quality.

Marketing is a science, as lots of research is taking place in

this field due to the commercialization, competition and
opportunities. A product from a safety pin to a giant ship has
to be profitable to the buyer and the seller. While the buyer is
more interested in the product’s price and quality, the seller is
interested in profitability pricing, research, durability, quality
and existence to enhance sales opportunities.

6
This book is mainly published with the intention of acquiring
knowledge in the field of marketing, qualities of good
salesmanship and how to improve the sales of products by
absorbing innovative ideas in sales and marketing.

It must be understood that there are tremendous variations

from product to product in the ways applied, and sales
techniques, accordingly it should also be taken into the
account, the place, seasons, culture of the people, nature of
the environment, distribution, networking, speed and time.
It would be advisable to undertake good research before
launching a product.

Presently, business is about steadiness and speed. Marketing

is all about learning as days go by. Hope this book helps
in imparting a few techniques, encouraging sales, and
marketing in order to follow good ethical practices with
empathy for fellow beings, gain and success.

A step must be taken to cover a thousand miles, discipline

and efforts are essential to succeed. Have you heard about
the Brooklyn Bridge? The Engineer who dreamed of building
the bridge met with an accident while building the bridge.
More than hundred people lost their lives in the tragedy. The
engineer John A. Roebling got paralyzed.

His son set out to fulfill his father’s dream. His father could
only move his fingers which was how he communicated to
his son. In spite of all adverse conditions, they succeeded to
complete the Brooklyn Bridge and rest is history.

Students who wish to take up marketing should be passionate

about their career which will bring them closer to their goal.
Marketing is a challenging job. It is a highly demanding
profession as the sales govern the organization. Wrong or

7
careless decisions can ruin an organization. One must have
total commitment and sincerity in the work.

Almost all of today’s big and reputed organizations were

once a small unit. Do not fear to compete. There is space
for everyone. Today it can be seen that the multinationals
are taking up large shares in the market, there are no
opportunities for small scale organizations. This is the
general sentiment, but these are the words of the weak.
Think positively; lots of knowledge can be gained from large
organizations. It will help you compete and grow with them.
Another threat is poised by goods from other countries
which are cheaper. How can we compete with them? is
another complaint, I hear often. Learn from them. Nothing
is impossible. Keep trying; observe how hard the ants work.
We always get our newspaper on time, the milkman delivers
on time. The armed forces all over the world are disciplined.
Similarly, we have to execute the jobs assigned to us on time.
Good work brings in a lot of appreciation and admiration
from your organization.

8
 02
MARKETING AND SUCCESS

Marketing and selling:

Business is all about sales and marketing is about selling

of goods or services for a price. The primary motive of any
organization in business is to achieve sales; no company can
grow or even survive for long without sales.

The business holds on to the ability of marketing personnel

and the targets achieved. The salesman has to sell the product,
which has to be good. The pricing has to be competitive, the
retailer or the shopkeeper has to have his margin of profit
and the customer should have no complaints regarding the
products. This is the trajectory of a successful sale.

The marketing personnel or the team should hold good

qualities, good approach towards customers, pleasant
behaviour, adhere to his commitments, avoid arguments
with customers, and ensure quick delivery of goods after a
deal is struck. All these qualities add to the product he or
she sells. First impression is the best impression. Physical
appearance like good clothing, good manners, good health,
good breath etc is of prime importance. These may appear

9
trivial but it vastly affects sales promotion, therefore one
should certainly give importance to the above aspects.

A salesman should study the products which he proposes to

sell at length. Convince the customer as to why he should buy
these products and the gains for the customer by purchasing
the product. For example, for a mosquito repellent, a good
salesman should be able to convince the advantages of
protecting oneself from mosquitoes and the products that
are most viable for the customer highlighting the fact that
protection is better than cure.

Now let us find out how to attract customers. We all know that
human beings are enchanted by beauty. So every product
should have an attractive look, i.e., a good design and finish
with a good combination of colours and attractive packaging.
This helps in streamlining of products. Above all, quality of
the products is very important. This is the reason why large
companies have research facilities with critical equipments
since such equipments have no room for failures as it affects
human life.

Attraction:

Just as bees are attracted to flowers, a product must attract

the customer’s attention. This is a basic theory of nature. It
should be analyzed that every buyer is parting with their hard
earned money. A buyer is keen in choosing his/her products.
Attraction is an important feature for sales promotion. A
prospective buyer who would like to purchase a car, must
be attracted by the interesting specifics, the performance
of the car, the horse power of the engine, seating comforts,
safety aspects, the service and durability, availability of
spares, seating capacity, accuracy in driving, luxury aspects
and primarily the painting and the streamlining of the car, a

10
design which suits the mind. The seller should understand
that buying a car is a family decision; the whole family plays
a major role. Economic strength of the buyer should also be
known such as to suit his/her interest.

Innovation and Interest:

Every product should have an innovative element. It arouses

interest in the buyer. Today everything has a USP, unique
selling point. At the time of product distribution, various
products are sent to different channels which can be
rerouted as and when required. Great amount of research is
pursued today to make a product smaller, lighter and with
greater potential in performance. Take the example of a ball
point pen which has undergone a lot of transformations.
Generally, the products men purchase tend to have frequent
repetition. Pricing is yet another factor. Women examine a
product closely, they generally buy products that are easy
to handle and compact which would save a lot of space.
At the same time, they are extravagant when it comes to
clothes and jewellery. They prefer the most modern trends,
uniqueness and the best quality. Their economic strength is
also taken into account before they purchase.

Desire:

A salesman or an advertisement should be able to arouse

a desire in the customer. It can be by word of mouth or by
depicting prestige of possessing a highly desirable item.
Assume a door to door sales man is directed to sell washing
machines. The first question which arises in his mind is how
he can achieve his monthly target. This is a wrong method.
He should primarily have passion for sales; only then can he
create desires in the minds of the buyers. He should classify
houses which needs a washing machine, make appointments

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with the family by sending a bouquet of flowers, the husband
should be made aware of the difficulties his wife under goes
while washing clothes manually. The salesman could explain
the worthiness of the washing machine. He must focus
on low power consumption, that pressure wash does not
destroy the fibers of the cloth, the speed in performance of
the machine, the competitive pricing and arranging credit
payments through banks and he should have consistent
interaction with the customer till the sales is closed. This is
just an example to approach sales area.

Service and Support:

Any salesman or company should be able to provide

adequate service and support. This will give confidence to
the buyer in purchasing the goods. The organization should
have good record as a testimonial and have data to elucidate
their records when they approach new customers.

Belief and faith of an organization comes only by following

the proper methods. The organization or sales teams which
have misled people always find difficulty in surviving. Service
support is an essential factor in modern business to survive
tough competition. Any good deed shall be appreciated by
the customer, and this should always be borne in the mind,
of marketing and sales organization.

Action:

A good salesman studies whether the production service

has aroused the attention, interest, desire and commitment
of service support to the customer. If it has been achieved,
the task of closing the sales becomes easier. He needs to take
action by closing the sale promptly. Time lost is sales lost.

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Next factor is pricing, which a company cannot compromise
at the risk of loss. Business is all about mutual benefit where
the seller and the buyer have a gain.

A quality of a good salesman is that he should have an

idea of the products he plans to sell, be responsible, be
positive in his outlook and be aggressive in marketing. He
should be dependable to the core. Additional qualities like
industriousness, pursuance, understanding of customer
buying behavior and reliability.

People should differentiate marketing from selling.

Marketing is the process of capturing the market, sales is
the result of it. These are two compartments which should
be dealt differently; sales increase by good marketing. The
growth of a company is based on the sales and recovery of
the finance from the market. Marketing is the engine of sales.

Marketing and Success:

Any organization is considered successful if the marketing has

succeeded. By and large we see most organization spending
on marketing. The product is supported by advertising in the
media, paper advertisement, brochures etc. Any company
should consider the cost effectiveness, or else it leads to
huge loss due to excessive funding on advertisements
without a proper financial plan and not being able to attain
the desired effect through advertisement. Hence, there
should be a balance in budgeting. Launching a product
without advertising is like groping in the darkness. Prior
survey should be done to achieve the desired effect through
advertisements.

Any team that practises well is bound to succeed. Take the

examples of athletes who succeed, they practice to succeed.

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The organization should make good survey before a product
launch, only then there will be chances of success. The
product pricing should be competitive.

To succeed one has to have a positive outlook, the hallmark of

a successful person is that he can see light at the end of the
tunnel. There are a few ways of attaining success in sales, - get
friendly with the buyers, initially the customer may ignore
you but keep knocking his door. He will open up sooner or
later. Perseverance is a quality of a marketing person.

Nobody gets water easily from the well; you have to dig for
it. Same is the case in marketing, never be disheartened.
Whenever a sale is made, make the buyer understand that
product is useful for them and that you shall render sales
support. Modern day business is very competitive and
tough, strenuous efforts are necessary to succeed. Things
may have to be planned from the grass root level, know the
buyer, know his or her needs whether he or she is technical
person, commercial person or whether they have a technical
bid and price bid, the warranty or guarantee is required for
the products specifically, at what the speed goods can be
delivered, duration for the products etc.

A market is in need of a variety of goods, what is applicable

to a particular sale need not be applicable to another. Sales
of machineries differ from that of food products. Electrical
goods vary from marine products, the salesman should cater
accordingly. A company may have a very good product with
excellent quality, durability and competitive pricing. They
may also have technically qualified personnel for selling still
the company may be incurring huge losses.

If we analyze the above mentioned case, it may be divulged

that sales engineers are technically competent and they

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usually discuss only the technical aspects to the buyers. They
may not be able to close the sales as they will not be aware
of the clients actual needs; it is often found that technical
people need not always be successful in sales.

It is observed that to succeed in sales one must be seeking

the opportunities in sales. There is an old tale on selling. Two
sales people were sent to a country where people wore no
hats. One of them returned saying ‘no opportunities at all’
as no one wore hats, and hence no sale is possible. The other
salesman who stayed back saw things differently, he said
that there are ‘tremendous opportunities’ as no one wears
hats and there is great scope for selling. We have heard
different versions of these stories but all lead to self belief,
communicative skills and confidence. Communicating in
the proper manner arouses an interest in the products. The
seller should convince the buyer about the originality of the
product for sale. This can fetch good returns.

It is also important that the sales organization need to utilize

man power intelligently, in order to acquire maximum
benefits for the company. A well made and well executed
plan brings great success to the organization.

Strategic marketing plan:

Every organization should have a strategy to sell their

products in the market. They should find out a way of
capturing the market, to know their competitors, have
data of the market, know strength of the other competitive
products etc. Data collection is very important for planning;
data should be regularly collected. It should not be mixed up
with solutions. Most of the good companies do undertake
strategic planning. The simple question which arises in
their minds is why people should buy our products. Why

15
customers should prefer us to our competitors, is packing
and colouring of our products attractive, how should we able
to attract and deliver are common among many. Apart from
short term customers and long term customers, we should
also find ways to conquer the market using guerrilla tactics.
When we find solutions for the above mentioned questions
we can hopefully make a small entry into the market.

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 03
MARKET AND PRICE

The modern day trend shows that price wars are inevitable.
It is seen that larger companies spend lots of money on
advertisement and product developments so that the
competitor’s products especially smaller organizations
find survival difficult due to price wars. Let us classify the
organization into micro, medium and macro levels. Micro
organization markets are placed in rural areas. The moderate
companies are in towns while the bigger companies are in
cities. Bear in mind that the larger companies are also vying
for the rural markets.

It would be easier for the micro and medium organizations

to market in the rural sector as their overhead would be less
compared to bigger companies.

The golden rule is never sell low quality products. The profits
may look attractive in the beginning but in the later stages
there would be hardly, any demand. Take a case study of
electronic chokes. Many industries mushroomed with lots of
product guarantee. They used the wrong method of making
promises which could not be kept. They in turn started
changing the names of their company very often to mislead

17
people. This inturn affected the whole industry. Today due
to such unhealthy practices the small scale industries, which
were doing business, are finding it difficult to survive. At
the time of pricing a level draft should be made. It should
have a plan, should allocate adequate funds for marketing,
procurement of raw materials, stocking, payments for fixed
assets, breakdown maintenance, preventive maintenance,
working capital and for research analyzation, value addition
and modernization. These factors help in the growth of
an industry. The sales people should be aware of these
important aspects of the industry. Usually sales executives
are not aware of these aspects.

Due to the pressure from the sales management, the sales

team should not adapt the practice of price reduction at the
expense of the company. It should also be understood that
large companies which hold excess funds have the strength
to sell the product at the cost price without any loss or profit.
It would be in vain to compete with such organizations. It
should also be borne in mind that business benefits society
and the organization.
Sell at a competitive price but add value and give sales
support to your products which in turn attracts customers.
Prioritize humans before money.

Market Penetrations:

Most companies need to pave their way into the market.

Various tactics should be used like observing your competitors,
conducting research, improving the product and service,
studying advantages your product and how to overcome the
disadvantages of your products, how to improve the speed,
packing and durability of the products, delivery, placing of the
products for display in showrooms which is easily noticed by
the customers. If you are dealing in consumable items try to

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have shelves or racks demarked for your company products.
This is applicable only in supermarkets and shops.

Urban and Rural products:

In general many things used in the rural areas are not used
in cities. As their taste differs the companies should study
things in micro level and sell according to their needs.

Monopoly Products:

Any organization which has monopolized a product is very

successful. This is gradually ceasing to exist due to the
research in all fields. This in turn is increasing the competition.
For survival, almost all organizations need a sales team for
their growth. Sales team needs to put in a lot of hard work to
make their products successful.

In selling, price is not the only criteria customers take into

consideration; they need a strong product supported by
service. There are many instances, when competitors slash
prices, but the quality, companies hold on to adds value to
their products. Instead of reducing prices, they improve the
quality of the product. Any business organization should
bear in mind that mere money making or wealth creation
should not be the motive, the welfare of the people and the
country should be the prime priority; only such organizations
for last long.

Street Smart Marketing:

A road side vendor knows when and where his product

should be sold. He also has the street smartness to attract
the attention of people and sell his products profitably; he
also knows the hardships he has to undergo in selling his

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products. Sometimes it may be the scorching sun or the
heavy rain but he is smart enough to sell his product even
under adverse conditions.

We can observe that at the time of festivals or fairs many

stalls crop up and vendors do brisk business. We should
understand that these people have a list of the future fairs or
festivals that are to take place. They plan things in advance.

A circus owner knows when he should conduct, where he

should conduct the circus show and how the caravan should
move to the place. This is due to his vast experience. A good
salesman uses all support and techniques to sell his products.
He should be a dreamer who implements the things he plans
and sets targets for himself; under any difficult situation he
should be able to bring things under control. The first words
Neil Armstrong said when he landed on the moon were,
“A small step for me and a big leap for mankind”. Sheer
dedication and hard work will pave way for success.

A smart salesman can identify various types of customers

like children, teenagers, youth, middle aged and the old.
The salesperson studies the product his company has
given, identifies the customers in these groups and where
he can target his product to achieve maximum sales. Even
though the job looks quite easy to sell the products after
identification, the salesman has to undergo a lot of pain
taking runs to clinch the deals.

A sales man may come across different types of customers,

some may be suspicious, few may be introverted, arrogant,
indecisive, talkative and many more. It is very difficult when
dealing with a quiet customer; it is for the salesman to get
the customer to talk in order to know his mind. While dealing
with suspicious customers, they may ask many intelligent

20
questions and your answers may not be convincing. It is
better to convince them with examples. Talkative customers
are easier to deal with, you get results quickly. A bird in the
hand is worth one in the bush. A salesman who is street
smart should make things happen. The word impossible
should only be found in an alien’s dictionary.

The will to face all sorts of problems and to find immediate

solutions, successfully implement, practical adaptability are
good hallmark of street smart sales people. The experience
and the expertise of being practical problem solvers help
them to a great extent. Their knowledge of practical problems
generally fulfills the company’s needs. They are generally
industrious and work till they achieve their goals. We have
always learnt that practical wisdom helps us whenever
needed. The preparedness of expecting the unexpected and
finding solutions helps a lot. The positive attitude paves way
for building up relationships and attaining success.

For example, let us see how many hours are put to use by
man. Let us assume that a person works six days a week,
nine hours a day for forty years. Approximately we find one
lakh twelve thousand three hundred twenty hours (1,12,320)
of working hours for which a man can gain 15% from each
individual. Any sales organizations should understand the
amount of working hours that can be put into use by each
individual and the practical utility into the access to market
according to their rank and position. This is just a simple data.

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 04
SIX ‘P’s OF MARKETING

Product and Place:

Any good marketing person should have adequate training

on the product that he or she wishes to sell or else it would
be a waste of the customer’s time. It is advised that if they are
doubtful of any queries by the customer, they must seek the
advice of their superiors in the organization. The products are
usually, passes through the wholesalers and the retailers. It is
seen that gradually these middlemen are being eliminated.
The future of the markets shall be the manufacturer and the
sellers only. For example, the supermarkets are able to sell the
products at a lesser price. This is because their purchasing
power is high and the prices are beneficial to the customers.

Many factors like geographical condition of the place, the

culture of the people, the taste of the people are to be borne
in mind whenever a product is manufactured. For example,
in India, gold jewellery sold in South India, have a deep yellow
colour, and whereas jewellery sold in Western India have a
lighter or pale yellow shade. Similarly, sarees sold in Gujarat
may not necessarily be found in Kerala.

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At times of seasonal changes, it is difficult for marketing
people to sell their products in certain conditions like rains,
harsh winter or in the summer heat. Efficient marketing
people should have an insight and a good vision. They
should be aware of seasonal changes, festival seasons, school
seasons, the buoyancy of the market, the trends of the
market and their needs.

For example, when exporting a handicraft product to the

U.S.A. they need the trunk of the elephant raised skyward
which is more of an aggressive posture. If the same product
is exported to Japan, they would prefer to see the elephant
in a more humble posture. The Arabs have an affinity to the
colour green as it reminds them of the oasis.

Salespeople should study the demands of the customers,

only then can they intrude into the customer’s walls. A
product should have an attractive finish and it should last
until its expiry. Product damage is loss to a company. Sales
managers should ensure that the products are kept in the
right places in a customer’s shop at a suitable eye-catching
position.

Every product, be it mechanical products, agricultural

products, food products and civil products should be studied
in the micro level before marketing and selling. Everything
should be planned according to the products and the
infrastructure or else it may not have the desired effect in
the market. A good sale may be jeopardized by not taking all
the factors into consideration. Failures are orphans. Various
types of research are being conducted in the field of business
and new concepts, ideas and technologies are replacing the
older ones. This in turn helps in cutting down the prices of
the product and increasing sales.
A large mobile company relied on speed to sell their products.

23
They transported all their products to different parts of the
country by airplane in order to launch their product on
time. This indirectly helped them save time for sale of their
products which in turn saved them in terms of finance and
glorified their reputation. They sold their products at a very
competitive price. We also see that the modern companies,
to a great extent, do encourage cash purchase. They give
various discounts for cash purchases.

The companies no longer encourage credits as they did in

the past. Many companies could not recover their funds
from the market, causing losses and many were washed
out of the field. Many companies gave credit unaware of
the creditworthiness of the buyers. They could not meet
the bank deadlines to pay the interests nor did they have
money for working capital. Reduction of product prices in
the face of competition caused the maximum damages.
Present day companies avoid such mistakes. A good sales
manager should be aware of all these products and credit
the worthiness of the market. It is his or her duty to get the
feedback from the sales team about the creditworthiness of
customers they deal with. Most of the business schools do
case studies of thousands of failures in various organizations
in various sectors, to avoid repetition of similar failures.

Whenever we sell products, it is important to know the

location. For example, supermarkets are mostly located in
the cities or towns. In spite of the prices being low, rarely
will a person go to the villages to buy these products. There
should be adequate safety measures and parking space for
the vehicles. This will encourage people to buy goods from
the supermarkets. A good sales person shall receive the
customer in a very hospitable manner. He should be able to
show the uniqueness in each and every product. The sales
team should regularly evaluate the progress of the products

24
in sales. This should be a regular practice of the team as it is
a continuous process.

Above all, a good salesman should have deep knowledge

about the product he plans to sell. A good salesman should
know the demand of the product and its shortage. Excess
demand of any product, without being able to deliver,
shall have adverse effect on the company or the sales
team. Likewise excessive production of a product, without
demand, can also cause loss to the organization. Therefore,
the production should be according to the demand.

It is very important that sales organizations know the

geographical condition at the time of sales orders. Today we
have various types of transportation like airways, roadways,
waterways etc. Goods transported to various places, domestic
or international, study their climate, their infrastructure and
their tastes. You may be wondering why?

The answer to this question is that places like Shimla or

Kashmir or a country like Canada have extreme climates. The
seller should assure that the product reaches the stockist
before extreme climate takes over and the product is able to
withstand such extreme climates without being destroyed
or damaged. Heavy snowfalls block roads in such places. The
chances of goods reaching the destinations may be at risk
and the goods may perish causing huge loss to the seller
and damages to the buyer. Traders should be aware of such
factors. A different yard stick should be used for hot or humid
places.

There are inhospitable roads everywhere and goods may take

months to reach its destination. The seller must be aware of
it and have a solution in advance. A clever sales manager
shall be able to capitalize on the opportunity of delivering

25
goods at the proper time under favorable conditions. Avoid
damages and demurrages at the time of transportation; not
anticipating situations properly can incur losses even prior to
any successful sale.

Another important aspect is that the taste and culture of

people vary from place to place. For example, South Indians
love more spicy food while North Indians love sweet dishes.
Europeans and Americans prefer less spicy food when
compared to Indians. East Asians love sea food while the
Africans and Americans love meat products. In the same
manner, people from various cultures and places have a
different taste of fashion and colours. It is for the salespeople
to seek and find their demands and to channelize sales
accordingly.

Various types of industries have various types of products, such

as cements, rocks, drugs, heavy engineering equipments.
Each industry has different needs and we should be able to
identify that, understand the types of business on whether
he is manufacturer or a distributor. The seller should know
the size of the organization where they wish to sell their
products and their creditworthiness.

Price and Promotion:

Universally, price plays a good role in the purchaser’s mind.

Generally, price governs the market to some extent. For the
rich class, price may not be a factor, but for the middle class
and lower middle class they tend to shop smartly and look
for quality products for lower cost.

The prices play into the minds of majority buyers. The

producers or manufacturers should be aware of this. Before
the launch of any product, they should try to understand

26
whether common man can buy it, especially when they
are dealing with food products which are essentials and
not luxuries. They should be able to hold the price without
fluctuation. Another product is medicine where the prices
should not fluctuate. Large increase in price of these products
will have an adverse effect on the society; same is the case
with petroleum products. Increase of prices on luxury items
is acceptable and may not have an adverse effect. Every
organization should be aware that promoting their products
is the mainstay of their business. All possible efforts should
be used to promote their products.

Probing and performance:

The companies which has to survive in the modern

competition should be aware of the market needs and should
have an intelligent probing team which gives the pulse of
the marketing, the areas which they can push the products
without arousing competition initially in the market. Regular
probing into marketing strategies is also helpful.

Performance of the organization should be regularly

evaluated; performance of the competitors should also
be analyzed. Regular performance evaluation of the
organizations can help in the growth of the business.

Sales Organization:

A sales organization has to sell for which it should have

planning, control over the sales personnel, have a direction,
a process of training and recruiting the right personnel,
equipping them, assigning their duties properly, instructing
them on proper direction of routes, supervising their
activities, motivating and paying good remuneration. These
activities should be supervised by a marketing head. There

27
are various types of salespeople like van salesman, retail
salesman, or external and internal salesman. The external
salesman should travel widely whereas the indoor salesman
routinely deals in counter sales. He should be aware of his
posture, personality and should be amicable since he will be
dealing with various types of customers.

The indoor salesman should be able to identify customers

who are in hurry and cater their needs without wasting their
time. The customer may be in a hurry to catch a train, bus, or
a plane. Even if a customer comes for a small purchase, never
ignore him; he may be a customer who may visit regularly.

The external salesman should have good body language,

well-groomed, communicative skills, good voice modulation
and pleasing manners. This will aid in enhancing sales for the
organization.

Today as technologies have advanced, we have the mobile

phone and the computer to help in sales promotion. This has
brought great revolution in the field of sales as people are
consistently able to monitor facts. We should also train the
salespeople to note their addresses and contact numbers of
the customers during an enquiry. Any enquiry must be taken
seriously.

Sales managers should always be updated on whether the

goods have been delivered, sales support has been given,
the payments have been received and any further pending
orders exist etc. Sales manager should look into the dispatch
section as well, to oversee whether the goods have been
dispatched, billing has taken place, price tags are attached
to the products etc. An efficient marketing personnel makes
numerous correspondence to the customers through e-mail
or letters. This helps build relationships with customers. It

28
is very essential for the salespeople to be well versed with
computer and technology. Sales programmes help the sales
manager in acquiring knowledge with precision, speed and
accurate data.

Legal aspects of sales:

Any illegal sale is punishable, an Indian should be aware of The

Sale of Goods Act, 1930 and he should also have knowledge
of international sales law.

Now let us look into the minute aspects of sales along with
the duties and functions of a sales team.

Sales functions:

Understand company policies, develop a plan and try to

persuade it to make it successful. Grasp situations according
to needs; find the means to implement plans and policies of
the organization. Be innovative and creative.

Sales directions:

Recruiting the right employees shall greatly enhance sales.

They should be trained well after recruitment instead of
promoting trial and error methods. The selected ones should
be given proper remuneration and appreciation for their
achievements, even if they are not able to achieve their
targets. Their hard work should not be discouraged. Help
them acquire sales through support.

Employment Conditions:

An employer should find out the working conditions and

improve upon it regularly, so as to enhance sales. The

29
weather also plays an important role in the mood of the
people. Failures and success should be accepted by the sales
team and behaviour of sales personnel should be polite.
Never argue with customers, he may win the argument but
lose the customer. Customers need not be forgiving; it is
very important how the sales personnel behave towards the
customers.

Sales Directions:

When it comes to sales, it is best to consider the convenience

of the salespeople by allocating territories that are easily
accessible from their accommodation. Once in a while,
reroute the territories. The sales manager should be able
to guide them, help them achieve sales, enquire into their
problems, and find suitable solutions. He should not be
reluctant to learn from the sales team, and he should be
willing to admit mistakes if they occur; it will only enhance his
reputation. A mistake repeated shall never be appreciated.

Pressure can kill:

Too much pressure on salespeople can lead to health

problems like hyper tension and cardiac problems, instead,
encourage them to play games, meditate, practise yoga,
listen to music or support them in the field of their interest.
Only a good car can run smoothly or a well-oiled machine
can perform efficiently. In the same way, an encouraged and
appreciated executive will work better.

Ensure that the tasks are well prepared before delegating

various duties to the salespeople. It makes their task easier
and helps them meet the customer to attain their goals.

30
Targets:

An achievable target should be set aside for the sales team;

they should be monitored constantly to know the pulse of
the market.

Reports and Sales manuals:

The salespeople should make a report and present it at

least once a week. It should be a ritual. Updating the market
scenario and improvisation in marketing techniques should
be done on a regular basis to be updated with today’s
competitive world. Conferences and meetings should be
held regularly and experience of the sales team should be
exchanged.

Sales reign:

There should be a budgetary control, and financial

expenditure taking place in the marketing and sales. They
should also know the cost incurring on sales and distribution.
The sales team should be aware of the expenditure incurred
by them as to whether the targets are met and benefits
to the company by checking their selling performances.
The company should also have data comparisons and
information through which they can formulate techniques. It
would always be better to have a check list. The team should
coordinate with all departments to improve the efficiency.

Efficiency of the product:

The organization should ensure that the products are well

tested and of high quality. The trends of the market, the design
of the products, the colour palette and the fashion or the
modern trends must be maintained. Regular improvisation

31
and maintaining high standards for product or service, indoor
or outdoor sales are beneficial for the industry. A thing of
beauty is joy a forever; designing a product beautifully and
packing it elegantly is essential to attract customers.

Price and organizational policies:

Various organizations follow various patterns for pricing,

offering quotations or other sales conditions. Whatever may
be the pattern followed, it should be efficient and gear up
the market. A marketing person should know that by selling
his product whether the company would get the financial
returns immediately or wherever the credit system is followed,
it should be deeply analyzed. Big companies today have
collaborations with big finance companies for selling their
products to the customers. The customers are supported
financially by financing companies, and the risk is taken care
of by these institutions. It is always advantageous to know
the creditworthiness of an individual or an organization in
business.

Philanthropic work:

The empathy side of any organization uplifts the morale of

the team. Some part of the profits should be set aside for
charity and social works which will help the society and an
individual in the long run. Strong sense of patriotism should
also be evoked among the business people.

Computerization in sales promotion:

Computer literacy is essential in today’s world. The websites

and e¬-commerce sites help in sales promotion. Computer
helps in data storage and automatization helps in grasping
the minute details. It helps the salespeople to a great extent.

32
The fast changing trends and needs of the market can be
easily analyzed with the help of a computer. The e-mail
and e-ads have great reach among customers. The speed
of e-mails, blogs etc brings awareness to customers and
the feedback from the market is extremely fast. Finding
the ideal solutions is made easier when there is data to
analyze. Computerization improves the data on warehousing
and transportation. Marketing people should know the
fastest means of transportation to reach the clients or the
customers. Being aware of the stock at customer’s location
and inventory system messages sent through mobile phones
includes marketing into the digital world. To stock the duct
there should be good warehousing facilities as the goods can
be quickly transported without damage to its destination.
Computers help in monitoring the stocks efficiently.

Mobile Phones:

With rapid growth of the industry, the future tool of marketing

is the mobile phone. Increasing number of people are using
mobile phones all over the world. Just like the internet,
mobile phones can be used to advertise products.

33
 05
ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisement is the backbone of every industry. It promotes

sales to glorious heights. A product without advertisement
is like groping in darkness. There are various ways of
advertising; it should be according to the financial strength
of the individual or the organization. The industry should not
incur heavy financial burdens due to advertisement. All over
the planet people buy and sell. There are various types of
buyers who are not aware of what they precisely want when
it comes to choosing similar products. Advertisement helps
the buyer collect information for almost all the queries he
or she has in mind. The organs like brochures, catalogues,
fliers, business cards, business magazines, newspapers,
television, radio, women’s magazines, flex hoardings near
bus stands, railway stations and common market places etc.
help vastly in sales of the products or services. The computer
era has increased the speed of advertisement. It has helped
the advertisers implement things in a fast pace. Television
channels have enhanced advertisements; computer has also
helped through e-mails.

We should not forget the old system of radio and fax which
are still effective today. A street hawker attracts us as he

34
arouses attention. This is a primitive way of selling, but we
should understand how his sales are. Here we see the effect
of the sale, as the product seller and the buyer are able to
communicate easily and make decisions quickly.

Let us take the study of a toothpaste company. It increases

the diameter of the toothpaste tube and in turn it increases
the sales turnover. They went a step further by advertising
that it would be healthier for people to brush twice a day. A
printing industry found difficulty in achieving print orders.
The marketing head formulated an innovative idea. He
hung the features of the products on the motorcycles of the
customers near the competitor’s place which in turn brought
in lot of customers to the new printer. The customers were
supported by good service and quality. This enhanced the
sales of the company.

While choosing the advertisement the company should

assure that the implied message should reach the customers.
Customers range from children to senior citizens, so the
advertisement should be focused on the specific category of
people it is meant to cater. Simplest form of advertisement is
the daily newspaper.

Sales campaigning helps in the promotion of products or

services. A sales campaign etches the name of the product
or the organization in the minds of people. Whenever a
product is launched with advertisement it is a part of a sales
campaign. There are branded products and non-branded
products. Nowadays we see almost all products trying to have
its own identity. There are many ways a sales campaign can
be held. The direct sellers’ meetings can be held which would
make them aware of the products. This is advantageous as
they in turn would pass on the information indirectly to the
customers.

35
Establishment of Product names:

Regular advertising in the market for more than a year shall

yield to the establishment of the particular product which in
turn would be easy to market once there is great demand for
the product or in other words familiarization of the product
in the market. There are many ways of displaying posters
at shops to attract sales. The point of purchase or POP,
innovation is going on by the advertising company to get the
attention of the customers to buy the products.

We can conduct several trade shows and exhibitions which

would enhance sales promotion. Sales kits and free samples
can be distributed when these shows are held. It would be
advisable for the dealers, manufacturers, representatives to
be physically available in the stalls or exhibitions when it is
being held. The purpose of these events is to have interaction
with the customers.

Advertisement through cinemas, television, newspaper and

the door delivery of advertisement by pamphlets are found
to be very effective, if done systematically. We should also
bear in mind; an advertising budget should be set aside
which should not affect the production and the financial
aspects of the company. The sales campaign should be
held with utmost care and financial control. The purpose of
these things should help sales people to find new areas, new
customers and seek good direction by expertise.

Out of sight, out of mind:

Whenever a salesman approaches a customer, he should

understand that the customer would dismiss thoughts
about him or his product once his stocks are over, unless
there is a great demand for the products. So it is advisable to

36
keep in touch with the customer and identify whether he is
a genuine buyer.

Lack of advertisement:

The impact made through advertising is quite effective in

promoting the products as it reaches a wide audience and
extensive coverage can be done. Without advertising, it
would be very difficult to market in a competitive industry,
which is why so much effort is put into promoting products.

Meeting the people and correspondence:

Salespeople should make efforts to meet the customers

or the clients regularly. They should try to build personal
relationships with clients whenever possible; it will help
in promoting their products to a great extent. It should
be noted that there are numerous ways today to connect
with customers. Sales people should make it a practice
to correspond regularly. Letters should be effective and
must inform the customers of the upcoming trends in the
market, the development of the products and enquire about
the difficulties they might be dealing with the products
and services. Preparation of questionnaires is beneficial in
evaluating one’s products and services.

Research Analyzing Market:

Marketing or the sales organization should be updated with

the present and future. The sales manager should be aware
of modern trends, like the needs of the customers, the likes
and dislikes etc. The organization should have a team to
study the future aspects of marketing. For example, in the
course of time there may be four door refrigerators which
may have separate cabins catering to different needs; it may

37
have a water cooler attached with hygiene perspective in
mind. In future, there may be a watch which can predict the
weather or even the probability of cardiac attack or present
hyper tension levels, diabetic level etc.

In future, genetic engineering and nano technology is

going to revolutionize the world of engineering. Any sales
organization should know how these scientific ideas can be
beneficial for mankind to reach all over the world. Salespeople
should be aware that technology simplifies things in the
operational side and in due course laymen would be able
to operate these. This will increase the sales and reduce the
prices to the competitive level and large sales company shall
profit.

Internet has opened up and made the world into a global

village and information is at our finger tips. The days of
middle men are fast diminishing. The future shall be direct
interaction between the buyer and seller, the salespersons
job would be to show the specifics of each product and how
it would be beneficial to the customers. Sales is a constant
study. Practice makes man perfect.

Market potential:

Salespeople should understand the dynamics of the market.

The salespeople should be aware of what the market holds.
For example, during Olympics the sales of television and
sports items are bound to go up. During monsoon or winter,
umbrellas and winter clothing /equipments would have
good sales. Similarly, each product by itself has lot of sales
potential. Markets differ from place to place, country to
country, urban to rural, male to female, young to old, children
to teens etc. Market is an ocean of people; opportunities are
for those who act in the right perspective.

38
Market profitability:

Any business is done for profit, otherwise the company will

not sustain. Any sales team should workout the profit he
can gain out of the market, the man hours he spend for
transporting, selling and sourcing his good and the time
taken to recover the cash. Sometimes due to lack of market
knowledge wrong goods may be dumped in the market
which may later turn out to be dead stock. This loss is incurred
by the seller or the manufacturer.

Any product launched in the market with poor research

seldom succeeds. The salespeople should understand
to never panic if a product does not move. By constant
maneuvering of the market, a products sale will take place.
The customers are kings. It is their interest that should be
borne in mind. It is they who accept the product. A buyer
generally looks into the quality, price, durability, availability
and service support in case of goods.

Purchasing habits of a customer generally moves according

to the family tradition. If a mother has been buying a product
regularly, generally daughter tends to continue buying the
same. There are customers who would like to be unique in
every purchase they do. There should be products to cater
to such needs. Seventy percent of the purchase is made by
women; the products should cater to their likes and dislikes
generally like placement of the goods, colours of the product,
advertisement in women’s magazine etc.

Any sales organization should peer into the new markets,

where ever the place is developing; it is bound to have
people. Salesmen should understand that villages eventually
become towns and town become cities. Wherever there is
economic growth, the market also caters to the demands.

39
Sales people should seize such opportunities.

Rival Products:

Good salespeople should find out the strengths of the rival

products, their advantages and how one’s own products can
be improved. The difficulties faced in the sector should be
studied, for example, situations where a manufacturer is not
able to transport his goods on time to villages and towns
due to bad roads or bad weather. In other cases, sales can
be affected due to lack of consistency in the products and
deterioration in quality. The merchandising salesman should
be able to inform the manufacturer and the distributor of
the shortcomings. Immediate effective measures should
be taken to rectify these problems and have a permanent
solution without any further room for complaint. Salespeople
should have an idea of channelizing sales and finding
openings to push their products.

Two Tier market:

We often see companies training their salespeople on

their products which is indeed admirable. We should also
understand that teaching a person to drive inside the
compound may help him in the long run. He should be
made to understand that car is for motoring on roads under
various unpredictable conditions. Expect the unexpected; he
should have good skills in negotiating than to end up in road
blocks. Similarly, marketing personnel should understand
that he has to deliver skillfully to the customers to have a safe
customer base.

Current customers:

Customers are the backbone of a business. Therefore, the

40
marketing people should put in great efforts to build good
rapport and deal their concerns with a supportive mindset.

New customers:

During the search for new customers, various strategies

can be evolved to gain foothold in the market, like offering
special discounts, special gifts and penetrative prices. These
can be made profitable once the demand for the product
increases and the customer stabilizes.

41
 06
INNOVATIVE MARKETING AND SELLING

There were days when there were advertisements using

airplanes and huge balloons that were very successful and
innovative in order to sell products in the market. Any new
idea or concept can fetch sales. Nowadays, handy things
or a compact design which is easy to handle is gradually
gaining sales in the market. Only when innovative ideas are
implemented do they become productive. Many times, we
observe that people are apprehensive of implementing their
ideas due to the fear of failure. At the same time, we have
seen people with lot of absurd ideas who were successful in
bringing out virgin products. Value addition of the product
is very essential. For example, a titanium industry which sells
only raw materials for paints has no value addition; it is just
converting raw materials into a product. On the other hand,
if the company decides to go into the production of titanium
sponge, the value of the product increases considerably.
Titanium sponge can be used for lightweight engines
and many other applications as the strength of this metal
can withstand high temperature and the composites are
very strong. Companies and organizations of the modern
age should aim towards manufacturing better and safer
products.

42
Effective marketing:

There should be a plan for the products based on various

aspects like, where the product should reach, who are the
people who need it, is the product catering to all segments of
the society, what are the strategies to be adapted etc. Before
launching, seek advice from market analysts regarding
physical aspects, the speed and time of delivery, primary and
secondary support of advertisement and feedback from the
customers are essential.

Familiarize customers with the products, be honest when

promoting products, never cheat customers, always uphold
business ethics, maintain good policies, have a positive
approach and good manner when promoting products.

Negative Marketing:

Never criticize your rival’s products. Instead, highlight the

advantages of your products. Try to fulfill the commitments
made to the buyer and make commitments which can
be adhered to, otherwise it shall have a negative effect. If
you are unaware of something please be kind enough to
say so. Never mislead your customers; give them the right
information as soon as you get back to your organization.

Motivation of Marketing:

The sales manager should motivate his team by encouraging

their achievements and paying remuneration for it. There
should be extracurricular activities to keep them in good
spirits. Welfare of the family also should be looked into for
the well being, ensuring a healthy mind in a healthy body.

43
Direct Marketing:

Direct marketing should stand out for the buyers,; they

should be attracted to buy the eye-catchy products. If you
are sending an envelope having a chess board design on
it, generally people will open the envelope and read it. The
product message can be conveyed through the envelope.

Drip Marketing:

Identify customers who regularly buy a product from your

competitor and frequently send him mails to familiarize
your product. This can increase chances of him/her trying
your products. The process of drip marketing is identifying
the customers who are regularly in need of the products and
sending them information about your products which are
similar to their choices regularly.

A person may be selling products door to door or he may

use an open market campaign. It is quite a difficult task as it
needs lot of physical and mental strain. You may even have
to bear harsh climates. To succeed, a lot of effort has to be
put in. Minute aspects should not be taken for granted such
as carrying proper documents at the time of transit it which
may not create delay in delivering the goods. These are the
things people usually forget.

Indirect Marketing and Sharing:

Here, the seller and the buyer are not directly involved,
instead there are middlemen involved. Hence, risk is involved
as there is no direct communication between the seller and
the buyer. It is the duty of the salesman to enquire the needs
of the customer and the effect of the product in the market.
Reserving resources or products can sometimes be useful

44
as there can be unexpected demand in the market. During
such times, fulfilling the customers’ needs can enhance the
name of the organization and sales. It is to be noted that this
should not be done with perishable goods. A good salesman
not only sells but also ensures that the customer is satisfied.
If a salesman keeps good relationship with the customers,
they in turn advertise the virtue of the product by word of
mouth, because it is mostly the customer’s market.

A good salesman regularly writes or maintains personal

relation with his customer and the relationship can be made
informal by delivering products on time, maintaining the
quality of the products and right pricing.

International Marketing:

Internationally, countries like Germany, Japan, USA, England,

India, China, Italy and Holland are finest in the field of heavy
machineries. Whenever people think of quality products,
they think of German, U.S. or English products. Products with
sleek and good finish like those of the Japanese are in the
forefront. Good products are produced by Indian industries
even though they were not involved in the industrial
revolution in the earlier times. The Chinese goods are less
priced but they have great demand as it is affordable for
commoners.

The German automobile companies such as Mercedes-

Benz or mobile companies like the Nokia are universally
accepted due to their quality. Japanese cars like the Toyota,
American cars like the Ford are also universally accepted.
Americans love big cars whereas Japanese love smaller cars,
so preferences differ. Internationally the accuracy of the
product, the quality and strength of the product are given
utmost importance.

45
OTIS is an elevator company in the U.S.A. OTIS is the
abbreviation for Only Thought Is Safety. We find that in an
international scenario there is a lot of importance attached to
human life. International trade is based on timely delivery of
goods, high quality, durability, safety, and hygiene. Nowadays
the working conditions of employees and the environmental
pollution is also looked into before a contract is signed or an
order is placed.

Before export or import, the concerned departments must

study the transportation norms for air freight, shipping and
other documents for custom clearance, export or import
license for various countries, the warehousing facilities and
the demurrage charges. Perishable goods, for example, a
horticulture product in the morning may cost one hundred
dollars if delivered in Holland or Japan, while if it is not
delivered on time, the product becomes valueless.

Failures in marketing:

When an army is defeated, the whole country falls into a

gloom and suffers huge losses. Logistics should be used
to analyze the failure. The top authorities could certainly
be dismissed or side stepped; there may be many reasons
like machine failures, hostile terrain, lack of supply, lack of
air support under performance of military intelligence, lack
of study of the enemy positions, unprepared for a battle,
scientific equipment not used for survey, not having superior
weapons, under utilization of man power, not knowing the
enemy purchase and many more factors.

Marketing organizations should also study in such a manner,

the failures can sink the company once and for all. It is in the
great interest of the company that failures do not take place,
even if it happens it should not affect the backbone of the
company.

46
When failures occur, we generally see everyone blaming each
other, rarely are people willing to shoulder the responsibility
of failures on oneself.

We hear comments like the company did not support

us or that no one tried to listen to us when we warned in
earlier meetings that such things would happen, and
many people should have been fired sooner. These sorts
of comments are attributed to failures. If we study further,
it is found out that the company did not give adequate
support in advertising. The company could not match the
competitors’ price nor could they deliver goods on time. The
products’ quality did not match the competitor’s quality.
There have been organizations, where the feedback and
the problems of the company were never heeded. Quick
actions and good solutions never came by. The organizations
were under-staffed and over-worked. They never bothered
about modernization of the plant or machinery, technical
upgradation, value addition, packing and stream lining and
dispatch. None of the departments worked with coordination,
and accountability of management hardly existed. Most of
the people in the organization were aware of their rights and
benefits but not of their duties.

Early signals in any organization are easily visible. If they do

not keep up with the modern trends, they will not be able to
pay the vendors on time and in turn many other pit falls will
be experiences. To avoid failures, every small aspect should
be taken seriously and immediate solution should be found
and all trouble shooting must be plugged.

Seek good advice from experts of the respective fields.

The professional management takes great efforts to
find appropriate solutions for the problems faced by the
organization. Usually it is beneficial to proceed according

47
to professional advice for the development of the company.
Many organizations have been successful due to the
involvement of professional people.

Failures must not be taken lightly. Micro level analysis should

be done when there are failures. It should be tackled as high
priority and it must been ensured that these failures are not
repeated again in a similar fashion. Major failures can throw
the very existence of the company or the organization into
disarray. In the modern day, with huge amounts of financial
burden, the survival chances of companies committing
failures may be suicidal. We have lots of data on the failures
of many companies which should be studied in detail, so
that such mistakes may not be repeated.

The team should study each case of these companies’ failures

with utmost care so that the organizations may not follow
their footsteps. Business analysis and case studies helps the
marketing team immensely.

A dedicated team or a wing of an organization should

monitor the path being taken and find out whether the
companies are moving on the right track without being a
hindrance to the organization.

Failures can be attributed to many factors, such as attitude

of the organization, slothful management and staff, poor
planning, poor product launches, arrogant or indifferent
behaviour towards customers, bad financial recovery,
poor performance of departments including marketing,
non anticipation of social and geographical factors, lack
of coordination according to demand and supply, lack of
quality products and poor packaging, inefficiency of cost
management and the list goes on.

48
Any organization which conducts extensive research into all
these aspects has lower chances of failures. By regular value
addition and in-depth study of market, the factors governing
the market and good anticipations of the changes likely to
take place can be foreseen and this can also aid the growth
of the company.

General Attitudes:

The attitude of the sales and marketing team can determine

the success and failure of a company. Nonchalant and
indifferent attitude towards marketing, unnecessary ego
clashes, arrogance, cynical attitude, lack of commitment are
all deleterious for small or medium sized organizations; even
large companies can suffer in minor ways.

Lack of coordination between the organizations, distributors

and retailers is undesirable. Wherever there is scope for
improvement, action should be implemented immediately
by educating the concerned authorities of the after effects of
each ones actions.

After identifying the failures at micro level, a solution should

be worked out according to the situation. It is critical to
avoid mistakes which can make disastrous sales effects
in organizations. It is a great quality to accept mistakes.
Generally, people do not accept their faults; this attitude may
not help them develop.

Lack of empathy:

In an organization everyone right from the CEO to the

office assistant, each one should be aware of each others’
challenges. First and foremost, we are all human beings; our
mission in life should be to understand the difficulties of one

49
another and have the strength to help others rather than
to be selfish. Good deeds bring good values and a positive
workplace culture fosters success.

Good companies, small scale business houses and other

business organizations should take the above mentioned
facts critically for the progress of their businesses. As the
modern business is very competitive, minute aspects of
failures should be plugged and quick action taken, so that
the organization survives to see better days.

Reluctance of sharing knowledge:

If people in the organization do not share their wisdom with

each other, it can lead to a lot of difficulties in the organization.
Human resource management should pay attention to any
rising problem.

Fear of taking decisions:

It is observed that many employees who feel very

comfortable in the organizations are a hurdle to changes
and new concepts. They fear to blend with young and
innovative minds. Individually, they prefer to be safe players.
Developments and competitiveness may not take place
as needed and such attitudes may leave the company far
behind.

Loss of key personnel:

Key personnel may resign or may be poached by the

competitors. A good company anticipates such situations
and takes appropriate steps. In such situations, lack of
substitutes in the organizations can lead to difficulties for
some time. Organizations must be viewed as larger than

50
individuals; all individuals collectively make an organization.

Concept Selling:

One of the difficult aspects, marketing employees face is to

sell concept instead to convince the customer. The primary
task in concept selling that the sales employee should be
prepared enough to answer various queries of the customer.
Truthful and satisfying answers should be given.

New concepts are the ways of modern life to achieve success

for which painstaking methods should be used. A customer
needs to know the value of the concept, how useful it would
be for him or her, the benefits or the advantages he or she
would have by implementing or having the product. Whether
proper services are rendered, in case of trouble shooting the
time taken to get back the product online, warranty and
price would be in the mind of the customer.

Future Trends - Word of Mouth:

As advertisements and print media are becoming costlier

day by day, the advantages of word of mouth save nearly
fifteen percent of a company’s expenditure. This makes the
product successful as the benefits can be passed on to the
customers directly.

Web pages, event management sales, internet, mobile etc

are the tools of the future in enhancing sales. The younger
generation shall be very dependent on the modern ways
of marketing. Another new trend seen today is personal
touch or a customer’s involvement in the purchase, such as
customization of design or shades, or variations as per the
individuals’ choice and desires.

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 07
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

What do you mean by customer satisfaction? Is it when he/

she has no complaints?

Many factors are attributed to customer satisfaction, after

purchase he or she desires to purchase it again and again,
especially when appreciated. A diamond is not purchased
everyday by a customer; the quality diamond which he or she
holds brings tremendous satisfaction. The primary need of
food is to satisfy hunger. Once satisfied, people look for taste.
Preferences for food items differ from person to person; the
taste of the product plays an important role in the mind of
the buyer. He is satisfied when he gets the desired taste he
wished for. Some customers purchase fashionable clothes
just for the brand name rather than the material. It is the
brand name which fetches him the status symbol. For some,
it is comfort and for others price.

We can categorize the buyers into three - the average buyer,

middle class buyer and a rich buyer. The average buyer
constantly buys goods; a middle class buyer looks into many
aspects especially the economical factor. Even though
his desires may be for higher products, purchase may be

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according to the circumstances, but he will always purchase
a product which satisfies his needs and they spend money
only on essential goods. A rich buyer looks into the best
brands in the market and while purchasing goods he tries to
get the best out of the deal.

The basic needs of the people are food, clothing and shelter
and the secondary needs are travel. The business all over
the world revolves around these products. When we look
into sales of the food products, we see customers paying a
lot of attention to the nutrition and hygiene of the products.
Today a customer is satisfied only when he gets the best
out of his purchase. The middle class and the lower class are
extremely price conscious As they govern the market, it is
wise to develop products to their satisfaction. Organization
that looks into the satisfaction of the customers has always
had tremendous growth.

Customer satisfaction plays an important role in pushing

the products; it reduces the burden on marketing people. A
customer by word of mouth expresses his satisfaction to his
friends, relatives and others in his social circle. This promotes
the products with ease.

Dissatisfied customers:

Unnecessary arguments with customers, which can be easily

avoided, are a common occurrence in many organizations.
It is generally observed that the argument may be won by
the organization; this may satisfy ego but results in loss of
customer. The negative impact is that the customers can
spread his experience to other people. There may be a
chain of reactions depending on the type of contacts he or
she holds. So in the interest of the company, wherever an
argument crops up it should be avoided.

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There are many ways to satisfy a customer, such as good or
friendly approach, paying attention to his needs, supplying
the required products to him or her and rendering good
service.

Consistently study the needs of the customers and their

satisfactory level and report it to the concerned organization.
Maintain a customer satisfactory check list and encourage
suggestions from customers.

Customers are generally critical of products, so regular

customer monitoring is productive for sales. Customer
suggestions can help in improving the business. The
customer’s satisfaction level differ in many ways, the things
that appeal generally to customers are durability of the
product, price of the product, colour of the product etc. So
salespeople should take into account the customer’s point
of view and improvise wherever necessary for benefit of the
organization. Customers are time bound; they need delivery
within the given period of time and delays may not be
appreciated. Sometimes losses incurred may be huge due to
lack of punctuality in delivery of goods.

So every organization or industry, big or small should

understand the satisfaction and the worthiness of the
customers to maintain stability in business. We often see
organizations looking only into the management view
without understanding the needs of the customers. Such
organizations are bound to fail sooner or later.

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 08
SUPERIOR PRODUCTS

All over the world there is a great demand for goods with
superior quality, as its performance, durability and efficiency
is very high. This is the reason these products sell easily in the
market internationally or domestically.

A reputable organization never compromises on the quality

of its products. It is to be noted that companies in this day
and age call back their products if found defective or harmful
to human beings or environment. This in itself advertises the
company of the care they put into their products.

Large multinational companies that are leading in sales all

over the world be automobile industry, health products, iron
and steel, textiles, computers, mobile phones, or medicines;
they have a common factor, high quality products, which
they have held on for years. This has helped them survive for
decades and have got universal acceptance. The organizations
who are the leaders in business have painstakingly worked
for it to bring out the best products. It would be great to
admire the workers, managers, management and the CEO
for maintaining the top position.

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Superior products and equipments have aided in
advancement of medical science at a tremendous pace.
Digital technology has also advanced tremendously due
to modern technologies which have enhanced superior
performances and accuracy. Moving on to science and
technology, space programs have grown at a tremendous
pace in the last forty years. Computer has played a great role
in the industrial advancement and bringing out the best
results

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 09
CUSTOMER TRAITS AND TRAINING

Customers’ traits vary from person to person and place to

place. A person who purchases in U.S.A. shall differ from a
person who purchases in Africa. For example, let us take the
case of motor cycles,. In Africa, they require bikes that are
long, sturdy and cheaper in the category of 125 cc because
they use these bikes as taxis and to carry goods. Branded
bikes above 250cc have good sales in In the U.S.A, for reasons
that differ from that of Africa. The economic strength of each
country or state plays a crucial role in purchases. The terrain
and the climate also play a role in the customer’s mind
during purchase.

Mostly the customers are bound by the power of purchasing.

They are influenced by many factors that carry common traits.
While making a purchase, like a car or a house, they study
details and discuss with others to know the advantages and
disadvantages of the product. This is a common trait among
customers. Salespeople should be able to acquire knowledge
about customer needs and the purchasing power. This will
help them close the sales.

Many traits that influence customers are fashion, elegance,

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durability, price, sales and service when dealing with
consumer equipment.

Customers and their needs should be observed keenly.

According to the economic background, many features are
common in customers such as food, clothing, shelter and
education. Customers generally differ from place to place; it
is the duty of a good sales team to understand the customers
to create a high product demand, and to increase the sales.

Good sales personnel should always ask themselves why a

customer should they buy their products. What products
are they purchasing? When do they need our products? Can
we find something innovative to generate sales? Are the
customers satisfied with our products?
The logical answers to these questions can bring an
improvement to your organization.

Today, computers play a significant role in gaining

information to create a data bank of customers which would
help in finding out the details of customers’ traits, making it
easier to target customers. However, it should only be done
with permission.

A good sales team should be desperate in achieving the sales

target; there should be a feeling of affirming the right target.
Since the competition is high, it is expected of everyone to
perform efficiently in the team.

Customer traits are generally within their immediate needs

- the location, the speed with which customers are served,
plays an important role in gaining customers.
A good salesman observes the customer traits in detail and
studies at the micro level to generate sales.

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Training:

Immediately after recruiting the appropriate candidates,

every organization should provide training in sales as per the
company’s norms. They should be trained by professional
trainers to improve their skills. This will help them approach
problems efficiently and bring out good results. As modern
day business demands are growing, updating knowledge
and periodical training of personnel would be very effective.

Importance should be given to impart the right training to the

marketing sales personnel. Regular upgradation in product
is always to be taken care of and the same importance should
be given to salespeople.

Good training helps in boosting sales as they deal in all

aspects. Training should help a person perform smartly.
Practical problems should be emphasized. Generally people
are well versed in theory but under-executed in the practical
sense. This may not have the required results.

Observation, an important part of any training, should

not come to conclusion without proper study. Do not be
prejudiced on anything and always carry an open mind.
Mental alertness is required throughout the day. People
should be trained on how to face rejection, criticism and
failures.

Do not be dejected by failures, train oneself to handle failures.

Training should provide good exposure to various situations
in order to achieve experience. To avoid previous mistakes
learning is a never ending process.

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 INCREASE IN MANPOWER
10
As the population of the world increases, so do the needs
and demands of people, the purchasing power of man also
grows day by day. The quality and quantity aspects differ
according to the economic strength of various countries.

Modern day business practices a lot of cost cutting but

many a times, the organization ends in loss due to the lack
of man power. The staff is over worked which affect their
performance.

A customer wishes that his queries are answered, and

problems regarding a purchase are solved at the earliest. To
cover large areas in sales, sales personnel are very essential.
The qualitative use of manpower greatly improves sales.

Everyone in the organization should be seen as sales team,

even retired employees should be considered as salespeople
of the organization. Their potential must be put to good use.

We often see that many good products do not get the

required thrust due to the lack of follow ups mainly caused by
lack of manpower. It is the brilliance of marketing managers

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to manage manpower in an efficient manner which brings
good result to the organization.

Putting undue pressure on staff may produce some results

but it is not advisable to follow this policy, since it encourages
employees to leave sooner or later. A huge expenditure of
the companies may goes into training staff. Hence, it is also
the duty of the organization to sustain the manpower.

It is the duty of the marketing managements to find

appropriate solutions for problems rather than creating
problems and blaming others for one’s own mistakes.
Shortage of manpower brings additional burdens to the
other staff, which can have negative impact on the staff
since they would be over worked. People who have a flair for
marketing only should be employed.

Time and Speed:

In the present day competition, the sales organizations have

to compete under all conditions. Quality, time and speed of
goods delivery are crucial in the growth of business. There
is no room for complaining as the competitors will make
in-roads into your market if you are not vigilant. When
an organization takes an order, the sales team has to be
extremely careful. The job of the sales team does not end
by just procuring orders, the team has to be responsible in
executing and delivering on time.

This shall in turn help them procure orders again. Today,

people are highly committed to schedules. Poor planning
and execution, without bearing time and speed in mind, can
be failures for the sales team. Timely recovery of funds from
the market is vital for any organization; a system should be
evolved to collect the money from the market. No business

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can survive without money.

An organization should have a time schedule data. At many

instances we see the sales team processing good orders
but are not able to deliver. The sales team loses a great deal
by not delivering on time. It may be due to a lot of queries
from the administrative department, or due to lengthy
communication even in the age of e-mail and fax, which
can result in the sales team losing orders. The psychological
impact on the sales team can be high; they may even think
why they had to take the order. In such cases, the organization
is the loser.

Time and speed is a coordination of all in the organization.

A good car engine is not enough to run a car. All the other
parts should work well, there should be good driver, fuel and
the will power to handle tough conditions, only then will it
reach its destination. Care should be taken to handle the
things smoothly, especially at the time of delivery, to fasten
transportation of goods, avoiding damaging of the goods,
and speed should be maintained so that the stockiest,
institution, distributor the retailer or the customer should
not suffer at any cost.

Quick service can increase the goodwill of any organization.

On time delivery shall also give the stockiest, distributor
and the retailer great advantage in their business. Time
and speed are one of the prime factors of modern business.
Organizations should take care of all these aspects in
business.

Modern day people look into the conveyance of getting

service to their homes. In any service industry, it is easy to
make openings by home delivery. Good start, including
positioning of goods, should be adopted.

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 A FEW STEPS TO SUCCESS
11
Success today is attributed to many factors. When we say a
person is successful, it is not only his professional success or
financial success, but he or she should be successful with his
or her family, with their colleagues and work place.

It would be wise to observe successful organizations and

people. They have many common factors like following
a proper system, maintaining punctuality in their work,
determination to achieve the targets they have in mind,
regularly checking whether they are in the right direction
and planning accordingly, going ahead with set time tables,
the confidence and the positive outlook even in the worst
adversities. These are all the hallmarks of successful people;
they have tremendous faith in themselves. Failures do not
deter them.

Be a winner:

Persistence is essential for any activity is to be successful. Let

us observe the successful Olympic athletes or sportspersons,
they spend hours on training, the gold medal and trophies
they achieve are a result of the extensive training and the

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practice they do. Success in life is very painstaking and there
are no shortcuts to success.

Flair for marketing:

It would be very important for an organization that they

choose people who have genuine interest or passion for
marketing and sales. Jobs undertaken with interest and
passion generally bring in good results. Many a times, we
come across a good salesman who is effective and few who
are not effective. It would be easier to train people who have
a flair for marketing.

Remuneration:

Any good salesperson should be paid well. The organization

should understand the efforts taken by the sales team to sell
the products, the hardships they undergo, and the patience
that they endure while dealing with clients. The indifferent
treatment they have to withstand while dealing with clients
or customers, the lack of support they get, the risks they take
while travelling, sacrificing many other things and physical
endurance of weather are all to be considered.

This stress and pressure to achieve targets in modern day

business is very demanding. The stress takes its toll on the
body and mind due to the above mentioned factors. As
salespeople know business is all about marketing. They also
know that awareness of rights will not help, but greatness to
duties shall only bring prosperity to the company.

A good organization usually pays their sales team well. When

we look globally there are many tough jobs like miners,
construction workers, defense personnel and many more,
good service and empathy should be given to all these
people.

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1. Make regular conversation with clients. Make it a point
to call customers every sixty days, because he or she may
forget you as soon as the conversation is over. It is the job of
marketing people to follow the 360’s rule 60x6.

2. Make an entry through acquaintances or contacts so it

would be easier.

3. Convince the creditors of your organization’s task. Be

honest with your customers.

4. Never confront with customers.

5. Practice humility when dealing with clients. Good

behaviour is essential to succeed in any field of life.

6. Marketing personnel must have good knowledge of the

product or else you are wasting the customer’s time.

7. Avoid sales loss, maintain confidence; a strong mind in a

strong body should not be taken up by success. Be humble
in victory and strong in time of defeat.

8. Set achievable targets. Planning and execution is very

important to succeed.

9. Gather information and update one’s knowledge regularly.

10. Study from other organization’s experience in the similar

field. Marketing statistics needed to be debited if there are
future changes expected.

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 12
CUSTOMER’S WORLD

Parents and teachers are very good examples, they generate

values for all human beings; we imbibe a lot of values from
them. We are also able to judge their shortcomings, what
is learnt from them lasts throughout our lives. Their ways
makes us successful. You may wonder what this has to do
with the customers. All good things start from the roots;
values from them are long lasting and those good ways help
in dealing with customers. Money is a good slave but a bad
master; only money marketing should not be the policy of
you or your organizations. Humans should be valued above
money.

In marketing organizations, try to bring in new customers,

without forgetting the old ones who have given openings
for the previous milestones to be achieved. Good sales
organizations should consider their old customers as
treasure.

To attract customers hold road shows, conduct exhibition of

your products, conduct seminars, hold meetings, advertise
regularly, and interact with customers. This will bring in good
results.

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Business is mainly about Marketing:

Small or large organizations which are not able to sell will

cease to exist. However good your product may be, if it does
not sell, it is the end of the business.

Organizations should understand that the marketing

department is the engine of sales. If there are no sales, the
survival of the organization will be near to impossible.

Marketing and sales should be given priority in any

organization. We hear many organizations claiming that the
superiority of their products got them into markets. It is a
great mistake; a product well marketed with good quality
and competitive price shall be winner in the long run. Utmost
care should be taken to improve marketing techniques in
the future.

Americans presently are the best marketing force to reckon

with. From potatoes to airplanes, they have captured the
market all over the world through their dynamics and
innovative marketing techniques. They do a lot of research
before launching a product. Europeans and Asian earlier
did not emphasize on marketing, but they are gradually
changing. Africans are also giving thrust to marketing.

Initially when international companies launched their food

products in India, they were not very successful. Gradually,
they are changing the life style of Indians who depend on
traditional food items. They are targeting the youth and they
are not afraid of taking risks as they know that in the long run
it can cover the losses made in the earlier stages. Even the
Indians have started thinking globally.

Always seek service of well experienced marketing sales

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personnel and the youthful team, who have innovative ideas
and energy for work. This will make a great team.

It should be understood that failures may cost jobs, but still

we should not blame others for his or her faults. Wrong action
and irresponsible people can shut down an organization.
Many marketing teams have brought down the shutters of
several companies with their lackluster performance and
over spending without results.

Beauty of the Products

International products all have an excellent finish. Finishing

and streamlining of the goods are important.

Japanese products are well streamlined that encourages the

consumer to buy the goods.

Good efforts must be taken in attractive colouring of the

product; the power to attract may be borne in mind when
the production is over.

Packing should have the power of attraction. The product

must be well streamlined, as should the packaging and
display of the products on store shelves in such a way that
the customer’s eye is drawn to it immediately as he or she
enters the point of business.

Hopes and dreams are the strength of a good marketing

and sales person. A journey of a thousand miles begins with
a single step and it is essential in order to be successful.
The digital world has unlimited opportunities.

The future marketing is through the digital world.

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Facebook, Whatsapp, LinkedIn, Messenger, Twitter and
all these media is excellent as they give easy access and
relatively do not cost as much as a conventional advertiser.

The future is market is at your finger tips,

Everything is going to be digital.

The online market is all set to capture eighty percent of the

business.

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