This is “The Role Professional Salespeople Play”, section 13.1 from the book Marketing Principles (v. 1.0). For details on it (including licensing), click here.
Discuss the role of a company’s salespeople in creating value for customers and building customer relationships Salespeople-are involved in two-way personal communication with customers with whom they build LT relationships. Personal selling is the interpersonal arm of the promotion mix. This personal communication may be through face to face, telephone, video conferences or by other means ...
Salespeople act on behalf of their companies by doing the following: Creating value for their firms’ customers. Managing relationships. Relaying customer and market information back to their organizations. In addition to acting on behalf of their firms, sales representatives also act on behalf of their customers.
So are salespeople dishonest? Many people think so in part because certain types of salespeople have earned poor reputations that have tarnished the entire profession. As a result, some business students avoid sales despite the very high earnings potential and personal growth opportunities. You might be surprised to learn, however, that one study found that salespeople are less likely to exaggerate in order to get what they want than politicians, preachers, and professors. Another study looked at how business students responded to ethical dilemmas versus how professional salespeople responded. What did the study find? That salespeople were more likely to respond ethically than students were.
Society benefits because salespeople help buyers make more informed decisions and help their companies succeed, which, in turn, creates jobs for people and products they can use. Most salespeople also truly believe in the effectiveness of their company’s offerings.
As a result, they have to generate business in order to justify a firm’s investment in them.
Salespeople act as representatives for other people, including employees who work in other parts of their companies. Salespeople create value for their customers, manage relationships, and gather information for their firms. There are four types of salespeople: missionary salespeople, trade salespeople, prospectors, and account managers.
In addition to acting on behalf of their firms, sales representatives also act on behalf of their customers. Whenever a salesperson goes back to her company with a customer’s request, be it for quicker delivery, a change in a product feature, or a negotiated price, she is voicing the customer’s needs. Her goal is to help the buyer purchase what serves his or her needs the best. Like Ted Schulte, the salesperson is the expert but, in this case, an expert representing the customer’s needs back to the company.
Like Ted Schulte, the salesperson is the expert but, in this case, an expert representing the customer’s needs back to the company. From society’s perspective, selling is wonderful when professional salespeople act on behalf of both buyers and sellers.
The MARS Sales Management Simulation was used in a Sales Force Management class, fall semester 2003 in a class of 22 students. The class was divided into 5 teams, and one independent study student was added as team 6. The independent study student was off-campus for the semester and participated from a location several hundred miles away. Therefore, Team 6 was at a competitive disadvantage in the sense that it was made up of a single student whereas the other teams were composed of 4 to 5 students. Each team made 12 simulation decisions over a 12-week period. This represented a simulated 3 years, since each decision represents a simulated business quarter.
There are a number of computerized business simulations that exist (Keys and Wolfe 1990; Wolfe 1997). While there is no specific empirical evidence available for the classroom use of a sales management simulation, it has probably not been used as much as general management simulations. In the past decade, there have been only three simulations widely available with a specific sales management emphasis, and two of them are no longer in print. There are also two new entrants targeted to sales management education. Those simulations no longer in print include Dickenson, John R. and Anthony J. Faria (1995) and Patton, W. E. III (1995), while the Dalrymple, Douglas J. and Harish Sujan (1995) is still being published. The two new entrants are Nentl, Nancy J. and Craig Miller (2003) and Cook, Robert W., James C. Cook, and Kathryn J. Cook (2003).
If anyone is able to help with the marketing simulator send me an email
I desperately need help with the simulation. We have just completed quarter 3 and I am performing poorly and do not know how to improve. I will pay for quarterly decisions if anyone can help me. email me @ jollybryce@gmail.com
Hello to all you Marketing students! I hope the semester is going well. Some of you may have been told you will be doing a ShootForMars simulation this semester. And if you'd like help, I can provide it.
Salespeople act on behalf of their companies by doing the following: Creating value for their firms’ customers. Managing relationships. Relaying customer and market information back to their organizations. In addition to acting on behalf of their firms, sales representatives also act on behalf of their customers.
So are salespeople dishonest? Many people think so in part because certain types of salespeople have earned poor reputations that have tarnished the entire profession. As a result, some business students avoid sales despite the very high earnings potential and personal growth opportunities. You might be surprised to learn, however, that one study found that salespeople are less likely to exaggerate in order to get what they want than politicians, preachers, and professors. Another study looked at how business students responded to ethical dilemmas versus how professional salespeople responded. What did the study find? That salespeople were more likely to respond ethically than students were.
Society benefits because salespeople help buyers make more informed decisions and help their companies succeed, which, in turn, creates jobs for people and products they can use. Most salespeople also truly believe in the effectiveness of their company’s offerings.
As a result, they have to generate business in order to justify a firm’s investment in them.
Salespeople act as representatives for other people, including employees who work in other parts of their companies. Salespeople create value for their customers, manage relationships, and gather information for their firms. There are four types of salespeople: missionary salespeople, trade salespeople, prospectors, and account managers.
In addition to acting on behalf of their firms, sales representatives also act on behalf of their customers. Whenever a salesperson goes back to her company with a customer’s request, be it for quicker delivery, a change in a product feature, or a negotiated price, she is voicing the customer’s needs. Her goal is to help the buyer purchase what serves his or her needs the best. Like Ted Schulte, the salesperson is the expert but, in this case, an expert representing the customer’s needs back to the company.
Like Ted Schulte, the salesperson is the expert but, in this case, an expert representing the customer’s needs back to the company. From society’s perspective, selling is wonderful when professional salespeople act on behalf of both buyers and sellers.