Research Paper Sales Management
It ‘s viewed as a recess that adds value. Personal selling has known an evolution from the industrial economy to the information economy. That began in the 1 sass. The new emphasis is information exchange rather than producing goods. That means strong implications for personal selling. In industrial economy, advances occur in transportation and manufacturing. Strategic resources are capital and natural resources. Products and factories define the business. And sales success means meeting sales quotas. While in information economy, advances occur in information technology.
Strategic resource is information. Customer relations define business. And sales success depends on adding value. Personal selling has an important role. Personal selling employs often the major promotional method. Today, companies have understood that to make more sales and more profits, they need good personal selling. So companies invest in personal selling. Personal selling has evolved because products and services are more complex. Competition has greatly increased. And customer demand for quality, value and service has sharply risen.
At the beginning, salespeople are as a source of strategic information on product, n market and on service. After, the consultative selling appears. It focuses on need identification, sharing information and a strong negotiation. The driving force is customer not the product. This emphasis on strategies creates customer value. We can say that the transactional selling is become consultative selling. Transactional selling is the process that serves the buyer primarily interested in price and convenience. While consultative selling is the process that developed from the marketing concept, emphasizing need identification.
The features of consultative selling include that customer is a errors to be served, not as a prospect to be sold. Two-way communication identifies customer’s needs; there is no high pressure for the sales presentation. And there is also emphasis on service after sales. So we can ask which are the key factors today that contribute to successful sales through personal selling strategies? L. Key factors “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. ” Albert Einstein A. Selling Model It exists five steps that salespeople have to follow.
The first step is to develop a personal selling philosophy. In fact, the salesperson has to adopt the racketing concept, he has to value personal selling and to assume the role of a problem solver or partner. The second step is to develop a relationship strategy. The salesperson has to adopt a win-win philosophy. He has to project to the customer a professional image and to maintain high ethical standards. The third step is to develop a product strategy. In fact, the salesperson has to become a product expert, know perfectly the characteristics of each product. He has to sell benefits to customers and not the features.
Also he has to configure value-added solutions. The fourth step s to develop a customer strategy. The salesperson has to understand the buying process, the buyer behavior and to develop prospect base. The last step is to develop presentation strategy. The salesperson has to prepare objectives. He also creates and develops a presentation plan. And finally, he has to provide outstanding service. When the selling model is followed correctly, a good personal selling enables the company to develop a long- term relationship. That calls Customer Relationship Management.
There is a loyalty from customers to the company. Ifs the loyalty management. B. Value concepts The personal selling has an important role in creating added values for customers. Value-added selling is creative improvements that enhance customer experience. The information economy rewards salespeople who add value at each step. When customer is not aware of value added by salespeople, the focus may shift to price. It exists six different values in value concepts. The first value is the customer value. It ‘s total perceived benefits minus total perceived costs (consumer perspective).
The second value is the value proposition. It’s a concise refined statement summarizing the package of benefits offered to the target market. The third value is the valued Customer. Less identifying and serving segments, which are growing, attractive and original. Value network is the fourth value. It’s the web of suppliers, intermediaries, partners and support businesses with which a company interacts. The value shift is a movement of utility from one product or service concept to another, as a substitute, usually due to technological advancement. The last value is customer lifetime value.
That means the customer equity. Its the discounted monetary value of a customer factoring in all future transactions (company perspective). For example, SCAN is using mart phone applications to increase customer value in terms of convenience, information and mobility. Potential exists to expand the SNUFF value network by extending these mobile networks to strategic partners such as hotels and car rental companies. Ever more expensive fuel costs have arguable initiated a value shift towards public transportation, a trend that can be facilitated by ever more service provision.
The applications contribute to database marketing and consequently the lifetime value of customers can be more accurately estimated and exploited. It can equally be argued that the allude customer is more readily identified with the type of sales, service and promotion. In fact, the success of the smart phone applications is currently re-writing SNUFF value proposition, propelling the state entity into a world- class marketer. C. The performances Personal selling is a tool of promotion mix. Personal selling is when the communication is done between two persons.
That can be face-to-face, by email, by telephone or with Internet. Personal selling strategies can contribute to successful sales. In fact, several factors take this success into account. Firstly, the confidence it’s an important factor. The salesperson can create a good atmosphere between the customer and him, so the customer feels himself in security and keeps confidence. The customer feels that the sales person is more honest because a climate of reliability is settled down. Besides, the salesperson has more time to convince the customer.
The main factor is the listening to the customer, an active listening. The salesperson has to listen to the customer, answer to the questions. He can better understand the desire of the customer and can propose a product or service that the customer waits for. The personal selling strategies are direct, so they are ore effective on the customer. If the salesperson has well persuaded the customer, the customer will come back and thus customer can do a word-to- mouth. This is an advantage for the company because people believe in feedback of other customers.
Especially, the salesperson has to demonstrate the added values that the product or the service can add to the customer. The personal selling strategies are more effective and efficient than advertising for example. With personal selling, the company obtains more successful sales. Customers think that they are more secure and that the company tries o understand them and to help them to fin the good product and service. II. Comparison between two industries A. Pharmaceutical industry In the pharmaceutical industry, the process is B to B.
There are no salespeople but only pharmaceutical representatives. The pharmaceutical representatives work for pharmaceutical laboratory. The aim is to persuade doctors to use specific products. Ifs not a direct sale. In fact, the pharmaceutical representative advises the use of some products and after the sale is done by the pharmacy. The doctor is an intermediary. Pharmaceutical companies have three main missions: research and velveteen, manufacturing and marketing of drugs finally. The profession of pharmaceutical representative based on the third mission.
Technical sales of health, pharmaceutical representative performs the promotion and sale of pharmaceuticals, Para-pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supplies to physicians. More specifically, it is responsible for the negotiation (price / volume, terms Of sale, delivery) and the sale Of products in the range. In addition, it provides information and answers questions from doctors about the products or services marketed by the laboratory. He advises possibly the appearance and resale merchandising products. Upstream, the pharmaceutical representative develops a sectarian action plan based on national and regional objectives.
The aim of pharmaceutical representatives is to advice and to do the prescription. The pharmaceutical representative doesn’t adapt his behavior according to customers. He answers to a need. To the doctor, he sells the techniques of product and its values. B. Car industry In car industry, the process is in B to C. A salesperson sells a car directly to the customer. There is no intermediary. Representing a major brand in a branch r a concession, he is in contact with the customers he advises prospects at home or at the place of sale.
He knows the new or used models and knows how to find arguments that will appeal to the customer. After advising the prospective buyer in the showroom, he takes him a few turns of the wheel. To advise at best his customers, the salesperson must be on the lookout for new business and market trends. The aim of the salesperson is to create customer value. The customer has to make abstraction of the price. The salesperson does a behavioral segmentation. That means to identify the profile of the customer and to identify need.
For example, if the salesperson identifies a person with a strong character. The salesperson will argue about the speed, the driving and the efficiency of the car. And if the salesperson identifies a person with thoughtful character, the salesperson will sell the security of the car, the impact on the environment, fuel consumption. If we compare a “family’ character and an expensive character, for the first, the salesperson will argue about the comfort, the space and the security. However, for the second, the salesperson will sell the “packaging” as the sunroof, a panoramic of or aluminum rim.
And if we compare a woman and a man, the salesperson with the woman will sell the fact that the car has a GAPS, a large trunk or the fact that the car is equipped a connection for smartened. While for the man, the salesperson will sell more techniques of the car. So the salesperson has to adapt him to the profile of the consumers and to answer to the different needs. Conclusion personal selling strategies are essential for a company to be successful in sales. To be successful In sales, Personal selling has to follow the selling model and to adapt this model according the customer.
The major point is to create and convince the customer of values added. The customer understands the benefits of the product or the service and the customer forgets the price to make his buying decision. To ensure a sale, the salesperson has to have a very good active listening. Its the key of the success. Indeed, the salesperson can define correctly needs. And he can answer perfectly to the demand. It exists several differences between two industries: Pharmaceutical industry and Car industry. In fact, pharmaceutical industry employs pharmaceutical representatives. We can’t call them sellers.
The aim is to give advice to doctors. It’s an indirect sale. While in car industry, they employ real sellers. It’s a direct sale. Salesperson’s behaviors are very different according to customers. They have to adapt according their characters and their needs. So, personal selling in different industries and with different methods contributes to the success of sales. However, personal selling is a part of promotion mix. Its exists several tools which can contribute to the success of sales. Advertising sponsoring, public relation, publicity and sales promotion are tools of promotion mix.
