SALESPROMOTIONANDPUBLICRELATIONS 215- Technicalsalesperson-majoremphasisisplacedupontechnicalknowledge;
forexample,theengineeringsalespersonwhoisprimarilya consultanttoclient
companies.
Developmentalsellinginvolvesthefollowingparticipants:
- Creativesalespersono/tangibles-forexample,salespersonssellingvacuumclean-
ers,refrigerators,siding,andencyclopedias. - Creativesalespersono/intangibles-forexample,salespersonssellinginsurance,
advertisingservices,andeducationalprograms.
Developmentalselling,butrequiringa highdegreeofcreativity,involvesthefollowing
participants:
- Indirectsalesperson-involvessalesofbigticketitems,particularlyofcommodities
oritemsthathavenotrulycompetitivefeatures.Salesconsummatedprimarily
throughrenderinghighly-personalizedservicestokeydecision-makersincus-
tomers'organizations. - Salespersonengagedinmultiplesales-involvessalesofbig-ticketitemswhere
thesa lespersonmustmakepresentations toseveralindividualsinthecustomer's
organization,usuallya committee,onlyoneofwhomcansayyes,butallofwhom
cansayno.Forexample, theaccountexecutiveofanadvertisingagencywhomakes
presentationtotheagencyselectioncommittee.Evenaftertheaccountisobtained,
thesalespersongenerallyhastoworkcontinuallytoretainit.
Whilethedevelopmental-serviceandorientedclassificationsarehelpfultobetterour
understandingofthesellingjob,thereareseveralothertraditionalclassifications.
InsideVersusOutsideSelling Insidesellingdescribesthosesalessituationsinwhich
sellingtakesplaceinthesalesperson'splaceofbusiness.Retailsellingisinsideselling.
Outsidesellingrepresentssituationsinwhichthesalespersontravelstothecustomer'splace
ofbusiness.Mostindustrialsellingsituationsfallintothiscategory.
CompanySalespeopleVersusManufacturerRepresentatives A manufacturer's
representativeis anindependentagentwhohandlestherelatedproductsofnoncompeting
firms.Generally,theseagentsareusedbynewfirmsorfirmsthathavelittlesellingexpert-
ise.Companysalespeopleworkfor a particularcompanyandsellonlytheproductmanu-
facturedbythatcompany.
DirectVersusIndirectSelling Indirectsellingischaracterizedbysituationsin
whichpeopleinthemarketingchannelarecontactedwhocaninfluencethepurchaseofa
product.Thistypeofsellingoccursinthepharmaceuticalindustryinwhichdetailsales-
peoplecallonphysiciansinanefforttoconvincethemtoprescribetheirfirm'sbrandof
drugs.Directsalespeoplecallonthepersonwhomakestheultimatepurchasedecision.
TheSellingProcess
Tobetterunderstandthejobofa salespersonandhowit shouldbemanaged,theselling
processcanbebrokenintoa seriesofsteps.Eachstepintheprocessmaynotberequired
tomakeeverysale,butthesalespersonshouldbecomeskilledineachareain caseitisneeded.
ThestepsareshowninFigure8.7.