PERSONAL SELLING

According to the U.S. Department of Labors Bureau of Labor Statistics, people working
in sales number close to 12 million, or about 10 percent of the total workforce in the
United States. Personal selling is critical to the sale of many goods and services,
especially major commercial and industrial products and consumer durables, and can be
defined as:
Direct communications between paid representatives and prospects that lead to
transactions, customer satisfaction, account development, and profitable relationships.
The relationships between selling and other elements of the marketing mix are
highlighted in Figure 1-1.

Personal selling
involves two-way communication with prospects and customers that allows the
salesperson to address the special needs of the customer. Perhaps the most important
advantage of personal selling is that it is considerably more effective than advertising,
public relations, and sales promotion in identifying opportunities to create value for the
customer and gaining customer commitment.
Sales management can thus be defined as:
The planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of personal contact programs
designed to achieve the sales and profit objectives of the firm.
all managers have two types of responsibilities
Achieving or exceeding the goals established for performance in the current period
Developing the people reporting to them
A CHANGING MARKETPLACE:
Competition
Today, the number of competitors in most markets has literally exploded. In this section,
we explore three key reasons for this developmentglobalization of markets, shorter
product cycles, and a blurring of market boundaries.

Globalization : (like Chinese product ) , as the huge technological advances in -1

all parts of our life , there are an increase in the competition , so every thing
.become complex
2-shorter product cycles : technology decrease the time needed to convert input
to output , so the production life cycle affect our buying patterns as example :
(if it take 2 years to produce a plane , you couldnt replace it every 1 year )
Life span : relatively TV modified or produce new model each year ( like mobile ,
computers , cars , because ( let people follow new thing ) .
3- blurred boundaries : remove boundaries for companies .
As examples :
A lot of companies penetrate the role of university and give certificates and
graduation .
Another example are :
If you want to deposit money you go to the bank , but now you can go to the
insurance company , or financial market , or telecommunications , or by use cash
and credit cards .
(jewelers penetrate the glasses and clocks industry )

Customers :
1- fewer suppliers : the companies reduce suppliers numbers , because they
found that the cost of maintaining relationship with large numbers
exceeding price saving so they need to make the cost lower , so people
prefer wholesaler who have directly relationship with the customer .
2- rising expectation :( the customer become more awareness ) and now he
able to know everything about the product , and because he ask always for
the information related to the product , so the company must expect what
customer problems are .
3- increasing power :the relationship between customer and supplier ( in the
past the relationship are as follows , first come the manufacturer then the
supplier then the customer ) but now because a huge numbers of customers ,
suppliers play as a representative for the manufacturer .
when supplier deal with many product for manufacturer , the result is a
decrease of cost of suppliers that the company pay for them or him .
the customer become more strong and have a power to influence the price of
the product , the specification , features and so on .

selling process :
1- relationship selling :
Relationship selling involves creating customer value by addressing important
customer problems and opportunities through a supplier-customer relationship that
is much more intimate than that of traditional transactional selling. relationship
selling requires a greater level of trust and commitment by both parties.

2- Sales team :
with multiple contacts being established between parties . This model allows for a
broader transfer of capabilities and communications. Companies now give a big
deal or great attention to work as teams because teams mean experience, low cost ,
and do the job better .
this allows for a broader transfer of capabilities and communications , notice also
that both the buyer and seller must change , but not all buyers and sellers are
prepared to make these adjustments .

3- Inside selling : some people spend more time selling for customer in
the company rather than go and attack new buyers and make new deals
or make some selling process.
4-productivity metrics :
Productivity = out puts
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In puts
Historically, sales performance metrics were simpleincrease revenue over the
previous year. Sales managers typically rewarded and compensated salespeople by
evaluating sales volume over a certain period of time. Although sales volume is
still important, companies are discovering that not all sales are equally profitable.
Profitability often depends on the following:
The amount of time necessary to complete the sale
The gross margins associated with the sale
The level of price discounting
The amount of promotional support
The amount of post-sale support
The impact of future product sales

THE SALES MANAGEMENT PROCESS :

The sequence of activities that guides managers in the creation and administration
of sales programs for a firm is known as the sales management process.

Focusing on the Big Picture:

Mean interpret the company strategy and a firm's marketing strategy and a firm's
strategic sales force program , so when you work as salesperson or any jobs in
sales try to make your job plans and goals go with the department goals and with
the company goals
Roles of the Sales Force:
The role of sales force in implementation market strategy must be appear and have
a big portion .
Structuring the Sales Force:
Affect selling skills and knowledge level required of salespeople (which affect
compensation, recruitment, training , and evaluation ) which in turn affect how
the customers see the firm .
Building Sales Competencies:
( we will talk a lot about it later on ) but for now its mean the abilities and the
capabilities that the salespeople must have to can work effectively in sales job .

Leading the Sales Force.

(models of behaviors develop trust between you as a manger And your employees
in sales department, rapport or good relation with subordinates can be build as a
result )

THE SALES MANAGEMENT COMPETENCIES:

Sales management competencies are defined as sets of knowledge, skills,

behaviors, and attitudes that a person needs to be effective in a wide range of
industries and various types of
organizations.
Strategic Action Competency: Understanding the overall strategy and goals of
the company and ensuring that your actions and those of the people you manage
are consistent with these goals involves strategic action competency.

Coaching Competency:
Coaching is defined as a sequence of conversations and activities that provide
ongoing feedback and encouragement to a salesperson or sales team member with
the goal of improving that persons performance.

Team-Building Competency: Accomplishing tasks through small groups of

people who are collectively responsible and whose work is interdependent requires
a team-building competency.

Self-Management Competency: Taking responsibility for your actions at work

and elsewhere involves self-management competency. When problems arise,
people often blame their difficulties on the situation or on others.

Global Perspective Competency: Drawing on human, financial, information, and

material resources from multiple countries and serving customers who span
multiple cultures requires global perspective competency.

Technology Competency: Understanding the potential for technology to improve

sales force efficiency and effectiveness and knowing how to implement the
integration of technology into the sales force is referred to as possessing
technology competency.