managing the personal selling function

18/10/2012
1
Chapter 7
Managing the Personal Selling
Function
www.dinhtienminh.net
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh
Trường ĐHKT TPHCM
Khoa Thương Mại – Du Lịch – Marketing
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh
Objectives
2
 Understanding the role of personal selling
(P.S) in the industrial marketing strategy.
Understanding the relationship of industrial
buying behavior to personal selling process.
Learn the organization and management of
the sales force.
Know deployment of sales force.
18/10/2012
2
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh
Content
7.1 Role of P.S
7.2 Organizational Buying Behavior and P.S
7.3 Sales Force Organization
3
7.4 Deployment of Sales Force
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh4
Brainstorming
P.S in B. Marketing plays a greater role than

advertising and promotion in C. Marketing.
An industrial Sales and Marketing Manager is
responsible to achieve:
 Short term objective: Sales targets.
 Long term objective: Sales targets and effective
sales organisation.
18/10/2012
3
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh5
Brainstorming (cont’)
With the help of technical persons, the
salesman offer not just physical products but
also technical assistance, ideas, and
suggestions to solve the customer’s problems.
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh6
Brainstorming (cont’)
Thus, sales management plan should focus on:
1. Understanding the role of PS.
2. Organizing and managing the sales force:
• Size, structure.
• Recruitment, selection.
• Training, supervision.
• Motivation, development, compensation.
• Evaluation and control.
3. Deploying the sales force and allocating them to
specific sales territories and business customers.
18/10/2012
4
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh7
Brainstorming (cont’)

Distinctive characteristics of Industrial Sales:
 Trade selling (Working with distributors).
 Missionary selling (working with customer to ask
them to play orders on the company’s dealers).
 Technical selling (To put together a sales team:
Non-technical salesperson, Technical support
person, Financial expert, and logistics person).
 Business selling (Solving the business customer’s
problems with the company’s products and
services).
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh8
7.1 Role of Personal Selling
What are the roles of Personal Selling?
18/10/2012
5
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh9
7.1 Role of Personal Selling (cont’)
Sales Rep as a part of problem-solving
capabilities:
1. Helping customer to define the buying problem
(especially, the highly technical products. If not,
the sales person act as a business consultant to
show the customer economic advantages of
various purchase alternatives).
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh10
7.1 Role of Personal Selling (cont’)
Sales Rep as a part of problem-solving
capabilities (cont’):
2. Giving an prompt and effective customer
service. It may be:

• Drawing product specifications.
• Application engineering.
• Value Analysis.
• Installation, maintenance, or repair.
18/10/2012
6
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh11
7.1 Role of Personal Selling (cont’)
Sales Rep as a part of problem-solving
capabilities (cont’):
3. Representing the customer at the factory or head
office (Fighting for the customer at the factory
to ensure timely delivery, reasonable credit
terms, or solving quality problems).
->Sales person need human relation skills in managing
pressures and relationships in customer and in his own
organisation. He may be disliked by some persons
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh12
7.1 Role of Personal Selling (cont’)
Sales Rep as a part of communication mix:
1. Convey selling messages to potential as well as
the existing customers.
2. Keep customers informed about the products
and services (a good communicator).
3. Keep customers informed about the catalogues,
exhibitions, trade shows, or direct mail.
4. Communicate market information on
competition, market trends in sales reports.
18/10/2012
7

Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh13
7.2 Organisational buying behavior & P.S
Sales Rep should study an industrial
customer’s buying behavior from 2 questions:
1. Is the specific buying situation perceived by the
buying company as a new-task, modified rebuy,
or straight rebuy (repeat purchase)?
2. What are the influences of environmental,
organisational, buying center, and individual
variables on the firm’s buying process?
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh14
7.2 Organisational buying behavior & P.S
The selling process:
Krishna K Havaldar (2010), Business Marketing, McGraw Hill, 3
rd
edition, p253.
Prospecting and Qualifying
Presentation and Demonstration
Pre-approach (Pre-call Planning)
Approach
Overcoming Objections
Trial Close/Closing the Sales
Follow-up and Service
18/10/2012
8
Th.S Đinh Tiên Minh30
7.2 Organisational buying behavior & P.S
Use the FAB Approach
Product
Service

Feature Advantage Benefit
Electric Motor Special design
for low voltage
application
This means the
equipment like pump
sets can be used even
under low voltage
situations.
Our motor can be used
even when you have low
voltage conditions, as
needed by you.
Annual
maintenance
contract for
computer
systems
We have twelve
service
engineers.
This will ensure a quick
service.
Our service person will
attend to your service
needs within eight
working hours as desired
by you.
Source: Krishna K Havaldar (2010), Business Marketing, McGraw Hill, 3
rd

edition, p259.
www.dinhtienminh.net