CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO PROFESSIONAL SALESMANSHIP

“Salesmanship is an art; the perfection of its technique requires study and practice.”

-James Cash Penney

Learning Competencies:

1. To enable student understand the nature of selling;

2. To enable student appreciate the concept of professional salesmanship;

3. To realize the significance of salesmanship in every profession.

Importance of Selling

You may probably ask “why should I study salesmanship? I’m never going into
sales.” Perhaps not, but who knows? Lot of people have been disgusted when they
hear the term selling. The truth is, even though a person may not engage directly in
selling, one cannot find a job or profession that does not demand selling skills.

Many talented professionals have not advanced to their career because they
have failed to recognized and accept the selling aspect as part of their work. They have
never been able to sell themselves and their ideas to other people.

All business is selling; this is the modern marketing philosophy of most leading
companies in the Philippines. Even if you are not into sales department, the success of
a business lies on the cooperative work of each people in each department. Thus,
“Every Employee is a Salesperson” is a slogan of a large number of businesses, and it
really works in any situation.
The Concept of Professional Salesmanship

Over powering personality, blatant line of sales talk, and use of hard-sell tactics
to get the order--these are where salespeople are known before. When prospect tends
to be called by a salesperson, they are somewhat indifferent and impatient in having
conversation with them. That is because of their previous experiences in some
salesperson wherein they usually a victim of hard sale. Prospects regarded them as
being “makulit” and “mapilit”.

With the elevation in the standards of selling, salespersons’ positions are being
improved in the society. They are now regarded as respectable and important part of
our social and economic structure.

The term “salesman” and “saleswoman” is being redefined. The medical

representatives are now pharmaceutical expert, life insurance agent has been replaced
by estate planner and advisor, and financial agents are called financial advisors or
consultants, car agents to sales executives.

Hence, salespeople are now regarded as an expert, a person professionally

trained, competent to render a highly valuable service.

The ethical attitude of salespeople is also redefined. No more hard-sell.

Salesperson may advise prospect not to buy a particular product if the prospect doesn’t
need it even though they can easily made the sale. There is no better way to win the
trust and confidence of a customer than by proving them that their interests are the
salesperson’s main concern.

For the true professional the goal is always to make someone’s life better. When
you have passion for what you are selling you have a passion for getting it into the
hands of as many people as you can.
MYTHODOLOGY OF SELLING

Most of us have gathered some perceptions of selling, either from our dealings
with some salespeople, heard stories about them, or our personal experiences in
selling. These are sometimes myths that we believed in, reasons why people involved
into selling because of these sales jobs methodologies.

1. Salespeople are born, Not made

If one is a born seller, then success will quickly follow, and if one is
not, it will quickly be found out. Selling is a complicated art; it takes several
years to master. Principles of salesmanship can be taught and learned
just like any other profession. They learn the hard way by studying and
practicing their art just as other professionals gain their proficiency.
A student is not a skilled practitioner until an amount of practical
experience has been enjoyed. We are moulded more by our environment
than by our heredity. Thus, “salesmen are born, not made” is no more
true.

We can actually assert that “Salesmen are made, rarely are they
born”.

2. Good salespeople are Good talkers

On the contrary, good salespeople are good listeners. Selling is the

art of asking the right questions so you may arrive at the right problem
confronting your customer, hence arriving also at the correct sales
proposition and solution. So learn how to get customer talk with you.

When the customer talks:

 you learn what the customer need and wants

 you learn what the customer is thinking

 you learn what type of customer he/she is

 the customer feels important

 When the salesperson talk:

 only you feel great

 the customer gets uninterested

 you are not learning much about your customers need

3. Good salesperson can sell anything

Just because an individual is great in selling real estate does not

mean that he would be able to sell life insurance. One should develop
enthusiasm in the products that he is selling. If one cannot find anything
enjoyable about selling, perhaps another profession would be advisable.
Life is simply too short doing something you dislike.

4. Good salesperson can sell to anyone

A good salesperson does not even try to sell to everyone.

Professional salespeople spend time with qualified prospect or companies
that need their products and can afford to pay for them.
A salesperson trying to insist his product to individuals who neither needs
the product is not a salesperson.

5. Selling is Fun (Traveling, Wining and Dining)

While some salespeople must travel, some don’t. Some

entertainment is demanded in some sales industry. However, certain
control is to be observed like in the case of the amount incurred in dining
out with prospects and traveling to attend to a prospects concern.

6. Good salesperson never takes “NO” for an answer

No salesperson makes a sale every time. No matter how good is

your product or service for them, there will always be a time that they will
 turn your proposition down. Don’t feel you have failed when someone
rejects your product.

7. The Locker Room Syndrome

Many people think that salesman do most of the selling in the golf
course, ball games, and parties. While saleswoman simply calls on their
prospective customers over the phone moreover, salesman does also the
same thing.

8. Selling is a bag of tricks

There are numbers of sales technique, but success is not merely a

matter of mastering them. Technique does not determine success.
Salespeople do. They will learn what works for them and what doesn’t. It’s
called experience.

9. People don’t want to buy

Managers instilled in the heads of their salespeople that people

don’t want to buy, thus, the sales person must do everything to make them
buy.

Products and services must be bought, not sold. Salespeople must

not sell their products because of their selling talents, but rather because
the market needed and wanted what they are selling.

10. The “Get Rich Quick” Illusion

Some salespeople make a lot of money in selling. But don’t expect

an immediate success in sales. It takes a lot of hard work, determination
and passion. Give yourself time to develop your selling skills through
experience.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SALES CAREER

Every profession has its different characteristics though some have relatively the
same especially in an office bound profession. Sales career possess a distinct
characteristics which separate it from other profession.

1. High earnings
2. Flexible time with less supervision
3. Challenging job
4. Ability to get recognized
5. Working condition

High Earnings

The basic salary of a salesperson is higher than a typical office employee.

Compensation plans for salesperson are bundled by additional benefits and incentives
on top of their basic salary.

An office employee might get P10,000-P12,000 gross monthly salary, excluding

taxes and other health benefits that is deducted from the basic salary. The take home
pay would fall from P4,000-P5,000 every 15th day of the month. Thus, in this situation, if
the employee is a bread winner, there is no room for him to save for the future since his
salary is only good for a fifteen day survival. Take note that, they have also their
personal expenses and job-related expense like fare going to office and food to go with
the day.

The thought that you are working as an office employee after you’re almost two
decades of hardships to finished your study enable to help your family is not bad at all.
At least, you have the job. But what makes it frustrating is that no matter how you work
hard, it seems that there is no improvement in your life condition. This is the common
dilemma and disappointments of mostly of our office employees. They’ve work hard and
more, but they are being paid less.
 Whereas, a salespersons’ salary will range from P15,000-P25,000 net of income.
Aside from this, there are additional commissions and incentives given for every sale
closed.

For example in one insurance company, for every $10,000 deal closed sale, the
financial advisor gets a P4,000 incentive. They call it MPVI or monthly premium volume
incentive. Hence, if the advisor gets a $20,000 deal, P8,000 goes to the financial
advisor.

On top of it, if the advisor is consistently closing the sale for three (3) consecutive
months, he will be given QPVI or quarterly premium volume incentive, which is the total
incentive he receives from those three months of sale. For example, if in three
consecutive months he receives P8, 000 incentives each, then as his quarterly
incentive, he will be receiving P24, 000. Plus a chance to be a top sales executive of the
year which also has an incentive awaiting and possible promotion is at stake.

An additional incentive and benefits can go a long way to improve an individual’s

life status. It can benefit him through building his own business and other investment.
From which an ordinary employee doesn’t even know how to start if the earnings are
relatively low, that is, if it’s not enough, it is fairly short for the family’s needs.

There are more incentives offered in some sales industry and if you want this top
paying profession, you have to hustle this yourself because it will not come asking for
your services.

It only goes to show that sales career is one of the best paid professions. But of
course it comes along with proper training, hard work and passion in every selling
activity that you will do.

Flexible Time with Less Supervision

Sales people do not follow the office time required to an office employee. In most
situations they are bound outside office to meet their client and opt for a possible sale.
They probably go to office late, or not at all, that is if they have appointments with
several clients outside. Sometimes sales executive went to their office just to prepare
their sales kits, make some sales reports, or attend to meeting called by the supervisor
to discuss their accomplishments, sales updates and problems.

However, newly trained sales executive underwent a short period of manning

and mentoring, wherein they are accompanied by their team leader during sales
presentations before they are allowed to present with their client all by themselves.

Challenging Job

Limited only to do the job in the four corners of an office, most of the time,
employees tends to get bored with routine jobs. As they say, task that they can
accomplish even with their eyes close. Hence, some of them felt that they aren’t
productive anymore to what they’re doing. Employees do not feel the growth in their
career. Certain deadlines are to be met with those bundles of paper works, client follow-
ups, and many others. Maybe these employees get paid higher than the minimum wage
but the condition of being in a routine task is a weak experience for them that make
them feel insignificant to the company.

Sales career are far more challenging than office works. It allows the salesperson
to meet different types of people, of different personalities, in different walks of life, and
with different problems that needs advice and solution from the salesperson.

It broadens the horizon of the salesperson. Every client meet-up and sales
presentation is an exciting experience that allows the salesperson to express his self
and exchange ideas with the client. It is also a learning process that the end result is
productivity on the side of the salesperson, not only by closing the sale, but by helping
out the client in giving solution to their problem.

There is a big difference when you are being challenge by your job: it lets you
accomplish task way beyond expectation, and excitement is always present because
every task seems like new to you. Unlike routine jobs where employees are get used to
on what is expected from them, and what they are going to do to get the job done.
Ability to Get Recognized

In some profession, it requires considerable time and effort to get recognized and
promoted. Others look at the seniority level of employees. This is because the
promotion in an office job has a lot of elements to qualify. Thus, when an employee
lacks one of these characteristic, the promotion is sometimes pre-empted and will take
again several years to be consider. These explain why in some companies there is a
large number of aging employees who still belongs to a rank and file status.

In a sales career, ability to get recognized and promoted is quick. The

qualification gives emphasis on the performance of the salesperson. If the salesman is
consistent in producing sales for the company, promotion easily follows. However, do
not conclude that success in selling automatically comes quickly. Success comes only
to those who work hard, and work with passion.

Working Condition

A salesman has a very challenging working condition. Traveling is part of their

job. They were able to travel from one city to another, or fly to provincial areas, and
even abroad. Salespersons are required to travel to meet their clients or assist them
with the service associated to the company’s product. This serves also as an
opportunity for the salesperson to go on vacation while working, and sometimes meet
with new prospected client.

Along with traveling is an expense account or representation allowance that is

given by the company to the salesperson that enables him to pay for his transportation,
food and lodging as well as other client-related expenses. However, this allowance has
to be liquidated clearly by the salesperson for company’s auditing.
METHODS OF EVALUATING PERFORMANCE OF SALESPERSON

Several methods were used to evaluate the capacity, talent and overall
performance of salespersons in a company. The most common methods used to
evaluate the performance are through the following:

1. Sales Target
2. Sales Territory and
3. Sales Report

Evaluating by Sales Target

The organization sets sales target for each salesman that he has to attain. Such
targets may be set either on the basis of units to be sold or based on the value of sales.
However, while setting the target it is important to consider the following points:

1. The target for sales must not be impossible to attain.

2. It must be reasonable.

3. It must be set taking into account the past records, market potentials, etc.

4. Sales target must not be rigid.

5. The incentives to be given to the salesmen shall be linked to the targets.

Advantages of Fixing Sales Targets

1. Fixing sales target enables the salesman to work according to a plan.

2. It provides a basis for the evaluation of the salesman’s performance.

3. It is possible to coordinate production and sales.

4. It does not allow any salesman to be insincere or careless.

5. It enables efficient salesperson to earn more by way of incentives by attaining the

target each time.
Disadvantages in Setting Sales Targets

1. It is difficult to evolve a basis upon which the target may be set.

2. Certain unpredictable changes in the market conditions may render the targets
unrealistic.

3. The same target cannot be set for all salesmen as the potentials of each person and
each market differ.

4. Some salesmen are capable of doing much more than the target set for them. Thus,
sales targets limit the initiative.

5. The target cannot be rigid. What was possible last year may not be possible this year.
Therefore, the target needs to be revised periodically.

Evaluating by Sales Territory

A sales territory is a small segment of the entire market for a product or service.
Each salesman is usually made in charge of a particular area or territory. For the trend
in sales in each such area, the salesman concerned becomes accountable.

Thus, sales territory enables the business to not only evaluate the performance
of the salesman but also to know the sales trend.

Advantages of establishing sales territory:

1. It enables the business to cover the entire market more effectively.

2. It makes it possible for the salesman concerned to maintain good rapport with the
clients in his area.

3. It is possible to compare the progress in sales in each territory.

4. It also gives scope to compare the performance of salesmen working for different
territories.

5. It avoids duplication of work by salesmen in the same area.

6. It ensures proper allocation of funds for different territories.

7. It also helps to have knowledge of the extent of competition in each area. A particular
area, having intense competition, may require more funds for sales promotion.

Factors to be considered in establishing sales territories

1. The sales territory should be so determined that it should be possible for an average
salesman to cover it within the stipulated time.

2. Having a particular sales territory should be profitable for the business.

3. It should also give scope for the salesman to undertake any promotional campaign.

4. Each salesman shall, as far as possible, be allotted not more than one territory.

5. Each territory should be subject to periodical review. Additional manpower or finance

may be provided depending upon the requirements.