THE ROLE OF SELLING

Selling is a function of marketing that involves one-on-one contacts with customers. Selling means
exchange of goods/services for money.

The importance of the selling function depends partially on the nature of the product.

The salesperson plays a key role in providing the consumer with the information about such product
to reduce the risks involved in its purchase and use

sales process refers to two basic factor: (a) the objectives the salesperson is trying to achieve while
engaged in selling activities and (b) the sequence of stages or steps the salesperson should follow in
trying to achieve the specific objectives

Personal Selling is the personal contact with one or more buyers for the purpose of making a
sale.

Sales Management is the process of planning, organizing, directing, staffing and controlling the
sales operations to achieve the firm’s objectives through subordinates.

Salesmanship is a seller-initiated effort that provides prospective buyers with information and other
benefits, motivating or persuading them to make buying decisions in favor of the seller’s product
or service.

Salesforce refer to the division of a business that's responsible for selling products or
services Personal selling must be justified on the basis of the revenue and profits it
produces.
Personal selling involves public relation in general it can be considered with the use of communication
that is designed to foster a favorable image for goods, services or organization.

OBJECTIVES OF SALESFORCE
a. IMAGE-ORIENTED OBJECTIVES
1. As public role models in displaying the firm’s commitment to ethical behavior through
the employment of acceptable sales practices.
2. To portray the firm’s image by having salespeople maintain a good appearance in all
customer contact;
3. To show firm’s commitment to relationship-building by having the sales force follow
practices at gaining the respect of customers, employees, and other public entities.
b. DEMAND-ORIENTED OBJECTIVES
1. INFORMATION PROVISION
2. PERSUASION
3. AFTER-SALE SERVICE

Matching the characteristics of a product to a customer’s needs and wants is feature-benefit

selling. Customers may have both rational and emotional motives for making a purchase.

1. EXTENSIVE DECISION MAKING - there has been little or no previous experience with an item.
2. LIMITED DECISION MAKING - a person buys goods and services that he or she has
purchased before, but not regularly
3. ROUTING DECISION MAKING - a person needs little information about a product.

Personal selling is any form of direct contact between a salesperson and a customer.
Types of Selling Situation
Retail selling is unique because customers come to the store. The salesperson should be available always
to answer any questions about the product or its features.

Business-to-business selling may take place in a manufacturer’s or wholesaler’s showroom (inside sales) or a
customer’s place of business (outside sales).

The last type of personal selling situation is telemarketing which is the process of selling over the
telephone.

Goals of Selling
The purpose and goals of selling are the same regardless of the sales situations. They are to help
customers make satisfying buying decisions which can create profitable relationships between buyer and
seller.

Consultative Selling is providing solutions to customer’s problems by finding products that meet their
needs.

Matching the characteristics of a product to a customer’s needs and wants in a concept called feature-
benefit selling.

Product features may be basic, physical, or extended attributes of the product or purchase. The most
basic feature of a product is its intended use.

The physical features of a product differentiate competing brands and models.

Additional features may add value or provide the reasons for price differences among product
models.

Customer benefits are the advantages or personal satisfaction a customer will get from a good or
service.

A rational motive is a conscious, logical reason for a purchase. It includes product

dependability, time or monetary savings, health or safety considerations, service
and quality.

An emotional motive is a feeling experienced by a customer through association with a

product. It includes feelings such as social approval, recognition, power, love or
prestige. Many buying decisions involve a combination of both buying motives.

THE SALES PROCESS

Selling is the process of matching customer needs and wants to the features and benefits of a product or
service.
The seven steps to the selling process are;
1. Approaching the customer – greeting the customer face-to-face.
2. Determining needs – learning what the customer is looking for in order to decide what products
to show and which product features to present first is the next step of the sale.
3. Presenting the product – educating the customer about the product’s features and benefits.
4. Overcoming objections – learning why the customer is reluctant to buy, providing information
to remove that uncertainty and helping the customer to make a satisfying buying decision.
5. Closing the sale – getting the customer’s positive agreement to buy.

6. Suggestion selling – suggesting additional merchandise or services that will save your customer
money or help your customer enjoy the original purchase.
7. Relationship building – creating a means of maintaining contact with the customer after the
sale is completed.
The Approach in Retail Selling
 service approach, the salesperson asks the customer if he or she needs assistance.
 greeting approach, the salesperson simply welcomes the customer to the store that lets the
customer know that the salesperson is available for any question or assistance.
 merchandise approach, the salesperson makes a comment or asks questions about a product in
which the customer shows interest.

DETERMINING NEEDS - an early step in the sales process because it frames the rest of the sales
presentation.

How to determine Need in Sales

OBSERVING - you look for buying motives that are communicated nonverbally.
Nonverbal communication is expressing yourself without the use of words.

LISTENING - helps you pick up clues to the customer’s needs. You can uses this information for the
product
presentation.

QUESTIONING - When you begin determining needs in sales, the first thing you do is to ask general
questions about the intended use of the product and any previous experience with it.

Open-ended questions are those that require more than a yes or no answer,

Product presentation step of the sales process in where you get to share your product knowledge with
customers.

Demonstrate - Show the customer how the product works.

Objection analysis sheet is a document that lists common objections and possible responses for them.

Need - Objections related to need usually occur when the customer does not have an immediate
need for the item or wants the item, but does not truly need it.
Product - Objections based on the product itself are most common.

Source - Objections based on source often occur because of negative past experiences with the firm
or brand.
Price - Objections based on price are more common with expensive merchandise.
Time - Objections based on time reveal a hesitation to buy immediately. These objections are
sometimes excuses.

SALES PRE-APPROACH & APPROACH

After determining your prospects, now you are ready to do your pre-approach which involves
strategic problem solving skills. What is crucial at this level is the ability of the salesperson to craft a
solution for their client's issues or problems.
The Pre-approach
Russel et al. (1978) said that there are five objectives in the pre-approach.

1. To provide additional qualifying information

2. To gain insights into how best to approach the prospect
3. To obtain information around which the presentation can be better
planned
4. To keep the salesman from making serious errors
5. To give the salesman more confidence
Unfamiliar Ones. The less the prospect knows about the proposition, the less likely he is to feel the
need for it.

Expensive Ones. Generally speaking, the more something costs, the harder it is to sell; thus the
salesperson needs all the advantages possible in his favor.

Intangible Ones. The intangible proposition like selling life insurance which cannot be seen or heard
or felt, therefore, the need is not keenly felt at the moment.

What the Pre-approach May Include

As an Individual
1. Name
2. Age
3. Education
4. Place of Residence
5. The Need for What you are selling
6. Ability to Buy
7. Authority to Buy
8. Facts about family
9. Reference groups
10. The best time to call
11. Personal peculiarities
12. Occupation
13. Recreation, Interests, and Hobbies

Sources of Information
1. Fellow Salesmen
2. Customers
3. Centers of Influence
4. Local Newspaper
5. Directories
6. Observation

The Approach
The approach has three goals namely:
1. To gain the prospect’s attention
2. To stimulate his interest in learning more about the proposition
3. To provide smooth transition into the presentation.

 Attention
 Interest
 Transition

Importance of the Approach

Getting an audience with a prospect can often be difficult and indeed harrowing for the
inexperienced salesperson. Making appointments is, in most cases, essential to establishing a
professional approach but letters of introduction and using third party references can also be
crucial. For larger sales and new products, where the risk for the buyer is greater, establishing
credibility is vital.
Introduction to International Marketing
International Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of a
company's goods and services to consumers or users in more than one nation for a profit (Cateora and
Ghauri, 1999)

At its simplest level, international marketing involves the firm in making one or more marketing
mix decisions across national boundaries. At its most complex level, it involves the firm in establishing
manufacturing facilities overseas and coordinating marketing strategies across the globe (Doole and Lowe,
2001).

International marketing consists of the activity, institutions, and processes across national
borders that create, communicate, deliver and exchange of offerings that have value for stakeholders
and society.
International marketing has forms ranging from export-import trade to licensing, joint ventures, wholly-
owned subsidiaries, management contracts, among others. This further indicates and retains the basic
marketing tenets of value and exchange (Czinkota, et al., 2012).

According to the American Marketing Association, “International Marketing is the multinational

process of planning and executing the organization’s marketing concept, pricing and price, promotion and
distribution of ideal goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy the individual and organizational
objectives.”

The Chartered Institute of Marketing further defines marketing as the management process
responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. Thus marketing
involves:

• focusing on the needs and wants of customers

• identifying the best method of satisfying those needs and wants
• orienting the company towards the process of providing that satisfaction in meeting
organizational objectives

Different Levels of International Marketing

These different levels (Doole and Lowe, 2008) of marketing can be expressed in the following
terms:

• Domestic marketing involves the company manipulating a series of controllable variables such as
price, advertising, distribution and the product/service attributes in a largely uncontrollable
external environment that is made up of different economic structures, competitors, cultural
values and legal infrastructures within specific political or geographic country boundaries.
• International marketing involves operating across a number of foreign country markets not only
do the uncontrollable variables differ significantly between one market to another, but the
controllable factors in the form of cost and price structures, opportunities for advertising and
distribution infrastructure are also likely to differ significantly. It is these sorts of differences
that lead to the complexities of international marketing.
• Global marketing management is a larger and more complex international operation where a
company coordinates, integrates and controls a whole series of marketing programs into a
substantial global effort.

The Scope of International Market and Global Trends

The scope of international marketing is identifying the needs and wants of customers in different
markets and cultures, services, technologies and ideas to give the firm a competitive advantage and the
distribution and exchange of products and services internationally through one or a combination of
foreign market entry modes.
International Marketing Orientations
Different attitudes towards company’s involvement with international marketing process are called
international marketing orientations.

EPRG framework by Wind, Douglas and Perlmutter “the key assumption underlying the EPRG framework
is that the degree of internalization to which management is committed affects the specific international
strategies and decision rules of the firm”.

4 stages in the international operations’ evolution.

1. Ethnocentric approach
2. Polycentric approach
3. Regiocentric approach
4. Geocentric approach

Ethnocentric Approach
Companies under this orientation ignore environmental differences between markets. This means
that a firm believes that the marketing strategy which has worked in the domestic market would also
work in the international markets. This point of view leads to a standardized or extension approach to
marketing based on the premise that products can be sold everywhere without adaptation. Such
companies are sometimes called domestic companies.

Polycentric Approach
A company following this orientation gives an equal importance to every country’s domestic
market,
as there is a belief in uniqueness of every market and that it needs to be addressed in an individual way.
This view leads to a localized or adaptation approach that assumes products must be adapted in
response to different market conditions. The term multinational company is often used to describe such
a structure.

Regiocentric Approach
In this approach, segmentation of the markets is fulfilled on the basis of similarities in terms of
regions. A company finds economic, cultural or political similarities among regions in order to cover the
similar needs of potential consumers.

Geocentric Approach
This orientation considers the whole world as a single market and attempts to formulate
integrated marketing strategies. It is also called a global approach - the main idea of which is to target
global consumers who have similar tastes. A company whose management has adopted a geocentric
orientation is sometimes known as a global or transnational company. The limitation is that it fully
depends on constant global market research which requires a lot of investment and time.

The International Marketing Environment

International Marketing environment refers to the controllable and uncontrollable forces that
influence upon the marketing decision making of a firm globally. International Marketing environment is
comprised of those components which shape policies, programmes and strategies of an international
marketer. An international firm must resort to systematic study of international marketing environment to
collect the inputs of marketing decision making.

Scanning the Environment

The social and cultural influences on international marketing are immense. Differences in social
conditions, religion and material culture all affect consumer’s perceptions and patterns of buying
behavior. It is at this area that determines the extent to which consumers across the globe are either
similar or different and so determines the potential for global branding and/or standardization or
adaptation.
Cultural Factors
The cultural environment refers to factors and trends related to how people live and behave.
Cultural factors of specific population subgroups greatly affect consumers’ purchasing behavior. Thus,
marketers must understand important cultural characteristics and trends in different markets.

Social Factors
Social factors include attitudes, values and lifestyles of people. Social factors influence the products
people buy, the prices they are willing to pay for the products, the effectiveness of specific promotions
and how, where, and when people expect to purchase products.

Economic Environment
Economic environment can be defined as the totality of economic factors, such as employment,
income, inflation, interest rates, productivity and wealth that influence the buying behavior of consumers
and institutions. It includes systems, policies and nature of an economy, trade cycles, taxes, tariffs and
economic resources. It is very dynamic and complex in nature and does not remain the same.

Political/Legal Environment
The political/legal environment encompasses factors and trends related to governmental activities
and specific laws and regulations that affect marketing practice. The political/legal environment is closely tied
to the social and economic environments.

Global Political Trends

In today’s world economy, international political events greatly affect marketing activities. One
significant trend is a move from government-dominated economies and socialist political systems
toward free market economies and, in many countries, democratic governments.

Legal Environment
Marketing and the global legal environment of companies active in overseas markets must cope
with widely differing laws. A company has to consider not only the laws of its home country wherever it
does business, but it must also be responsive to the host country's laws. Host country laws must be
adhered to even if they forbid practices that are allowed in the firm's nation of origin.

Technological Environment
The technological environment includes factors and trends related to innovations that affect the
development of new products or improving marketing practice. Technological advances are happening so
rapidly that marketers must constantly monitor the technological environment to keep abreast of the
latest developments.

Competitive Environment
The competitive environment consists of all the organizations that attempt to serve similar
customers.
Two types of competitors are of major concern: brand competitors and product competitors. Brand
competitors provide the most direct competition offering the same types of products as competing firms.
Product competitors offer different types of products to satisfy the same general need.

Institutional Environment
The institutional environment consists of all the organizations involved in marketing products
and services. These include marketing research firms, advertising agencies, wholesalers, retailers,
suppliers and customers.
The vertical organization has a structure with power emanating from the topdown. There is a well-
defined chain of command with a vertical organization, and the person at the top of the organizational
chart has the most power.

A horizontal organization has a less-defined chain of command. Employees across lines have similar
input into how the organization is run. Instead of each person having clearly defined duties, employees
may work in teams, with everyone on the team having input.

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) – a thorough rethinking of all business processes, job definitions,
management systems, organizational structure, work flow, and underlying assumptions and beliefs.
BPR's main objective is to break away from old ways of working, and effect radical (not incremental)
redesign of processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical areas such as cost, quality, service,
and response time. Also called business process redesign.

Empowerment is a management practice of sharing information, rewards and power with employees so
that they can take initiative and make decisions to solve problems and improve service and performance.

Empowerment is based on the idea that giving employee skills, resources, authority, opportunity,
motivation, as well as holding them responsible and accountable for outcomes of their actions will
contribute to their competence and satisfaction.

International Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

The Need for Market Segmentation: STP Process
It is one of the most commonly applied marketing models in practice. Recent polls revealed
that from among the most popular marketing models, STP is second, beaten by the venerable SWOT
matrix. This popularity is relatively recent since previously, marketing approaches were based more
around products rather than customers. In the 1950s, for example, the main marketing strategy was
‘product
differentiation’.

Market segmentation is a marketing strategy that involves dividing a broad target market into
subsets (or segments) of consumers who have common needs and priorities, and then designing and
implementing strategies to target them. A segment is a group of consumers who respond in similar way to
a given set of marketing efforts where demand can influenced by the same factors.

International market segmentation is the process of identifying specific segments who are likely to exhibit
similar buying behavior.

Market segmentation is one of the key elements of modern marketing. In a more precise approach, it is
the process of dividing the market into several groups and/or segment(s) based on demographic,
geographic, psychological and behavioral factors.

Gunter and Furnham, 1992 - By doing so, the marketers will have a better understanding of their target
audience and thereby make their marketing more effective

Dibb and Simkin, 1996 - This is also due to the fact that by using the analytical process that puts
customers first, the marketer will get more satisfied customers and thereby gain a great advantage over
competitors.

(Kotler and Keller, 2009):

homogeneous preferences, referring to customers that roughly have the same preferences.

diffused preferences which mean that the customers vary in their preferences
 clustered preferences which mean that the natural market segments emerge from groups of consumers
with shared preferences .

Bases for Market Segmentation

Markets can be segmented on the following customer characteristics:
• Geographic
• Demographic
• Psychographic
• Behavioral

Geographic Segmentation - dividing the world into geographic subsets. The advantage of geography is
proximity and distance where markets in geographic segments are closer to each other.
The following are some examples of geographic variables often used in segmentation.

• Region: by continent, country, state, or even neighborhood

• Size of metropolitan area: segmented according to size of population
• Population density: often classified as urban, suburban, or rural
• Climate: according to weather patterns common to certain geographic regions

Demographic Segmentation
Some demographic segmentation variables include:
• Age
• Gender
• Family size
• Family lifecycle
• Generation: baby-boomers, Generation X, etc.

Baby Boomer - A person who was born between 1946 and 1964. The baby boomer generation makes up a
substantial portion of the North American population.

Gen X and Generation X Marketing

Generation X Marketing refers to the promotion of a brand’s products or services to people born
between the early 60’s and late 70’s. This group is focused on personal style, skilled with technology,
and skeptical about advertising. High impact internet marketing and direct mail are effective ways to
reach Gen X, but endorsements and celebrity testimonials are not.

•Income
•Occupation
•Education
•Ethnicity
•Nationality
•Religion
•Social class
Demographic segmentation is based on measurable characteristics of a population.

Psychographic Segmentation - Psychographic variables are used when purchasing behavior correlates
with the personality or lifestyle of consumers. Consumers with different personalities or lifestyles
have varying product preferences and may respond differently to marketing mix offerings.

Psychographic segmentation groups customers according to their lifestyle. Activities, interests and
opinions (AIO) surveys are one tool for measuring lifestyle. Some psychographic variables include:
• Activities
• Interests
• Opinions
• Attitudes
• Values
Behavioral Segmentation
Behavioral characteristics may include:
• Benefits sought
• Usage rate
• Brand loyalty
• User status: potential, first-time, regular, etc.
• Readiness to buy
• Occasions: holidays and events that stimulate purchases

Behavioral segmentation is based on actual customer behavior toward products as well as how often and
how much they use it. Consumers can be categorized in terms of usage rates; for example - heavy,
medium, light and non-user. Consumers can also be segmented according to user status; potential users,
ex-users, regulars, first-timers and users of competitors’ products.

Targeting
In the segmentation process, the second stage is market targeting. A target market is a group of
customers towards which a business has decided to aim its marketing efforts and ultimately its
merchandise.

Undifferentiated target marketing strategies are also known as mass marketing strategies. When a business
uses this strategy, it generally has only one product line and it purposely assumes that its target
market is composed of consumers who all have the same interests. Undifferentiated target marketing
can be cost- effective, efficient and, therefore, profit producing for a business.

Differentiated marketing is a marketing strategy where a company targets many market segments with
offers especially designed for each segment. A company may have a higher sales and thus, stronger
position within each market segment. However, differentiated marketing also means increased costs of
doing business due to the separate marketing plans for each segment. Therefore, companies must
consider that any increase in sales has to be matched against the anticipated increase in costs when
using differentiated marketing strategy.

Concentrated marketing, also referred to as multi-segment marketing, involves going after a larger share
of one or a few segments. By using concentrated marketing, the company can market more effectively
due to a strong position and great knowledge of the customer’s needs within each segment.

Positioning
The third and final step in the market segmentation process deals with positioning. Once the
company has identified the segments and chosen which segment or segments to target, the final step is to
decide on what position it wants to occupy in those segments. Positioning is concerned with how the
customers perceive the products and how it is defined by the customers in order to maximize the
potential benefit to the company. The result is a persuasive reason why the target market should buy the
product or products (Kotler and Keller, 2009).