Full Notes'

The Duties of a Retail Salesperson
Retail salespeople work in diverse types of retail enterprises helping customers select and buy
consumer products. They may work to sell or rent products and merchandise ranging from books to
automobiles in specialty stores. They may work in specific departments of large department stores,
but in the small owner-managed store, the retail salesperson is responsible for overall supervision
and sales of products to customers. The basic duties of a retail salesperson are:
• Staying up-to-date regarding product knowledge
• Selling products through guidance and persuasion
• Securing consumer satisfaction
In addition to these three basic duties, specific related duties in a retail sales job may include:
• Handling cash and maintaining the cash register
• Sorting coupons, exchange vouchers, and other items related to sales and sales
promotions
• Carrying cash and depositing it at a financial institution
Depending on the type of store the retail salesperson works for, general activities may include:
• Greeting customers
• Helping customers identify their requirements
• Promoting products and partaking in sales-promotion campaigns
• Advising customers on the use, utility, and maintenance of products
• Answering customers' questions regarding the store and its products
• Processing financial transactions
• Helping customers who want to return and exchange products
• Arranging for delivery of purchased products and wrapping products in packaging when
needed
• Negotiating on-the-spot pricing of products to clinch deals
• Supervising, maintaining, and ordering supplies
• Arranging merchandise on store shelves and in display areas
The Skills of a Retail Salesperson

To be successful, retail salespeople need the following skills and qualities:
• Presentable appearance and cheerful personality
• Excellent communication skills

• Awareness of current trends, fashions, and consumer tastes
• Patience, tact, and courtesy
• Ability to handle work pressure
• Ability to negotiate and persuade
• Ability to make calculations quickly
The duties and responsibilities of a sales person are as follows:
- Assist the customers in selecting products

- Answer their queries about the products or the store in general
- Keep a check of inventory
- Sales of goods
- Report to the Store In charge
- Maximize sales and profitability of the store.
- Maintaining store standards by keeping it clean
The duties of a salesperson vary depending on the type of sales job.
Interestingly, the actual words related to the selling part of the sales job are often found quite far
down the 'list of duties' in the job description! This may work in some retail-type sales positions,
however, when you are talking about big ticket items; or volume selling; the job description must
start and end with job duties that relate to actually being able to SELL a product or service to a
prospect.
To find a salesperson that can start the sales process by opening up good communication with the
prospect to find out what they actually want and need; present well; handle the variety of customer
objections; and then closes the sale: is a VERY valuable person to any organization. Salespeople are
not "born that way" but they do have certain attributes that make them successful. Being goal
oriented and persistent are two of those attributes.
Of course you can't put that in the duties of a salesperson; but as a manager, if you mire the sales
professional in non-sales related work, like taking inventory, or a lot of administrative duties, you
may be mistaking "make work" for valuable work.
The real job duties of any salesperson are to 'prospect for clients', whether they walk into a store, or
the salesperson has to go out and get find prospective buyers. Next to get into GOOD
communication with the potential customer. The attributes you are looking for is that the
salesperson is willing to communicate and can do it with ease. As part of this communicative
process, the next step is to understand what the customer is looking for.
This can be as small a thing as finding out what color dress a woman wants to a very big issue when
it comes to selling services, such as Marketing Service Contracts; Website Development; Group
Insurance Sales; major Computer Hardware Installations; and so on. To not understand your
customers business needs and wants can be a fatal flaw.
It's also important that the salesperson can 'qualify' their prospect. The potential customer that
enters the Rolls Royce showroom may love the cars, but in this type of situation, 'qualifying' is a
very important step.
Job duties for a salesperson must include the ability to 'present' the product or service. Knowing the
product well is important - or in the case of highly technical sales - bringing the appropriate
technical expert along who knows the product inside and out is extremely smart tactically. One way
or another, a great salesperson must be able to 'present' and if he/she has done the first steps
thoroughly, then the presentation will be such that it will give the prospect everything that he wants
and needs.
If the salesperson never found out this crucial information, the presentation will miss the mark and
the potential client is sure to have little to say except that he'll "think about it" for now. However, if
your client begins to ask questions and for clarification throughout the presentation, you know that
you have hit their interest level.
The "art of friendly persuasion" sounds very complicated. However, if someone presents to you
what you personally (or corporately) actually need and want, then it will be a lot easier to 'persuade'
you to be interested, won't it? So, one of the attributes you want in a salesperson is that they can
listen actively to what the client is saying and if the client is not forthcoming, the salesperson should
be able to ask enough open-ended questions in order to get the client to tell him the needed
information. This is difficult to state as a job duty of a salesperson, but it can be listed in the skills
required.
But then we come to "the bottom line"; closing the sale and dealing with the possibility of the
"dreaded objections". Here is where a professional salesperson shines and knows what they are
doing. Here is where the attributes of being goal oriented; and particularly that of being persistent,
play a big role. This is not to say we are talking about the pushy, irritating sales-bore, who won't
take no for an answer, but really has nothing else to offer. No, we're talking about a skill.
Courteous, tactful, and skilled handling of objections and customer concerns is an essential part of
good salesmanship. Handling objections is always part of a salespersons job duties. This cannot be
up to the manager, although certainly others can assist the salesperson, in specialized situations.
ETHICAL ISSUES IN SELLING
I) INTRODUCTION
Ethics in business is act of adhering to fair deal in the transactions, voluntarily, the mentality of
adhering to fair deal which is not because of the fear of controlling authorities but arising out of the
interest of well being of humanity as a whole
Expectation on how Other parties should behave with the Company, in the same manner, the
Company should behave with the Other parties in business dealings, is ethics.
for example, when the Company expects that the Consumer should not cheat them in the same way
it should not cheat the Consumer.
This concept brings harmony between all the sectors and ensures healthy growth of all the sectors.
The necessity for policing does not arise and the attitude of exploitation among the parties involved
in business dealings also does not arise
Most of the companies perform the Marketing activity without sacrificing on ethics that is expected
out of them
If companies follow ethical practices in all its business activities ( which includes selling activity ) the
need for bringing stringent policies by the law enforcement authorities will get reduced considerably
But unscrupulous Companies follow unethical practices while selling their products / services to the
consumers
.
Of course law enforcement exists to protect the above mentioned parties from indulging in un
ethical practices. In spite of that, some greedy companies get involved into such bad practices till
they are caught by the authorities
But some business people argue that in business there is nothing like ethics. This may me true for
short time / one time business operators and they could be equated to cheaters. But companies
which want to survive and grow in the long run with accumulation of goodwill, follows ethical
practices.
In this article the author is restricting his discussion only to the extent of ethical issues related to the
dealings which take place during the selling function and not discussing on the dealings of other
functions of business ( viz ) Production , Finance, Human Resource Development, etc
The author has listed some of the un ethical practices being practiced by unscrupulous companies.
The purpose of coming out with this list by the author is to educate the altruist on un ethical
practices being followed by unscrupulous companies in their business deals which is expected to
throw light on protection of human beings
Also this list may help the young budding managers to create awareness on the possible un ethical
practices that their competitors ( unscrupulous companies ) may adopt to capture the market share
for which they should equip themselves to fight against and win in the race
Of course it is the responsibility of the Management professionals and business community in not
allowing companies to exist which are indulging in such un ethical practices in business
Consumer Forums established protect the consumers interest. The industry associations protect the
industries interest. In spite of all these unscrupulous companies / customers practice un ethical
ways to earn money. Hence it is the responsibility of the individuals to take care from not getting
cheated
II) UN ETHICAL PRACTICES FOLLOWED BY UNSCRUPULOUS COMPANIES
1) over / under invoicing affecting the Government’s revenue
2) selling harmful products causing damage to the environment and people
3) degrading competitor’s product by misinterpreting it, affecting their sales
4) under pricing the product affecting the financial status of the company of
Stakeholders
5) selling sub standard quality products as quality products, affecting the sales of the company,
making the unit sick and creating a situation of closing the unit
6) selling less quantity of the product than claimed cheating the consumer
7) making false claim with the insurance companies thus cheating the service providers
8) selling directly or indirectly the product in the Sole selling agent territory
9) using substances which affects the neighbor when the consumer uses the product
10) motivating the Probable customer ( suspect ) who is not a Potential Customer ( person with
capacity to buy ) is un ethical. This may indirectly make the person to mobilize the funds required
like ( accepting bribe in the office, borrowing loan more than the repaying capacity, etc )
11) hiding the truth of information about the product to the buyer
12) applying pressure on the customer who is not interested in the product in the name of
aggressive selling
13) selling inferior goods claiming as superior quality goods
14) selling the product at very high price compared to its cost ( production cost and distribution cost
)
15) making false claim on the benefits of the product exploiting the ignorance of the customer
16) selling the repaired / reconditioned product as new and selling at the price of new product ( in
bearings business )
17) selling the product at higher price than normal price to the ignorant customer ( in computer
software business )
18) Pricing the product for a particular quantity but selling less quantity for the quoted price
19) Retailers not passing on the frees, offers, etc to the customers given by the company
20) Not providing the After Sales Service as promised
21) Exploiting the physically challenged customer to the advantage of the seller like selling
particular color saree as a different color to sell the product to the color blind customer
22) Duplicating the brand ( packing the product like popular brand packaging )
23) Making the customer an addict by using ingredients which is harmful to the user
24) Selling the product on credit to the customer by providing credit above the extent of his
repaying capacity
25) Unscrupulous companies with huge money power buys competitors products from the open
market and stocks it in their premise making artificial scarcity
of the brand of the product
26) making false complaints in the court of law through their persons just to create problem
27) misleading the consumers by making use of the sentiments of the consumers
28) uses third party pressure / recommendation to sell the product
29) sellers sell the product by bribing, giving gifts, etc
30) by showing forged testimonials to the customer
31) indirectly damaging the company’s product / components thereby increasing the demand for
replacement
32) encouraging the mechanics / service stations to replace the product with new components than
repairing the old components by providing commissions which will be more than labour charges
33) over invoicing the product and using the additional income for bribing
34) while exporting the product over invoicing to avail more export incentives like cash subsidy,
replenishment license, etc
35) selling the product without invoicing avoiding taxes
III) CONCLUSION
It will be very difficult for any country to police the companies not allowing them to cheat the other
party. Only the business community should believe in business in an ethical way. All the other
parties dealing with business community like Government, people, consumers, banks, employees,
suppliers and others should also follow ethics when they deal with the company.
Importance of salesmanship
Salesmanship is an art of influencing another person for the object of persuading him to buy specific product. It may be
regarded as the process of winning the confidence of consumer. According to Whitehead. “t is a method of arriving at a
common point of view with the prospect in regard to the desirability of some article, service or idea.” Salesmanship may
also refer to convincing a customer by certain technique and he is really persuaded for buying the particular product.
Importance of Salesman Ship
1. Salesmanship helps to create demand for new products or new brands. It influences to change in patronage
from one source of supply to another which results concentration of purchases of specific product.
2. As it wins the buyer's confidence so it helps to make regular and permanent customers.
3. The person who is engaged in convincing the public desirability of a specific product is called salesman. He
informs the customers about the usefulness of commodity with a view to including him to buy the goods.
4. He establishes the goods will of firm in the market. So the sales volume may easily be increased.
5. He constantly observes the fashion, taste, like and dislike of customers and informs the producer about their
choice.
6. He helps to establish close relationship between the manufacturer and consumer.
distribution - introduction
Distribution (or "Place") is the fourth traditional element of the marketing mix. The other three are Product, Price and
Promotion.
The Nature of Distribution Channels
Most businesses use third parties or intermediaries to bring their products to market. They try to forge a "distribution
channel" which can be defined as
"all the organisations through which a product must pass between its point of production and consumption"
Why does a business give the job of selling its products to intermediaries? After all, using intermediaries means giving up
some control over how products are sold and who they are sold to.
The answer lies in efficiency of distribution costs. Intermediaries are specialists in selling. They have the contacts,
experience and scale of operation which means that greater sales can be achieved than if the producing business tried run
a sales operation itself.
Functions of a Distribution Channel
The main function of a distribution channel is to provide a link between production and consumption. Organisations that
form any particular distribution channel perform many key functions:
Information Gathering and distributing market research and intelligence - important for marketing
planning
Promotion Developing and spreading communications about offers
Contact Finding and communicating with prospective buyers
Matching Adjusting the offer to fit a buyer's needs, including grading, assembling and packaging
Negotiation Reaching agreement on price and other terms of the offer
Physical distribution Transporting and storing goods
Financing Acquiring and using funds to cover the costs of the distribution channel
Risk taking Assuming some commercial risks by operating the channel (e.g. holding stock)
All of the above functions need to be undertaken in any market. The question is - who performs them and how many levels
there need to be in the distribution channel in order to make it cost effective.
Numbers of Distribution Channel Levels
Each layer of marketing intermediaries that performs some work in bringing the product to its final buyer is a "channel
level". The figure below shows some examples of channel levels for consumer marketing channels:
Importance of Distribution Channels
As noted, distribution channels often require the assistance of others in order for the
marketer to reach its target market. But why exactly does a company need others to help
with the distribution of their product? Wouldn’t a company that handles its own distribution
functions be in a better position to exercise control over product sales and potentially earn
higher profits? Also, doesn’t the Internet make it much easier to distribute products thus
lessening the need for others to be involved in selling a company’s product?
While on the surface it may seem to make sense for a company to operate its own
distribution channel (i.e., handling all aspects of distribution) there are many factors
preventing companies from doing so. While companies can do without the assistance of
certain channel members, for many marketers some level of channel partnership is needed.
For example, marketers who are successful without utilizing resellers to sell their product
(e.g., Dell Computers sells mostly through the Internet and not in retail stores) may still
need assistance with certain parts of the distribution process (e.g., Dell uses parcel post
shippers such as FedEx and UPS). In Dell’s case creating their own transportation system
makes little sense given how large such a system would need to be in order to service Dell’s
customer base. Thus, by using shipping companies Dell is taking advantage of the benefits
these services offer to Dell and to Dell’s customers.
When choosing a distribution strategy a marketer must determine what value a channel
member adds to the firm’s products. Remember, as we discussed in the Product Decisions
Tutorial, customers assess a product’s value by looking at many factors including those that
surround the product (i.e., augmented product). Several surrounding features can be
directly influenced by channel members, such as customer service, delivery, and
availability. Consequently, for the marketer selecting a channel partner involves a value
analysis in the same way customers make purchase decisions. That is, the marketer must
assess the benefits received from utilizing a channel partner versus the cost incurred for
using the services.
Benefits Offered by Channel Members
• Cost Savings in Specialization – Members of the distribution channel are specialists in

what they do and can often perform tasks better and at lower cost than companies
who do not have distribution experience. Marketers attempting to handle too many
aspects of distribution may end up exhausting company resources as they learn how
to distribute, resulting in the company being “a jack of all trades but master of none.”
• Reduce Exchange Time – Not only are channel members able to reduce distribution
costs by being experienced at what they do, they often perform their job more rapidly
resulting in faster product delivery. For instance, consider what would happen if a
grocery store received direct shipment from EVERY manufacturer that sells products
in the store. This delivery system would be chaotic as hundreds of trucks line up each
day to make deliveries, many of which would consist of only a few boxes. On a busy
day a truck may sit for hours waiting for space so they can unload their products.
Instead, a better distribution scheme may have the grocery store purchasing its
supplies from a grocery wholesaler that has its own warehouse for handling
simultaneous shipments from a large number of suppliers. The wholesaler will
distributes to the store in the quantities the store needs, on a schedule that works for
the store, and often in a single truck, all of which speeds up the time it takes to get
the product on the store’s shelves.
• Customers Want to Conveniently Shop for Variety – Marketers have to understand
what customers want in their shopping experience. Referring back to our grocery
store example, consider a world without grocery stores and instead each marketer of
grocery products sells through their own stores. As it is now, shopping is time
consuming, but consider what would happen if customers had to visit multiple
retailers each week to satisfy their grocery needs. Hence, resellers within the channel
of distribution serve two very important needs: 1) they give customers the products
they want by purchasing from many suppliers (termed accumulating and assortment
services), and 2) they make it convenient to purchase by making products available in
single location.
• Resellers Sell Smaller Quantities – Not only do resellers allow customers to purchase
products from a variety of suppliers, they also allow customers to purchase in
quantities that work for them. Suppliers though like to ship products they produce in
large quantities since this is more cost effective than shipping smaller amounts. For
instance, consider what it costs to drive a truck a long distance. In terms of
operational expenses for the truck (e.g., fuel, truck driver’s cost) let’s assume it costs
(US) $1,000 to go from point A to point B. Yet in most cases, with the exception of a
little decrease in fuel efficiency, it does not cost that much more to drive the truck
whether it is filled with 1000 boxes containing the product or whether it only has 100
boxes. But when transportation costs are considered on a per product basis ($1 per
box vs. $10 per box) the cost is much less for a full truck. The ability of intermediaries
to purchase large quantities but to resell them in smaller quantities (referred to as
bulk breaking) not only makes these products available to those wanting smaller
quantities but the reseller is able to pass along to their customers a significant portion
of the cost savings gained by purchasing in large volume.
• Create Sales – Resellers are at the front line when it comes to creating demand for
the marketer’s product. In some cases resellers perform an active selling role using
persuasive techniques to encourage customers to purchase a marketer’s product. In
other cases they encourage sales of the product through their own advertising efforts
and using other promotional means such as special product displays.
• Offer Financial Support – Resellers often provide programs that enable customers to
more easily purchase products by offering financial programs that ease payment
requirements. These programs include allowing customers to: purchase on credit;
purchase using a payment plan; delay the start of payments; and allowing trade-in or
exchange options.
• Provide Information – Companies utilizing resellers for selling their products depend
on distributors to provide information that can help improve the product. High-level
intermediaries may offer their suppliers real-time access to sales data including
information showing how products are selling by such characteristics as geographic
location, type of customer, and product location (e.g., where located within a store,
where found on a website). If high-level information is not available, marketers can
often count on resellers to provide feedback as to how customers are responding to
products. This feedback can occur either through surveys or interviews with reseller’s
employees or by requesting the reseller allow the marketer to survey customers.
Costs of Utilizing Channel Members
• Loss of Revenue – Resellers are not likely to offer services to a marketer unless they
see financial gain in doing so. They obtain payment for their services as either direct
payment (e.g., marketer pays for shipping costs) or, in the case of resellers, by
charging their customers more than what they paid the marketer for acquiring the
product (termed markup). For the latter, marketers have a good idea of what the final
customer will pay for their product which means the marketer must charge less when
selling the product to resellers. In these situations marketers are not reaping the full
sale price by using resellers, which they may be able to do if they sold directly to the
customer.
• Loss of Communication Control – Marketers not only give up revenue when using
resellers, they may also give up control of the message being conveyed to customers.
If the reseller engages in communication activities, such as personal selling in order
to get customers to purchase the product, the marketer is no longer controlling what
is being said about the product. This can lead to miscommunication problems with
customers, especially if the reseller embellishes the benefits the product provides to
the customer. While marketers can influence what is being said by training reseller’s
salespeople, they lack ultimate control of the message.
• Loss of Product Importance – Once a product is out of the marketer’s hands the
importance of that product is left up to channel members. If there are pressing issues
in the channel, such as transportation problems, or if a competitor is using
promotional incentives in an effort to push their product through resellers, the
marketer’s product may not get the attention the marketer feels it should receive.
distribution - types of distribution intermediary
Introduction
There is a variety of intermediaries that may get involved before a product gets from the original producer to the final
user. These are described briefly below:
Retailers
Retailers operate outlets that trade directly with household customers. Retailers can be classified in several ways:
• Type of goods being sold( e.g. clothes, grocery, furniture)

• Type of service (e.g. self-service, counter-service)
• Size (e.g. corner shop; superstore)
• Ownership (e.g. privately-owned independent; public-quoted retail group
• Location (e.g. rural, city-centre, out-of-town)
• Brand (e.g. nationwide retail brands; local one-shop name)
Wholesalers
Wholesalers stock a range of products from several producers. The role of the wholesaler is to sell onto retailers.
Wholesalers usually specialise in particular products.
Distributors and dealers
Distributors or dealers have a similar role to wholesalers – that of taking products from producers and selling them on.
However, they often sell onto the end customer rather than a retailer. They also usually have a much narrower product
range. Distributors and dealers are often involved in providing after-sales service.
Franchises
Franchises are independent businesses that operate a branded product (usually a service) in exchange for a licence fee and
a share of sales.
Agents
Agents sell the products and services of producers in return for a commission (a percentage of the sales revenues)
A channel of distribution comprises a set of institutions which perform all of the activities utilised to move a
product and its title from production to consumption.
Bucklin - Theory of Distribution Channel Structure (1966)
Another element of Neil H.Borden's Marketing Mix is Place. Place is also known as channel, distribution, or
intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goods and/or services are moved from the manufacturer/ service
provider to the user or consumer.
There are six basic 'channel' decisions:
• Do we use direct or indirect channels? (e.g. 'direct' to a consumer, 'indirect' via a wholesaler).
• Single or multiple channels.
• Cumulative length of the multiple channels.
• Types of intermediary (see later).
• Number of intermediaries at each level (e.g. how many retailers in Southern Spain).
• Which companies as intermediaries to avoid 'intrachannel conflict' (i.e. infighting between local
distributors).
Selection Consideration - how do we decide upon a distributor?
• Market segment - the distributor must be familiar with your target consumer and segment.
• Changes during the product life cycle - different channels can be exploited at different points in the PLC e.g.
Foldaway scooters are now available everywhere. Once they were sold via a few specific stores.
• Producer - distributor fit - Is there a match between their polices, strategies, image, and yours? Look for
'synergy'.
• Qualification assessment - establish the experience and track record of your intermediary.
• How much training and support will your distributor require?
Types of Channel Intermediaries.
There are many types of intermediaries such as wholesalers, agents, retailers, the Internet, overseas distributors,
direct marketing (from manufacturer to user without an intermediary), and many others. The main modes of
distribution will be looked at in more detail.
1. Channel Intermediaries - Wholesalers
• They break down 'bulk' into smaller packages for resale by a retailer.
• They buy from producers and resell to retailers. They take ownership or 'title' to goods whereas agents do
not (see below).
• They provide storage facilities. For example, cheese manufacturers seldom wait for their product to mature.
They sell on to a wholesaler that will store it and eventually resell to a retailer.
• Wholesalers offer reduce the physical contact cost between the producer and consumer e.g. customer service
costs, or sales force costs.
• A wholesaler will often take on the some of the marketing responsibilities. Many produce their own
brochures and use their own telesales operations.
2. Channel Intermediaries - Agents
• Agents are mainly used in international markets.

• An agent will typically secure an order for a producer and will take a commission. They do not tend to take
title to the goods. This means that capital is not tied up in goods. However, a 'stockist agent' will hold
consignment stock (i.e. will store the stock, but the title will remain with the producer. This approach is used
where goods need to get into a market soon after the order is placed e.g. foodstuffs).
• Agents can be very expensive to train. They are difficult to keep control of due to the physical distances
involved. They are difficult to motivate.
3. Channel Intermediaries - Retailers
• Retailers will have a much stronger personal relationship with the consumer.
• The retailer will hold several other brands and products. A consumer will expect to be exposed to many
products.
• Retailers will often offer credit to the customer e.g. electrical wholesalers, or travel agents.
• Products and services are promoted and merchandised by the retailer.
• The retailer will give the final selling price to the product.
• Retailers often have a strong 'brand' themselves e.g. Ross and Wall-Mart in the USA, and Alisuper, Modelo,
and Jumbo in Portugal.
4. Channel Intermediaries - Internet

• The Internet has a geographically disperse market.
• The main benefit of the Internet is that niche products reach a wider audience e.g. Scottish Salmon direct
from an Inverness fishery.
• There are low barriers low barriers to entry as set up costs are low.
• Use e-commerce technology (for payment, shopping software, etc)
• There is a paradigm shift in commerce and consumption which benefits distribution via the Internet
Types of Retail outlets
 Department Stores
A department store is a set-up which offers wide range of products to the end-users under one roof. In a department store, the
consumers can get almost all the products they aspire to shop at one place only. Department stores provide a wide range of
options to the consumers and thus fulfill all their shopping needs.
Merchandise:
Electronic Appliances
Apparels
Jewellery
Toiletries
Cosmetics
Footwear
Sportswear
Toys
Books
CDs, DVDs
Examples – Shoppers Stop, Pantaloon
 Discount Stores
Discount stores also offer a huge range of products to the end-users but at a discounted rate. The discount stores generally offer a
limited range and the quality in certain cases might be a little inferior as compared to the department stores.
Wal-Mart currently operates more than 1300 discount stores in United States. In India Vishal Mega Mart comes under discount
store.
Merchandise:
Almost same as department store but at a cheaper price.
 Supermarket
A retail store which generally sells food products and household items, properly placed and arranged in specific departments is
called a supermarket. A supermarket is an advanced form of the small grocery stores and caters to the household needs of the
consumer. The various food products (meat, vegetables, dairy products, juices etc) are all properly displayed at their respective
departments to catch the attention of the customers and for them to pick any merchandise depending on their choice and need.
Merchandise:
Bakery products
Cereals
Meat Products, Fish products
Breads
Medicines
Vegetables
Fruits
Soft drinks
Frozen Food
Canned Juices
 Warehouse Stores
A retail format which sells limited stock in bulk at a discounted rate is called as warehouse store. Warehouse stores do not bother
much about the interiors of the store and the products are not properly displayed.
 Mom and Pop Store (also called Kirana Store in India)
Mom and Pop stores are the small stores run by individuals in the nearby locality to cater to daily needs of the consumers staying
in the vicinity. They offer selected items and are not at all organized. The size of the store would not be very big and depends on
the land available to the owner. They wouldn’t offer high-end products.
Merchandise:
Eggs
Bread
Stationery
Toys
Cigarettes
Cereals
Pulses
Medicines
 Speciality Stores
As the name suggests, Speciality store would specialize in a particular product and would not sell anything else apart from the
specific range.Speciality stores sell only selective items of one particular brand to the consumers and primarily focus on high
customer satisfaction.
Example –You will find only Reebok merchandise at Reebok store and nothing else, thus making it a speciality store. You can
never find Adidas shoes at a Reebok outlet.
 Malls
Many retail stores operating at one place form a mall. A mall would consist of several retail outlets each selling their own
merchandise but at a common platform.
 E Tailers
Now a days the customers have the option of shopping while sitting at their homes. They can place their order through internet,
pay with the help of debit or credit cards and the products are delivered at their homes only. However, there are chances that the
products ordered might not reach in the same condition as they were ordered. This kind of shopping is convenient for those who
have a hectic schedule and are reluctant to go to retail outlets. In this kind of shopping; the transportation charges are borne by the
consumer itself.
Example – EBAY, Rediff Shopping, Amazon
 Dollar Stores
Dollar stores offer selected products at extremely low rates but here the prices are fixed.
Example – 99 Store would offer all its merchandise at Rs 99 only. No further bargaining is entertained. However the quality of the
product is always in doubt at the discount stores.
The following table describes the factors that influence the choice of distribution channel by a business:
Influence Comments
Market factors An important market factor is "buyer behaviour"; how do buyer's want to purchase the product? Do they
prefer to buy from retailers, locally, via mail order or perhaps over the Internet? Another important
factor is buyer needs for product information, installation and servicing. Which channels are best served
to provide the customer with the information they need before buying? Does the product need specific
technical assistance either to install or service a product? Intermediaries are often best placed to provide
servicing rather than the original producer - for example in the case of motor cars.
The willingness of channel intermediaries to market product is also a factor. Retailers in particular invest
heavily in properties, shop fitting etc. They may decide not to support a particular product if it requires
too much investment (e.g. training, display equipment, warehousing).
Another important factor is intermediary cost. Intermediaries typically charge a "mark-up" or

"commission" for participating in the channel. This might be deemed unacceptably high for the ultimate
producer business.
Producer factors A key question is whether the producer have the resources to perform the functions of the channel? For
example a producer may not have the resources to recruit, train and equip a sales team. If so, the only
option may be to use agents and/or other distributors.
Producers may also feel that they do not possess the customer-based skills to distribute their products.
Many channel intermediaries focus heavily on the customer interface as a way of creating competitive
advantage and cementing the relationship with their supplying producers.
Another factor is the extent to which producers want to maintain control over how, to whom and at what
price a product is sold. If a manufacturer sells via a retailer, they effective lose control over the final
consumer price, since the retailer sets the price and any relevant discounts or promotional offers.
Similarly, there is no guarantee for a producer that their product/(s) are actually been stocked by the
retailer. Direct distribution gives a producer much more control over these issues.
Product factors Large complex products are often supplied direct to customers (e.g. complex medical equipment sold to
hospitals). By contrast perishable products (such as frozen food, meat, bread) require relatively short
distribution channels - ideally suited to using intermediaries such as retailers.
Distribution Intensity
There are three broad options - intensive, selective and exclusive distribution:
Intensive distribution aims to provide saturation coverage of the market by using all available outlets. For many products,
total sales are directly linked to the number of outlets used (e.g. cigarettes, beer). Intensive distribution is usually
required where customers have a range of acceptable brands to chose from. In other words, if one brand is not available, a
customer will simply choose another.
Selective distribution involves a producer using a limited number of outlets in a geographical area to sell products. An
advantage of this approach is that the producer can choose the most appropriate or best-performing outlets and focus
effort (e.g. training) on them. Selective distribution works best when consumers are prepared to "shop around" - in other
words - they have a preference for a particular brand or price and will search out the outlets that supply.
Factors Affecting Choice of Distribution Channel- Part 3

3. Product Factor
a) Sizes & weight of the product – If the size, weight & price of the product is very large, then direct supply
should be there as it will lead to convenience & low transportation cost & there will be less chances of damage
during transportation. For eg. Big industrial products like boilers, grinders etc.
On the other hand, if size & weight of product is not so big, a long chain can be as in case of Fast Moving
Consumers Goods (FMCG)
b) Unit Value – If the per unit value of product is less, say for eg. salt, sugar, wheat, rice etc. then the
distribution channel may be large as consumption of it is comparatively more. But, if the unit price is very high, for
eg. gold, silver, then a smaller distribution channel is required.
c) Stability of the product – If the product is of perishable in nature, i.e. it becomes useless after a specific
period of time, like milk, butter, cheese, fish, etc. then a small distribution channel is required to ensure prompt
delivery, but if the product is stable in nature like soaps, shampoo etc, then the distribution channel can be long.
d) Standard v/s Specific products – Some distributors only want to sell standard & famous products, so if the
product is standard in nature, manufacturer has to use these types of distributors or middlemen.
But, if the product is specific one, say : engineering & medical books, which are not kept by all book-sellers, so in
that case, these specific dealers on middlemen have to be chosen.
e) Technical nature of product – If the product is of technical nature then an effective after sales service is also
to be provided. So, in this case, either direct marketing or marketing through authorized dealer should be used, on
only then company can use the services of its services- engineers more effectively. For eg., in case of electronic
item TV’s and Refrigerators, outlet is authorized dealers, so if after sales service is required customers may contact
the dealer, which passes it to the company for final service.
f) Expert of product line – The manufacturer has to decide that he should take the services of a wholesaler or
retailers or both and then accordingly decide to increase or decrease the product line. For eg., if the manufacturer is
manufacturing soaps, then he can increase the product line by incorporating shampoos also, as the distribution
channel will be the same
1. Costs
2. Geographic dispersion of the market
3. Type of product e.g. Whether it is complex, simple, new, perishable, heavy
4. Competition; the choice of channel by rivals
5. Price elasticity of demand
6. Legal restrictions e.g. Prescription drugs
7. The company ; size and services
8. Quantity to be delivered
9. Budget available
1o. The market coverage required: Geographical concentration of customers would require shorter
channels Anonymous
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..----------------------
-------------------
There are plenty of objections that a prospect can throw at you over the course of the sales cycle. Every time you think
you’ve heard them all and have the perfect responses prepared, your latest prospect will suddenly serve up a brand new
objection and you’ll be left stuttering over your answer... only to think of the perfect response ten minutes after you
leave.
Memorizing responses to specific objections is important, especially if you hear them all the time. But coming up with a
few general responses can save you from a few unfortunate moments. You can easily prepare a general response for each
type of objection.
Money
These objections have something to do with the cost of your product or service. It might be “I can get this cheaper
somewhere else,” or “I don’t want to spend money on non-essentials right now,” or “Why does it cost so much?”
Risk
Risk objections show that your prospect is worried about the future. They will sound like, “I don’t want to have to deal
with maintenance,” or “I don’t know if it will work as well as what we already have,” or “What if it breaks down at a
critical moment?”
Trust
If you haven’t built sufficient rapport, the prospect might hesitate to buy from you. You’ll hear things like “I don’t know
anything about your company,” or “My brother-in-law bought from you and had all kinds of problems,” or “How do I know
you’ll deliver on time?”
Inertia
Sales trainer and expert Stephan Schiffman says that a salesperson’s biggest opposition is the status quo. If you’re up
against prospect inertia, you’ll hear objections like “I have one of those and it works OK,” or “I’m happy with my current
supplier,” or “Why should I buy one when I’ve never needed one before?”
Time
These objections are usually delaying tactics. The prospect is interested, but not convinced enough to want to buy right
now. He might say, “I want to think it over,” or “I need to talk to my boss / wife / friend first,” or “Why don’t you call me
in a month and we’ll talk more?”
The objections
1. Lack of perceived value in the product or service

2. Lack of perceived urgency in purchasing the offering
3. Perception of inferiority to a competitor or in-house offering
4. Internal political issue between parties/ departments
5. Lack of funds to purchase the offering
6. Personal issue with the decision maker(s)
7. Initiative with an external party
8. Perception that “it’s safer to do nothing”
Objection-handling proces
This is an overall process to handle objections. See the objection-handling page for a list of
methods for the detail of handling objections.
1. Listen
Stop! Do not try to jump in at the beginning - this may cause further objection. When you
interrupt them, you are objecting to their objection. If you refuse to listen, then their next steps
may well be towards the door.
Use active listening methods, nodding and physically showing interest.
They are trying to tell you something that will help you sell to them, which is a gift from them to
you. If you do not listen, then their next step may well be towards the door.
2. Question
As appropriate, ask some questions. This not only shows you are interested in them, but it also gives
you more information with which to make the sale. As you question them, watch carefully for body
language that gives you more information about what they are thinking and feeling.
Remember that this is not an interrogation, and that giving them the 'third degree' will turn them
off. So keep your questions light and relevant.You might also tip the bucket at this time, asking
them if there are any more concerns (=objections) that they have, and which, if you can resolve
them, you might gain a close.
It is not always necessary to ask questions. Be deliberate about what you are doing if you do.
3. Think
Now before you dive into objection-handling, think! What methods will work best with them? Should
you take a direct and confrontational approach or should you use the soft-soap to finesse the
situation? Or maybe you should put it off to another day (but only if you can be sure that you can
return to the selling situation).
Thinking is a good thing where you are adding a little pause into the proceedings, thus
demonstrating how you are taking their objection seriously.
4. Handle
This stage may sometimes only be a few seconds after they object or it may require more time in
the previous three steps. Now, when you are ready, use the objection-handling method that you
believe will work best. Or make up your own. You are under no obligation to try and force-fit a
method where it is unlikely to work.
5. Check
Finally, check to find out whether your objection-handling worked! Ask if you have answered their
question. Ask if there are any more concerns. As necessary, handle outstanding objections.
Then go for the close.
There are many types of objection. Here are a few of the main ones. If you can classify how they
object then you are on the first step to handling the objection.
Need
They say that they do not need your product or service for some reason or another, or perhaps have
a need that you cannot satisfy.
Examples
I have one of those already.
My car works just fine thank you.
I have no space for any more.
Sorry, I just don't want it.
Price
The objections here are about the price of the product.
Examples
How much??
I have already spent my budget for the month.
Your competitors sell a better product for less money.
I could get it cheaper on the web.
I didn't realize that service was not included.
Features
They object to some element of what you are selling, whether it is aspects of a service or details of
a product.Examples
I don't like that style. It looks rather modern for me. It does not have the latest gadgets.
The guarantee is only six months. It is far too big.
It is not good enough quality.
Time
In this, the objection is around time, such as the person not being ready to buy.
Examples
I don't know. I need to think about it.
I won't have the money until next month.
I am moving next year, maybe then.
I need to talk to my manager first.
Source
They question the source of the product, often its credibility. This may include questions about you,
too.
Examples
I do not know you from Adam. I prefer to buy from people I know.
I saw a report about how badly your company treated its workers
How will I know if you are around to service this in five years?
When a sales person demonstrates a feature, talks about a benefit or uses a sales closing
technique, their customer may well respond in the negative sense, giving excuses or otherwise
heading away from the sale. The response to this is to handle these objections. This is 'objection-
handling'.
Objection-handling process: The overall process for handling objections
• Tip the bucket: Ask for all remaining objections.
• Types of objection: Common categories of objection.
• Objection-handling techniques and methods
• Boomerang: Bouncing back what they give you.
• Objection Chunking: Taking a higher or lower viewpoint.
• Conditional Close: Make closure a condition for resolving their objection.
• Curiosity: Don't be sad, be curious.
• Deflection: Avoid responding to objection, just letting it pass.
• Feel, felt, found: A classic way of moving them.
• Humor: Respond with humor rather than frustration.
• Justification: Say how reasonable the objection is.
• LAARC: Listen, Acknowledge, Assess, Respond, Confirm.
• LAIR: Listen, Acknowledge, Identify objection, Reverse it.
• Objection Writing: Write down and cross out objections.
• Pre-empting: Handle them before they happen.
• Pushback: Object to their objection.

• Reframing: Change their cognitive frame.
• Renaming: Change the words to change the meaning.
• Reprioritize: So ones you can't handle are lower.
• Writing: Write down objections then cross them off as you handle them.
•
Negotiation and the Relationship Sales Cycle
o Trying to reach an agreement based on mutual interest
o Use a win-win approach
o Negotiation takes place throughout each step or stage of the selling process
ATTITUDE TOWARD OBJECTIONS
Objection An objection is anything the prospect says or does that is an obstacle to smooth closing.
o Learn to Accept Objections as a Challenge Which, When Handled Correctly, Will
benefit you and Your Prospect.
WELCOME o If You Fear Objections You Will Fumble Your Response Often Causing You to Fail.
OBJECTIONS!
o Prospects that buy have 58% more objections.

WHY PROSPECTS OBJECT
o Dislike decision making

o Prefer old habits
o Reluctance to give up something old for
something new
Psychological o Unpleasant past associations with you or your
reasons company
o Resistance to domination
o Perceived threat to self image
o All or part of the presentation was

misunderstood
Logical o Prospect is not convinced
Reasons
o Hidden reason (stall)
Question: WHEN DO PROSPECTS OBJECT?
Answer: Any Time During Your Sales Call - From introduction to close.
•
•
TYPES OF OBJECTIONS
Stopper Objection - no solution can be found
o This is widely used because it gets rid of the salesperson.
No
Need
o It is tricky because it also includes a hidden objection and/or a stall.
o Encompasses several forms of economic excuses
o It is simple for the buyer to say.

Say that it is risky to discuss the product's price until it c
be compared to the product's benefits.
When buyer asks for the price
----OR----
Quote the price and go right on selling.
NoOnce you convey the benefits, price becomes a secondary factor which usually can be dealt with successfully.
Money o Used to determine if a prospect is or is not
convinced the price is too high.
The o Price/value = cost

Price / Value
Formula. comparison of what is received to
Cost
money paid.
what the prospect sees the produ
Value
doing for them.
o You must determine
the statement is truth or it
a smoke screen designed to
o Usually a stall get rid of you.
No
Authority
o Screen for decision making authority early o One of the toughest
stalls to overcome arises
when selling a new consum
product.
Searcher Objection - A Valid Request for Information
"I am not interested"
"I don't have any money for this"
"We are satisfied with what we have now"
"I really like the competitor's product"

Searcher Objection - A Valid Condition of Sale
Sometimes prospects may raise an objection that turns into a condition of the sale.
"I don't like the color, size, etc"
"I need it by a next week"

Invalid Objections
o Prospect who asks trivial, unimportant questions
o Prospect conceals feelings beneath a veil of silence.
idden objection
o The salesperson must ask questions and carefully listen in order to smoke out the prospec
real objection.
o "I'll think it over..."`
Stall
"Put Off"
o "I'll be ready to buy on your next visit"
8 Objections from justsell.com
lack of perceived value in the product or
1
service
lack of perceived urgency in purchasing

2
the offering
perception of an inferiority to a
3
competitive offering
internal political issue between parties/

4
departments
5 lack of funds to purchase the offering

6 personal issue with the decision maker(s)
7 corporate initiative with an external party
8 "it's safer to do nothing" perception
•
Classify the Objection
1. Product
objection
2. Objection
to the
salespers
on
3. Objection
to the
Six Basic your
Categories company
of Objections 4. Don't
want to
make a
decision
5. Service
objection
6. Price
objection
o Ma
jor or
minor
objection.
o Pr
actical or
psycholog
ical
Other objection.
Classifications o Pr
actical
(overt).
o Ps
ychologic
al
(hidden).
Some General Tips for Handling Objections
o Keep the buyers attitude toward your product positive.
o Let buyers know you are on their side
o Help with objections.
o If you get no response, give a multiple choice question to display an attitude of genuine caring.
o Your goal is to help your prospect realistically examine reasons for and against buying now.
o The main thing is not to be satisfied with a false objection or stall.
o Bring out any or all of your main selling benefits now and keep on selling!
Strategies for Deciding when to Answer Objections o Th
o incorporate objections and the answers in the presentation ey need
Anticipate o You should be certain that the objection will arise your
and product
Forestall Objections or service
o Prevents a confrontation and communicates objectivity o Yo
o Gives you time to present more benefits ur
o Allows you to maintain control product is
o Gives you time to think about the response the
Postpone o Acknowledge the objection solution
the o Employ empathy to my
Answer problem
o Promise to get back to the question
o Yo
u are the
o Write it down person
o The prospect not listening. from
o The prospect feeling that you are hiding something. whom I
Answer Immediately o The appearance that you also feel it's a problem. should
Postponement of o buy
The appearance that you're not able to answer because you do not know the
objections answer. o Yo
may result in: o The appearance that you are not interested in the prospects opinion. ur
company
is the one
o The appearance that you are not sympathetic to deal
Do Not o Serious objection will be repeated with
an Excuse o Not answering suggests that the excuse is not truly relevant
Selling should
o A Negotiating be win-win
Strategy for Handling Buyers’ Concerns
o Don't try to (A
show up theProcess)
Six-Step prospect
Disagree
Without
Listen Carefully o Hear the Prospect Out
Being o Challenge ideas without offending
o Validate the Problem
DisagreeableRemove blame by prefacing answer. "I have not made myself clear......"
Confirm o Clarify and Classify
Make a concession
Your Understanding before
o taking
Use confirmation questions "You raise an excellent point….."
exception:
of the oo Askall
Add if there is anything
new objections toelse
your database
Objection
o o Try to distinguish
Share between
them with genuine objections and excuses
your cohorts
o That is a logical question
o Restate or rephrase in your own words
Acknowledge their o Use words such as, “I understand how you feel”
Point of View
o Prepare the prospect for your answer

o The prospect's behavioral style
o Select a specific o Phase of the interview
technique o The prospect's mood
o The number of times that this objection came up
o Base your decision on:
o The type of objection
Answer the objection o Confirm with the buyer that you have answered the objection
Attempt to Close o Continue the Presentation If You do Not Succeed
Specific Techniques for Handling Objections

Answers Based on Concrete Evidence
o compare advantages and disadvantages
Product comparison:
o When the prospect is mentally comparing the present product or a competi
product with your product, you may make a complete comparison of the two
o Describe the experience of a customer whose situation is similar to that of
case history or testimonial
prospect
o One of the most convincing ways to overcome buyer resistance and specific
objections.
Demonstration
o Sometimes a second demonstration is needed to overcome buyer skepticism
o Removes resistance by reassuring that the purchase will not result in a loss
o Guarantees must
Guarantees or warranty  be meaningful
 provide for recourse on the part of the customer

o The prospect wants to wait a while before making a final decision.
cost of delaying
o Use pencil and paper to show that delaying the purchase is expensive
Classic Objection Handling Techniques
o Answer it by referring to a third party and using that experience as your "proof or
testimony".
Feel
Felt o If the source is reliable or reputable this can be especially successful with the expert o
Found skeptical prospect.
Third Party Answer.I understand how you feel
Your friend, Hugh Jass, felt the same way
Here is what he found.
Compensation o Admit the objection is valid
or
Counterbalance o Describe some counterbalancing benefit
Ask "Why?" o Answer with a question
o Rephrase the objection
o Considered a high risk method of handling buyer resistance. Use it with care.
o If the buyer resistance is not valid, there may be no other option than to refute it by
providing accurate information.
Direct o Example: If the quality of the product is questioned, meet the statement head on with
Denial whatever proof seems appropriate.
o Be firm in stating your beliefs and be sincere, don't be offensive.

o Acknowledge that the prospect is at least partially correct.
o It initially appears as agreement with the customer's objection but moves into denial o
the fundamental issue.
Indirect o If done in a natural, conversational way the salesperson will not offend the prospect.
Denial o Rephrase or have the prospect rephrase
o Blame yourself
o Give the facts that answer the objection

o Prospect: "I
don't like the size"
Boomerang
the objection into a
benefit o Seller: "The size
is exactly the reason
you should buy it!"
o A trial offer lets prospect try product without obligation to buy.
Trial offer
o Popular with customers because they can get fully acquainted with a product without
making a major commitment.
2
Effective Strategies for Coping with Price Objections
o The prospect places insufficient value on the product
o A competitive product is a better deal
The meaning of a price objection
o The prospect just wants to bargain
YOUR PRICE IS TOO HIGH YOUR PRICE IS TOO HIGH!
Learn to respond to this objection.
It is inevitable.
Buyers will object just to get a discount.
Knowledgeable buyers know that there is often a standard discount for which they qualify
Price objections are an opportunity to sell the value of the product or service.
The danger is to respond to the wrong price objection.
"Tell me more" or "Explain"

Six fundamental price perspectives:
o Discover the differences between the competitor's proposal an
your proposal.
Price versus o The price is lower because
competition  the product or service is less robust.
 A time related "special offer."

o Was it a budget, or an expectation
Price versus
approved budget
o Was it based on old or unreliable data?
o Was the prospect told about a less expensive solution provide
to a friend?
 Explore the friend's solution.
Price versus  The buyer can then accept the other solution at a lower
buyer expectations price
 The buyer can then accept the higher price for the origi
solution.
Price versus o Your price is being compared to a process alternative.
o Buying software may be compared to manual methods.
a process alternative
o There are often new benefits that are simply impossible with t
manual method.
o Maintenance or support costs can be greater than the original
cost.
o 20 years ago hardware and software was more expensive than
Price versus support.
centage of the product price (for continuing o Today hadware and software costs are low. Labor for support
services) high.
o Support may be more comprehensive than in the past.
o Understand and communicate these changes to the prospect

o Denies the cost of labor of the participant
o Denies the cost of extended time to implement.
o Example: lawn care.
Price versus  Everyone can cut grass cheaper than hiring a service
"do-it-yourself"
 Few enjoy spending time on this chore.
 "Do it yourself" places less value on your time

VALUE ANALYSIS:
Determines the Best Product for the Money.
o Comparison of your product's features, advantages, and benefits to those of the product presently in
use.
o Comparison of long range costs and savings.
o Evaluation of the buyer's present product - does it perform better than is required?
o Determine if the buyer would benefit more from a higher-priced, better performing product.
Types of Value Analysis
o Compare product costs to true value.
True Value
o Establish the value of the product first so the buyer can intelligently compare the true
worth of the product to its true monetary cost.
o Unit costs break price down
Reduce to the o Use the Lowest Common Denominator
ridiculous
o Know basic quantities
o Return-on-investment refers to an additional sum of money expected from an
Return investment over and above the original investment.
on
investment
o Emphasize the percentage return that can be earned by purchasing your product.
When Dealing with Price Resistance
o Add value with a cluster of satisfactions.
o Point out the relationship between price and quality.
o Explain the difference between price and cost.
o Employ the Presumption of Exclusivity
 Stress your product's exclusive features
 Identify extras that only come from you
DO
 Sell quality, exclusivity and differential features
o Sell Down
 All prospects have a buying range
 Show the best first and then let the prospect reduce price by removing features
or lowering quality
o Apologize for the price.
o Make price the focal point of your sales presentation.
o Become demanding,
DON'T o Become defensive
o Become hostile
3
4
Five Question Sequence Method of Overcoming Objections
ere must be some good reason why you're hesitating.
ou mind if I ask what it is?"
YEAsk what it is Go To
Sand Q2
addition to that, is there any other reason for not going ahead?"
Go To
NO
Q3
YEGo forward to discuss

t supposing, M. Buyer, you could... then you'd want to go ahead?" Sthis
NOGo To Q4
GO TO
Answer
en there must be some other reason. Q2
I ask what it is?" No GO TO
Answer Q5
at would it take to convince you?"
ies of questions keeps the conversation going and gets the real objections out in the open which helps increase your sal
5
6
Some Thoughts on Negotiation
Qualities of a Good Negotiator
o Patience o Willingness to continue
o Endurance o Risktaker
o Stamina o Tolerate ambiguity

Negotiating Skills
o Allow time for planning o Don’t respond too quickly to demands
o Collect all available information o Call "time-outs" when appropriate
o Negotiate internally first o Put yourself in the customer’s shoes
o Be flexible o Don’t let egos interfere
o Don’t give concessions too early o Always follow through

Buyer's Overt Concerns
o Do we really need this product or service? o Are there alternatives?
o What will the savings be for the company? o Do we have sufficient budget?
Buyer's Covert Concerns
o Will this solidify my position?
o Will I be at risk?
o Will this mean more work for me?
o Will this reflect positively on me?

o Do my potential gains outweigh the risk
Ten Booby Traps
o Sneak attacks o Blind faith
o Fatal assumptions o Mental blocks
o Misguided missiles o Price paralysis
o Killer impatience o Unwise ultimatums
o Bad intentions o Misplaced emotions

o Prepare!
o Probe!
Remember
o Propose!
How to Write a Sales Guide (Manual)
Overview and Objective
One of the fastest ways to increase sales of your product is to educate the sales
force on the key features and benefits of the product, unique advantages of
the product, how to sell the product, and the competition. This can be done
through sales training, a written sales guide, and/or an audio or video file. A
podcast, sent out with the sales guide as a summary, is a particularly useful
tool because sales people generally spend a great deal of time in the car.
The sales guide will vary drastically depending upon the target audience.A sales guide for a
distribution channel, for example, might be one page. A sales guide designed for a direct
sales force to sell a complex set of products may end up being multiple binders. In all cases,
conciseness and good organization is important because sales people don't have much time
to read and they need quick access to the information.
Requirements
Sale people make money when they are on the phone closing deals - so they often won't
take the time to read a detailed sales manual. It is therefore critical that the sales guide be
as concise and hard-hitting as possible. However, this objective should not compromise the
quality of the information.
• Eye catching formatting - You want the document to be a great reference manual (no
one will read it cover-to-cover). Information should be very easy to find so there should
be a good table of contents (if it is a large guide); large, clear headings for each section
and subsection; and index and/or glossary of terms. Diagrams, tables, and illustrations
are best used to summarize complex information.
• Concise length - The length of the document will vary dependent upon the target
audience. For channel sales people, one to two pages is best as a quick reference that
they can throw in their brief case. Even if you need a large sales guide to go through
detailed demonstrations and competitive information for a direct sales force, providing a
quick reference summary in addition to the full guide is ideal.
• Pronunciation - A new sales person may be unfamiliar with the buzz words of your
specific industry. Pronunciation must be called out wherever necessary and in the
glossary of terms.
• Well marked customer sections - Sales people will often copy parts of the sales
manual and hand it to customers. Sections of the manual must be clearly identified as
being customer consumable or not.
• Consistent updates - A sales guide that goes out of date is useless. Consistent
updates will keep your product in front of the sales person and keep them abreast of
developments within the company and new competitive announcements. For this reason
it is desirable to have an internal web site that has all the latest and greatest information.
The printed sales guide should reference the website as a resource for updated
information.
Outline
1) Contact information - Let the sales person know where they can get more information
on product or on any part of the guide. Include email addresses and phone numbers.
2) Selling strategies - Outline target market, market size, sales cycle, ideal customer
profile, list of current customers, references, press mentions and success stories. If this is a
one-page sales guide the information must be kept to one paragraph with a few bullets.
3) Products and Demonstration - Positioning of the product, how it fits into the overall
product line, a list of key features and benefits, demonstration highlights, most common
customer questions, and product updates. For a one page sales guide use only the top three
the key features and benefits.
4) Competition - A table of competitors with a feature matrix is the best way to show this
information. Don't forget to include pricing. Short write-ups on key competitors including
strengths, weaknesses, and an overview of their strategy can be useful if you have just a
few competitors. Since many competitors fall into similar categories you may want to
outline a more broad strategies for competing against competitors in those categories. You
may also want include write-ups of what the competitors will be saying to your customers.
5) Pricing - Include all pricing, ordering, and configuration information.
6) Collateral - All associated collateral including datasheets, brochures, and white

papers.
7) Sales presentation - It is important to let the sales people know how to present the
product. An online presentation detailing high-level positioning, success stories, and
features and benefits with a script is great. A video of the presentation is also a useful tool.
(Please see building a product presentation for more information.)
8) Glossary - You may need a glossary of terms and acronyms associated with the
product.
9) Index - Includ an index if the sales manual is over 50 pages.
10) Reference Material - Include a listing of where they can find more information about the
product or a specific technology. This may be links to your website or other websites.
Packaging
The most important packaging item to consider is how the guide be updated. If it is one or
two pages, it can easily be replaced. If it is many pages you may want a binder where
sections can be updated. This can often be a problem though because sales people don't
always have time to put new sections in a binder. Ideally you would just replace the entire
guide when updates are required, but can be time consuming and expensive. In any case
the sales guide should ideally have a searchable on-line version.
As mentioned previously, a audio file or podcast is a great addition to the sales guide. I
prefer to make the audio somewhat entertaining so the sales person is not bored to tears
listening to it.
Video are also generally effective if you are trying to show how to demonstrate a product.
The package should come with a one page (front and back) introduction and summary.
Process
I have found the following to be the fastest way to write a Sales Guide:
1) Gather all associated materials including a copy of the product, sample files,
datasheets, presentations, competitive analysis, Market Requirements Documents, and
functional specs for back-up information.
2) Determine which marketing information (competitive analysis, demonstrations,

presentations, etc.) needs updating or creating from scratch.
3) Spend an hour or so with a systems engineer or product manager who has gone on
sales calls and knows the key selling features of the product. Have them demonstrate the
product to me as a prospect. Interview one or two sales people for information on how they
sell the product.
4) Spend an hour or so with a seasoned sales representative to understand where they

have been successful
5) Spend an hour or so with a new sales representative to understand what they feel
they need from a sales guide
6) Write a first draft of all materials interactively reviewing sections as they are
completed with the appropriate product manager/systems engineer.
7) Write second draft.
8) Have one or two sales people review the document for completeness.
9) Review second draft with product manager and engineering and other appropriate
people.
10) Write final draft and distribute!
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Direct mail is a way of advertising in which advertisers mail printed ads, letters or other solicitations
to large groups of consumers. Bulk-mail rates are used to lower the cost of the mailing, and targeted
mailing lists are used to maximize potential response.
Direct mail is used in many different situations, limited primarily by the imagination of the
advertiser. Stores typically use direct mail to advertise new products or to distribute coupons.
Charities typically use the it to raise money or recruit volunteers. Almost any sales pitch can be
made by direct mail.
To create a direct mail mailing, advertisers will work to create an ad that will appeal to a substantial
number of people. They will then send it to a large group of people, depending on the potential
audience of the ad. That could be a ZIP code, particular demographic, or entire nation
Advertisers have found direct mail appealing for a number of reasons. It takes their message
directly to the consumer. While consumers might walk away from a television ad or flip past a
newspaper ad, they will eventually open their mailbox. Advertisers also like that they can direct
their message as narrowly or broadly as they want, using bulk mailing rates. By receiving the mail
at home, direct mail puts the advertiser's message in the hands of the consumer at the time the
consumer might be likely to read it, along with the rest of the mail.
Direct mail is not without its problems. Over the years, direct mail also became known by another
name: junk mail. Some consumers became irritated at receiving numerous ads in the mail each day.
Many threw away the suspected ad-filled mail.
Since consumers often throw away mail associated with ads, marketers were challenged to ensure
that consumers read their ads. Direct mail marketers now use a variety of techniques to ensure that
the recipients open their envelope. Some go to great lengths to make the envelope and mailing
appear personal, even using special computer fonts that look like handwriting. Others will target the
mailing to the most-likely customers by using targeted mailing lists. Many direct mail marketers
have realized that one of the biggest challenges can be getting the reader to simply open the
envelope and read the ad
Direct mail has entered the world of the internet, and many of the same techniques are showing up
electronically in email. Some advertisers now send emails with ads to large groups of consumers.
They take advantage of the relatively low cost of obtaining a long list of email addresses and the
little time needed to mail to thousands or millions of people. Perhaps not surprisingly, many
computer users reacted by deleting what they perceive as "junk email"
Although most people are familiar with direct mail to consumers, many businesses also advertise
their products and services to other businesses. Business to business (B2B) direct mail is a
particularly lucrative segment of the market; marketers can target their messages to precisely those
recipients that are likely to become customers. In the end, direct mail allows companies to isolate
their marketing dollars to high-probability prospects and avoid wasting money on those that are
likely to be uninterested
Direct Mail Campaign on wiseGEEK: One of the benefits of direct mail marketing is that the
campaigns usually involve a low cost in comparison to other alternatives. All that is needed to
mount a basic direct mail campaign is a mailing list, the mail piece itself, and money to cover
postage costs.
recipients that are likely to become customers
Direct Mail Response on wiseGEEK:
Bulk-mail rates are used to lower the cost of the mailing, and targeted mailing lists are used to
maximize potential response. Direct mail is used in many different situations, limited primarily by
the imagination of the advertiser.
As one of the oldest forms of advertising, direct mail marketing is a low cost means of advertising
that requires a relatively low return in order to be considered successful. Many different businesses
make use of direct mail marketing. These include supermarkets that mail out circulars featuring
items that are on sale for a limited amount of time.
Direct Mail Fulfillment on wiseGEEK:
recipients that are likely to become customers.
Direct Mail Promotion on wiseGEEK:
recipients that are likely to become customers.
Importance of measuring the Effectiveness of Advertising
(1) It acts as a Safety measure
Testing effectiveness of advertising helps in finding out ineffective advertisement and advertising campaigns. It
facilitates timely adjustments in advertising to make advertising consumer oriented and result oriented. Thus waste
of money in faulty advertising can be avoided.
(2) Provides feedback for remedial measures
Testing effectiveness of advertising provides useful information to the advertisers to take remedial steps against
ineffective advertisements.
(3) Avoids possible failure
Advertisers are not sure of results of advertising from a particular advertising campaign. Evaluating advertising
effectives helps in estimating the results in order to avoid complete loss.
(4) To justify the Investment in Advertising
The expenditure on advertisement is considered to be an investment. The investment in advertising is a marketing

investment and its objectives should be spelt out clearly indicating the results expected from the campaign. The rate
and size of return should be determined in advance. If the expected rate of return is achieved in terms of additional
profits, the advertisement can be considered as effective one.
(5) To know the communication Effect
The effectiveness of the advertisement can be measured in terms of their communication effects on the target
consumers or audience. The main purpose of advertising is communicated the general public, and existing and
prospective consumers, various information about the product and the company. It is therefore desirable to seek
post measurements of advertising in order to determine whether advertisement have been seen or heard or in other
words whether they have communicated the theme, message or appeal of the advertising.
(6) Compare two markets
Under this procedure, advertising is published in test markets and results are contrasted with other. Markets – so
called control markets – which have had the regular advertising program. The measurements made to determine
results may be measurements of change in sales, change in consumer attitudes, changes in dealer display and so on
depending upon the objectives sought by the advertiser.
METHODS OF MEASURING ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS
Advertising is aimed at improving the sales volume of a concern so its effectiveness can be evaluated by its impact
on sales. Most of the managers believe that the advertisement directly affects the sales volume and hence they
evaluate the effectiveness of the advertising campaign by the increase in the sales volume.
There may be two types measures
Direct measures: and
(i) Indirect measures:-

(1) Direct Measures of Advertising Effectiveness
Under direct measures, a relationship between advertising and sales is established. A comparison of sales of two
periods or two periods or two markets may be done and the corresponding changes may be noted. The following are
some of the methods that are generally used in measuring that advertising effects.
(a) Historical Sales Method
Some insights into the effectiveness of past advertising may be obtained by measuring the relationship between the
advertising expenditure and the total sales of the product. A multiple regression analysis of advertising expenditure
and sales over several time periods may be calculated. It would show how the changes in advertising expenditure
have corresponding changes in sales volume. This technique estimates the contribution that advertising has made to
explaining in a co relational manner rather than a casual sales, the variation in sales over the time periods covered
in the study
(b) Experimental Control
The other measure of advertising effectiveness is the method of experimental control where a casual relationship
between advertising and sales is established. This method is quite expensive when related to other advertising
effectiveness measures yet it is possible to isolate advertising contribution to sales. Moreover this can be done as a
pre-test to aid advertising in choosing between alternative creative designs. Media schedules expenditure levels or
some combination of these advertising decision areas. One experimental approach to measuring the sales
effectiveness of advertising is test marketing.
(i) Before-after with Control Group Design
This classic design uses several test and control cities in this design two types of cities are selected. Cities in which
advertising campaigns are affected may be named as test cities and other cities may be called central cities. First of
all, the normal sales level is calculated for both type of cities prior to advertising campaign, and then the advertising
campaign is presented to the test cities and not the central cities. The effect of advertising campaign, can then, be
measured by subtracting the amount of post campaign figure of sale from the pre campaign sale figures in test cities
(ii) Multivariable Experimental Designs
While the experimental design discussed above yields a reasonably accurate estimate of the effects of the
advertising on sales, it is not successful in explaining the success or failure of the campaign itself. Multivariable
designs Produce these explanations and are, therefore used by some very large firm because of their diagnostic
value.The power of this multivariable factorial design is explained by G.H.Brown, former Fords Director of
Marketing Research. For any single medium, eight possible geographic areas have been exposed and eight have not
been exposed. Thus, in this experimental model it is possible to evaluate how each individual medium behaves
alone and in all possible to evaluate how each individual medium behaves alone and in all possible combinations
with other media.
(2) Indirect Measures
As it is very difficult to measure the direct effect of advertising on company’s profits or sales, most firms rely
heavily on indirect measures. These measures do not evaluate the effects of advertisements directing on sales or
profits but all other factors such as customer awareness or attitude or customer recall of advertising message affect
the sales or profits or goals of the business indirectly. Despite the uncertainties about the relationship between the
intermediate effects of advertising and the ultimate results, there is no other alternative but to use indirect measures.
The most commonly used measures are –
(i) Exposure to Advertisement
In order to be effective, the advertisement must gain exposure. The management is concerned about the number of
target audiences who see or hear the organization message set in the advertisement. Without exposure,
advertisement is bound to failure. Marketers or advertisers may obtain an idea of exposure generated by the
medium by examining its circulation or audience data which reveal the number of copies of the magazine,
newspaper or journal sold the number of persons passing the billboards or riding in transit facilities, or the number
of persons living in the televiewing or radio listening area, and the number of persons switching on their T.V. and
radio sets at various points of time. This number can be estimated by interviewing the numbers of the audience for
different media.
(ii) Attention or Recall of Advertising Message Content
This is one of the widely used measures of advertising results. Under this measure, a recall of the message content
among a specified group or groups or prospective customers is measured within 24 hours of the exposure of the
advertisement.
Attention value is the chief quality of the advertising copy the advertisements cannot be said to be effective unless
they attract the attention of the target consumers. There are two methods for evaluating the attention getting value
of the advertisements. One is pre-test and the other is post-test. In a pre-test evaluation, the consumers are asked to
indicate the extent to which they recognise or recall the advertisement, they have already seen. This test is
conducted in the laboratory setting. Here consumers read, hear or listen to the advertisement and then researchers
ask question regarding the advertisement just to test the recall and then evaluate it. In post-test method, the
consumers are asked questions about the indication of recognition or recall after the advertisement has been run.
These measures assume that customers can recall or recognize what they have viewed or listened to. Various
mechanical devices are being used in the western countries which provide indices of attention such as eye-camera
etc.
(iii) Brand Awareness
The marketers who rely heavily on advertising often appraise its effectiveness by measuring the customer’s
awareness about the particular product or brand. The assumption of this type of measure is that there is a direct
relationship between the advertisements and the awareness. This type of measure is also subject to the same
criticisms as is applicable to direct measures of effectiveness (sales measures because awareness is also not the
direct result of the advertisements. It is also affected by many other factors. But, for new products, changes in
awareness can often be attributed to the influence of advertising.
(iv) Comprehension
Consumers generally use advertisements as a means of obtaining information about the product, brand or the
manufacturer. They cannot be informed unless they comprehend the message (grasp the message mentally and
understand it fully). Various tests for valuating comprehension are available –
One is recall tests – an indicator of comprehension because it is evident that consumers recall what they
comprehend. Another measure of the variable is to ask questions about subjects how much they have
comprehended a message they have recently heard or seen. One may employ somewhat imprecise test of the
comprehension of a newspaper and radio advertisement. One may ask typical target consumers from time to time
such questions like ‘what did you think of our new commercial?’ and ‘Did it get the message across’? The answers
of these questions will provide sufficient insight into advertising decision making.
(v) Attitude Change
Since advertising is considered to be one way of influencing the state of the mind of the audience towards a
product, service or organisation, the results are very often measured in terms of attitudes among groups exposed to
advertising communication. Several measures are used ranging from asking the questions about willingness to buy
the likelihood of buying to the measurement of the extent to which specific attributes (such as modern or new) are
associated with a product.
(vi) Action
One objective of advertisement may be assumed to be to stimulate action or behavior. The action or intention to
take an action may be measured on the intention to buy measuring instrument. Under this type of measure,
consumers are asked to respond why they are interested in purchasing the product or brand. One type of action that
advertisers attempt to induce is buying behavior. The assumption is that if an increase in sales follows a decrease in
advertising expenditure, the change in sales levels are good indicators of the effectiveness of advertising. Logic
suggests that measurement of sales is preferable to other measurements.
Thus, these above measures (direct or indirect) are used to evaluate the effectiveness of advertisements. It seems
from the analysis of the above methods of measuring effectiveness that directly or indirectly changes in sales or
profits are taken as the measuring rod of the effectiveness of the advertising.
COMMUNICATION EFFECTS OF ADVERTISEMENT
The management should attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of the advertising campaign if the firm’s advertising
goals are to be achieved and the ad effectiveness is to be increased. By regular evaluation of the effectiveness, the
short comings and the plus points would be revealed and the management would be able to improve the campaign
by negating the shortcomings and retaining the favorable point. For this purpose, it is very necessary to know how
advertising affects the buyer’s behaviors. But this is very difficult task because measurements are imperfect and
imprecise.
The effectiveness of advertising can be measured by the extent, it to which it achieves the objectives set for it. If it
succeeds in attaining the objectives. Advertising can be said to be effective otherwise it will be a waste of money
and time. In this sense, advertising can be recognized as a business activity like other activities.
In a very real sense the integrity of promotional activities rests on how well those activities work. An advertising
budget that is spent on some poorly defined task or on undefined tasks may be regarded as an economic waste as
compared to that spent to achieve the well defined objectives for which the results can be measured. Any social
institution upon which a significant portion of our total productive efforts is expanded should be able to point to its
specific accomplishment. Indeed, it is a source of discomfort that specific results of advertising activities have not
always been subject to precise measurement. Both practitioners and critics feel that promotional activities should
only be accepted as socio – economic – institution with full right and privileges “when the means
exist to prove that advertising super are productive rupees’ It is undoubtedly a source of embarrassment that we
cannot exactly measure the effectiveness of advertising in definitive terms.
The exact result of advertisement expenditure is very difficult to predict because.-
(a) The reaction of consumer – buyers to the advertising efforts cannot be known in advance.
(b) The reaction of competitors in the field cannot be guessed in anticipation and
(c) The unexpected events (such as change in social and economic environment and the government policies etc.)
cannot be accurately anticipated. Such events may influence the results of the advertising efforts. If we take a
hypothetical case of a retailer who contract to spent Rs.5000 on advertisement with a local newspaper for a special
sales even. The advertisement is seen and the response is much greater than it is anticipated. What caused the
success of sale? They message theme colors etc., of the advertisement or the low prices quoted during the sale of
the superior quality of the product or absence of competition in the market on the day or the favorable. Weather
conditions or the goodwill of the firm etc. The overwhelming success of the sale is the joint result of all the above
variables and it is quite impossible to isolate the role of any one variable. It is so because the cause and effect –
relationship cannot be established in advance when a multitude of variable impinge upon a particular event. It is
entirely possible that a poor advertising support may push up the sale because everything else falls into its proper
place or the reverse may be possible. But it does not mean that that we cannot measure the effects of particulars
advertising effort. The advertising executives are much concerned about the assessment of the effectiveness of the
advertising efforts. For this purpose, the management needs answers to such questions as: was the advertising
campaign really successful in attaining the advertising goals? Were our T.V. commercials as good as those of our
competitors? Will the print advertisement, which we have designed, make consumers aware of our new product? To
get answers of these questions, various tests of effectiveness (Pre- tests and post – tests ) are deeded to determine
whether proposed advertisement should be used, and if they are not satisfactory how they might be improved, and
whether on going campaign should be stopped continued or changed. Pre- tests are conducted before exposing
target consumers to the advertisements and post tests after consumers have been exposed to them.
As indicated earlier, the advertisers are interested in knowing what they are getting for their advertising rupees, So
they test the proposed advertisement with pre test and measure the actual results with a post test. In the past,
protesting was done by the advertising agencies but now the advertisers have been taking an increasingly active role
in protesting process. Pre test may be done either before an advertisement has been designed or executed after it is
ready for public distribution or at both points.
During protesting there is often research on three vital questions:-
(i) Do consumers feel that the advertisement communicates something desirable about the product?
(ii) Does the message have an exclusive appeal that differentiates the product from that of the competitors?
(iii) Is the advertisement believable?
Although a lot of money is spent on protesting yet the advertisers like to confirm the results by post testing of their
promotional campaigns due to the following reasons:-
(i) There is a need produce more effective advertising by retaining the good and removing the bad.
(ii) The advertising executives can prove to the satisfaction of the management that a higher advertising budget will
benefit the firm.
(iii) There is a need for measuring the results to determine the level of expenditure that is most promising.
Most research focuses on the communication effect rather than sales effect because it is a long run process. In the
short run, however sales may be slight and important but in the long run its effects ob brands and companies may be
of great importance. Indirectly it will affect the sales in the long run, by changing the consumer awareness and
attitude. The advertisers are therefore, concerned with their impact on consumer awareness and attitude.
The communication effect on sales may be presented in the following figure:-

Communication Effect on Sales
Awareness builds a favorable or at least a curious attitude towards the product which leads to experimentation. If
consumer is satisfied with the trial he may decide to purchase the product. There are many critical and unresolved
issues in determining how to test the communication effects of advertising. Among these are:-
(1) Exposure Conditions – Should advertising be tested under realistic conditions or under more controlled
laboratory conditions?
(2) Execution – Protesting a finished advertisement as an expensive and time consuming. Does protesting a
preliminary execution produce accurate and useful data?
(3) Quality Vs. Quantity Data- Quantitative data are the easiest and the almost precise measurement. But qualitative
data collected through interviews may provide information that short answer questions never can.
Many types of advertising tests are conducted (different methods of pre tests and post – test are given in question
number) In T.V. commercials are tested by inviting a group of people to the studio to view a program. The audience
is then surveyed about the commercials. Print advertisements are tested through dummy magazine portfolio tests.
Compunction Effectiveness Vs Sales Effectiveness
It is easier to assess the communication effect of advertising than the sales effect. Many firms try to measure the
effectiveness of advertising in terms of sales results but this practice is always misleading. Since, the effect is the
result of so many variables, a distinct effect of advertising on sales cannot be correctly measured, Although there
may be some exceptions. For example direct mail advertising can effectively be measured by the inquiries received.
But in many situations the exact relationship between advertising activity and sales cannot be established
satisfactorily.
We can correctly assume that some sales will occur even though there is no advertising or little advertising or
conversely there will be no increase in sales after the point of saturation is reached or it may be that sales will show
a decreasing trend at this point in spite of large amount of expenditure on advertising is done. It is so because
advertising is no the only variable that effect the sales.
Thus, we may conduct that sales effect of advertising is difficult to measure because a number of variables affect
the quantum of tales and the contribution of advertisement cannot be measured separately unless all other variables
are presumed to be constant. This situation is quite hypothetical and almost nonexistent. Added to this is the fact
that advertisement itself is made of a variety of variables such as media, messages, colours, page or time of the day,
locations, the size of the headline and the appeals used. Thus even if the advertising variable is separated this would
still not answer the question about the effectiveness of the individual components of the advertising campaign. So
advertisers try to measure the communication effect of the advertising.
Suitability
In small business firms where the marketing research resources are limited advertising managers may decide on less
expensive and less relevant measures. The big business house, which has more access to research, may decide on
the more relevant and expensive measures.
Factors Affecting Advertising
The final external factor in the planning framework concerns environmental factor social, legal, and global. Law
forbids deceptive advertising. One solution is to create brand advertising that is vague and contains little specific
information. However, such an approach can result not only in ineffective advertising; by it can lessen the social
value of advertising by reducing the amount for useful information that it provides to society. Thus, and advertiser
who attempts to provide specific, relevant information must be well aware of advertising regulation.
Even more difficult consideration for people involved in the advertising effort is broad social and economic issues.
Another concern is that advertising, especially when it is more irritating than entertaining, is an intrusion into an
already excessively polluted environment. A whole set of rules is emerging to cover advertising directed at
children, and advertising for products such as alcohol and cigarettes, and the use of environmental and health
claims in advertising.
Thus advertising has a tremendous impact on international marketing and the two concepts therefore go hand in
hand and are dependent on each other.
IMPACT OF ADVERTISEMENT
Advertising has an important effect on a country’s economy, society, culture, and political system. This is
especially true in the United States where the advertising industry plays such a prominent role.
1. Economic Impact
Most economists believe that advertising has a positive impact on the economy because it stimulates demand for
products and services, strengthening the economy by promoting the sale of goods and services. Manufacturers
know that advertising can help sell a new product quickly, enabling them to recoup the costs of developing new
products. By stimulating the development of new products, advertising helps increase competition. Many
economists believe that increased competition leads to lower prices, thereby benefiting consumers and the economy
as a whole. These economists also argue that by interesting consumers in purchasing goods, advertising enables
manufacturers and others to sell their products in larger quantities. The increased volume of sales enables
companies to produce individual units at lower costs and therefore, sell them at a lower price. Advertising thus
benefits consumers by helping lower prices.
Other economists, however, believe that advertising is wasteful. They argue that the cost of advertising adds to the
cost of goods and that most advertising simply encourages consumers to buy one brand rather than another.
According to this view, advertising simply moves sales from one company to another, rather than increasing sales
overall and thereby benefiting the economy as a whole.
2. Social Impact
Advertising can have wide-ranging repercussions on a society. Some critics suggest that advertising promotes a
materialistic way of life by leading people to believe that happiness is achieved by purchasing products. They argue
that advertising creates a consumer culture in which buying exciting new products becomes the foundation of the
society's values, pleasures, and goals.
Other critics express concern over the way advertising has affected women and racial minority groups. Ads in the
1950s depicted women primarily as decoration or sex objects. Although millions of women worked outside the
home in the 1960s, ads continued to focus on their role as homemakers. Whether owing to the feminist movement
or to women's increasing economic power, after the 1960s it became more common to see women depicted in
professional roles. However, many ads today still emphasize a woman’s sexuality.
The way advertising has depicted racial minorities has also been harmful. Prior to 1960, African Americans were
usually shown in a subordinate position. Due to the influence of the civil rights movement, however, advertisers by
the 1980s had begun to depict African Americans as students, professionals, or business people. However, many
African American organizations and community activists continue to object to the way that alcohol and tobacco
companies have seemingly targeted low-income minority communities with a heavy preponderance of outdoor
advertising for their products.
As ads have begun to more fully reflect the lives of women and African Americans in the United States, increasing
attention has been paid to the way in which advertising shows other ethnic groups, including Hispanics, Asians,
Native Americans, and Eastern Europeans. There is still considerable debate over how advertising influences public
perception of gender and of particular ethnic groups.
Advertising has a major social impact by helping sustain mass communications media and making them relatively
inexpensive, if not free, to the public. Newspapers, magazines, radio, and broadcast television all receive their
primary income from advertising. Without advertising, many of these forms of mass communication might not exist
to the extent that they do today, or they might be considerably more expensive, offer less variety, or even be subject
to government control through subsidies. In-depth news programs, a diversity of magazines, and free entertainment
might no longer be widely available.
At the same time, however, some critics warn that because advertising plays such a major economic role, it may
exercise undue influence on the news media and thereby curtail the free flow of information in a free society.
Reporters and editors, for example, may be hesitant to develop a news story that criticizes a major advertiser. As a
result, society might not be alerted to harmful or potentially harmful conduct by the advertiser. Most members of
the news media deny that pressure from an advertiser prevents them from pursuing news stories involving that
advertiser, but some members of the media acknowledge that they might not be inclined to investigate an issue
aggressively if it threatened to offend a major advertiser.
Advertisers may affect media programming in other ways, too, critics charge. For example, companies that sponsor
TV programs prefer relatively wholesome, noncontroversial programming to avoid offending a mass audience. This
preference causes TV networks to emphasize this type of programming. The result is that society may be denied the
benefits of being able to view challenging or highly original entertainment programs or news programs on
controversial issues. Because advertisers are especially interested in attracting the 18 to 34 year olds who account
for most consumer spending, television shows are often developed with this audience in mind. If the ratings show
that a program is not attracting large audiences, particularly among 18 to 34 year olds, advertisers often withdraw
support, which causes a program to be canceled. As a result, shows that are more likely to interest and to be of
value to older audiences are not produced.
The impact of television on young children has received much attention. Research suggests that children see
television advertising as just another form of programming and react uncritically to its messages, which makes
them especially vulnerable to advertising. There is also concern about the way in which adolescent girls respond to
advertising that features beautiful, thin models. Research indicates that many adolescent girls are unduly influenced
by this standard of beauty, become dissatisfied with their own bodies, and may develop eating disorders in pursuit
of a thin figure. New research suggests that adolescent boys are also being influenced by advertising images of
bulked-up, buffed bodies. As a result, many become dissatisfied with their own body image, devote large amounts
of time to weightlifting, and may even take drugs that have harmful side effects in order to develop more muscle.
Those over the age of 60 are thought to be less influenced by advertising, but some elderly people no longer process
messages as easily as younger people, making them more susceptible to questionable advertising claims.
3. Political Impact
Advertising is now a major component of political campaigns and therefore has a big influence on the democratic
process itself. In 1998 more than $467 million was spent on election campaigns in the United States. That amount
of spending placed political advertising in the ranks of the country’s 30 leading advertisers that year. Political
advertising is a relatively new development in U.S. history. Advertising professionals did not become involved in
electoral campaigns until the 1950s. But since then, political advertising has grown in sophistication and
complexity.
Political advertising enables candidates to convey their positions on important issues and to acquaint voters with
their accomplishments and personalities. Television advertising is especially effective for candidates running for
national or statewide office because it can reach so many people at once. Candidates can also use advertising to
respond effectively to the charges of their opponents.
Various campaign finance reform proposals, however, have tried to address the impact of television advertising on
political campaigning. Because of the high cost of television ads, the costs of political campaigns have skyrocketed,
making it necessary for candidates to raise money continually, even after they have been elected to office. Critics
say this factor jeopardizes the democratic process by making elected officials beholden to wealthy contributors and
by making it more likely that only the wealthy will run for office. Some reform proposals have called for free
airtime, but television and radio networks have resisted this idea.
Critics of political advertising also charge that the 30-second television spot has become more important to a
political campaign than a thorough discussion of the issues. As a result, voters are bombarded with image
advertising rather than being acquainted with the candidate’s positions. They contend that this practice is harmful to
good government. Issues are simplified, and candidates are “packaged and sold” much like a consumer product,
thereby distorting the political process.
4. Cultural Impact
Advertising can affect cultural values. Some advertising messages, for example, encourage aggressive
individualism, which may clash with the traditional cultural values of a country where the collective or group is
emphasized over the individual or humility or modesty is preferred to aggressiveness. With the globalization of the
world economy, multinational corporations often use the same advertising to sell to consumers around the world.
Some critics argue that advertising messages are thus helping to break down distinct cultural differences and
traditional values, causing the world to become increasingly homogeneous.
Many advertising campaigns, however, have universal appeal, overriding cultural differences, or they contribute to
culture in a positive way. Humor in advertising has made many ad campaigns widely popular, in some cases
achieving the status of folklore or taking on new life in another arena. For example, a popular ad campaign for a
fast-food chain with the slogan “Where’s the beef?” became part of the 1980 Democratic presidential primary
campaign between Gary Hart and Walter Mondale. The ad ridiculed a competitor by depicting a small hamburger
patty dwarfed by a huge bun. During a primary debate one of the candidates used the ad slogan to suggest that his
opponent’s campaign lacked substance
Direct marketing is a form of advertising that reaches its audience directly through multiple
channels including email, direct mail, social media, catalogs, online advertising, interactive
television, etc. Businesses communicate straight to the consumer with advertising techniques such
as fliers, catalog distribution, promotional letters, and street advertising.
Direct Advertising is a sub-discipline and type of marketing. There are two main definitional
characteristics which distinguish it from other types of marketing. The first is that it sends its
message directly to consumers, without the use of intervening commercial communication media.
The second characteristic is the core principle of successful Advertising driving a specific "call to
action." This aspect of direct marketing involves an emphasis on trackable, measurable, positive
responses from consumers (known simply as "response" in the industry) regardless of medium.
If the advertisement asks the prospect to take a specific action, for instance call a free phone
number or visit a Web site, then the effort is considered to be direct response advertising.
Direct marketing is practiced by businesses of all sizes - from the smallest start-up to the leaders on
the Fortune 500. A well-executed direct advertising campaign can offer a positive return on
investment as the message is not hidden with overcomplicated branding. Instead, direct advertising
is straight to the point; offers a product, service, or event; and explains how to get the offered
product, service, or event.Contents [hide]
History
Mail order pioneer Aaron Montgomery Ward knew that by using the technique of selling product
directly to the consumer at appealing prices could, if executed effectively and efficiently,
revolutionize the market industry and therefore be used as an innovative model for marketing
products and creating customer loyalty.[1] The term "direct marketing" was coined long after
Montgomery Ward`s time.
In 1967 Lester Wunderman identified, named, and defined "direct marketing". Wunderman —
considered to be the father of contemporary direct marketing — is behind the creation of the toll-
free 1-800 number[1] and numerous loyalty marketing programs including the Columbia Record
Club, the magazine subscription card, and the American Express Customer Rewards program.[2]
The term junk mail, referring to unsolicited commercial ads delivered via post office or directly
deposited in consumers' mail boxes, can be traced back to 1954.[3] The term spam, meaning
"unsolicited commercial e-mail," can be traced back to March 31, 1993,[4] although in its first few
months it merely referred to inadvertently posting a message so many times on UseNet that the
repetitions effectively drowned out the normal flow of conversation.
In 1872, Aaron Montgomery Ward produced the first mail-order catalogue for his Montgomery Ward
mail order business. By buying goods and then reselling them directly to customers, Ward was
consequently removing the middlemen at the general store and, to the benefit of the customer,
drastically lowering the prices.[5] The Direct Mail Advertising Association, predecessor of the
present-day Direct Marketing Association, was first established in 1917.[6] Third class bulk mail
postage rates were established in 1928.[7]
Benefits and drawbacks
Direct marketing is attractive to many marketers, because in many cases its positive effect (but not
negative results) can be measured directly. For example, if a marketer sends out 1,000 solicitations
by mail, and 100 respond to the promotion, the marketer can say with confidence that campaign led
directly to 10% direct responses. The number of recipients who are offended by junk mail/spam,
however, is not easily measured. By contrast, measurement of other media must often be indirect,
since there is no direct response from a consumer. Measurement of results, a fundamental element
in successful direct marketing, is explored in greater detail elsewhere in this article.
The Internet has made it easier for marketing managers to measure the results of a campaign. This
is often achieved by using a specific Web site landing page directly relating to the promotional
material, a call to action will ask the consumer to visit the landing page, and the effectiveness of the
campaign can be measured by taking the number of promotional messages distributed (e.g., 1,000)
and dividing it by the number of responses (people visiting the unique Web site page).
Another way to measure the results is to compare the projected sales for a given term with the
actual sales after a direct advertising campaign.
While many marketers recognize the financial benefits of increasing targeted awareness, some
direct marketing efforts using particular media have been criticized for generating unwanted
solicitations, not due to the method of communication but because of poorly compiled demographic
databases, advertisers do not wish to waste money on communicating with consumers not
interested in their products. For example, direct mail that is irrelevant to the recipient is considered
"junk mail," and unwanted e-mail messages are considered "spam." Some consumers are
demanding an end to direct marketing for privacy and environmental reasons,[citation needed]
which direct marketers are able to do to some extent by using "opt-out" lists, variable printing, and
more-targeted mailing lists. In response to consumer demand and increasing business pressure to
increase the effectiveness of reaching the right consumer with direct marketing, companies
specialize in targeted direct advertising to great effect, reducing advertising budget waste and
increasing the effectiveness of delivering a marketing message with better geodemography
information, delivering the advertising message to only the consumers interested in the product,
service, or event on offer.
The most common form of direct marketing is direct mail,[citation needed] sometimes called junk
mail, used by advertisers who send paper mail to all postal customers in an area or to all customers
on a list.
Junkmail
Any low-budget medium that can be used to deliver a communication to a customer can be
employed in direct marketing. Probably the most commonly used medium for direct marketing is
mail, in which marketing communications are sent to customers using the postal service. The term
direct mail is used in the direct marketing industry to refer to communication deliveries by the Post
Office, which may also be referred to as "junk mail" or "admail" and may involve bulk mail.
Direct mail includes advertising circulars, catalogs, free trial CDs, pre-approved credit card
applications, and other unsolicited merchandising invitations delivered by mail or to homes and
businesses, or delivered to consumers' mailboxes by delivery services other than the Post Office.
Bulk mailings are a particularly popular method of promotion for businesses operating in the
financial services, home computer, and travel and tourism industries.
In many developed countries, direct mail represents such a significant amount of the total volume of
mail that special rate classes have been established. In the United States and United Kingdom, for
example, there are bulk mail rates that enable marketers to send mail at rates that are substantially
lower than regular first-class rates. In order to qualify for these rates, marketers must format and
sort the mail in particular ways – which reduces the handling (and therefore costs) required by the
postal service.
Advertisers often refine direct mail practices into targeted mailing, in which mail is sent out
following database analysis to select recipients considered most likely to respond positively. For
example a person who has demonstrated an interest in golf may receive direct mail for golf related
products or perhaps for goods and services that are appropriate for golfers. This use of database
analysis is a type of database marketing. The United States Postal Service calls this form of mail
"advertising mail" (admail for short).
Telemarketing
Another common form of direct marketing is telemarketing, in which marketers contact consumers
by phone. The unpopularity of cold call telemarketing (in which the consumer does not expect or
invite the sales call) has led some US states and the US federal government to create "no-call lists"
and legislation including heavy fines. This process may be outsourced to specialist call centres.
In the US, a national do-not-call list went into effect on October 1, 2003. Under the law, it is illegal
for telemarketers to call anyone who has registered themselves on the list. After the list had
operated for one year, over 62 million people had signed up.[8] The telemarketing industry opposed
the creation of the list, but most telemarketers have complied with the law and refrained from
calling people who are on the list.[citation needed] (The list does not apply to non-profit
organizations.)
Canada has passed legislation to create a similar Do Not Call List. In other countries it is voluntary,
such as the New Zealand Name Removal Service.
Email Marketing
Email Marketing is a third type of direct marketing. A major concern is spam. As a result of the
proliferation of mass spamming, ISPs and email service providers have developed increasingly
effective E-Mail Filtering programs. These filters can interfere with the delivery of email marketing
campaigns, even if the person has subscribed to receive them,[9] as legitimate email marketing can
possess the same hallmarks as spam. There are a range of e-mail service providers that provide
services
Door-to-Door Leaflet Marketing
Leaflet distribution services are used extensively by the fast food industries, and many other
business focussing on a local catchment. Business to consumer business model, similar to direct
mail marketing, this method is targeted purely by area, and costs a fraction of the amount of a
mailshot due to not having to purchase stamps, envelopes or having to buy address lists and the
names of home occupants.
Broadcast faxing
A fourth type of direct marketing, broadcast faxing, is now less common than the other forms.
[citation needed] This is partly due to laws in the United States and elsewhere which make it illegal.
[citation needed]
Voicemail Marketing
A fifth type of direct marketing has emerged out of the market prevalence of personal voice
mailboxes, and business voicemail systems. Due to the ubiquity of email marketing, and the
expense of direct mail and telemarketing, voicemail marketing presented a cost effective means by
which to reach people directly, by voice.
Abuse of consumer marketing applications of voicemail marketing resulted in an abundance of

"voice-spam", and prompted many jurisdictions to pass laws regulating consumer voicemail
marketing.
More recently, businesses have utilized guided voicemail (an application where pre-recorded
voicemails are guided by live callers) to accomplish personalized business-to-business marketing
formerly reserved for telemarketing. Because guided voicemail is used to contact only businesses, it
is exempt from Do Not Call regulations in place for other forms of voicemail marketing.Another
variation is voicemail courier (an application where pre-recorded voice messages are couriered into
voicemail by live callers) to accomplish personalized voicemail marketing. Voicemail courier is used
for both business-to-business marketing and also business-to-consumer applications.
Couponing
Couponing is used in print media to elicit a response from the reader. An example is a coupon which
the reader cuts out and presents to a super-store check-out counter to avail of a discount. Coupons
in newspapers and magazines cannot be considered direct marketing, since the marketer incurs the
cost of supporting a third-party medium (the newspaper or magazine); direct marketing aims to
circumvent that balance, paring the costs down to solely delivering their unsolicited sales message
to the consumer, without supporting the newspaper that the consumer seeks and welcomes.
Direct-response television marketing
Direct marketing on TV (commonly referred to as DRTV) has two basic forms: long form (usually
half-hour or hour-long segments that explain a product in detail and are commonly referred to as
infomercials) and short form, which refers to typical 30-second or 60-second commercials that ask
viewers for an immediate response (typically to call a phone number on screen or go to a Web site).
TV-response marketing—i.e. infomercials—can be considered a form of direct marketing, since

responses are in the form of calls to telephone numbers given on-air. This both allows marketers to
reasonably conclude that the calls are due to a particular campaign, and allows the marketers to
obtain customers' phone numbers as targets for telemarketing. Under the Federal Do-Not-Call List
rules in the US, if the caller buys anything, the marketer would be exempt from Do-Not-Call List
restrictions for a period of time due to having a prior business relationship with the caller. Firms
such as QVC, Thane Direct, and Interwood Marketing Group then cross-sell and up-sell to these
respondents.
One of the most famous DRTV commercials was for Ginsu Knives by Ginsu Products, Inc. of RI.
Several aspects of ad, such as its use of adding items to the offer and the guarantee of satisfaction
were much copied and came to be considered part of the formula for success with short-form direct-
response TV ads (DRTV)
Direct selling
Direct selling is the sale of products by face-to-face contact with the customer, either by having
salespeople approach potential customers in person, or through indirect means such as Tupperware
parties.
Popularity of Direct Advertising
A report[10] produced by the Direct Marketing Association found that 57% of the campaigns studied
were employing integrated strategies. Of those, almost half (47%) launched with a direct mail
campaign, typically followed by e-mail and then telemarketing
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Recently, Keith Norris, the Chief Executive of the Direct Marketing Associate (DMA) defined direct
marketing as, “a database-driven, one-to-one marketing structure.” Confused? Well, perhaps a
better way to define direct marketing though may be through the use of examples of direct
marketing.Suppose you own a business that sells automobiles – cars, trucks, vans and SUV’s. You
have an active database of customers that have purchased from you in the past and you know who
your customers are – who purchased a car, who purchased a truck, and so on. You then develop
specific communications to the different segments of that database. That is one of the examples of
direct marketing – a database-driven, one-to-one marketing structure.Direct marketing is all about
finding out your customers individual needs, and then finding ways to meets these needs. Such as a
luxury goods seller that knows you fit into a certain income bracket or a toy manufacturer that
knows from their database that you have children, or even grandchildren.Another one of the
examples of direct marketing is when you receive a letter from a charity organization or a political
group seeking donations. Typically, these letters are derived from a database that lets them know
that you fit into the same demographics as their target market. These mailings are usually tailored
specifically to you, with your name strewn throughout the letter.
These examples of direct marketing all focus on one thing – customization. The marketer is trying to
maximize the return on his direct marketing dollars by selecting those on his list that are most likely
to respond based on certain predetermined criteria. They then take this criteria and produce a
targeted direct marketing campaign.
INNOVATIVE RURAL MEDIA
In addition to the conventional media vehicles, a lot of innovative mediums are used in rural
advertising and marketing. Some of the most striking ones are:
Puppetry
Puppetry is the indigenous theatre of India. From time immortal it has been the most popular form
and well-appreciated form of entertainment available to the village people.
It is an inexpensive activity. The manipulator uses the puppets as a medium to express and
communicate ideas, values and social messages.Life Insurance Corporation of India used puppets to
educate rural masses about Life Insurance; enlisting the help of the literacy house in .These plays
were shown to the audience in villages in UP, Bihar, & MP. The number of inquires at local Life
Insurance Companies during the period immediately following the performance was compared with
normal frequency and found to be considerable higher. The field staff of the corporation also
reported a definite impact on the business.
Folk Theater
Folk theaters are mainly short and rhythmic in form. The simple tunes help in informing and
educating the people in informal and interesting manner. It has been used as an effective medium
for social protest against injustice, exploitation and oppression.
Government has used this media for popularizing improved variety of seeds, agricultural
implements, fertilizer etc. Punjab Agricultural University produced Two Audio Cassettes.
A) Balliye Kanak Biye - Wheat Cultivation.
B) Khiran Kepah Narme - Cotton Cultivation.
Both were well received by farmers.BBLIL used Magician quite effectively for launch of Kadak
Chhap Tea in Etawah.
Demonstration: "Direct Contact" is a face-to-face relationship with people individually and with
groups such as the Panchayats and other village groups. Such contact helps in arousing the
villager's interest in their own problem and motivating them towards self-development.
Demonstration may be
A. i. Method demonstration
ii. Result demonstration
B. i. Simple Demonstration
ii. Composite Demonstration
In result demonstration, help of audio -visual media can add value. Asian Paints launched Utsav
range by painting Mukhiya's house or Post office to demonstrate that paint does not peel off.
Wall Paintings
Wall Paintings are an effective and economical medium for advertising in rural areas. They are silent
unlike traditional theatre .A speech or film comes to an end, but wall painting stays as long as the
weather allows it to.
Retailer normally welcomes paintings of their shops, walls, and name boards. Since it makes the
shop look cleaner and better.
Their shops look alluring and stand out among other outlets. Besides rural households shopkeepers
and panchayats do not except any payment, for their wall to be painted with product messages.
To get one's wall painted with the product messages is seemed as a status symbol. The greatest
advantage of the medium is the power of the picture completed with its local touch.
The images used have a strong emotional association with the surrounding, a feet impossible for
even a moving visual medium like television, which must use general image to cater to greatest
number of viewers.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmm
Personal selling - Personal presentation by the firm’s sales force for the purpose of making sales and
building customer relationships. Personal selling is paid personal communication that attempts to
inform customers and persuade them to purchase products or services. Undoubtedly by now you've
figured out that marketing enables both individuals and organizations to sell products and services
to other people to help them satisfy their needs and wants. At some point in the selling process,
personal selling usually becomes involved.
It is the personal selling process that allows marketers the greatest freedom to adjust a message to
satisfy customers' information needs. Personal selling allows the marketer or seller to communicate
directly with the prospect or customer and listen to his or her concerns, answer specific questions,
provide additional information, inform, persuade, and possibly even recommend other products or
services.
The personal selling process consists of the following steps:
1) Prospecting
Prospecting refers to identifying and developing a list of potential clients. Sales people can seek the
names of prospects from a variety of sources including trade shows, commercially-available
databases or mail lists, company sales records and in-house databases, website registrations, public
records, referrals, directories and a wide variety of other sources. Prospecting activities should be
structured so that they identify only potential clients who fit the profile and are able, willing and
authorized to buy the product or service.
This activity is greatly enhanced today using websites with specially-coded pages optimized with
key words so that prospects may easily find you when they search the web for certain key words
related to your offering. Once prospecting is underway, it then is up to the sales professional to
qualify those prospects to further identify likely customers and screen out poor leads. Modern
websites can go along way in not only identifying potential prospects but also starting this
qualification process.
2) Pre-approach
Before engaging in the actual personal selling process, sales professionals first analyze all the
information they have available to them about a prospect to understand as much about the
prospect as possible. During the Pre-approach phase of the personal selling process, sales
professionals try to understand the prospect's current needs, current use of brands and feelings
about all available brands, as well as identify key decision makers, review account histories (if any),
assess product needs, plan/create a sales presentation to address the identified and likely concerns
of the prospect, and set call objectives. The sales professional also develops a preliminary overall
strategy for the sales process during this phase, keeping in mind that the strategy may have to be
refined as he or she learns more about the prospect.
3) Approach
The approach is the actual contact the sales professional has with the prospect. This is the point of
the selling process where the sales professional meets and greets the prospect, provides an
introduction, establishes rapport that sets the foundation of the relationship, and asks open-ended
questions to learn more about the prospect and his or her needs.
4) Making the Presentation
During the presentation portion of the selling process, the sales professional tells that product
"story" in a way that speaks directly to the identified needs and wants of the prospect. A highly
customized presentation is the key component of this step. At this point in the process, prospects
are often allowed to hold and/or inspect the product and the sales professional may also actually
demonstrate the product. Audio visual presentations and/or slide presentations may be incorporated
at this stage and this is usually when sales brochures or booklets are presented to the prospect.
Sales professionals should strive to let the prospect do most of the talking during the presentation
and address the needs of the prospect as fully as possible by showing that he or she truly
understands and cares about the needs of the prospect.
5) Overcoming Objections
Professional sales people seek out prospects' objections in order to try to address and overcome
them. When prospects offer objections, it often signals that they need and want to hear more in
order to make a fully-informed decision. If objections are not uncovered and identified, then sales
professionals cannot effectively manage them. Uncovering objections, asking clarifying questions,
and overcoming objections is a critical part of training for professional sellers and is a skill area that
must be continually developed because there will always be objections. Trust me when I tell you
that as soon as a sales professional finds a way to successfully handle "all" his or her prospects'
objections, some prospect will find a new, unanticipated objection-- if for no other reason than to
test the mettle of the sales person.
6) Closing the Sale
Although technically "closing" a sale happens when products or services are delivered to the
customer's satisfaction and payment is received, for the purposes of our discussion I will define
closing as asking for the order and adequately addressing any final objections or obstacles. There
are many closing techniques as well as many ways to ask trial closing questions. A trail question
might take the form of, "Now that I've addressed your concerns, what other questions do you have
that might impact your decision to purchase?" Closing does not always mean that the sales
professional literally asks for the order, it could be asking the prospect how many they would like,
what color they would prefer, when they would like to take delivery, etc. Too many sales professions
are either weak or too aggressive when it comes to closing. If you are closing a sale, be sure to ask
for the order. If the prospect gives an answer other than "yes", it may be a good opportunity to
identify new objections and continue selling.
7) Follow-up
Follow-up is an often overlooked but important part of the selling process. After an order is received,
it is in the best interest of everyone involved for the sales person to follow-up with the prospect to
make sure the product was received in the proper condition, at the right time, installed properly,
proper training delivered, and that the entire process was acceptable to the customer. This is a
critical step in creating customer satisfaction and building long-term relationships with customers. If
the customer experienced any problems whatsoever, the sales professional can intervene and
become a customer advocate to ensure 100% satisfaction. Diligent follow-up can also lead to
uncovering new needs, additional purchases, and also referrals and testimonials which can be used
as sales tools.
Sales Management:Managing the sales process is typically the job of the Sales Manager. Good
sales managers usually exhibit the characteristics of: organization, a good personal sales record,
enthusiasm, ambition, product knowledge, trustworthiness, mentoring skills, and somebody who is
respected by others. While an in-depth discussion of sales management is beyond the scope of this
crash-course, I'll mention one tool often used by sales managers to manage the sales process. This
is called the Sales Funnel or Sales Pipeline Report.
The Sales Funnel (or Sales Pipeline)
A sales funnel report presents a "snapshot" of your sales function at any given point in time. For
conceptual purposes, the sales process is often compared to a funnel where new leads coming into
the system (i.e. prospects) are initially placed into the top of the funnel (the widest part) and then
worked through the system by informing, persuading, overcoming objections, providing information,
demonstrating, providing free samples, etc., etc. until at the narrow part of the funnel, an order is
placed and a sales is closed when payment from the customer is received.
The funnel framework works fairly well because for all new leads that are generated by marketing,
there is a closing rate that represents the sales that ultimately result. The number of resulting sales
is usually significantly less than the number of total leads generated hence it is useful to think that
as leads work their way further down the funnel there will be less and less of them until they come
out the narrow end of the funnel as sales.
One important thing to note is that organizations define each phase in the sales process (or, part of
the funnel) differently. Each step working through the funnel should have clearly defined criteria
that go along with it so at each part of the funnel, there is specific knowledge about all the leads at
that stage. In other words, leads become more and more qualified as they work their way through
the funnel and at each step, you will know exactly what that specific level of qualification is. Another
important thing to keep in mind is that the funnel is a great way to track and forecast sales, as well
as, gauge marketing activities. By running a Sales Funnel Report, the sales manager can visually
see how many leads are at each step, if there are any "bottlenecks", or if there are an insufficient
number of leads at any stage. Armed with that knowledge, then the sales manager may instruct his
or her sales force where they should focus more attention to keep sales at the desired level. He or
she can then also work closely with the marketing manager to ensure they are generating enough
leads to hit sales goals, whether the leads are of high enough quality, or what further needs to be
done to hit sales goals.In short, the funnel can clearly point out what adjustments need to be made
within the sales function to hit sales goals. That might mean that marketing activities need to be
adjusted, that addition sales training is needed, or that sales personnel need to focus their efforts
and activities on certain parts of the sales pipeline to keep the entire process on balance and
running smoothly. The sales funnel also helps sales and marketing work closely together to meet
organizational sales objectives. It is a wonderful management tool.
Sales tips:I think success in sales depends upon some basics. I can humbly share a few pointers
that I think have allowed me to enjoy success in sales:
• Be sincere with people. Too many sales people act in a manner that seems artificial or they
only feign interest in their prospects' problems and concerns. People are smart and see right
through such insincerity. If you are not sincere and honest with everyone you meet then you
should not be in sales.
• Sell products or services that you believe in and that have customers you gravitate toward
naturally or that you inherently like and want to be around and learn more about. If you do
not have a passion for the product and the customers then you will not be happy--or very
successful.
• It is vitally important to constantly hone your sales and communications skills. Continuous
growth and training in formal professional selling techniques is also very important. Take
training classes, listen to professional development audio podcasts and seminars, read all the
professional development material you can get your hands on, and start a program of self-
study and development in sales today if you haven't already.
• First listen to your customer, understand his or her wants and needs, and only then try to
determine whether or not you can deliver the product or services to meet those wants and
needs. If you approach a prospect with a solution before understanding the problem you are
likely to be wrong about the solution.
• The best sales people ask a lot of questions and genuinely listen to the answers before
speaking again.
• Your prospects and customers are all different so you should treat them differently.
• The best sales people listen much more than they talk.
• Find out what your prospects want and then give it to them.
• If you cannot give your prospects what they want tell them so and help them find what they
are looking for elsewhere...or at least point them in the right direction. You'll help them and
learn more about your own market in the process.
• If you think that you cannot make it in sales as a profession then you probably should not
even try.
Essential elements of Personal Selling

Personal selling consists of the following elements:
i. Face-to-Face interaction: Personal selling involves a salesmen having face-to-face
interaction with the prospective buyers.
Personal Selling
101
ii. Persuasion: Personal selling requires persuasion on the part of the seller to the prospective
customers to buy the product. So a salesman must have the ability to convince the customers
so that an interest may be created in the mind of the customers to use that product.
iii. Flexibility: The approach of personal selling is always flexible. Sometimes salesman may
explain the features and benefits of the product, sometimes give demonstration of the use of
product and also faces number of queries from the customers. Looking into the situation
and interest of the customers, the approach of the salesman is decided instantly.
iv. Promotion of sales: The ultimate objective of personal selling is to promote sales by
convincing more and more customers to use the product.
v. Supply of Information: Personal selling provides various information to the customers
regarding availability of the product, special features, uses and utility of the products. So it
is an educative process.
vi. Mutual Benefit: It is a two-way process. Both seller and buyer derive benefit from it.
While customers feel satisfied with the goods, the seller enjoys the profits.
Importance of Personal Selling
Personal Selling is extremely important as it helps in increasing sales. But there are other features
as well which make it important. Let us discuss the importance of personal selling from the point
of view of manufactures as well as consumers.
From manufacturer’s point of view
i. It creates demand for products both new as well as existing ones.
ii. It creates new customers and, thus help in expanding the market for the product.
iii. It leads to product improvement. While selling personally the seller gets acquainted with the
choice and demands of customers and makes suggestions accordingly to the manufacturer.
From customer’s point of view
i. Personal selling provides an opportunity to the consumers to know about new products
introduced in the market. Thus, it informs and educates the consumers about new products.
ii. It is because of personal selling that customers come to know about the use of new products
Business Studies
in the market. The sellers demonstrate the product before the prospective buyers and
explain the use and utility of the products.
iii. Personal selling also guides customers in selecting goods best suited to their requirements
and tastes as it involves face-to-face communication.
iv. Personal selling gives an opportunity to the customers to put forward their complaints and
difficulties in using the product and get the solution immediately.
Qualities of salesperson engaged in Personal Selling

It is very difficult to enlist the qualities of people engaged in personal selling. The quality will vary
from time to time and from situation to situation. It also depends upon the customers’ demand
and nature of the product. Again a salesman may be effective in one situation but may fail in
another situation. So in real life certain qualities may be suitable for a particular line of product
and may be irrelevant in any other case. However, there are certain common qualities, which
every salesman should possess in order to become successful in their life. These qualities are
listed below.
i. Physical Quality
ii. Mental Quality
iii. Integrity of character
iv. Knowledge of the product and the company
v. Good behaviour
vi. Ability to persuade
Now let us discuss the above qualities in detail.
i. Physical quality: A salesman should have a good appearance and an impressive personality.
He should also have a sound health.
Personal Selling
ii. Mental quality: A good salesman should posses certain mental qualities like imagination,
initiative, self-confidence, sharp memory, alertness etc. He should be able to understand
the needs and preferences of customers.
iii. Integrity of character: A good salesman should posses the qualities of honesty and integrity.
He is to gain the confidence of the customers. He should be able to understand their needs
and guide them how to satisfy those needs. His employer too should have faith in him. A
salesman should be loyal both to the employer and to the customers.
iv. Knowledge of the product and the company: A salesman should have full knowledge of
the product and the company he is representing. He should be able to explain each and
every aspect of the product i.e. its qualities, how to use it, what precautions to be taken,
etc. He should be able to explain the business and service record of the company. He
should also have knowledge of products of rival companies. So that he can put across the
superiority of his own products.
v. Good behaviour : A salesman should be co-operative and courteous. Good behaviour
enables one to win the confidence of the customers. He should not feel irritated if the buyer
puts up many questions even if the questions are irrelevant. It is also not necessary that the
person he is trying to convince buys the product. The salesman has to remain and courteous
in every case.
vi. Ability to persuade: A good salesman should be good in conversation so that he can
engage the person he is attending in conversation. He should be able to convince him and
create the desire in his mind to posses the commodity.
In comparison to other marketing communications tools such as advertising, personal selling tends
to:
Use fewer resources, pricing is often negotiated.
Products tend to be fairly complex (e.g. financial services or new cars).
There is some contact between buyer and seller after the sale so that an ongoing relationship is
built.
Client/prospects need specific information.
The purchase tends to involve large sums of money.
There are exceptions of course, but most personal selling takes place in this way. Personal selling
involves a selling process that is summarised in the following Five Stage Personal Selling Process.
The five stages are:
1. Prospecting.
2. Making first contact.
3. The sales call.
4. Objection handling.
5. Closing the sale.
A Five Stage Personal Selling Process.
Stage One - Prospecting.
Prospecting is all about finding prospects, or potential new customers. Prospects should be
'qualified,' which means that they need to be assessed to see if there is business potential,
otherwise you could be wasting your time. In order to qualify your prospects, one needs to:
Plan a sales approach focused upon the needs of the customer.
Determine which products or services best meet their needs.In order to save time, rank the
prospects and leave out those that are least likely to buy.
Stage Two - Making First Contact.This is the preparation that a salesperson goes through before
they meet with the client, for example via e-mail, telephone or letter. Preparation will make a call
more focused.
Make sure that you are on time.
Before meeting with the client, set some objectives for the sales call. What is the purpose of the
call? What outcome is desirable before you leave?
Make sure that you've done some homework before meeting your prospect. This will show that you
are committed in the eyes of your customer.To save time, send some information before you visit.
This will wet the prospect's appetite.Keep a set of samples at hand, and make sure that they are in
very good condition.Within the first minute or two, state the purpose of your call so that time with
the client is maximised, and also to demonstrate to the client that your are not wasting his or her
time.Humour is fine, but try to be sincere and friendly.
Stage Three - The Sales Call (or Sales Presentation).
It is best to be enthusiastic about your product or service. If you are not excited about it, don't
expect your prospect to be excited.Focus on the real benefits of the product or service to the
specific needs of your client, rather than listing endless lists of features.Try to be relaxed during the
call, and put your client at ease.Let the client do at least 80% of the talking. This will give you
invaluable information on your client's needs.Remember to ask plenty of questions. Use open
questions, e.g. TED's, and closed questions i.e. questions that will only give the answer 'yes' or the
answer 'no.' This way you can dictate the direction of the conversation.Never be too afraid to ask for
the business straight off.
Stage Four - Objection Handling.Objection handling is the way in which salespeople tackle
obstacles put in their way by clients. Some objections may prove too difficult to handle, and
sometimes the client may just take a dislike to you (aka the hidden objection). Here are some
approaches for overcoming objections:Firstly, try to anticipate them before they arise.
'Yes but' technique allows you to accept the objection and then to divert it. For example, a client
may say that they do not like a particular colour, to which the salesperson counters 'Yes but X is
also available in many other colours.'Ask 'why' the client feels the way that they do.
'Restate' the objection, and put it back into the client's lap. For example, the client may say, 'I don't
like the taste of X,' to which the salesperson responds, 'You don't like the taste of X,' generating the
response 'since I do not like garlic' from the client. The salesperson could suggest that X is no longer
made with garlic to meet the client's needs.The sales person could also tactfully and respectfully
contradict the client.
Stage Five - Closing the Sale.This is a very important stage. Often salespeople will leave without
ever successfully closing a deal. Therefore it is vital to learn the skills of closing.Just ask for the
business! - 'Please may I take an order?' This really works well.Look for buying signals (i.e. body
language or comments made by the client that they want to place an order). For example, asking
about availability, asking for details such as discounts, or asking for you to go over something again
to clarify.
Just stop talking, and let the client say 'yes.' Again, this really works.
The 'summary close' allows the salesperson to summarise everything that the client needs, based
upon the discussions during the call. For example, 'You need product X in blue, by Friday, packaged
accordingly, and delivered to your wife's office.' Then ask for the order.
The 'alternative close' does not give the client the opportunity to say no, but forces them towards a
yes. For example 'Do you want product X in blue or red?' Cheeky, but effective.
Nature of Personal Selling

Gives marketers: The greatest freedom to adjust a message to satisfy customers informational
needs, dynamic.
Most precision, enabling marketers to focus on most promising leads. vs. advertising, publicity and
sales promotion
Give more information Two way flow of information, interactivity.
Discover the strengths and weaknesses of new products and pass this information on to the
marketing department.
Highest cost. Businesses spend more on personal selling than on any other form of promotional mix.
Goals range from ‘=
finding prospects
convincing prospects to buy
keeping customers satisfied--help them pass the word along.
Return to Contents
Types of Sales Persons

Order Takers
Seek repeat sales, make certain that customers have sufficient product quantities where and when
they need it. Do not require extensive sales effort. Arrange displays, restocks them, answer phone
calls. Low compensation, little training required. High turnover of personnel. 2 types:
Inside Order Takers receive orders by mail/phone, sales person in a retail store.
Field Order Takers travel to customers. Use laptop computers to improve tracking of inventory and
orders etc.
Order Getters
Sell to new customers and increase sales to present customers, sometimes called creative selling.
Generate customer leads, provide information, persuading customers and closing sales. Required
for high priced, complex and/or new products. High pressure, requires expensive, time consuming
training.
Support Personnel
Facilitate the selling function. Primarily business to business products.
Missionary Salespeople Distribute information regarding new goods or services, describes attributes
and leaves materials, does not close sales. Assist producers' customers in selling to their own
customers. IE call on retailers and persuade them to carry the product. Pharmaceuticals may go to
doctors offices and persuade them to carry their products.
Trade Salespeople May perform order taking function as well. Spend much time helping customers,
especially retail stores, to promote the product. Restock the shelves, set up displays. Technical
Salespersons Offer technical assistance to current customers. Usually trained engineers etc.
Service Salespeople interacts with customers after sale is complete.
Team selling...entire team of selling professionals in selling to and servicing major customers,
especially when specialized knowledge is needed to satisfy different interests in customers' buying
centers.
Elements of the Personal Selling Process

No 2 salespersons use exactly the same sales method, but it is generally a seven step process:
Prospecting and Evaluating
Seek names of prospects through sales records, referrals etc., also responses to advertisements.
Need to evaluate if the person is able (Undergraduate degree to attend a graduate program), willing
and authorized to buy. Blind prospecting-rely on phone directory etc.
Preapproach (Preparing)
Review key decision makers esp. for business to business, but also family
assess credit histories
prepare sales presentations
identify product needs.
Helps present the presentation to meet the prospects needs.
Approaching the Customer
Manner in which the sales person contacts the potential customer. First impression of the sales
person is Lasting and therefore important.
Strive to develop a relationship rather than just push the product.
Can be based on referrals, cold calling or repeat contact.
Return to Contents
Making the Presentation
Need to attract and hold the prospects Attention to stimulate Interest and stir up Desire in the
product so the potential customer takes the appropriate Action. AIDA
Try to get the prospect to touch, hold or try the product. Must be able to change the presentation to
meet the prospect needs.
Three types of presentations:
Stimulus Response Format: Appropriate stimulus will initiate a buy decision, use one appeal after
another hoping to hit the right button...Counter Clerk @ McDonald's "Would you like fries with your
burger?"
Formula Selling Format: (Canned Sales Presentation) memorized, repetitive, given to all customers
interested in a specific product.
Good for inexperienced sales people.
Better with heavily advertised items that are presold.
Telemarketing a credit card!!
Need Satisfaction Format: Based on the principal that each customer has a different set of
needs/desires., therefore the sales presentation should be adapted to the individual customer's
needs, this is a key advantage of personal selling vs. advertising.
Sales person asks questions first, then makes the presentation accordingly.
Need to do homework, listen well and allow customers to talk etc.
Must answer two types of questions:
for more information
overcome objections.
Overcoming Objections
Seek out objections and address them.
Anticipate and counter them before the prospect can raise them.
Try to avoid bringing up objections that the prospect would not have raised.
Price objection is the most common
Need to provide customers with reasons for the $s, build up the value before price is mentioned
Must be convinced of price in own mind before you can sell to customer.
Get budget info. on buyer before you try to sell, and must know what they want, must sell service
on top of product augmented product--to create value!!
Must know value of product, provide warranties etc.!!
Return to Contents
Closing
Ask prospect to buy product/products. Use trial closes, IE ask about financial terms, preferred
method of delivery.
20% sales people generally close 80% sales., Avon, over 1/2 US $1.4 bn business from 17% of
415,000 SRs.
Need to be prepared to close at any time. The following are popular closing techniques:
Trial Close (Minor decision close)
Assumptive close (Implied consent close)
Urgency close
Ask for the sale close
If prospect says no, they may just need more reasons to buy!!
Return to Contents
Following Up
Must follow up sale, determine if the order was delivered on time, installation OK etc. Also helps
determine the prospects future needs. Accomplishes four objectives:
customer gain short term satisfaction
referrals are stimulated

in the long run, repurchase
prevent cognitive dissonance
Old school, sell and leave!!--Quickly before customer changes her mind!!
Now:
Stay a few minutes after sale--reinforce, make them feel good, made wise choice, leave small gift
(with co. name on it!!), call office at any time etc!!
Follow up, reinforce, know birthdays, new year etc, friendly correspondence...relationship building!!
Handout...Toyota Calling In Japan's Car Market
Half of cars are sold door-to-door. This is shrinking due to environmental changes. Toyota has more
than 100,000 door-to-door sales people.
Developing Long-term relationships is key, Keiretsu, do business with only those you know and
trust. Face-to-face meetings before business to establish trust, the approach stage.
Follow up is key to relationship:
After sales:
call inquiring on car's immediate performance
hand written greeting cards
written invitations for low cost oil changes
Prospecting includes:
Driving schools for people to obtain licenses = prospects
Also referrals from existing customers is very important
Curtesy calls to clients who referred new customers.
Timing of presentation:
To housewife in the middle of the day
Just before 3 year "Shaken", following 2 years
"At first I had no intention of buying a new car, but Mr. Saito is very good at proposing reasons why
I should change" = $1,600 shaken.
Return to Contents
Management of Salesforce
Sales force is directly responsible for generating sales revenue.
Eight general management areas:
Establish Salesforce objectives
Similar to other promotional objectives

Demand oriented or image oriented.
Major objective is persuasion, converting consumer interest into sales.
Sales objectives; expected to accomplish within a certain period of time.
Give direction and purpose and act as a standard for evaluation.
Set for total salesforce and each individual salesperson.
Can be $s, units sold, market share to achieve, for individual salespersons, also include ave. order
size, ave. # of sales/time period, and ratio orders/calls.
Return to Contents
Organizing the Salesforce
In-house vs. independent agents (manufacturer's sales agents).
Organize by:
Geography (simplest, but not suitable if product(s) are complex or customers require specialized
knowledge)
Customer: Different buyers have different needs
Product: Specific knowledge re: products is needed
Size. Marginal analysis, or determine how many sales calls/year are needed for an organization to
effectively serve its customers and divide this total by the average # of sales calls that a person
makes annually. Also use subjective judgement.
MBNA estimates how many calls to expect, one year in advance, and then determines the size of
the salesforce at any given time.
Return to Contents
Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople
Need to establish a set of required qualifications before beginning to recruit. Prepare a job
description that lists specific tasks the salesperson should perform and analyze traits of the
successful salespeople within the organization.
May use assessment centers--intense training environment that places candidates in realistic
problem settings in which they give priorities to their activities, make and act on decisions.
Recruitment should be a continual activity aimed at reaching the best applicants.
Applicants that most match the demographics of the target market. Changing demographics, may
be wise to hire hispanic sales people if your territory is in Florida!!
Return to Contents
Training Sales Personnel
Use formal programs, or Informal on-the-job training. Can be complex or simple.
Training should focus on:

the company
products
selling techniques.
Aimed at new hires and experienced personnel.
Can be held in the field, educational institutions or company facilities.
Oldsmobile spent $25 million last year to teach its dealers how to better treat its customers.
Return to Contents
Compensating Sales People
To attract, motivate and retain sales people, that facilitate and encourage good treatment of the
customers. Need to understand personalities of sales people. Strive for proper balance of freedom,
income and incentives.
Need to determine the best level of compensation required, and the best method of calculating it.
Straight salary
straight commission (selling insurance)--single percentage of sales or sliding rate
Combination plan
Return to Contents
Motivating Sales People
Need a systematic approach, must also satisfy non-financial needs:
Job security
Working Conditions
Opportunities to succeed
Sales contests increase sales.
Symbolic awards--plaques, rings etc.
Can also use negative motivational methods for under performers.
Due to burn out--even the best need motivating!!
Ongoing process...keep reps. hungry
Need a motivational program.
Spend time with reps, personal attention!!
Take interest in them and the sales goals
Compensation packet that rewards quality salesmanship and extra effort
Recognition of extra effort of sales force
Make sure SR feel important

Keep SR informed of company activities
Make certain reps. believe in the company
Goals must be realistic and achievable and changeable
Determine what they want and give it to them
Controlling and Evaluating Salesforce performance
Rely on information from call reports, customer feedback and invoices. Performance is determined
by objectives. May compare with predetermined performance standards or with other sales people
working under similar conditions.
Handout Avon....
$4 billion business, relied solely on personal selling until recently, environmental changes have
changed this...no longer is the wife expected to be at home...model is dual income earning parents
with children in day care.
Need to develop more efficient ways to reach customers.
Salespeople earn pure commission, 10%...50% for top sellers (over $32,750)
Strategies tried:
Avon Select.
Direct mail catalog and toll free number, attract those that didn't know an "Avon Lady", or didn't
want to deal with one. Also used national TV and print campaign in conjunction. Problems =
Salesperson creates confidence in the brand, delivering much more than advertising is able to do.
When you take away the selling relationship, you're left with a brand that's relatively naked.
Key is not to undercut the field salesforce, similar to dual distribution creating channel conflict.
Mary Kay Corp has also tried this strategy but differently and more successfully:
Catalogs carry different merchandise
Forward commission to sales rep. in customer's area "Never have a grey area regarding competing
with sales force."
Other demotivational concerns:
Restructured commissions
Dropped awards, trips and other incentives
Leadership Program.
A Multi-level marketing (MLM) concept. Rewarded for products sold as well as people you recruit as
a sales rep....by getting some of their commission and a portion of the commission of reps. they
recruit etc. Created a hard sell environment and was consequently scrapped.
To remotivate:

Gives marketers:
v The greatest freedom to adjust a message to satisfy customers informational needs, dynamic.
v Most precision, enabling marketers to focus on most promising leads. vs. advertising, publicity and
sales promotion
v Give more information
v Two way flow of information, interactivity.
v Discover the strengths and weaknesses of new products and pass this information on to the
marketing department.
v Highest cost. Businesses spend more on personal selling than on any other form of promotional
mix.
v Goals range from:
Finding prospects
Convincing prospects to buy
Keeping customers satisfied--help them pass the word along
Scope and Importance of Personal Selling

In the US, 14 million people are employed in sales positions, according to the department of labor.
Sales personnel include stockbrokers, manufacturing sales representatives, real estate brokers etc.
Most students in this class will have been employed as a sales person.
Return to Contents

Gives marketers:
• The greatest freedom to adjust a message to satisfy customers informational needs, dynamic.
• Most precision, enabling marketers to focus on most promising leads. vs. advertising, publicity and sales
promotion
• Give more information
• Two way flow of information, interactivity.
• Discover the strengths and weaknesses of new products and pass this information on to the marketing
department.
• Highest cost. Businesses spend more on personal selling than on any other form of promotional mix.
• Goals range from
o finding prospects
o convincing prospects to buy
o keeping customers satisfied--help them pass the word along.
Return to Contents
Types of Sales Persons

• Order Takers
Seek repeat sales, make certain that customers have sufficient product quantities where and when they need
it. Do not require extensive sales effort. Arrange displays, restocks them, answer phone calls. Low
compensation, little training required. High turnover of personnel. 2 types:
o Inside Order Takers receive orders by mail/phone, sales person in a retail store.
o Field Order Takers travel to customers. Use laptop computers to improve tracking of inventory and
orders etc.
• Order Getters
Sell to new customers and increase sales to present customers, sometimes called creative selling.
Generate customer leads, provide information, persuading customers and closing sales. Required for high
priced, complex and/or new products. High pressure, requires expensive, time consuming training.
• Support Personnel
Facilitate the selling function. Primarily business to business products.
o Missionary Salespeople Distribute information regarding new goods or services, describes attributes
and leaves materials, does not close sales. Assist producers' customers in selling to their own
customers. IE call on retailers and persuade them to carry the product. Pharmaceuticals may go to
doctors offices and persuade them to carry their products.
o Trade Salespeople May perform order taking function as well. Spend much time helping customers,
especially retail stores, to promote the product. Restock the shelves, set up displays. Technical
Salespersons Offer technical assistance to current customers. Usually trained engineers etc.
o Service Salespeople interacts with customers after sale is complete.
Team selling...entire team of selling professionals in selling to and servicing major customers, especially
when specialized knowledge is needed to satisfy different interests in customers' buying centers.
Return to Contents
Elements of the Personal Selling Process

No 2 salespersons use exactly the same sales method, but it is generally a seven step process:
1. Prospecting and Evaluating
Seek names of prospects through sales records, referrals etc., also responses to advertisements. Need to
evaluate if the person is able (Undergraduate degree to attend a graduate program), willing and authorized to
buy. Blind prospecting-rely on phone directory etc.
Return to Contents
2. Preapproach (Preparing)
Review key decision makers esp. for business to business, but also family
o assess credit histories

o prepare sales presentations
o identify product needs.
Helps present the presentation to meet the prospects needs.
3. Approaching the Customer
Manner in which the sales person contacts the potential customer. First impression of the sales person is
Lasting and therefore important.
Strive to develop a relationship rather than just push the product.
Can be based on referrals, cold calling or repeat contact.
Return to Contents
4. Making the Presentation
Need to attract and hold the prospects Attention to stimulate Interest and stir up Desire in the product so the
potential customer takes the appropriate Action. AIDA
Try to get the prospect to touch, hold or try the product. Must be able to change the presentation to meet the
prospect needs.
Three types of presentations:
o Stimulus Response Format: Appropriate stimulus will initiate a buy decision, use one appeal after
another hoping to hit the right button...Counter Clerk @ McDonald's "Would you like fries with
your burger?"
o Formula Selling Format: (Canned Sales Presentation) memorized, repetitive, given to all customers
interested in a specific product.
Good for inexperienced sales people.
Better with heavily advertised items that are presold.
Telemarketing a credit card!!
o Need Satisfaction Format: Based on the principal that each customer has a different set of
needs/desires., therefore the sales presentation should be adapted to the individual customer's needs,
this is a key advantage of personal selling vs. advertising.
Sales person asks questions first, then makes the presentation accordingly.
Need to do homework, listen well and allow customers to talk etc.
Must answer two types of questions:
 for more information
 overcome objections.
Overcoming Objections
Seek out objections and address them.

Anticipate and counter them before the prospect can raise them.
Try to avoid bringing up objections that the prospect would not have raised.
Price objection is the most common
Need to provide customers with reasons for the $s, build up the value before price is mentioned
Must be convinced of price in own mind before you can sell to customer.
Get budget info. on buyer before you try to sell, and must know what they want, must sell service on top of
product augmented product--to create value!!
Must know value of product, provide warranties etc.!!
Return to Contents
5. Closing
Ask prospect to buy product/products. Use trial closes, IE ask about financial terms, preferred method of
delivery.
20% sales people generally close 80% sales., Avon, over 1/2 US $1.4 bn business from 17% of 415,000
SRs.
Need to be prepared to close at any time. The following are popular closing techniques:
o Trial Close (Minor decision close)

o Assumptive close (Implied consent close)
o Urgency close
o Ask for the sale close
If prospect says no, they may just need more reasons to buy!!
Return to Contents
6. Following Up
Must follow up sale, determine if the order was delivered on time, installation OK etc. Also helps determine
the prospects future needs. Accomplishes four objectives:
o customer gain short term satisfaction

o referrals are stimulated
o in the long run, repurchase
o prevent cognitive dissonance
Old school, sell and leave!!--Quickly before customer changes her mind!!
Now:
o Stay a few minutes after sale--reinforce, make them feel good, made wise choice, leave small gift
(with co. name on it!!), call office at any time etc!!
o Follow up, reinforce, know birthdays, new year etc, friendly correspondence...relationship building!!
Handout...Toyota Calling In Japan's Car Market

Half of cars are sold door-to-door. This is shrinking due to environmental changes. Toyota has more than
100,000 door-to-door sales people.
Developing Long-term relationships is key, Keiretsu, do business with only those you know and trust. Face-
to-face meetings before business to establish trust, the approach stage.
Follow up is key to relationship:
After sales:
o call inquiring on car's immediate performance

o hand written greeting cards
o written invitations for low cost oil changes
Prospecting includes:
o Driving schools for people to obtain licenses = prospects

o Also referrals from existing customers is very important
o Curtesy calls to clients who referred new customers.
Timing of presentation:
o To housewife in the middle of the day

o Just before 3 year "Shaken", following 2 years
"At first I had no intention of buying a new car, but Mr. Saito is very good at proposing reasons why I
should change" = $1,600 shaken.
Return to Contents
Management of Salesforce
Sales force is directly responsible for generating sales revenue.
Eight general management areas:
1. Establish Salesforce objectives
Similar to other promotional objectives

Demand oriented or image oriented.
Major objective is persuasion, converting consumer interest into sales.
Sales objectives; expected to accomplish within a certain period of time.
Give direction and purpose and act as a standard for evaluation.
Set for total salesforce and each individual salesperson.
Can be $s, units sold, market share to achieve, for individual salespersons, also include ave. order
size, ave. # of sales/time period, and ratio orders/calls.
Return to Contents
2. Organizing the Salesforce

 In-house vs. independent agents (manufacturer's sales agents).
 Organize by:
 Geography (simplest, but not suitable if product(s) are complex or customers require
specialized knowledge)
 Customer: Different buyers have different needs
 Product: Specific knowledge re: products is needed
 Size. Marginal analysis, or determine how many sales calls/year are needed for an
organization to effectively serve its customers and divide this total by the average # of sales
calls that a person makes annually. Also use subjective judgement.
MBNA estimates how many calls to expect, one year in advance, and then determines the
size of the salesforce at any given time.
Return to Contents
3. Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople
Need to establish a set of required qualifications before beginning to recruit. Prepare a job
description that lists specific tasks the salesperson should perform and analyze traits of the
successful salespeople within the organization.
May use assessment centers--intense training environment that places candidates in realistic problem
settings in which they give priorities to their activities, make and act on decisions.
Recruitment should be a continual activity aimed at reaching the best applicants.
Applicants that most match the demographics of the target market. Changing demographics, may be
wise to hire hispanic sales people if your territory is in Florida!!
Return to Contents
4. Training Sales Personnel
Use formal programs, or Informal on-the-job training. Can be complex or simple.

Training should focus on:
 the company
 products
 selling techniques.
Aimed at new hires and experienced personnel.

Can be held in the field, educational institutions or company facilities.
Oldsmobile spent $25 million last year to teach its dealers how to better treat its customers.
Return to Contents
5. Compensating Sales People
To attract, motivate and retain sales people, that facilitate and encourage good treatment of the
customers. Need to understand personalities of sales people. Strive for proper balance of freedom,
income and incentives.
Need to determine the best level of compensation required, and the best method of calculating it.
 Straight salary
 straight commission (selling insurance)--single percentage of sales or sliding rate
 Combination plan
Return to Contents
6. Motivating Sales People
Need a systematic approach, must also satisfy non-financial needs:
 Job security
 Working Conditions
 Opportunities to succeed
Sales contests increase sales.

Symbolic awards--plaques, rings etc.
Can also use negative motivational methods for under performers.
Due to burn out--even the best need motivating!!
Ongoing process...keep reps. hungry
Need a motivational program.
Spend time with reps, personal attention!!
Take interest in them and the sales goals
11 Compensation packet that rewards quality salesmanship and extra effort

11 Recognition of extra effort of sales force
11 Make sure SR feel important
11 Keep SR informed of company activities
11 Make certain reps. believe in the company
11 Goals must be realistic and achievable and changeable
11 Determine what they want and give it to them
11 Controlling and Evaluating Salesforce performance
Rely on information from call reports, customer feedback and invoices. Performance is determined
by objectives. May compare with predetermined performance standards or with other sales people
working under similar conditions.
Handout Avon....
$4 billion business, relied solely on personal selling until recently, environmental changes have
changed this...no longer is the wife expected to be at home...model is dual income earning parents
with children in day care.
Need to develop more efficient ways to reach customers.
Salespeople earn pure commission, 10%...50% for top sellers (over $32,750)
Strategies tried:
 Avon Select.
Direct mail catalog and toll free number, attract those that didn't know an "Avon Lady", or
didn't want to deal with one. Also used national TV and print campaign in conjunction.
Problems =
 Salesperson creates confidence in the brand, delivering much more than advertising is
able to do. When you take away the selling relationship, you're left with a brand that's
relatively naked.
 Key is not to undercut the field salesforce, similar to dual distribution creating
channel conflict.
Mary Kay Corp has also tried this strategy but differently and more successfully:
 Catalogs carry different merchandise

 Forward commission to sales rep. in customer's area "Never have a grey area
regarding competing with sales force."
Other demotivational concerns:
 Restructured commissions
 Dropped awards, trips and other incentives
 Leadership Program.
A Multi-level marketing (MLM) concept. Rewarded for products sold as well as people you
recruit as a sales rep....by getting some of their commission and a portion of the commission
of reps. they recruit etc. Created a hard sell environment and was consequently scrapped.
To remotivate:
New CEO
 Reinstate Birthday presents

 Anniversary plates
 Annual Pins
 Phone Blitzs to indicate appreciation
"Gifts [and recognition] are part of the magic"
Advantages of Personal Selling
One key advantage personal selling has over other promotional methods is that it is a two-way form
of communication. In selling situations the message sender (e.g., salesperson) can adjust the
message as they gain feedback from message receivers (e.g., customer). So if a customer does not
understand the initial message (e.g., doesn’t fully understand how the product works) the
salesperson can make adjustments to address questions or concerns. Many non-personal forms of
promotion, such as a radio advertisement, are inflexible, at least in the short-term, and cannot be
easily adjusted to address audience questions.
The interactive nature of personal selling also makes it the most effective promotional method for
building relationships with customers, particularly in the business-to-business market. This is
especially important for companies that either sell expensive products or sell lower cost but high
volume products (i.e., buyer must purchase in large quantities) that rely heavily on customers
making repeat purchases. Because such purchases may take a considerable amount of time to
complete and may involve the input of many people at the purchasing company (i.e., buying
center), sales success often requires the marketer develop and maintain strong relationships with
members of the purchasing company.
Finally, personal selling is the most practical promotional option for reaching customers who are not
easily reached through other methods. The best example is in selling to the business market where,
compared to the consumer market, advertising, public relations and sales promotions are often not
well received.
Disadvantages of Personal Selling
Possibly the biggest disadvantage of selling is the degree to which this promotional method is
misunderstood. Most people have had some bad experiences with salespeople who they perceived
were overly aggressive or even downright annoying. While there are certainly many salespeople
who fall into this category, the truth is salespeople are most successful when they focus their efforts
on satisfying customers over the long term and not focusing own their own selfish interests.A
second disadvantage of personal selling is the high cost in maintaining this type of promotional
effort. Costs incurred in personal selling include:
High cost-per-action (CPA) – As noted in the Promotion Decisions tutorial, CPA can be an important
measure of the success of promotion spending. Since personal selling involves person-to-person
contact, the money spent to support a sales staff (i.e., sales force) can be steep. For instance, in
some industries it costs well over (US) $300 each time a salesperson contacts a potential customer.
This cost is incurred whether a sale is made or not! These costs include compensation (e.g., salary,
commission, bonus), providing sales support materials, allowances for entertainment spending,
office supplies, telecommunication and much more. With such high cost for maintaining a sales
force, selling is often not a practical option for selling products that do not generate a large amount
of revenue.
Training Costs – Most forms of personal selling require the sales staff be extensively trained on
product knowledge, industry information and selling skills. For companies that require their
salespeople attend formal training programs, the cost of training can be quite high and include such
expenses as travel, hotel, meals, and training equipment while also paying the trainees’ salaries
while they attend.
A third disadvantage is that personal selling is not for everyone. Job turnover in sales is often much
higher than other marketing positions. For companies that assign salespeople to handle certain
customer groups (e.g., geographic territory), turnover may leave a company without representation
in a customer group for an extended period of time while the company recruits and trains a
replacement
What is Consumer Buying Behavior?

Definition of Buying Behavior:
Buying Behavior is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products.
Need to understand:
• why consumers make the purchases that they make?

• what factors influence consumer purchases?
• the changing factors in our society.
Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the buying behavior of the ultimate consumer. A firm needs to analyze buying
behavior for:
• Buyers reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the firms success.
• The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a Marketing Mix (MM) that satisfies (gives utility
to) customers, therefore need to analyze the what, where, when and how consumers buy.
• Marketers can better predict how consumers will respond to marketing strategies.
Return to Contents List
Stages of the Consumer Buying Process

Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process (For complex decisions). Actual purchasing is only one stage
of the process. Not all decision processes lead to a purchase. All consumer decisions do not always include all 6
stages, determined by the degree of complexity...discussed next.
The 6 stages are:
1. Problem Recognition(awareness of need)--difference between the desired state and the actual condition.
Deficit in assortment of products. Hunger--Food. Hunger stimulates your need to eat.
Can be stimulated by the marketer through product information--did not know you were deficient? I.E., see
a commercial for a new pair of shoes, stimulates your recognition that you need a new pair of shoes.
2. Information search--
o Internal search, memory.
o External search if you need more information. Friends and relatives (word of mouth). Marketer
dominated sources; comparison shopping; public sources etc.
A successful information search leaves a buyer with possible alternatives, the evoked set.
Hungry, want to go out and eat, evoked set is

o chinese food
o indian food
o burger king
o klondike kates etc
3. Evaluation of Alternatives--need to establish criteria for evaluation, features the buyer wants or does not
want. Rank/weight alternatives or resume search. May decide that you want to eat something spicy, indian
gets highest rank etc.
If not satisfied with your choice then return to the search phase. Can you think of another restaurant? Look
in the yellow pages etc. Information from different sources may be treated differently. Marketers try to
influence by "framing" alternatives.
4. Purchase decision--Choose buying alternative, includes product, package, store, method of purchase etc.
5. Purchase--May differ from decision, time lapse between 4 & 5, product availability.
6. Post-Purchase Evaluation--outcome: Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction. Cognitive Dissonance, have you made
the right decision. This can be reduced by warranties, after sales communication etc.
After eating an indian meal, may think that really you wanted a chinese meal instead.
Handout...Pillsbury 1-800#s
1-800 #s gives the consumer a way of communicating with the marketer after purchase. This helps reduce cognitive
dissonance when a marketer can answer any concerns of a new consumer.
Types of Consumer Buying Behavior

Types of consumer buying behavior are determined by:
• Level of Involvement in purchase decision. Importance and intensity of interest in a product in a particular
situation.
• Buyers level of involvement determines why he/she is motivated to seek information about a certain
products and brands but virtually ignores others.
High involvement purchases--Honda Motorbike, high priced goods, products visible to others, and the higher the
risk the higher the involvement. Types of risk:
• Personal risk
• Social risk
• Economic risk
The four type of consumer buying behavior are:
• Routine Response/Programmed Behavior--buying low involvement frequently purchased low cost items;
need very little search and decision effort; purchased almost automatically. Examples include soft drinks,
snack foods, milk etc.
• Limited Decision Making--buying product occasionally. When you need to obtain information about
unfamiliar brand in a familiar product category, perhaps. Requires a moderate amount of time for
information gathering. Examples include Clothes--know product class but not the brand.
• Extensive Decision Making/Complex high involvement, unfamiliar, expensive and/or infrequently bought
products. High degree of economic/performance/psychological risk. Examples include cars, homes,
computers, education. Spend alot of time seeking information and deciding.
Information from the companies MM; friends and relatives, store personnel etc. Go through all six stages of
the buying process.
• Impulse buying, no conscious planning.
The purchase of the same product does not always elicit the same Buying Behavior. Product can shift from one
category to the next.
For example:
Going out for dinner for one person may be extensive decision making (for someone that does not go out often at
all), but limited decision making for someone else. The reason for the dinner, whether it is an anniversary
celebration, or a meal with a couple of friends will also determine the extent of the decision making.
Categories that Effect the Consumer Buying Decision Process

A consumer, making a purchase decision will be affected by the following three factors:
1. Personal
2. Psychological
3. Social
The marketer must be aware of these factors in order to develop an appropriate MM for its target market.
Personal
Unique to a particular person. Demographic Factors. Sex, Race, Age etc.
Who in the family is responsible for the decision making.
Young people purchase things for different reasons than older people.
Handout...From choices to checkout...
Highlights the differences between male and female shoppers in the supermarket.
Psychological factors
Psychological factors include:
• Motives--
A motive is an internal energizing force that orients a person's activities toward satisfying a need or
achieving a goal.
Actions are effected by a set of motives, not just one. If marketers can identify motives then they can better
develop a marketing mix.
MASLOW hierarchy of needs!!
o Physiological
o Safety
o Love and Belonging
o Esteem
o Self Actualization
Need to determine what level of the hierarchy the consumers are at to determine what motivates their
purchases.
Handout...Nutrament Debunked...
Nutrament, a product marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb originally was targeted at consumers that needed to
receive additional energy from their drinks after exercise etc., a fitness drink. It was therefore targeted at
consumers whose needs were for either love and Belonging or esteem. The product was not selling well, and
was almost terminated. Upon extensive research it was determined that the product did sell well in inner-
city convenience stores. It was determined that the consumers for the product were actually drug addicts
who couldn't not digest a regular meal. They would purchase Nutrament as a substitute for a meal. Their
motivation to purchase was completely different to the motivation that B-MS had originally thought. These
consumers were at the Physiological level of the hierarchy. BM-S therefore had to redesign its MM to better
meet the needs of this target market.
Motives often operate at a subconscious level therefore are difficult to measure.
• Perception--
What do you see?? Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information inputs to
produce meaning. IE we chose what info we pay attention to, organize it and interpret it.
Information inputs are the sensations received through sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch.
Selective Exposure-select inputs to be exposed to our awareness. More likely if it is linked to an event,
satisfies current needs, intensity of input changes (sharp price drop).
Selective Distortion-Changing/twisting current received information, inconsistent with beliefs.
Advertisers that use comparative advertisements (pitching one product against another), have to be very
careful that consumers do not distort the facts and perceive that the advertisement was for the competitor. A
current example...MCI and AT&T...do you ever get confused?
Selective Retention-Remember inputs that support beliefs, forgets those that don't.
Average supermarket shopper is exposed to 17,000 products in a shopping visit lasting 30 minutes-60% of
purchases are unplanned. Exposed to 1,500 advertisement per day. Can't be expected to be aware of all these
inputs, and certainly will not retain many.
Interpreting information is based on what is already familiar, on knowledge that is stored in the memory.
Handout...South Africa wine....
Problems marketing wine from South Africa. Consumers have strong perceptions of the country, and hence
its products.
• Ability and Knowledge--
Need to understand individuals capacity to learn. Learning, changes in a person's behavior caused by
information and experience. Therefore to change consumers' behavior about your product, need to give them
new information re: product...free sample etc.
South Africa...open bottle of wine and pour it!! Also educate american consumers about changes in SA.
Need to sell a whole new country.
When making buying decisions, buyers must process information.

Knowledge is the familiarity with the product and expertise.
Inexperience buyers often use prices as an indicator of quality more than those who have knowledge of a
product.
Non-alcoholic Beer example: consumers chose the most expensive six-pack, because they assume that the
greater price indicates greater quality.
Learning is the process through which a relatively permanent change in behavior results from the
consequences of past behavior.
• Attitudes--
Knowledge and positive and negative feelings about an object or activity-maybe tangible or intangible,
living or non- living.....Drive perceptions
Individual learns attitudes through experience and interaction with other people.
Consumer attitudes toward a firm and its products greatly influence the success or failure of the firm's
marketing strategy.
Handout...Oldsmobile.....
Oldsmobile vs. Lexus, due to consumers attitudes toward Oldsmobile (as discovered by class exercise) need
to disassociate Aurora from the Oldsmobile name.
Exxon Valdez-nearly 20,000 credit cards were returned or cut-up after the tragic oil spill.
Honda "You meet the nicest people on a Honda", dispel the unsavory image of a motorbike rider, late
1950s. Changing market of the 1990s, baby boomers aging, Hondas market returning to hard core. To
change this they have a new slogan "Come ride with us".
Attitudes and attitude change are influenced by consumers personality and lifestyle.
Consumers screen information that conflicts with their attitudes. Distort information to make it consistent
and selectively retain information that reinforces our attitudes. IE brand loyalty.
There is a difference between attitude and intention to buy (ability to buy).
• Personality--
all the internal traits and behaviors that make a person unique, uniqueness arrives from a person's heredity
and personal experience. Examples include:
o Workaholism
o Compulsiveness
o Self confidence
o Friendliness
o Adaptability
o Ambitiousness
o Dogmatism
o Authoritarianism
o Introversion
o Extroversion
o Aggressiveness
o Competitiveness.
Traits effect the way people behave. Marketers try to match the store image to the perceived image of their
customers.
There is a weak association between personality and Buying Behavior, this may be due to unreliable
measures. Nike ads. Consumers buy products that are consistent with their self concept.
• Lifestyles--
Recent US trends in lifestyles are a shift towards personal independence and individualism and a preference
for a healthy, natural lifestyle.
Lifestyles are the consistent patterns people follow in their lives.
EXAMPLE healthy foods for a healthy lifestyle. Sun tan not considered fashionable in US until 1920's.
Now an assault by the American Academy of Dermatology.
Handout...Here Comes the Sun to Confound Health Savvy Lotion Makers..
Extra credit assignment from the news group, to access Value and Lifestyles (VALS) Program, complete the survey
and Email alex@udel.edu the results. This is a survey tool that marketers can use to better understand their target
market(s).
Social Factors
Consumer wants, learning, motives etc. are influenced by opinion leaders, person's family, reference groups, social
class and culture.
• Opinion leaders--
Spokespeople etc. Marketers try to attract opinion leaders...they actually use (pay) spokespeople to market
their products. Michael Jordon (Nike, McDonalds, Gatorade etc.)
Can be risky...Michael Jackson...OJ Simpson...Chevy Chase
• Roles and Family Influences--
Role...things you should do based on the expectations of you from your position within a group.
People have many roles.
Husband, father, employer/ee. Individuals role are continuing to change therefore marketers must continue
to update information.
Family is the most basic group a person belongs to. Marketers must understand:
o that many family decisions are made by the family unit

o consumer behavior starts in the family unit
o family roles and preferences are the model for children's future family (can reject/alter/etc)
o family buying decisions are a mixture of family interactions and individual decision making
o family acts an interpreter of social and cultural values for the individual.
The Family life cycle: families go through stages, each stage creates different consumer demands:
o bachelor stage...most of BUAD301

o newly married, young, no children...me
o full nest I, youngest child under 6
o full nest II, youngest child 6 or over
o full nest III, older married couples with dependant children
o empty nest I, older married couples with no children living with them, head in labor force
o empty nest II, older married couples, no children living at home, head retired
o solitary survivor, in labor force
o solitary survivor, retired
o Modernized life cycle includes divorced and no children.
Handout...Two Income Marriages Are Now the Norm
Because 2 income families are becoming more common, the decision maker within the family unit is
changing...also, family has less time for children, and therefore tends to let them influence purchase
decisions in order to alleviate some of the guilt. (Children influence about $130 billion of goods in a year)
Children also have more money to spend themselves.
• Reference Groups--
Individual identifies with the group to the extent that he takes on many of the values, attitudes or behaviors
of the group members.
Families, friends, sororities, civic and professional organizations.

Any group that has a positive or negative influence on a persons attitude and behavior.
Membership groups (belong to)
Affinity marketing is focused on the desires of consumers that belong to reference groups. Marketers get the
groups to approve the product and communicate that approval to its members. Credit Cards etc.!!
Aspiration groups (want to belong to)

Disassociate groups (do not want to belong to)
Honda, tries to disassociate from the "biker" group.
The degree to which a reference group will affect a purchase decision depends on an individuals
susceptibility to reference group influence and the strength of his/her involvement with the group.
• Social Class--
an open group of individuals who have similar social rank. US is not a classless society. US criteria;
occupation, education, income, wealth, race, ethnic groups and possessions.
Social class influences many aspects of our lives. IE upper middle class Americans prefer luxury cars
Mercedes.
o Upper Americans-upper-upper class, .3%, inherited wealth, aristocratic names.

o Lower-upper class, 1.2%, newer social elite, from current professionals and corporate elite
o Upper-middle class, 12.5%, college graduates, managers and professionals
o Middle Americans-middle class, 32%, average pay white collar workers and blue collar friends
o Working class, 38%, average pay blue collar workers
o Lower Americans-lower class, 9%, working, not on welfare
o Lower-lower class, 7%, on welfare
Social class determines to some extent, the types, quality, quantity of products that a person buys or uses.
Lower class people tend to stay close to home when shopping, do not engage in much prepurchase
information gathering.
Stores project definite class images.
Family, reference groups and social classes are all social influences on consumer behavior. All operate
within a larger culture.
• Culture and Sub-culture--
Culture refers to the set of values, ideas, and attitudes that are accepted by a homogenous group of people
and transmitted to the next generation.
Culture also determines what is acceptable with product advertising. Culture determines what people wear,
eat, reside and travel. Cultural values in the US are good health, education, individualism and freedom. In
american culture time scarcity is a growing problem. IE change in meals. Big impact on international
marketing.
Handout...Will British warm up to iced tea?
No...but that is my opinion!!...Tea is a part of the British culture, hot with milk.
Different society, different levels of needs, different cultural values.
Culture can be divided into subcultures:
o geographic regions
o human characteristics such as age and ethnic background.
IE West Coast, teenage and Asian American.
Culture effects what people buy, how they buy and when they buy.
Understanding Consumer Buying Behavior offers consumers greater satisfaction (Utility). We must assume that the
company has adopted the Marketing Concept and are consumer oriented.

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The Duties of a Retail Salesperson

• Staying up-to-date regarding product knowledge

• Selling products through guidance and persuasion

• Securing consumer satisfaction

• Handling cash and maintaining the cash register

• Carrying cash and depositing it at a financial institution

• Helping customers identify their requirements

• Promoting products and partaking in sales-promotion campaigns

• Advising customers on the use, utility, and maintenance of products

• Answering customers' questions regarding the store and its products

• Processing financial transactions

• Helping customers who want to return and exchange products

• Negotiating on-the-spot pricing of products to clinch deals

• Supervising, maintaining, and ordering supplies

• Arranging merchandise on store shelves and in display areas

The Skills of a Retail Salesperson

• Presentable appearance and cheerful personality

• Excellent communication skills

• Patience, tact, and courtesy

• Ability to handle work pressure

• Ability to negotiate and persuade

• Ability to make calculations quickly

The duties and responsibilities of a sales person are as follows:

- Assist the customers in selecting products

The duties of a salesperson vary depending on the type of sales job.

II) UN ETHICAL PRACTICES FOLLOWED BY UNSCRUPULOUS COMPANIES

1) over / under invoicing affecting the Government’s revenue

2) selling harmful products causing damage to the environment and people

3) degrading competitor’s product by misinterpreting it, affecting their sales

13) selling inferior goods claiming as superior quality goods

28) uses third party pressure / recommendation to sell the product

29) sellers sell the product by bribing, giving gifts, etc

30) by showing forged testimonials to the customer

35) selling the product without invoicing avoiding taxes

6. He helps to establish close relationship between the manufacturer and consumer.

The Nature of Distribution Channels

Functions of a Distribution Channel

Numbers of Distribution Channel Levels

Benefits Offered by Channel Members

• Cost Savings in Specialization – Members of the distribution channel are specialists in

Costs of Utilizing Channel Members

distribution - types of distribution intermediary

• Type of goods being sold( e.g. clothes, grocery, furniture)

Distributors and dealers

Bucklin - Theory of Distribution Channel Structure (1966)

There are six basic 'channel' decisions:

Selection Consideration - how do we decide upon a distributor?

1. Channel Intermediaries - Wholesalers

2. Channel Intermediaries - Agents

• Agents are mainly used in international markets.

3. Channel Intermediaries - Retailers

4. Channel Intermediaries - Internet

Types of Retail outlets

Examples – Shoppers Stop, Pantaloon

 Mom and Pop Store (also called Kirana Store in India)

Example – EBAY, Rediff Shopping, Amazon

Another important factor is intermediary cost. Intermediaries typically charge a "mark-up" or

Factors Affecting Choice of Distribution Channel- Part 3

1. Lack of perceived value in the product or service

Use active listening methods, nodding and physically showing interest.

Then go for the close.

I have one of those already.

My car works just fine thank you.

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