Unit 10: Selling + Marketing Pitch - Personal Selling

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, definitions, and concepts from Chapter 23 on Personal Selling and the Sales Process.

Personal selling

Any direct contact between a salesperson and a customer with the objective of making a sale.

B2B (business-to-business) selling

Sales transactions where one business sells products or services to another business.

Government sales

A specific type of B2B sale where a business sells directly to a government entity.

Institutional sales

A type of B2B sale where a business sells to a nonprofit organization.

Inside salesperson

A sales representative who communicates with customers by phone or email from inside the company.

Outside salesperson

A sales representative who visits customers directly at their place of business.

Relationship selling

A sales strategy focused on building long-term relationships with customers.

B2C (business-to-consumer) selling

Selling products or services directly to individual consumers.

Telemarketing

Personal selling conducted over the telephone.

Call center

An office set up to receive and make customer calls for an organization.

Inbound calls

Calls initiated by customers calling into a call center.

Outbound calls

Calls made by salespeople to contact prospective or existing customers.

Live chat

A channel allowing customers to interact with a salesperson in real time through a website.

Self-service

An arrangement where customers complete part or all of a sales transaction without assistance from a salesperson.

Sales quota

The total dollar amount or total number of product units a salesperson is expected to sell in a specific period.

Commission

Money paid to a salesperson as compensation for selling products.

Clientele

A salesperson's established body of customers.

Honesty

Being fair and truthful in interactions.

Integrity

Adhering to moral or ethical values.

Confidentiality

Keeping company information secret and customer information private.

Preapproach

Tasks performed before initial contact is made with a customer, such as studying selling policies and identifying leads.

Selling policies

Business guidelines used to standardize selling procedures, including customer approach, product presentation, discount determination, and follow-up.

Feature-benefit selling

Showing a product's major selling features and explaining how they benefit the customer; also called solution selling.

Solution selling

Another name for feature-benefit selling; focuses on how a product satisfies customer needs and makes life better or easier.

Certification

Professional status earned after passing an exam focused on a specific body of knowledge.

Lead

A potential customer; also referred to as a prospect.

Prospect

Another term for a potential customer or lead.

Qualifying a lead

Learning about a customer to determine whether the lead is a good potential customer.

Cold calling

Contacting people who are not expecting a sales contact.

Sales outreach tools

Software programs that help marketers find and engage with new sales leads quickly and efficiently.

CRM (customer-relationship management) system

A system where customer information is regularly entered and maintained, including contact info, product preferences, and buying habits.

Sales process

A series of steps a salesperson goes through to help a customer make a satisfying buying decision.

Approach

The first in-person contact a salesperson makes with a potential customer.

Service approach

A B2C initial contact method that begins with 'May I help you?'

Greeting approach

A B2C initial contact method that begins with a friendly welcome.

Merchandise approach

A B2C initial contact method that starts with a comment about a product.

Rational buying motives

Customer purchasing motives that are based on reason.

Emotional buying motives

Customer purchasing motives that are based more on feelings than reason.

Patronage buying motives

Customer purchasing motives based on loyalty to a specific company or brand.

Observation

The first step in learning about the customer during the sales process.

Listening

Hearing combined with evaluating, used to reveal key details about customer needs.

Yes/no questions

Questions that require only a simple 'yes' or 'no' response.

Choice questions

Questions that offer options and ask the customer to select one.

Clarifying questions

Questions that ask for more details about the specific product the customer wants.

Open-ended questions

Questions asking customers to describe wants and needs, often starting with who, what, when, where, or why.

Brand promise

A statement made by an organization telling customers what they can expect from its products.

Substitute selling

Showing products different from the originally requested product in order to satisfy the same customer need.

Objection

A concern or other reason a customer presents for not making a purchase.

Excuse

A personal reason a customer gives to avoid buying.

Objections grid

A grid tool showing prepared responses to common customer objections and excuses.

Empathy

Understanding or being sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others.

Boomerang method

An objection-handling technique that turns a customer's objection into a selling point.

Superior point method

An objection-handling technique where the salesperson acknowledges the customer's objection but highlights superior features or benefits.

Third party method

An objection-handling technique that utilizes a previous customer's positive experience to resolve an objection.