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When you visit your physician, you want to think that her training and education have completely
prepared her for dealing with whatever condition sent you there. The reality is, however, that
salespeople play a major role in her continuing education. Similarly, the house or apartment you live
in may have been designed by an architect, but that architect’s choices in materials and design
elements were influenced by salespeople, each of whom are experts in a particular product category.
Not only was the food you eat sold to the grocery store by a salesperson, but the ingredients were also
sold to the food companies by salespeople.
Audio Clip
Interview with Ted Schulte
http://app.wistia.com/embed/medias/74f3b720c9
Listen as Ted Schulte describes his start as a salesperson.
Salespeople play an important role in our economy. They are vital to customers and companies alike.
In this chapter, we explore the role professional selling plays in terms of a company’s marketing
strategy. We also look at the factors that enhance a firm’s success when it markets and sells its
products through salespeople.
13.1 The Role Professional Salespeople Play
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Recognize the role professional selling plays in society and in firms’ marketing strategies.
- Identify the different types of sales positions.
You’ve created a great product, you’ve priced it right, and you’ve set a wonderful marketing
communication strategy in motion. Now you can just sit back and watch the sales roll in, right?
Probably not. Unless your company is able to sell the product entirely over the Internet, you probably