MarketingManagement.pdf

300 CHAPTER16 MANAGING THESALESFORCE

4. Technician: A salesperson with a high level of technical knowledge (the engineering
   salesperson who is primarily a consultant to client companies).


5. Demand creator: A salesperson who relies on creative methods for selling tangible
   products (vacuum cleaners or siding) or intangibles (insurance or education).


6. Solution vendor: A salesperson whose expertise lies in solving a customer’s problem,
   often with a system of the firm’s goods and services (such as computer and communi-
   cations systems).
   In general, salespeople perform one or more of the following tasks:

➤ Prospecting:Searching for prospects, or leads,

➤ Targeting:Deciding how to allocate their time among prospects and customers,

➤ Communicating:Communicating information about the company’s products and

services,

➤ Selling:Approaching, presenting, answering objections, and closing sales,

➤ Servicing:Providing various services to customers—consulting on problems,

rendering technical assistance, arranging financing, expediting delivery,

➤ Information gathering:Conducting market research and doing intelligence work, and

➤ Allocating:Deciding which customers will get scarce products during shortages.

As this list suggests, the sales representative serves as the company’s personal link

to its customers and prospects while bringing back much-needed information about

customers, markets, and competitors. Therefore, smart companies look carefully at

the design of the sales force, including the development of sales force objectives, strat-

egy, structure, size, and compensation (see Figure 5-15).

Sales Force Objectives and Strategy

Each company needs to define the specific objectives its sales force will achieve.

Increasingly, companies are setting objectives for sales reps based not only on sales vol-

ume and profitability targets, but also on their ability to create customer satisfaction.

Consider Tiffany, the famous retailer of expensive jewelry. A purchase in this

store can be like an investment, so management trains its retail sales staff to be consul-

tants rather than strictly salespeople. Salespeople are trained to offer advice and infor-

mation about the quality and cut of stones, the suitability of various settings, and the

choices available in various price ranges. Even when selling less expensive items, sales-

people know that part of the purchase is the experience and prestige of shopping at

Tiffany. They also know that a satisfied customer is a potential repeat customer. In

addition to its retail sales staff, Tiffany has 155 field reps, a catalog, and a Web pres-

ence (www.tiffany.com) to serve corporate customers. Training for new corporate sales

Figure 5-15 Designing a Sales Force