Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e- Personal Selling Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2002
446 Chapter 15
Suggested Cases- Chemical International, Inc.
- Cable Designs, Inc.
23. Furniture to Go, Inc.
28. PCT, Inc.
446 Chapter 15
Once the marketing manager agrees to the basic plan
and sets the budget, the sales manager must implement
the plan—including directing and controlling the sales
force. This includes assigning sales territories and con-
trolling performance. You can see that the sales manager
has more to do than jet around the country sipping mar-
tinis and entertaining customers. A sales manager is
deeply involved with the basic management tasks of
planning and control—as well as ongoing implementa-
tion of the personal selling effort.
We also reviewed some basic selling techniques and
identified three kinds of sales presentations. Each has its
place—but the consultative selling approach seems best
for higher-level sales jobs. In these kinds of jobs, per-
sonal selling is achieving a new, professional status
because of the competence and level of personal respon-
sibility required of the salesperson. The day of the
old-time glad-hander is passing in favor of the specialist
who is creative, industrious, persuasive, knowledgeable,
highly trained, and therefore able to help the buyer. This
type of salesperson always has been, and probably always
will be, in short supply. And the demand for high-level
salespeople is growing.Questions and Problems- What strategy decisions are needed in the personal
selling area? Why should the marketing manager
make these strategy decisions? - What kind of salesperson (or what blend of the ba-
sic sales tasks) is required to sell the following
products? If there are several selling jobs in the
channel for each product, indicate the kinds of
salespeople required. Specify any assumptions nec-
essary to give definite answers.
a. Laundry detergent.
b. Costume jewelry.
c. Office furniture.
d. Men’s underwear.
e. Mattresses.
f. Corn.
g. Life insurance. - Distinguish among the jobs of producers’, whole-
salers’, and retailers’ order-getting salespeople. If
one order getter is needed, must all the salespeople
in a channel be order getters? Illustrate. - Discuss the role of the manufacturers’ agent in a mar-
keting manager’s promotion plans. What kind of
salesperson is a manufacturers’ agent? What type of
compensation plan is used for a manufacturers’ agent? - Discuss the future of the specialty shop if producers
place greater emphasis on mass selling because of
the inadequacy of retail order-taking.
6. Compare and contrast missionary salespeople and
technical specialists.
7. How would a straight commission plan provide flex-
ibility in the sale of a line of women’s clothing
products that continually vary in profitability?
8. Explain how a compensation plan could be devel-
oped to provide incentives for experienced
salespeople and yet make some provision for
trainees who have not yet learned the job.
9. Cite an actual local example of each of the three
kinds of sales presentations discussed in the chapter.
Explain for each situation whether a different type
of presentation would have been better. - Are the benefits and limitations of a canned presen-
tation any different if it is supported with a slide
show or videotape than if it is just a person talking?
Why or why not? - Describe a consultative selling sales presentation
that you experienced recently. How could it have
been improved by fuller use of the AIDA frame-
work? - How would our economy operate if personal
salespeople were outlawed? Could the economy
work? If so, how? If not, what is the minimum per-
sonal selling effort necessary? Could this minimum
personal selling effort be controlled by law?