SKAM
,SALES AND KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Study unit 1.
NATURE AND ROLL OF SELLING:
Glossary:
Production orientation: The organisation’s focus is only on products, emphasising satisfying customer
needs.
Sales orientation: The organisation's direction is on making profits by focusing on the persuasion of
people to buy the products instead of understanding the customer needs.
Marketing orientation: This is a business philosophy where the entire organisation is focused on
satisfying customer needs.
Service orientation: The organisation's focus is to provide work expertly by an individual or team
member for the benefit of its customers.
Ø Salespeople are imperative to the success of an organisation, as they are operating at the
forefront. However, they form part of the larger team that assists them in bringing in the sales. If
that salesperson is ineffective, the organisation and people are failing.
Ø A vital component in sales is that there will always be a buyer and seller. Prospective clients (B2B
or B2C) will have specific needs where the salesperson plays an important role.
Characteristics of modern selling:
Selling in the modern era is about developing long-term customer relationships that will ensure that
clients come back to your business. Once you figure this out as a business, the relationship will
become profitable, which is essential for the sustainability of a business.
Characteristics of selling activities are:
Ø Database and product knowledge management
Ø Building customer relationships
Ø Selling the product
Ø Solution selling
Ø Adding value
Ø Use of social media
Crucial activities that salespeople do:
Ø Customer development, retention, and deletion: The Pareto effect states that 80% of
consequences come from 20% of causes. In sales terms, this means 80% of sales come from
20% of customers. Therefore, it is necessary to devote considerable resources to maintaining
existing high-volume, high-potential, and highly profitable customers.
Ø Information management: developing customer database, using the internet, smartphones,
tablets, visual presentations effectively.
Ø Customer relationship management: selling is about developing long-term customers, which
constitutes a win-win situation for both parties.
, Ø Salespeople are marketing the product: Various aspects support the marketing of the product
including market intelligence, segmentation of markets, customer database management,
provision, analysis of information, and assessing market segments.
Ø Problem-solving and system selling: A team selling approach, analysing the customer’s needs,
providing solutions, analytical skills, product as well as industry knowledge, to provide long-term
solutions to the customer.
Ø Satisfying needs and adding value: Understand the customer’s business, identify needs, and
provide solutions. Identify unknown needs.
Ø Selling today: Reduction of face to face selling due to technological advances results in
salespeople who must be comfortable with technology.
Success factors for professional salespeople:
Jobber (2019) lists the following ten success factors that salespeople need to acquire to reach success.
Ø Personable
Ø Interactive
Ø Focused
Ø Listening skills
Ø Information retention
Ø Verbal and written skills
Ø Organised
Ø Able to overcome objections
Ø Adaptive
Ø Determination
Types of selling:
Due to the diversity of the buying situation, there are many types of selling roles:
- selling varies according to the nature of the selling task.
Order-takers – respond to already committed customers
Ø Inside order-takers - this task is purely transactional
Ø Outside order-takers – visit customers and respond to customer requests
Order-creators – create orders for shipment
Ø Missionary salespeople – Persuade customers to specify their products to another customer. An
example of this is a pharmaceutical rep who would call on a doctor and explain a product to the
doctor, who would, in turn, prescribe the product to a patient.
Ø Order-getters – frontline salespeople who complete the selling cycle and persuade customers to
purchase.
Technical support salespeople - provide technical assistance to order-getters
Merchandisers – provide sales support in retail and wholesale selling situations
The marketing and sales functions are identified according to the category of customers that are
targeted.
, Business-to-consumer (B2C):
In the B2C market environment, customers are purchasing products for their use.
Therefore, the submarkets in consumer markets are:
Ø Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG): Low financial outlay, frequently purchased, non-
durable. Examples are food, toiletries, most grocery products. The consumer usually does not
spend much time on the decision-making process before purchasing, known as a low-
involvement purchase.
Ø Semi-durable consumer goods: products are bought less frequently than FMCG products, and
examples include clothing and shoes, soft furnishings, and jewellery. There is more involvement
in the decision-making process as in FMCG’s, as more research will go into the purchase
decision, usually due to the products' costs.
Ø Durable consumer goods: purchases are made less frequently, are usually costlier and include
refrigerators, microwave ovens, cars, and so forth. Therefore, the consumer will do much
research before making their purchase decision, known as a high involvement purchase
decision-making.
Business-to-business (B2B):
Buyers in B2B markets are more commonly geographically focused. These buyers are often highly
skilled and can negotiate price, quality, and performance. In addition, this buyer category includes the
retail sector, such as the larger retail chains. Usually, these buyers are classified as key accounts.
These markets are divided into:
Ø Markets for retail distribution.
Ø Markets for capital equipment (e.g., plant, machinery)
Ø Markets for business services (e.g., consultancy, technical advice; these are more service-
oriented).
Selling as a career:
In the three levels of selling:
Ø order taking,
Ø order-making and
Ø order generating,
Salespeople can perform at all three levels of selling. However, some of these levels carry less pressure,
for instance, being an order-taker versus an order-maker. Order-takers are higher-income earning
salespeople, as their income potential is usually linked to commissions or bonuses related to their sales
performance.
Sales is a diverse career, and (David Jobber, 2019) propose the following as essential qualities for
salespeople to have:
Ø Empathy and an interest in people
Ø Ability to communicate (verbal and listening)
Ø Determination
Ø Self-discipline and resilience
,SALES AND KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Study unit 1.
NATURE AND ROLL OF SELLING:
Glossary:
Production orientation: The organisation’s focus is only on products, emphasising satisfying customer
needs.
Sales orientation: The organisation's direction is on making profits by focusing on the persuasion of
people to buy the products instead of understanding the customer needs.
Marketing orientation: This is a business philosophy where the entire organisation is focused on
satisfying customer needs.
Service orientation: The organisation's focus is to provide work expertly by an individual or team
member for the benefit of its customers.
Ø Salespeople are imperative to the success of an organisation, as they are operating at the
forefront. However, they form part of the larger team that assists them in bringing in the sales. If
that salesperson is ineffective, the organisation and people are failing.
Ø A vital component in sales is that there will always be a buyer and seller. Prospective clients (B2B
or B2C) will have specific needs where the salesperson plays an important role.
Characteristics of modern selling:
Selling in the modern era is about developing long-term customer relationships that will ensure that
clients come back to your business. Once you figure this out as a business, the relationship will
become profitable, which is essential for the sustainability of a business.
Characteristics of selling activities are:
Ø Database and product knowledge management
Ø Building customer relationships
Ø Selling the product
Ø Solution selling
Ø Adding value
Ø Use of social media
Crucial activities that salespeople do:
Ø Customer development, retention, and deletion: The Pareto effect states that 80% of
consequences come from 20% of causes. In sales terms, this means 80% of sales come from
20% of customers. Therefore, it is necessary to devote considerable resources to maintaining
existing high-volume, high-potential, and highly profitable customers.
Ø Information management: developing customer database, using the internet, smartphones,
tablets, visual presentations effectively.
Ø Customer relationship management: selling is about developing long-term customers, which
constitutes a win-win situation for both parties.
, Ø Salespeople are marketing the product: Various aspects support the marketing of the product
including market intelligence, segmentation of markets, customer database management,
provision, analysis of information, and assessing market segments.
Ø Problem-solving and system selling: A team selling approach, analysing the customer’s needs,
providing solutions, analytical skills, product as well as industry knowledge, to provide long-term
solutions to the customer.
Ø Satisfying needs and adding value: Understand the customer’s business, identify needs, and
provide solutions. Identify unknown needs.
Ø Selling today: Reduction of face to face selling due to technological advances results in
salespeople who must be comfortable with technology.
Success factors for professional salespeople:
Jobber (2019) lists the following ten success factors that salespeople need to acquire to reach success.
Ø Personable
Ø Interactive
Ø Focused
Ø Listening skills
Ø Information retention
Ø Verbal and written skills
Ø Organised
Ø Able to overcome objections
Ø Adaptive
Ø Determination
Types of selling:
Due to the diversity of the buying situation, there are many types of selling roles:
- selling varies according to the nature of the selling task.
Order-takers – respond to already committed customers
Ø Inside order-takers - this task is purely transactional
Ø Outside order-takers – visit customers and respond to customer requests
Order-creators – create orders for shipment
Ø Missionary salespeople – Persuade customers to specify their products to another customer. An
example of this is a pharmaceutical rep who would call on a doctor and explain a product to the
doctor, who would, in turn, prescribe the product to a patient.
Ø Order-getters – frontline salespeople who complete the selling cycle and persuade customers to
purchase.
Technical support salespeople - provide technical assistance to order-getters
Merchandisers – provide sales support in retail and wholesale selling situations
The marketing and sales functions are identified according to the category of customers that are
targeted.
, Business-to-consumer (B2C):
In the B2C market environment, customers are purchasing products for their use.
Therefore, the submarkets in consumer markets are:
Ø Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG): Low financial outlay, frequently purchased, non-
durable. Examples are food, toiletries, most grocery products. The consumer usually does not
spend much time on the decision-making process before purchasing, known as a low-
involvement purchase.
Ø Semi-durable consumer goods: products are bought less frequently than FMCG products, and
examples include clothing and shoes, soft furnishings, and jewellery. There is more involvement
in the decision-making process as in FMCG’s, as more research will go into the purchase
decision, usually due to the products' costs.
Ø Durable consumer goods: purchases are made less frequently, are usually costlier and include
refrigerators, microwave ovens, cars, and so forth. Therefore, the consumer will do much
research before making their purchase decision, known as a high involvement purchase
decision-making.
Business-to-business (B2B):
Buyers in B2B markets are more commonly geographically focused. These buyers are often highly
skilled and can negotiate price, quality, and performance. In addition, this buyer category includes the
retail sector, such as the larger retail chains. Usually, these buyers are classified as key accounts.
These markets are divided into:
Ø Markets for retail distribution.
Ø Markets for capital equipment (e.g., plant, machinery)
Ø Markets for business services (e.g., consultancy, technical advice; these are more service-
oriented).
Selling as a career:
In the three levels of selling:
Ø order taking,
Ø order-making and
Ø order generating,
Salespeople can perform at all three levels of selling. However, some of these levels carry less pressure,
for instance, being an order-taker versus an order-maker. Order-takers are higher-income earning
salespeople, as their income potential is usually linked to commissions or bonuses related to their sales
performance.
Sales is a diverse career, and (David Jobber, 2019) propose the following as essential qualities for
salespeople to have:
Ø Empathy and an interest in people
Ø Ability to communicate (verbal and listening)
Ø Determination
Ø Self-discipline and resilience
