Principles of Personal Selling 309
check that salespeople know and observe the law. For example, under U.S. law, sales-
people’s statements must match the product’s advertising claims. In selling to busi-
nesses, salespeople may not offer bribes to purchasing agents or others influencing a
sale; they may not obtain or use competitors’ technical or trade secrets through
bribery or industrial espionage. Finally, salespeople must not disparage competitors or
competing products by suggesting things that are not true.^26
PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL SELLING
Personal selling is an ancient art that has spawned many principles. Among these are
three major aspects we will examine here: sales professionalism, negotiation, and rela-
tionship marketing (see Figure 5-17).^27
Sales Professionalism
In the course of instilling professionalism, all sales-training approaches try to convert
a salesperson from a passive order taker into an active order getter. Order takersoperate
on the assumption that customers know their own needs, resent attempts to influence
them, and prefer courteous and self-effacing salespersons. There are two basic
approaches in training salespersons to be order getters—a sales-oriented approach and a
customer-oriented approach. The sales-oriented approachtrains the person in the stereo-
typed high-pressure techniques traditionally used in selling automobiles. This form of
selling assumes that customers are not likely to buy except under pressure, that they
are influenced by a slick presentation, and that they will not be sorry after signing the
order—or, if they are, that it doesn’t matter.
Thecustomer-oriented approachtrains salespeople in customer problem solving.
The rep learns to listen and ask questions in order to identify customer needs and
come up with sound product solutions. This approach assumes that customers have
latent needs that constitute opportunities, that they appreciate constructive sugges-
tions, and that they will be loyal to sales reps who have their long-term interests at
heart. Clearly, the professionalism of this customer-orientation is more in keeping with
the marketing concept than are the hard-sell and order-taker approaches.
No approach works best in all circumstances. Yet most professional sales-
training programs agree on the major steps involved in any effective sales process
(see Figure 5-18).
Here is how these steps are applied in industrial selling:^28
➤ Prospecting and qualifying.The first step in selling is to identify and qualify prospects.
Companies can generate leads by examining data sources (newspapers, directories,
CD-ROMs, Web sites); exhibiting at trade shows to encourage drop-bys; inviting
customers to suggest the names of prospects; cultivating referral sources such as
Figure 5-17 Managing the Sales Force: Improving Effectiveness