Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e

15. Personal Selling Text © The McGraw−Hill
    Companies, 2002

Personal Selling 429

Order-taking may be almost mechanical at the retail level—for example, at the

supermarket checkout counter. Even so, retail order takers play a vital role in a

retailer’s marketing mix. Customers expect prompt and friendly service. They will

find a new place to shop, or to do their banking or have their car serviced, rather

than deal with a salesclerk who is rude or acts annoyed by having to complete a sale.

Some retail clerks are poor order takers because they aren’t paid much—often only

the minimum wage. But they may be paid little because they do little. In any case, order-

taking at the retail level appears to be declining in quality. And there will probably be

far fewer such jobs in the future as more marketers make adjustments in their mixes and

turn to self-service selling. Checkout counters now have automated electronic scanning

equipment that reads price codes directly from packages. Some supermarkets use sys-

tems where customers do their own scanning and then pay with a credit card.

Retail order takers—

often they are poor

salesclerks

Supporting Sales Force Informs and Promotes in the Channel

Supporting salespeoplehelp the order-oriented salespeople—but they don’t try

to get orders themselves. Their activities are aimed at enhancing the relationship

with the customer and getting sales in the long run. For the short run, however,

they are ambassadors of goodwill who may provide specialized services and infor-

mation. Almost all supporting salespeople work for producers or middlemen who do

this supporting work for producers. There are two types of supporting salespeople:

missionary salespeople and technical specialists.

Missionary salespeopleare supporting salespeople who work for producers—

calling on their middlemen and their customers. They try to develop goodwill and

stimulate demand, help the middlemen train their salespeople, and often take orders

for delivery by the middlemen. Missionary salespeople are sometimes called

merchandisers ordetailers.

Producers who rely on merchant wholesalers or e-commerce to obtain widespread

distribution often use missionary salespeople. The sales rep can give a promotion

boost to a product that otherwise wouldn’t get much attention because it’s just one

of many. A missionary salesperson for Vicks’ cold remedy products, for example,

might visit druggists during the cold season and encourage them to use a special

end-of-aisle display for Vicks’ cough syrup—and then help set it up. The wholesaler

that supplies the drugstore would benefit from any increased sales, but might not

take the time to urge use of the special display.

An imaginative missionary salesperson can double or triple sales. Naturally, this

doesn’t go unnoticed. Missionary sales jobs are often a route to order-oriented jobs.

In fact, this position is often used as a training ground for new salespeople. Recent

college grads are often recruited for these positions.

Technical specialistsare supporting

salespeople who provide technical assis-

tance to order-oriented salespeople.

Technical specialists usually are science

or engineering graduates with the

know-how to understand the customer’s

applications and explain the advantages

of the company’s product. They are usu-

ally more skilled in showing the

technical details of their product than

in trying to persuade customers to buy

Missionary salespeople

can increase sales

Technical specialists

are experts who know

product applications