Lesson 1

Selling in different marketing

contexts
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Learning Outcomes
This lecture note covers the following learning outcome;

LO 1 - Differentiate selling within a range of marketing contexts.
Contents
What is sales management?
The sales process in different business contexts
Role and importance of the sales function
Sales settings
Sales and the promotional mix
International selling
The sales career

What is sales management?


"The planning, direction, and control of personal selling, including
recruiting, selecting, equiping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying and
motivating as these tasks apply to personal sales force. (1)

What is sales management contd

Difference between selling and sales management is;

Selling is an act of offering a product or service to a buyer in exchange
of a financial or non-financial benefit. This is a very narrow concept.

On the other hand, sales management involves the management of
the sales force of an organisation involving processes from recruiting
the sales personnel to maintaining sustainable relationships with
customers.

Therefore, selling is only one aspect under sales management.
What is sales management contd
Functions of sales management

Planning
Organising
Recruitment
Training
Motivation
Controlling
Monitoring

What is sales management contd... (2)
Leading
Supervising and
guiding the sales
force to perform
efficiently and
effectively
Training
The sales force should
have the required
knowledge, skills and
competencies to handle
diverse customers
Staffing
Having the right people at
the right time for the right
job
Controlling
Comparing the actual
results with targets
Planning
Building a customer
oriented team to
increase profits of
the organisation
Performance
Achieve sales
targets
Increase
profits
Customer
satisfaction
Higher
productivity
Resources
Financial
Human
Technology
Raw materials
Information
What is sales management contd
Strengths of personal selling;

Facilitates two way communication between buyers and sellers

Specific customer needs can be addressed

Provides opportunity to get the maximum benefits out of the sale

Forms a basis to create long term relationships with customers

What is sales management contd...
Weaknesses of personal selling;

Higher costs and time commitments required

Customers might view personal selling as a nuisance to them

What is sales management contd
Characteristics of modern selling


Customer
Customer retention and deletion
Adding value / satisfying customer needs
Problem solving and system selling
Marketing the product
Customer relationship management
Database and knowledge management
The sales process in different business contexts
The marketing
strategy
Role of
sales
force
Structuring
of sales
force
Building
sales
compete
ncies
Leading
the sales
force
The sales process in different business contexts
contd
The selling
function
Order-takers
Inside order-
takers
Delivery
salespeople
Outside order-
takers
Order-getters
Front line sales
people
Sales support
sales people
Order-creators
Missionary
salespeople
The sales process in different business contexts
contd...
B2B B2C
Objective Revolves around getting
the best deal and securing
long term contracts
Attract new customers and
maintain the relationship
with existing customers
Number of buyers Very few Comparatively higher
Importance of negotiations Very high Less or no negotiations as
the final price is offered to
the customers
Risks involved Usually high as it involves
high valued transactions
Relatively lower risks
Differences in the sales process of B2B and B2C organisations.
The sales process in different business contexts
contd
Differences in the sales process of profit Vs. non-profit organisations



Profit making organisation Non-profit making
organisations
Objective To increase the bottom line
of the business through
sales
To attract donors /
volunteers
Type of customers Final customers,
organisational clients and
intermediaries like retailers
and wholesalers
Customers are not buyers,
but are rather contributors
to a cause.
Role and importance of the sales function


The sales personnel are the single most
important link with the customer!








Sales setting refers to factors that impact sales
of an organisation.
Sales settings
Sales settings contd
Factors included in a sales setting can be briefly identified as follows;

Sales settings
Behavioural
forces
Technological
forces
Managerial
forces
Sales settings contd
In analysing the sales setting PESTLN analysis can be used;

Refers to the political attitude,
changes in government policies
and other influences by the
government to the business.
Political
environment
Inflation, interest rates, foreign
exchange rates, purchasing
power of the people etc.
Economical
environment
Sales settings contd
Gender distribution, age variations,
level of education, values,
attitudes and beliefs.
Social and cultural
environment
Technological investment, use of
technology in communications,
internet usage, computer literacy,
communications technology etc.
Technological
Environment
Sales settings contd
Consumer protection laws, antitrust
laws, standards and licenses.
Legal environment
Resource availability, environmental
impact, recycling activities etc.
Natural environment
Sales and the promotional mix
Marketing philosophies
Production concept: this is where sellers concentrate on making the
product highly available and affordable.

Product concept: under this concept the seller focuses more on the
quality of the product.

Selling concept: this is where sellers believe that customers have to be
persuaded to make them purchase a product. Therefore, they focus
more on aggressive selling and promotions. This is called an inside out
strategy.

Marketing concept: aims to satisfy customers by addressing
their needs and wants. This is an outside in strategy.
Sales and the promotional mix contd
Product
Promotions
Place
Price
Marketing mix (4Ps)
Advertising
Sales promotions
Personal selling
Direct marketing
Public relations
Sales and the promotional mix contd
Relationship between marketing, promotions and sales through an
example



Strategic
marketing
objective
Promotional
objective
Sales objective Sales strategy
Launch the
existing
product
with
additional
features
Create
awareness
about the new
offering to the
market
Increase customer
reach and provide
high service levels
to complement the
additional features
Attract new
customer
segments and
increase sales of
existing
customers by
capitalising on
the new features

International selling
Reasons for international trade;

Non-availability of resources locally
To gain cost benefits: some countries can produce certain products at
a lesser cost
Trade due to product differentiation
As a result of political alliances
To be less dependent on the domestic economy for survival
To gain advantage of economies of scale


International selling contd
Different organisational types dealing with international selling;

Multinationals: these organisations manage products and services in
more than one country. Production, distribution, administration and
even marketing are dispersed internationally.
International marketing: where marketing strategies of product, price,
place and promotion are internationally executed.
Exporting: selling overseas

International selling contd
European Union: some of the main features specified by the Single
European Act are; (2)

Products approved in any one EU country can be freely marketed
throughout the European Union
Progressive opening up of government and public body contracts to all
EU contractors on an equal basis
Restrictions on the movement of capital to be abolished
Harmonisation of national laws on patents and
trademarks
International selling contd
World Trade Organisation (WTO) (2)

WTO supervise and liberalise international trade. It was formed in
1995, as a replacement for the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT).
The main principles of this organisation are: trade without
discrimination, freer trade, predictability, promoting fair competition,
encouraging development and economic reform.
WTO facilitates trade agreements between countries
while initiating and assisting tariff reductions.
International selling contd
Cultural factors affecting international selling:

Aesthetics
Religion
Education
Language
Politics
Values
Attitudes
The sales career
The following are some key qualities needed for a successful sales career:

Empathy and an interest in people: sales personnel should have good
social skills and listen to customers
Ability to communicate: clarity, simplicity in communications using a
positive and friendly tone
Determination: closing deals with customers in an appropriate yet
profitable manner
Self-discipline and resilience: need to be able to cope with stress,
barriers and challenges that come their way
1. American Marketing Association. Dictionary [homepage on the Internet].
No date [cited 15.12.2011] Available from:
http://www.marketingpower.com/_layouts/Dictionary.aspx?dLetter=S

2. Jobber D, Lancaster G. Selling and Sales Management. England: Pearson
Education; 2009



References