Core Concepts of Marketing by John Burnett - HTML preview

CHAPTER 8

COMMUNICATING TO MASS MARKETS

3. When the buyer indicates an interest in the product by giving a closing signal,

such as a nod of the head.

Follow-up

To ensure customer satisfaction and maximize long-term sales volume,

salespeople often engage in sales follow-up activities and the provision for post-sale service. If a sale is not made, a follow-up may eventually lead to a sale.

Strengths and Weaknesses of

Personal Selli ng

Personal selling has several important advantages and disadvantages compared with the other

elements of marketing communication mix (see Figure 8.5). Undoubtedly, the most sig-

nificant strength of personal selling is its flexibility. Salespeople can tailor their presenta-

tions to fit the needs, motives, and behavior of individual customers. As salespeople see

the prospect's reaction to a sales approach, they can immediately adjust as needed.

Personal selling also minimizes waste effort. Advertisers typically expend time and

money to send a mass message about a product to many people outside the target market.

In personal selling, the sales force pinpoints the target market, makes a contact, and expends

effort that has a strong probability of leading to a sale.

Consequently, an additional strength of personal selling is that measuring effective-

and determining the return on investment are far more straightforward for personal

selling than for other marketing communication tools, where recall or attitude change is

often the only measurable effect.

Another benefit of personal selling is that a salesperson is in an excellent position to

encourage the customer to act. The one-on-one interaction of personal selling means that

a salesperson can effectively respond to and overcome objections (customers' concerns or reservations about the product) so that the customer is more likely to buy, Salespeople can

also offer many specific reasons to persuade a customer to buy, in contrast to the general

reasons that an ad may urge customers to take immediate action.

A final strength of personal selling is the multiple tasks the sales force can perform.

For instance, in addition to selling, a salesperson can collect payment service or repair prod-

ucts, return products, and collect product and marketing information. In fact, salespeople

are often best at disseminating negative and positive word-of-mouth product information.

High cost is the primary disadvantage of personal selling. With increased competi-

tion, higher travel and lodging costs, and higher salaries, the cost per sales contract con-

tinues to increase. Many companies try to control sales costs by compensating sales

representatives based on commission only, thereby guaranteeing that salespeople get paid

only if they generate sales. However, commission-only salespeople may become risk-averse

and only call on clients who have the highest potential return. These salespeople, then, may

miss opportunities to develop a broad base of potential customers that could generate higher

sales revenues in the long run .

Companies can also

sales costs by using complementary techniques, such as

telemarketing, direct mail, toll-free numbers for interested customers, and online commu-

nication with qualified prospects. Telemarketing and online communication can further reduce

costs by serving as an actual selling vehicle. Both technologies can deliver sales messages,

respond to questions, take payment, and follow up.

Another disadvantage of personal selling is the problem of finding and retaining high-

quality people. First, experienced salespeople sometimes realize that the only way their income

can outpace their cost-of-living increase is to change jobs. Second, because of the push for

profitability, businesses try to hire experienced salespeople away from competitors rather

SALES PROMOTION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

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than hiring college graduates, who take three to five years to reach the level of productiv-

ity of more experienced salespeople. These two staffing issues have caused high turnover

in many sales forces.

Another weakness

personal selling is message inconsistency. Many salespeople

view themselves as independent from the organization, so they design their own sales tech-

niques, use their own message strategies, and engage in questionable ploys to create a sale.

Consequently, it is difficult to find a unified company or product message within a sales

force, or between the sales force and the rest of the marketing communication mix.

A final weakness is that sales force members have different levels of motivation. Sales-

people may vary in their willingness to make the desired sales calls each day ; to make serv-

ice calls that do not lead directly to sales; or to use new technology, such as a laptop, e-mail , or the company's Web site. Finally, overzealous sales representatives may tread a thin line

between ethical and unethical sales techniques. The difference between a friendly lunch

and commercial bribery is sometimes blurred.

The Sales Force of the Future

What will the sales force of the year 2020 look like? Will it still consist of dependent

operators who are assigned a territory or a quota? Will the high cost of competing in a

global marketplace change the traditional salesperson? Although we can speculate about

dramatic changes in the nature of personal selling, the traditional salesperson figure will

likely remain intact for several decades. Why? Many products will still need to be sold

personally by a knowledgeable, trustworthy person who is willing to resolve problems

at any hour of the day.

Still, major changes in personal selling will occur, in large part due to technology.

Though technology has increased selling efficiency,

has also resulted in more complex

products, so that more sales calls are required per order in many industries. Also, because

of the trend toward business decentralization, sales representatives now have more small

or mid-sized accounts to service. Currently, companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Fina

Oil and Chemical as well as many smaller companies provide laptop computers to all sales-

people. Computer-based sales tracking and follow-up systems allow salespeople to track

customers. This technology means that salespeople can assess customer-buying patterns,

profitability, and changing needs more rapidly. Accessing this jnformation via computer saves

the salesperson time and allows customization of the sales presentation

Sales teams will continue to gain in popularity because customers are looking to buy

more than a product. They are looking for sophisticated design, sales, education, and serv-

ice support. A sales team includes several individuals who possess unique expertise and

can coordinate their efforts to help meet the needs of the particular prospect in every way

possible. The salesperson acts as a team quarterback, ensuring that the account relation-

ship is managed properly and that the customer has access to the proper support personnel.

Procter & Gamble is one company that has adopted the team approach. P&G has 22

sales executives who coordinate the sales effort of various P&G divisions in their assigned

market areas. Each manager coordinates key account teams composed of sales executives

from P&G's grocery division. As many as three key account teams may sell in each mar-

ket. The marketing manager supervises a logistics team composed primarily of computer

systems and distIibution executives. The team works closely with retailers to develop mutu-

ally compatible electronic data and distribution systems. P&G hopes the team approach will

reduce the pressure for trade promotions because the team provides greater service to resellers.

Salespeople of the future will have to adjust to new forms of competition. With the

increased capabilities and greater use of direct

for example, salespeople must

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