Download The role of Personal Selling in Direct Sales Organizations

The role of Personal Selling in
Direct Sales Organizations
Thomas N. Ingram 1992
Jialin & Kewrin
The purpose of this article
The framework for defining the role of
personal selling in direct sales
organizations
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Marketing Developments
Strategic roles of personal selling
Personal selling tactical implications
Marketing developments
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Market Fragmentation
Globalization
Multiple channels approaches
Timing & Speed
Trust- based Relationship Selling
Marketing fragmentation
= to define market segments into subsegments and it forces direct sales
organizations to think about two basic
options:
 Ownership through leadership
 Expeditionary marketing
Expeditionary marketing
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To lead and not to follow their
customers in terms of new product
ideas and the implementation of new
ways for consumers to buy.
Example: Mary Kay cosmetics
Globalization
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The personal selling dimension is
particularly appropriate for the
development of non-domestic markets
when compared to other elements of
the promotional mix
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Example: Time life Books
Because of…..
 the language barriers
 cultural differences
 ser-up time is minimal
 sunk channel costs are low
Multiple channel approaches
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Market fragmentation and globalization
To make it easy for shoppers to buy
where they want to
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Mary Kay Cosmetics
-Direct mail
-Telephone ordering system
Timing and speed
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The unexpected available Eastern
market
The booming Asian market
example: Avon in 1985
Trust-basted relationship
selling
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Benefits for DSO
An important issue for sales success
Has to take responsibility for what
transpires during the consumer and
salesperson interactions
Has to invest in training and field
guidance must be made
Strategic roles of personal
selling
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Adding value with information
Customer service activities
Revenue generation
Change processes
Corporate growth orientation
and personal selling
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Intensive growth
Diversification growth
Acquisition
Intensive growth:
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focuses on the development of existing
business
extremely active sales function
the amount of selling effort should be
intensified for existing products
training should be priority
motivational programs
Generic strategy and personal
selling
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Low-cost supplier: selling on the basis
of a low price
Differentiation: perceived uniqueness
Niche strategies: the selection of a
particular target market
Personal selling tactical
implications
Trust-based selling
“To achieve trust-based relationships
with customers, salespeople must be
candid, dependable, competent,
customer-oriented, and likable (Hawes
et al. 1989)”.
Benefits of Trust-based selling
for a direct sales force
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The initial generation of profitable
revenue
A potential lifetime revenue stream
The referral of prospects from the
satisfied customer base.
Trust-based sales roles
Wrap-around marketing
“The customers must be pre-sold, sold,
and then, in effect, post-sold”.
Tactical roles
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Counselor/ teacher; experts, listeners
and presenters
Ombudsman; customer oriented
problem solver
Conclusion
DS organizations are well-positioned:
 to capitalize on fast developing and
fragmenting markets
 to realize the benefits of globalization
 to blend multiple sales channels, with
the possibility that personal selling
could adopt different roles over time to
match market opportunities
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By focusing more on generating
revenue through long-term trust-based
relationships with customers