Sales Jobs are Different than Other Jobs TM 1 -4 • Salespeople are largely responsible for implementing a firm's marketing strategies in the field. • Salespeople represent their company to customers. • Salespeople represent their customers to their company. • Salespeople operate with little or no direct supervision. • Salespeople are alone a large part of the time. • A sales person needs more tact and social intelligence than other employees on the same level in the organization. • Sales people are among the few employees authorized to spend company funds. • Sales jobs frequently require considerable travel and time away from home and family. • Salespeople are responsible for revenue generation.
TM 3 -1 FIG. 3 -1 Salesperson's Average Time Allocation* (5. 3 hrs) 18% (8. 5 hrs) 18% (7. 2 hrs) 15% (11. 6 hrs) 25% (14. 3 hrs) 31% *SOURCE: Christem P. Herde, Dartnell's 29 th Sales Force Compensation Survey 1996 -1997, (The Dartnell Press: Chicago, IL), p. 177.
Lead Conversion Ratio: Inquiry to Decision 12 Months After Inquiring Plan to buy 25% No longer in market 30% TM 3 -3 FIG. 3 -2 Purchased 45% *SOURCE: Bob Donath, James K. Obermayer, Carolyn K. Dixon, and Richard A. Crocker, "When Your Prospect Calls, " Marketing Management, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1994.
NEED ASSESSMENT TM 3 -6 • Situational questions How often do you change the cutting oil in your drill presses? In addition to the hospital administrator, who else has an influence on the decision? • Problem discovery questions Have you experienced any delays in getting repair parts? In which part of the production process is quality control the most important. • Problem Impact questions How do these delays in getting parts affect your production costs? What impact do the quality consistency problems have on your production costs? • Solution value question If your inventories could be reduced by 20%, how much would that save you? If your rejection rate on final inspection was reduced to under one percent, how much would that save you? • Confirmatory questions So, you wold be interested in an inventory control system that reduced your inventories by 20%? If I can provide evidence to you that our products would lower your rejection rate to under one percent, would you be interested?
Presentation of Product, Features, Benefits, Advantages Product Features Benefits TM 3 -7 Advantages Camera Telephoto lens Take pictures from longer distances. Able to capture images of animals or people from a distance. Bicycle Attached water bottle holder Can hold a water bottle. Don't get dehydrated. Don't have to stop for water. Feel more refreshed. Drill Press Multiple drill bits attached Can change bits without shutting down the machine. Saves time. Saves money. Motor Oil Rust inhibitor Oil and engine have longer life. Saves money.
RECRUITING SOURCES OF SALES REPRESENTATIVES Source Comment Referrals: TM 5 -8 Candidates and position are known to person making referral. Within company: Office and factory employees Company employees know the company and its products. Sales force leads Current salespeople know their job requirements and can possibly identify candidates who could be a good job match. Other Companies: Competitors know the customers and are familiar with your products. Customers know your products and your company. Suppliers know your company and your products. Educational institutions Primarily used when recruiting inexperienced people. Students are usually actively involved in a job search, and this provides an efficient place to screen large numbers of available candidates. Advertisements Produces the greatest number of candidates, but the average quality is sometimes lower. Employment agencies The agency is often more costly than other methods, but it will do a large part of the initial screening. Voluntary applicants These applicants are interested in your firm and probably possess a high degree of self-confidence, self-reliance, and initiative. Part-time workers These workers are easy to contact, readily available, and can work flexible hours. This is a good source for in-home selling.
TM 16 -5 Examples of Various Quota Base Quota Sales volume, product line A $200, 000 110 Gross margin, product line B 30, 000 25, 000 83 Product demonstrations Actual 120 Percent of Quota Attained 135 117 Orders from new accounts 15 Expense quota Combination of all the above using equal weights 17 50, 000 113 45, 000 -10 or 110 106. 6 For the expense based quota, the objective is to come in below quota rather than above, or 10% below quota can be interpreted as attaining 110% of the goal.