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Integrated Marketing Communications

Lecture 10: Personal selling and relationship marketing
 Chapter 12
Personal selling and
relationship
marketing

2
Learning objectives

Understand Know Relate

The role of How to perform the The role of sales
personal selling in sales role and management and
IMC
The components of The determinants
Modern selling the personal selling of salesperson
philosophy process performance.
Today’s lecture content

1. The role of personal selling in IMC

2. Modern selling philosophy
3. Technology shapes modern personal selling
4. Relationship marketing
5. Cause-related marketing
6. Sales management
7. Determinants of salesperson performance
 Personal
selling
v is a form of person-to-person
communication
v occurs when a salesperson works
with prospective buyers and
attempts to influence their purchase
needs in the direction of the
company’s products or services
v is based on creating strong
relationships between the seller and
the buyer
v has the drawback of being more
costly than other forms of marketing
communications.
Your Company Name 5
 The focus of sales people
Sales people deal with:
• consumers
• intermediaries
• business-to-business (B2B).
 The focus of sales people (cont.)

Consumer sales Intermediary selling Business-to-business

Personal selling is Companies use large Due to the limited
important at sales forces to inform number of
decision-making and build customers
time; poor sales relationships. available in B2B,
techniques need to Intermediaries personal selling
be avoided become more makes sense.
powerful as suppliers
become more
plentiful
 Personal selling advantages

Enables customisation
Provides immediate
Facilitates a high level of sales message to the
feedback during the
of customer attention customer’s specific
sales presentation
interests and needs

Allows the salesperson Greater ability to

to communicate a demonstrate a Potential to develop
larger amount of product’s functioning long-term relationship
complex information and performance with the customer
than other methods characteristics
Personal selling disadvantages

Loss of control as staff

often work alone and
More costly
must use their own
initiative

Potential for a lack of

Staff work under great consistency related to
pressure to attain the marketing
results communications
objectives
 Attractive features of personal selling

Opportunities Attractive
for career compensatio
Variety and
Job freedom development n and non-
challenge
and financial
advancement rewards
Modern selling philosophy and relationship
marketing

Build the sales process A customer-driven Sales representatives

on a foundation of atmosphere is should act as if they
trust and mutual essential to long-term were on the
agreement growth customer’s payroll

Customise solutions to
Salesperson
Emphasise after-sales a customer’s
professionalism and
service individual needs and
integrity is essential
problems
How technology is shaping modern personal
selling
Some of the main advantages offered by technology include:

• less time and money spent travelling

• access to customers in any location
• easier communication between seller and
customer
• instant information (‘email a quote in an
hour’)
• easier to monitor performance
• easier to record and disseminate
information on customers.
 Technology creates challenges to modern
personal selling
• These challenges include:
• higher expectations (e.g. instant action to a request)
• the technologies that are available to competitors
• increase in demands of customers.
 Relationship marketing
Customer relationship management (CRM) involves:

R
e
l
Initiation
a
t
i
Enhancement o
n
s
Maintenance h
i
p
Customer relationship management (CRM)

Short-term activities
Feedback
Gathering customer
information
Handling requests

Long-term perspective
Build relationships with
the aim of making them long-
term
 Performing the sales role

A salesperson needs to undertake some or all parts of the sales

presentation process.
The sales presentation process includes the following stages:

Pre-approach Approach Presentation Demonstration Negotiation Close Serving the sale

 The sales role

• The degree of involvement in the stages of the process depends on

the specific sales role.
• But, before undertaking this process, the salesperson needs to
determine if the potential customer is worthy of contact.
• Prospecting for clients is based on two elements:

Lead generation Qualifying

 Lead generation
• Lead generation is an element of prospecting for customers by
researching potential customer information.
• Sources include:
• directories
• trade shows
• seminars and conferences
• direct marketing campaigns
• cold calling
• referrals
• networking.
 Qualifying
• Qualifying is another element of customer prospecting. Through a
filtering process, it identifies the best focus of attention.
• Researchers can ask the following questions:
• Is the person financially able to purchase?
• Does the person have the authority to purchase?
• Is the person able to make the buying decision?
• Is the person in the market for this product?
 Performing the sales role

Pre-approach Approach Presentation Demonstration

• Activities prior to • Seeing customers; • Identify needs • Suitability of the

seeing customer generating interest in product is essential
salesperson and • Present a solution
• Background research • Ensure performance
product • Be a good listener is highlighted
• Understanding what • Building a rapport • Demonstration types
the customer may include:
need • The approach may be • models
judged in the first
• Formulating a plan minutes of contact • physical product
• charts, graphs
• testimonials
• simulations
• photographs
• videos
 Performing the sales role (cont.)
Negotiation Close Servicing the sale

• Overcoming buyer • Different approaches • As important as any

resistance and to closing an order other step
addressing concerns include: • Helps develop longer-
• The optimal outcome • trial close term relationships and
is where both parties provides additional
‘win’ • direct close value
• summary-of-
benefits
• assumption close
• silence
 Stage 1: Pre-approach
The pre-approach refers to decisions made before a salesperson approaches the prospect.

• The key pre-approach decisions are: the

objective, background research, a presentation
plan.
• Possible objectives of a sales call
include: giving a prospect information,
reminding a prospect you’re in the industry,
identification of customer needs.
• Valuable background knowledge
includes: information on the prospect and
industry, information on the customer’s
environment.

• Developing a presentation plan means:

considering the objectives and the best way to
achieve them.
 Stage 2: Approach

• Personal sales may be undertaken by telephone or

face-to-face.
• It is essential that rapport is established within the
‘four-minute barrier’.
• Appearance is important in making a positive
impression.
• Methods of establishing rapport include:
• paying compliments
• talking about topical issues
• trying to identify a link between the salesperson and the
customer.
 Stage 3: Presentation

• It is not just about presenting the product.

• Identify customer needs and match those needs to
the product.
• Listen actively.
• Focus on linking customer requirements to product
features.
• Adopt a consultative selling approach.
 Stage 4: Demonstration

• The aims of a demonstration are to:

• support claims about the product
• reduce perceived risk
• stimulate ownership.
• Common demonstration tools include:
• the physical product
• models
The demonstration stage can make the
• charts and graphs most of any selling situation.
• testimonials
• simulations
• photographs and videos.
 Stage 5: Negotiation

Anticipate and prepare for buyer concerns Create alternative solutions

Know the value of your offering Find points of agreement

Validate the problem Do not lose your temper

 Stage 6: Close
Trial close
01 Ask questions about the buyer’s
intentions, such as, ‘If it was in black,
would you buy it?’

Direct close
‘Do you want to place an order?’ 02
Summary of benefits
03 Outline everything the customer will
get with a purchase

Assumption close
How will you be paying for this today?’ 04
Silence
05 27
 Stage 7: Servicing the sale

• Success is based upon relationship-building.

• Methods include:
• follow-up phone call after a few months to check if customer needs anything
more
• sending the customer additional information or complementary products.
 Salesperson performance

• Salesperson performance is typically evaluated quantitatively; e.g. by:

• number of units sold
• dollar volume
• number of newly created accounts.
• No single factor may explain salesperson performance adequately. It
may depend on:
• the salesperson’s own resources
• the nature of customer’s buying task
• the customer–salesperson relationship.
 Six characteristics determining salesperson
performance (1–3)
Aptitude Skill level Motivational level

• Interests, intelligence and • Individual’s learned • Amount of time and energy

personality characteristics proficiency at performing a person is willing to expend
selling tasks (knowing how on job-related activities
to make a sales • ‘Working hard’ and ‘working
presentation, resolve smart’
conflict) • Four personality types of
salespeople:
• competitors
• ego-driven
• achiever
• service-oriented
 Six characteristics determining salesperson
performance (4–6)
Role perceptions Personal characteristics Adaptability
• Accurate perception of job roles • Age, size, appearance, race, • Ability to adapt to situations
• Role conflict diminishes sales gender etc. • Adaptive selling
performance • Androgyny • Recognise need for different
• Organisational citizenship • degree to which individuals selling approaches in different
behaviour: feel that they are situations
• altruism characterised by traits • Confidence in ability to use
• sportsmanship associated with both men (M) variety of selling approaches
and women (F) in different situations
• civic virtue
• empathetic (F) • Confidence to alter selling
• conscientiousness
• competitive (M) tactic during a sales encounter
• sensitive (F) • Actually using different
• ambitious (M) approaches in different
situations
 The role of personal selling
in the promotional mix

Important issues influencing the selection of personal selling as the major

marketing communications tool include:

Product Communication
Involvement
complexity effectiveness
 From selling to sales management

• Sales management:
• involves the implementation of programs for market analysis, direction of
sales effort, etc.
• provides management with information to be incorporated into
management’s analysis, planning and control activities
• may not suit all salespersons.