4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

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Performance Indicator 4.07

5-21 5-22 Selling VocabularyDefine the term selling.

To persuade (another) to recognize the worth or desirability of something

Selling is responding to consumer needs and wants through planned, personalized communication in order to influence purchase decisions and ensure satisfaction.

Because selling is planned and personalized, it goes beyond mere order-taking or customer service.

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope2

SellingIdentify individuals, groups, or agencies that sell.

Every business organization sells.Retailers, real estate agents, B-2-B, wholesalers, etc.

Explain reasons that customers buy goods and services.To satisfy a want or need for themselves or

someone they knowIdentify types of items that are sold.

Both tangible and intangible products are sold.Cars, homes, food, clothes, furnishings, pets, land,

raw materials, ideas, dry cleaning, haircuts, airline flights, etc.

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope3

SellingExplain where selling occurs.

Selling happens anywhere person-to-person contact is made.

Retail stores, business showrooms, in offices, outside, over the phone or internet, etc.

Describe how products are sold.Customer agreeing to the terms of the sale.Direct and Indirect channels

Describe the role of selling in a market economy.Critical part of keeping the economy flowing, sales

must occur for money and items to change ownershipPromotes competition, affects employment, adds

utility, helps customers determine needs, and creates desire for products.

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope4

SellingExplain personal characteristics of salespeople

that are essential to selling.Enthusiastic and self-motivatedHonestWell educated in selling techniques and the

products being soldEffective communication skillsEffective emotional intelligenceSolid computer and technical skillsGoal orientedEmpathetic Persistent

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope5

5-23 5-24 Customer ServiceDistinguish between customer service as a

process and customer service as a function.The process is a set of steps intended to provide

satisfaction to the customerIts function is to make the customer happy with

his/her experienceDescribe how businesses can use customer

service (CS) to beat their competition.Properly implemented, CS can provide a

competitive advantage over competitors that aren’t as good at it.

Happier customers tend to come back to the store/product that made them happy.

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope6

Customer ServiceDiscuss factors that influence customer

expectations of customer service.Amount of money being charged for the productPrevious experience

With this product and storeWith competitors and other purchases

Brand/store reputationExplain how customer service facilitates sales

relationships.Follow-up can be as or more important than the

original saleAny mistakes that can be corrected immediately

enhances the opinion of the customer toward your store and product.

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope7

Customer ServiceIdentify pre-sales opportunities for providing

customer service that can facilitate sales relationships.Train your staff, consistently build a well made product,

offer warranties, build a reputation for excellenceIdentify post-sales opportunities when customer

service can be provided to facilitate sales relationships.Deliver on all promises made to the customerFavorable adjustment and return policiesQuality maintenance and repair servicesReadily available creditClearly written instruction and users’ manuals

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope8

Customer ServiceDiscuss actions a salesperson can take to

make the most of her/his customer service activities.Know the product and how to sellKnow your customersObserve, Listen, Engage and Question (By

paying attention to customers)Act ethicallyBy showing an interest in customersBy saying thank you

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope9

5-158 5-159 How does a company benefit from building a clientele?

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope10

Increased sales volumeLoyal customers are repeat customers that

provide the financial backbone for any business. Repeat business = increased sales.

How does a company benefit from building a clientele?

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope11

Reduced selling costTo make a first sale a business spends

considerable time and money to advertise, determine the customer needs and wants, and build a relationship. Once the relationship is established these costs can be reduced.

How does a company benefit from building a clientele?

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope12

Customer loyaltyLoyal customers are sometimes willing to

stay with a company even if it is experiencing problems due to the good relationship previously established.

How does a company benefit from building a clientele?

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope13

Word-of-Mouth AdvertisingThe best type of advertising because people

tend to believe their friends. Loyal customers promote the business and

attract new customers by sharing positive experiences with the business.

How does a company benefit from building a clientele?

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope14

Increased income and profitAll previous benefits contribute to this most

important benefit.Loyal customers encourage others to become

customers resulting in higher profits to be reinvested in the business.

How do salespersons benefit from building a clientele?

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Increased earningsLoyal customers who give a salesperson all

their business increase his/her earnings through commissions and bonuses.

Repeat salesAfter building a relationship with a customer

the salesperson is familiar with his/her needs and wants and can close a sale in less time. This allows the salesperson more time to prospect and grow his/her customer base.

How do salespersons benefit from building a clientele?

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ReferralsLoyal customers provide salespeople with

leads to new customers.They are willing to do this because they are

satisfied with the business.

Personal satisfactionSelling the right product to the right customer

is very rewarding because the customers appreciate the service and may develop long-standing professional relationships.

What are the costs incurred for failing to build a clientele?

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Customer turnover will be high.

Time invested in finding customers and working with them will be lost.

Dissatisfied customers will tell others making it harder for the business to cultivate new customers.

The ultimate cost would be business failure.

Explain Business Ethics in Selling

Performance Indicator 4.07b

Explain the importance of business ethics in selling.Ethics are the basic principles that govern

behavior.Ethics are NOT laws because they are not

enforced by governmental statutes.Ethics go beyond the law. (Think about

illegal and immoral)A high level of ethics will compel you to

behave in a truthful and honest way.People buy from people they trust.

The importance of business ethics in selling.

Ethics are highly valued because salespeople are the face of the company.

Customer’s evaluate the company’s ethical standards.

Salespeople should acknowledge that trust is the foundation of customer relationships.

What happens when there is a low level of selling ethics?The business can experience legal issues.Customers may become distrustful of the

company and stop purchasing its products.

The company’s profits can decrease.

NOTE: The unethical behavior of just one salesperson can undermine the whole company! You need to know WHERE the line is drawn before you determine how close to the line you want to position yourself.

Illegal selling activities – Crossing the line!

Misrepresenting the truth (bold-faced lie)Saying something unfair or untrue about

another business or product.Participating in bribery.Neglecting to provide accurate information

to the customers.Unfairly competing within the marketplace

such as: making price deals, requiring exclusive dealership, tying-in sales (making the purchase of another product mandatory), requiring reciprocity (doing business only with those who buy from you.)

Customer-oriented ethical issues in sales:

While working with customers salespersons must be cautious with: Gift-giving: One of the most widely disputed

issues. Bribe versus gift?Entertaining: can be viewed as favoritism or

bribery.Answering questions - without really

knowing the answers could lead to legal issues of misrepresentation.

Communicating product information – some salespeople are tempted to without negative product information OR exaggerate its performance.

Competitor-oriented ethical issues in sales:

Some salespeople are tempted to “do what it takes” to hurt their competitors.Tampering with or hiding competitor’s

products.Belittling competitor’s products or

questioning reliability.

Employer-oriented ethical issues in sales:

Questionable activities that employers might participate in are as follows:Putting unreasonable pressure on salespeople

like setting unrealistic sales quotas, etc.

Neglecting to pay commission due when a territory is split and distributed among other sales personnel.

Being a poor role model for ethical behavior.

Looking the other way when staff members behave unethically.

Coworker-oriented ethical issues in sales:

In employee-to-employee relationships, a salesperson might be tempted to behave in an overly competitive way by:Manipulating sales contests for personal gainDeclaring sales totals completed for a

previous month as completed at the beginning of the month.

Encouraging other coworkers to behave unethically.

YOUR personal code of ethics

Your ethical standard is your personal code of ethics.

Ethical sales behavior comes from this code.

What you do in ethical situations in your personal life determines what you’ll do in sales situations.

Your reputation will develop and you will be judged based on your decisions and actions.

5-162 5-163 TechnologyDescribe capabilities that the use of

technology provides salespeople.Accurate tracking of customers and salesDetails tracked and available (birthdays, last

purchase date, etc.)Increased productivity

Explain how technology impacts a salesperson’s planning skills.Can set a calendar of activities in advance

and have reminders pop-upImportant details can be tracked

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TechnologyDescribe how technology can impact a

salesperson’s targeting skills.Can track successful sales and unsuccessful and

figure out which types of customers are buyingDiscuss how technology can impact a

salesperson’s presentation skills.Multiple ways to show the customer information

(DVD’s, Prezi, PPT, sound, and combinations)Explain how technology can impact a

salesperson’s ability to adapt or tailor a sales presentation to a particular customer.Prepackaged presentations for different customer

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TechnologyExplain the use of Customer Relationship

Management (CRM) software in selling.Tracks customer information and then

reminds the salesperson of important dates and information

Stores more details than might be effectively stored on paper

Discuss the use of tablet PCs in selling.Small and easy to carryWireless technology allows use throughout

the store

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TechnologyExplain the use of web-based visits between

customers and sales staff.Asynchronous communication (don’t have to be

on at the same time)Questions can be answered from a distanceProduct information can be posted and viewed

anytimeDescribe the use of the Internet in sales

administration activities.Easy contact informationTrack the number of hits on a websiteFollow-up

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5-164 5-165 Sales RegulationsIdentify reasons that sales activities are

regulated.Some variance between statesCustomers can feel safe making a buying decisionStandardizes expectationsDescribe unfair or deceptive sales practices that are

regulated. Truth in advertising Actual false statement in advertisements about a

products quality, ingredients, or effectiveness Fake testimonials and endorsements Pictures of the wrong merchandise in ads trying to

sell some other item that imply the picture is of the item being sold

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Sales RegulationsFaked pictures of the product performing in a

way that it cannot actually perform Use of prices in ads that are not the real price of

the merchandise described or pictured Advertising sale items that are not actually

available to convince people to visit the sellers store or business or sending flyers with some sale items and some sale items where the actual items that are on sale are not clearly identified.

"Bait and Switch" advertising Deceptive statements of guarantees in

advertisements

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Sales RegulationsExplain state and federal regulations that

affect sales activities.The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a set of

laws governing commercial transactions. The purpose of the UCC was to establish a uniform set of rules to govern commercial transactions, which are often conducted across state lines. The goal of the UCC law is to create a body of rules that would realistically and fairly solve the common problems occurring in everyday commercial transactions.http://EzineArticles.com/675026

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Sales RegulationsA sales presentation is an invitation to

negotiate.Sales people are agents when they have the

authority to make offers.An offer happens when the agent (salesperson)

quotes specific terms to the customer.A sale is defined as the transfer of title to goods

by the seller to the buyer for consideration which is price.

An order happens when the offer is put in writing and both parties agree. However, it does not always have to be in writing to be binding.http://EzineArticles.com/675026

4.07 Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope35