Sales Management

Personal Selling: Theories of Buyer-Seller Dyads

Third Lecture

Sales management portfolio

Evolution of personal selling
Classification of Personal Selling Approaches
CONTENTS
& Bottoms up approach to sales management
COVERAGE
Dyad- buyer seller interaction
Theories of personal selling
Simulation models
 Sales Management : Diversified Portfolio
1. Planning, direction and control of personal selling
2. Recruiting, training, assigning, supervising, motivating & rewarding the sales force
3. Deciding on targets, quotas, budgets, territories, servicing, etc
4. Coordination with top management, marketing team & channel members
5. Strategic decision support for the marketing team in:
Market feed back
• Sales plan & targets
• Product planning
• Channel selection & distribution planning
• Promotional plan & advertising
•
 Personal Selling – Defined

Personal selling
refers to building
lasting professional
relationship
between the
buyer and seller
 Evolution of Personal Selling

Peddlers selling door Selling function

to door . . . served became more
as intermediaries structured

1800s 1900s 2000s

As we begin Post-Industrial
Industrial the 21 century, selling
st
continues toModern
War and develop,
becomingRevolution
Revolution more professional and more relational
Depression Era

Selling function
Business organizations
became more
employed salespeople
professional
Transaction-Focused vs. Relationship Focused

Transaction-Focused Relationship-Focused
• Long term thinking
• Short term thinking • Developing the
• Making the sale has relationship takes
priority over most priority over getting
other considerations the sale
• Interaction between • Interaction between
buyer and seller is buyer and seller is
competitive collaborative.
• Salesperson is self- • Salesperson is
interest oriented customer-oriented
 Contributions of Personal Selling

• Salespeople help stimulate the

economy
• Salespeople help with the
diffusion of innovation
• Salespeople provide solutions to
problems
• Salespeople provide expertise
and serve as information
resources
• Salespeople serve as advocates
for the customer when dealing
with the selling organization
Classification of Personal Selling Approaches

• Stimulus Response Selling

• Mental States Selling

• Need Satisfaction Selling

• Problem Solving Selling

 Stimulus Response Selling
Sony vs. LG TV

Continue
Salesperson Buyer
Process until
Provides Responses
Purchase
Stimuli Sought
Decision
 Mental States Selling
Sony vs. LG TV

Attention Interest Conviction Desire Action

 Need Satisfaction Selling
(Any color TV)

Present Continue
Uncover and
Offering to Selling until
Confirm
Satisfy Purchase
Buyer Needs
Buyer Needs Decision
 Problem Solving Selling
(Any color TV)

Continue
Generate Evaluate Selling
Define
Alternative Alternative until
Problem
Solutions Solutions Purchase
Decision
 The Sales Process: Selling Foundations

In order to be successful in today’s global business

environment, salespeople must have a solid
relationship building foundation. They must:

Be Trustworthy

Behave Ethically

Understand Buyer Behavior

Possess Excellent Communication Skills

THE EIGHT STEPS OF THE SALES PROCESS

8. Follow-up
7. Gaining Commitment
6. Meeting objections
5. Presentation
4. Need Assessment (ascertain buyer’s needs)
3. Approach (contacts between the buyer and seller)
2. Preapproach (qualifying leads)

1. Prospecting( master list)

 The Sales Process: Selling Strategy

To be successful in today’s business environment,

salespeople must also think and act strategically.
The must develop strategies for:

Each Sales Call

Each Customer

Their Sales Territories

Each strategy is
related to the other
Sales Management: Corporate Goals (General Objectives)

Topmanagement:
Top management:
CorporateGoals
Corporate Goals

Coordinated through
Coordinated through
ofMarketing
of Marketing&&Sales
Sales
Management
Management

Costcontrol
Cost control
Achievingtargeted
Achieving targeted && Sustainedfuture
Sustained future
salesvolume
sales volume contributionto
contribution to growth
growth
Profits
Profits
 Organizational Success: Inter Dept communication chain
Crucial Role of Sales & Marketing Dept.

Promoters/
Directors
Bottoms Up Approach

President of

Sales Management
Vice presidents
Vice president
Prod/Fin/HR
Marketing
leads to the

General Manager realization

Sales

Sales managers
Organizational
Regional/product goals

Customer Sales Executives/

Salesmen
is the king
 Personal Selling: DYAD

Two-way flow of communication between buyer and seller.

Buyer DYAD: Buyer-Seller Interaction

Seller

Key Factors:
• Involves buyer seller interaction
•Seller motivates the customer to buy the products
•Strategy may embrace persuasion, ingratiation, friendliness, etc
•Skills of the salesman (salesmanship)
•Perception of customer
 Sales Management: Personal selling by the salesman using the skills
of salesmanship

Sales
Sales Personal
Personal
Sales management management selling
management selling
directs

personal selling efforts

which are

Implemented

through the skills of

salesmanship Salesmanship
Salesmanship Salesman
Salesman
Theories of personal selling (related to salesmanship)

Seller Oriented : AIDAS

(Attention, Interest ,Desire, Action & Satisfaction)

Behavioral oriented Buyer oriented

 First Theory: AIDAS
(Attention, Interest ,Desire, Action,& Satisfaction)
Five Successive Mental States of customer:
Securing attention:
• Sales person should put the prospect( new customer) in receptive state of mind
• First few minutes of the interview are crucial & the first impression is important
• He should be skilled conversationalist, friendly and with a genuine smile
Gaining interest AIDAS
• Second goal is to intensify the prospects attention into strong interest is a
• Explain product USP, technical features, benefits, etc seller oriented theory
• Try and match customer’s needs with what is being offered stressing
Kindling desire sales person
• Third goal is to kindle the customer’s desire to ready to buy point controlling the
• Objections need answering to the prospects satisfaction situation
Induction of action
• If the above process is tactfully handled the customer should be ready to buy.
Building satisfaction
• After the customer has given the order, he should get the feeling of great satisfaction that the salesman has
helped in making the right choice
 Titan show room: Seller Oriented theory
( AIDAS :Attention, Interest, Desire, Action &Satisfaction)

Brother buying

Gift for

sister
Seller Oriented theory

Son in law

buying

Suitings & accessories

For marriage
( father in law paying)
 Second theory: Buyer Oriented theory of selling

• Buyer’s needs (or problems) receive major attention and sales person has the
role in meeting buyer’s requirement and total satisfaction( find solution)

• Through interaction the sales person is expected to read psychology of the

buyer facilitating his buying decision.

• Buying formula (stages of thinking process involved in buyer’s purchasing

decision)
Buying habits
are
Ascertain the Need influenced by the
impact of
Offer the Product…..Adequacy/pleasant feeling Advertisement
&
person selling skills
Trade name.... Adequacy/pleasant feeling of
sales person
Purchase….

Satisfaction/ dissatisfaction
 Buyer Oriented Theory

Toyota Corolla New Honda City

 Third theory: Behavioral equation based on stimulus response

Stimulus Response Model: Based on buying behavior & purchasing

decision process

Four essential elements of the stimulus response model :

1. Drive: strong internal stimuli that impels the buyer’s response

2. Cue : This stimuli about the product may come from advertising,
sales person or conversation with some friend

3 Response: What the buyer does

4. Reinforcement : Reinforces buyer‘s decision to respond

• Behavioral theory of selling
 Thank you

•Start using
Sales Theories
Even when you are buying