Marketing chapter 5a sales knowledge customers,products,technologies

Chapter

5

Sales Knowledge: Customers,
Products, Technologies

McGraw-Hill/Irwin
ABC’s of Selling, 10/e

Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reser


Main Topics
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The Tree of Business Life: Knowledge
Sources of Sales Knowledge
Knowledge Builds Relationships
Know Your Customers
Know Your Company

Know Your Product
Know Your Resellers
Advertising Aids Salespeople
Sales Promotion Generates Sales
What’s It Worth? Pricing Your Product
Know Your Competition, Industry, and Economy
5-2


Main Topics, cont...
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Personal Computers and Selling
Knowledge of Technology Enhances Sales and
Customer Service
Sales: Internet and the World Wide Web
Global Technology Provides Service
Technology Etiquette

5-3


The Tree of Business Life:
Knowledge
vic

Et
h ic
al

r
Se

T
T T
T T TT
T T T T
Builds
True

e

Relationships

T

I

C

Guided by The Golden Rule:
 Be an expert on everything
associated with your
product(s)
 Use wisdom when applying

knowledge
 Remember, customers rely
on you to truthfully provide
knowledge and wisdom
 Realize that people do not
care how much you know
until they know how much
you care

5-4


Sources of Sales Knowledge
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Sales training
Experience

5-5


Sources of Sales Knowledge


Sales Training – effort put forth by employer to
provide the opportunity for the salesperson to
receive job-related attitudes, concepts, rules, and
skills that result in improved performance


Education, Reading, and Word-of-mouth

5-6


Sources of Sales Knowledge


Experience – the critical source


Selling is a skill developed through experience

5-7


Knowledge Builds Relationships
Knowledge increases a salesperson’s confidence,
and,
Knowledge increases a buyer’s confidence in the
salesperson.
Thorough knowledge about your product is needed to
gain the buyer’s confidence.
More knowledge, more confidence mean more
relationships,
and…
More relationships mean more sales
5-8

Know Your …

5-9


Know Your Customers



Find out all you can

5-10


Know Your Company


General company information:
Company growth and accomplishment
 Policies and procedures


5-11


Know Your Company’s
Policies & Procedures


The salesperson should let the buyer know:

How his order will be processed
How long it will take for her to receive her order
The policy on returned goods
How to open a new account
What to do if he receives the wrong shipment


Know Your Company


General company information, cont.:
Production facilities
 Service facilities – promise of prompt repair services
can help make a sale


5-13


Know Your Product


Product knowledge may include:
Performance data
 Physical size and characteristics
 How the product operates
 Specific features, advantages, and benefits of the
product

 How well the product is selling in the marketplace


5-14


Know Your Resellers

Understand the channel of distribution


The Channel of Distribution


Know Your Resellers
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

Understand the channel of distribution
Know as much about each channel member as
possible
Likes and dislikes of each channel member’s customers
 Product lines and the assortment each one carries
 When each member sees salespeople
 Distribution, promotion, and pricing policies
 What quantity of which product each channel member
has purchased in the past


5-17

Advertising Aids Salespeople

Advertising Aids Salespeople

5-18


Why Spend Money on Advertising?



Main ingredient of a firm’s promotional effort
Companies advertise because they hope to:
Increase overall sales and sales of a specific product
 Give salespeople additional selling information for sales
presentations
 Develop leads for salespeople through mail-ins and ad
response
 Increase cooperation from channel members through
co-op advertising and promotional campaigns
 Educate the customer about the company’s product


5-19


Why Spend Money on Advertising?,
cont…

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Inform prospects that a product is on the market
and where to buy it
Reduce cognitive dissonance over the purchase
Create sales or presell customers between sales
calls

5-20


Types of Advertising


Types of Advertising Differ:
National advertising
 Retail advertising
 Cooperative, or co-op, advertising
 Trade advertising
 Industrial advertising
 Direct-mail advertising
 Internet advertising


5-21

Types of Advertising
 National


Advertising

Reaches all users of the product across the
country
 Ford, GM, GE, IBM, Coca-Cola

 Retail Advertising
 Used by retailers to reach customers within a
geographic area
 Cost for national-brand advertising paid by retailer or
shared


Types of Advertising, cont.
 Cooperative


Advertising

Conducted by retailer, paid by
manufacturer or shared

 Trade Advertising
 Undertaken by manufacturer directed toward
the wholesaler or retailer
 Trade publications

Types of Advertising, cont.
 Industrial


Advertising

Aimed at individuals and organizations who
purchase products for use in manufacturing
other products

 Direct-mail Advertising
 Ads, samples, and coupons mailed directly
to the consumer or industrial user to expose
him to or remind him of the product
 May solicit response


Types of Advertising, cont.

 Internet

(Web) Advertising