public relations, sales promotion and professional selling. How these three concepts are related? Which of the three is more important?

 The topics of Unit 7 are public relations, sales promotion, and professional selling. Although these three concepts are in different chapters, they are related and influence each other. Recall that public relations are the activities of managing the release of information between an individual or an organization and the public in order to affect public perception. Sales promotion is one of the elements of the promotional mix such as advertising, personal selling, and direct marketing. In professional selling, we learned mostly about what salespeople do and what roles do they play(such as create value, gathering information, and managing relationships).

Generally, all these three activities are trying to find the demands, satisfy the needs, and build stronger connections. Professional selling is not just about the salesperson or the products and services. It’s about the customers and fulfilling their needs, helping them make the world a better place. Public relations can help the world know what organizations are doing for upgrading our future. For instance, loyalty programs are designed to get repeat business. Not only it benefits businesses but also helps people by saving time for searching their needs. 

I find it is hard to choose which of the three concepts is more important because they influence each other in some way. For instance, bad public relations lead to bad sales no matter how hard you work on the sales promotions. You can purchase similar products from different companies with different reputations. The key is that the next time you want to buy the product, you will search the companies you like first. 

Consider it from the reverse, if we put all the effort into public relations since we consider it as the most important one. It like putting a new engine inside an old car's body. The car can move for sure, but it cannot handle the powerful engine. Although I know Lamborghini and Ferrari are excellent, I need the final steps to help me give up the other option such as a better price, lovely salespeople, a loyalty program, or any other factors. That is no doubt that great public relations efforts can help enterprises build rapport with their customers and supplement their sales efforts. However, sales promotions and professional selling are still great or even necessary tools enterprises should consider.

Reference

Tanner, J. & Raymond, M.A. (2015). Principles of Marketing. University of Minnesota Open Textbook Library. Licensed under a Creative Commons by-nc-sa. 

Salespeople play three primary roles? How does each type of salespeople create value? Do ethics get in the way of success in sales?

Introduction

Did you ever think why we still need salespeople in the modern age of advanced technology? One of the possible reasons might be it is human. However, salespeople often mean more costs for companies since they have to pay for their services. Although the pros and cons of salespeople are varied in different fields, they still represent a type of strategy that companies use to increase their sales. Typically, salespeople must create value for what they are selling, managing relationships, and gathering information. For these three roles, companies are willing to pay for what they do since it is a win-win strategy. 

Create Value

Generally, salespeople create value by understanding the needs of their customers and then create solutions to meet those needs. So, how do salespeople create value for what they are selling? Do ever think why you need a teacher to help with your learning? You can learn almost everything online through the internet, but how you feel if you have a Spanish teacher correcting your pronunciation? That sounds like very old school, but the point is the interaction between you and a teacher. Salespeople are the same idea. They serve and interact with customers and business owners to get what they need by benefiting both sides. 

However, salespeople aren’t the most appropriate channels for companies in all situations when companies are trying to sell at a very low cost may make retail stores or online selling more attractive. For instance, instead of hiring more service agents, Standard Chartered Bank in Taiwan created a “chat with Stacy” feature, the ability to engage in dialog helps customers better understand their customers and their needs and then create valuable solutions for them. 

Salespeople can be categorized by the customers they work with, by the size of their customers, or by their activities. Here we are using activities as the basis to categorize four basic types of salespeople. They are missionary salespeople, trade salespeople, prospectors, and account managers. 

A missionary sale such as Rainforest Alliance is a form of personal sales in which the salesperson provides information to an individual who will influence the purchase decision. By partnering with brand affiliates, a company empowers individuals to get the word out about their products, driving sales in exchange for a commission. However, nearly anyone can participate the affiliate partnerships, but no sales background is required.

A trade salesperson such as Amway salespeople help retailers promote and sell products to consumers. They are someone who provides retailers assistance with merchandising and selling products to consumers.

The prospector is a salesperson who is trying to find prospects or potential customers. This type of salesperson is responsible for identifying and acquiring new customers for enterprises. If some potential customers have needs but lack information about where to look for, the prospectors often knock on them and drive their success by prospecting. Mortage salespeople often put most of their efforts on potential customers who need some cash on hand to purchase something they want to pay in installments.

Account managers are responsible for satisfying clients' needs and persuading them to become loyal clients. After a prospector finds new clients, it is a good time to turn them over to an account manager for building long-term relationships. For instance, auto insurance companies are trying to keep their existing clients because the more existing clients they keep the more income auto insurance companies can get for them.

Managing Relationships

People are emotional animals after all. Relationships mean stronger connections between you and your clients, so they tend to believe that you are doing good for them. If you like or believe in your high school teacher, then he(or she) has a better chance when persuading you to purchase a specific textbook. However, everyone's time is limited, they have to decide which client is worth the shot.

Gathering Information

If you a soldier on a battlefield, you know what weapons your enemies are using. Salespeople do their jobs mostly outside the firm and in the field. Therefore, they get first-hand news about what competitors are doing. Like playing chess, what your competitor is moving is counts. They influence your next move and even who is going to win. However, after getting the information, you still have to send it to the right guy, the right decision-makers.

Do Ethics Get in The Way of Success in Sales? 

I think that depends on what do you mean by "success in sales" and how you definite your "success". As I mentioned above, relationships mean stronger connections between you and your clients. Therefore, I think being integrity is always the best choice, and fostering an ethical culture on your sales team or salespeople is necessary. For your clients, it means your products and services can be trusted. Likewise, you will purchase items from the companies you trust when you are a consumer. Companies with higher ethical standards experience greater customer loyalty, satisfaction, referrals, and lead to greater long-term profits. 

However, oftentimes, the most dangerous and common situation in selling is focusing on immediate profits and short-term sales goals. With a narrow perspective, salespeople tend to make deals that bad for the long-term benefits. It hurts both the enterprises and the customers, and both of the two are losers. Enterprises lose their customers and the customers fail to get great deals. Moreover, salespeople tend to make promises that almost impossible to deliver. 

Reference

Tanner, J. & Raymond, M.A. (2015). Principles of Marketing. University of Minnesota Open Textbook Library. Licensed under a Creative Commons by-nc-sa.