Tuesday September 15, 2015 Seneca College – School of Marketing

Overview of Professional Selling

Tuesday September 15, 2015Seneca College – School of Marketing

Learning Objectives

Understand the Role of Selling in everyday life

Be aware of the importance of sales an key engine of the Economy and for all business

Become aware of the wealth of career opportunies in the field of sales

Understand the evolution of the sales process and how to be successful in Sales on 2015

Learning Objectives (cont.)

Discuss the characteristics required to be successful in a career in sales.

Understand what you can expect from a career in sales.

Understand the different types of selling channels and selling environments.

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Selling Today

Involves person-to-person communication with a prospect

It is a process of: developing relationships; discovering customer needs; matching appropriate products with those

needs; and communicating benefits through

informing, reminding, or persuading.Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-4

Importance of Sales Dialogue

Allows for more thorough qualifying. Demonstrates sincere interest in the prospective

customer. Helps Determine prospective customer’s unique

needs. Ensures meaningful presentation of value-

added solutions. Promotes open communication and

satisfaction feedback.

Sales Dialogue: business conversation between buyers& sellers thatoccur as salespeople attemptto initiate, develop, & enhance customer relationships.

Trust-Based Relationship Selling

© 2013 by Nelson Education Ltd.

• Requires that salespeople earn customer trust and that their selling strategy meets customer needs and contributes to the creation, communication, and delivery of customer value.

Value Creation – the new selling imperative

The information economy will reward those salespeople who have the skills, the knowledge, and the motivation to determine how to create value at every step of the sales process

Improving the sales process to create value for the customer by: Establishing a relationship based on trust Carefully identifying the customer’s needs Identifying the best possible product solution

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. 2 - 7

Sales department - Heartbeat of Every Company

The level of sales that is generated by each salesperson pays for the roles in human resources, marketing, operations, and other departments

Sales department is responsible and accountable to deliver sales to generate revenue and profit, which are required to operate and to invest in the company

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Evolution of Selling (The past several decades)


Canned Sales Presentation: sales presentations that include scripted sales calls, memorized presentations, and automated presentations.

Sales Professionalism: a customer-oriented approach that uses truthful, non-manipulative tactics to satisfy the long-term needs of both the customer and the selling firm.

From reliance on:

To greater focus on:

Emergence of relationship selling in the information economy

Information economy – an economy where there

is an emphasis on information processing. Four major developments:

1. Major advances occur in information technology and electronic commerce

2. Information is a strategic resource3. Business is defined by customer relationships4. Sales success depends on adding value

Value-added Selling - improving the sales process to create value for the customer: offer better advice and product solutions, carefully manage customer relationships, and provide better service after the sale.

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-10

Linda Richardson – Changing the Sales Conversation

"It is not what you know about your products that clients value, but what you can do with what you know to solve their business problems. Clients must believe you understand their business challenges and that you're prepared to drive results. They expect you to anticipate their needs and add to what they know. They look for insights, ideas, and know-how. For most salespeople, shifting their conversations from product to business challenges is a leap, not a tweak. For decades there have been no fundamental changes to selling and no impetus to radically change selling models--but that is no longer the case."

Alternative Personal Selling Approaches

Stimulus Response Selling Mental States Selling, A.I. D. A. Need Satisfaction Selling Problem Solving Selling Consultative Selling Challenger/Insight Selling


Three Primary Roles of Consultative Selling

Strategic Orchestrator- salesperson arranges the use of the sales organization’s resources in an effort to satisfy the customer

Business Consultant – salesperson uses internal and external sources to become an expert on the customer’s business

Long-Term Ally – salesperson supports the customer, even when an immediate sale is not expected


Evolution of Partnering

Today’s customer wants a quality product and a quality relationship

Partnering – a strategically developed, long-term relationship that solves the customer’s problems

Serves as a barrier to competing salespeople

Costs four to five times more to get a new customer than to keep an existing one

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. 2 - 14

Career in Sales

The role of a salesperson – To help buyers make SMART buying decisions

When you are considering investing your career in the selling profession, know what’s in it for you (WII-FM)

A salesperson has to work on multiple activities Sales - “Pay-for-performance” profession

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Item number: 77005422

Traits Required for a Successful Career in Sales

Passion for work and selling Conceptual Thinking Curiosity, desire to learn Drive to succeed Integrity, character and

ability to build trust Ability to ask the right

questions Sense of Urgency Performance Orientation

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Resilience and a positive attitude

Willingness to take risks Ability to ask for an order Independence and discipline Flexibility Assertiveness Business acumen Emotional intelegence

Titles used in selling today


o Account Executiveo Account Representativeo Account Managero Relationship Managero District Representativeo Marketing Partner

o Sales Consultanto Business Development

Managero Sales Associateo Marketing

Representativeo Channel Partner

Two factors contribute to new titles: Shift from “selling” to “partnering” To reflect difference in education & skill

Considerations for a future in Sales

One of the largest job posting categories online

Careers in selling offer: Financial rewards Recognition Security Opportunities for advancement

More than a million people Approximately 10% of Canadian

workforceCopyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-18

Considerations for a future in Sales (continued)

Above-average income Above-average psychic income

Factors that provide psychological rewards;

Helps to satisfy the need for recognition and security, and motivates us to achieve higher levels of performance

Opportunity for advancement Opportunities for women


Considerations for a future in Sales (continued)

Freedom to manage one’s own time and activities

Wide range of tasks and therefore a variety of skills are required Face-to-face time is therefore at a

premium Average work week is more than 46

hoursCopyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-20

Employment Settings in Selling Today

Careers in sales include inside and outside sales

Inside Salesperson – performs selling activities at the employer’s location, typically using the telephone and email

Take orders Make calls on customers Provide support for outside salespeople


Employment Settings in Selling Today

Inside salesperson sometimes called a customer service representative Providing a number of support services on behalf of

outside salespeople Telemarketing – a common form of outbound

inside sales that serves several purposes, including sales and service. Can include technical support personnel

TeleSales – The full sales job by phone This is a fast growing segment of the sales landscape


Employment Settings in Selling Today (continued)

Outside Salesperson – travels to meet prospects and customers in their place of business or residence Many direct-to-consumer salespeople

engage at least partially in outside sales

Inside and outside salespeople for the same company often work together and rely heavily upon each other


Service Channel

Includes business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales: Hotel, motel, & convention centre

services Telecommunication services Financial services Media sales Real estate Insurance Business services


Business Goods Channel

Manufacturers employ sales and sales support personnel in a variety of different positions Industrial salespeople Sales engineer or applications engineer Field salespeople – regularly visit face-

to-face with new customers and current customers

Missionary salespeopleCopyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc. 1-25

Consumer Goods Channel Well-trained salespeople can add value to the

traditional shopping experience Retail salespeople Direct salespeople – independent contractors who

represents manufacturers selling products or services directly to consumers, usually face-to-face but also via the telephone or Internet

Network (or multilevel) marketing – manufacturers rely on a large network of independent consultants or distributors to sell the product or service directly to consumers or businesses

▪ Earns income through direct sales commission and sponsoring new consultants

▪ Rapidly growing form


Knowledge Workers

Knowledge worker – individuals whose work effort is centred around creating, using, sharing, and applying knowledge. One of the master skills for success contribute

in a major way to:▪ Managerial Personnel▪ Professionals▪ Entrepreneurs


Professionals

Includes: lawyers designers programmers, engineers, consultants, dentists, counsellors doctors, accountants, and more

20 million in Canada Must display good

communication skills and be able to build a relationship based on trust

Business or client development is expected


Entrepreneurs

People who want to start a new business frequently need to sell their plan to investors and others

Once open, owners rely on personal selling to build their business


Summary

Selling Takes place in every area of life Every business person Sells Sales and Marketing are distinct but related There is tremendous opportunities for employment as a Sales Professional A good salesperson builds a relationship and trust with the customer and

offers solutions Companies sell to customers in business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-

consumer (B2C) channels Your résumé and cover letter are your “advertising” for your personal brand

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Documents

Tuesday September 15, 2015 Seneca College – School of Marketing