This best-selling, introductory text embodies the changing nature of personal selling today. It shows students how to master vital relationship-building skills and apply modern sales automation technology to achieve long-term success in the field.

II. DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP STRATEGY.

III. DEVELOPING A PRODUCT STRATEGY.

IV. DEVELOPING A CUSTOMER STRATEGY.

V. DEVELOPING A PRESENTATION STRATEGY.

VI. MANAGEMENT OF SELF AND OTHERS.

• Relationship approach.

• End-of-chapter applications tied to ACT! Software to give students a hands-on approach to actual selling situations.

• New “Selling in the Age of Information” theme ties together the changes brought about by the Internet.

• NEW - Expanded coverage of consultations, selling, strategic selling, and partnering is provided.

• NEW - Emphasis on strategic alliances.
  • Teaches students about this new selling environment. Ex.___

• NEW - In the age of information, highlights selling.
  • Shows how technological advances, especially the Internet, are changing the sales profession. Ex.___

• NEW - Transferable employment skills needed by groups of knowledgeable workers are presented: customer service representatives; professionals (accountants, consultants, etc.); entrepreneurs; and managerial personnel.
  • Shows relevancy of sales skills to students pursuing non-traditional selling careers. Ex.___

• NEW - Updated ACT! end of chapter applications.
  • Provides students with improved coverage of sales force automation technology. Ex.___

• NEW - Sales planning forms expanded.
  • Provides student with important skill development opportunity. Ex.___

• NEW - Electronic commerce.
  • Shows students how electronic commerce affects strategic selling in the complex sale. Ex.___

• NEW - Internet exercises.
  • Enables students to learn more about Internet applications in personal selling. Ex.___

• NEW - Increased coverage of how to prepare written sales proposals and effective sales letters.
  • Provides students with skills needed to close sales. Ex___

• NEW - New and expanded website.
  • Provides students with interactive study guide/pretest opportunities so they can check their comprehension of key concepts. Ex.___

• Extensive learning tools—video-based case problems, optional role play/simulation, building quality partnership boxes.
  • Reinforces concepts and encourages student interaction. Ex.___

• Real world examples.
  • Provides students with examples of successful sales people. Ex.___

• Value-added selling strategies are featured.
  • Teaches students the importance of responding to customer's needs with value-added options. Ex.___

• Three-dimensional approach to the study of ethical decision making.
  • Stimulate students' thinking about how to respond to ethical dilemmas. Ex.___

• Expanded coverage of consultations, selling, strategic selling, and partnering is provided.

• Emphasis on strategic alliances.
  • Teaches students about this new selling environment. Ex.___

• In the age of information, highlights selling.
  • Shows how technological advances, especially the Internet, are changing the sales profession. Ex.___

• Transferable employment skills needed by groups of knowledgeable workers are presented: customer service representatives; professionals (accountants, consultants, etc.); entrepreneurs; and managerial personnel.
  • Shows relevancy of sales skills to students pursuing non-traditional selling careers. Ex.___

• Updated ACT! end of chapter applications.
  • Provides students with improved coverage of sales force automation technology. Ex.___

• Sales planning forms expanded.
  • Provides student with important skill development opportunity. Ex.___

• Electronic commerce.
  • Shows students how electronic commerce affects strategic selling in the complex sale. Ex.___

• Internet exercises.
  • Enables students to learn more about Internet applications in personal selling. Ex.___

• Increased coverage of how to prepare written sales proposals and effective sales letters.
  • Provides students with skills needed to close sales. Ex___

• New and expanded website.
  • Provides students with interactive study guide/pretest opportunities so they can check their comprehension of key concepts. Ex.___

PREFACE

A personal selling textbook suitable for the twenty-first century must offer students a blend of time-proven fundamentals and new practices needed to succeed in today's information economy. The eighth edition of Selling Today—Building Quality Partnerships provides comprehensive coverage of consultative selling, strategic selling, partnering, value-added selling and sales force automation. These are the major developments that have transformed personal selling from "peddling" to a new level of professionalism that has dramatically changed the way products are sold around the world.

The new age of personal selling requires that we build on past improvements and adjust to the changes that have accompanied the age of information. Learning how to manage and communicate information to customers within a high-trust working relationship is one of the major challenges facing salespeople today. Personal selling in the age of information also involves fulfilling customer expectations through strategic alliances. These alliances, which represent the highest form of partnering, are growing in importance. Strategic alliances have created a new selling environment that requires the use of advanced customer relationship management (CRM) technology. The fundamentals of CRM represent an important new feature of the eight edition of Selling Today—Building Quality Partnerships.

The new edition recognizes that information has become a strategic resource in personal selling. The growth of electronic commerce has, in many cases, rearranged relationships among buyers and sellers. The changes brought about by the Internet are addressed in several chapters.

As in earlier editions, the eighth edition includes a number of important components that have been praised by instructors and students during the past two decades.

1. The four broad strategic areas of personal selling, introduced in Chapter 1, serve as a catalyst for skill development and professional growth throughout the text book. Success in selling depends heavily on the student's ability to develop relationship, product, customer and presentation strategies. Salespeople who have achieved long-term success in personal selling have mastered the skills needed in each of these four strategic areas.
2. The partnering era, which evolved during the past decade, is described in detail. A series of partnering principles are presented in selected chapters.
3. Value-added selling strategies are presented throughout the text. A growing number of customers are seeking a cluster of satisfactions that include a quality product, a salesperson who is truly a partner, and outstanding service after the sale. The salesperson is usually in the best position to discover what adds value (in the mind of the customer) and then determine ways to add value.
4. A hallmark of this edition, and all previous editions, is the use of many real world examples that build the reader's interest and promote understanding of major topics and concepts. Examples have been obtained from a range of progressive organizations (large and small) such as Baxter Healthcare, Xerox Corporation, Maytag Corporation, Mutual of Omaha, Nordstrom, and Marriott Hotels.
5. Selling Today provides a three-dimensional approach to the study of ethical decision making. One dimension is a chapter on ethics (Chapter 4) titled "Ethics: The Foundation for Relationships in Selling." Chapter 4 provides a contemporary examination ethical considerations in selling. The second dimension involves the discussion of ethical issues in selected chapters throughout the text. The authors believe that ethics in selling is so important that it cannot be covered in a single chapter. The third dimension is an exciting business game entitled, Gray Issues—Ethical Decision Making in Personal Selling. Participation in this game provides students with an introduction to a range of real-life ethical dilemmas. It stimulates in-depth thinking about the ethical consequences of their decisions and actions. Students play the game to learn without having to play for keeps.
6. The knowing-doing gap, common in personal selling classes, is closed when students participate in the comprehensive role play/simulation included in recent editions of Selling Today. Students assume the role of a new sales trainee employed b) the Park Inn International Convention Center. In this role, they develop the skills needed to apply relationship, product, customer and presentation strategies. The role play/simulation serves as an excellent capstone experience because the learning activities move the student very close to the real world of personal selling.

Improvements in the Eighth Edition

The age of information is creating a new economy that offers salespeople many challenges and exciting employment opportunities. The eighth edition of Selling Today—Building Quality Partnerships describes how sales professionals are adjusting to this new economy. Several important improvements appear in this edition and in the support materials. The most significant changes include:

1. Personal selling is presented as a set of transferable employment skills needed by four groups of knowledge workers who often do not consider themselves salespeople: customer service representatives; professionals (accountants, consultants, lawyers, etc.); entrepreneurs; and managerial personnel. Success in each of these employment areas requires mastery of many of the skills used by sales professionals. This new feature helps develop a higher level of motivation among class members who may be uncertain about a career in personal selling.
2. The role of technology in personal selling has been updated and expanded. All ACT! Sales Force Automation exercises have been updated with a new customer database and converted to the Windows operating system. These exercises, featured in every chapter, are now described as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) exercises. The textbook includes new material on how to use PowerPoint and Excel software to create attractive and effective sales demonstration materials. The impact of the Internet on personal selling is described in detail. Internet exercises are featured at the end of each chapter.
3. The growth of strategic alliances used in business to business selling situations is explained and students learn about the new selling environment created by these alliances. The result of most strategic alliances is a complex sale that requires the approval of several people before the sale can be closed. Information on team selling, an approach commonly used in conjunction with complex sales, has been expanded in this edition.
4. The use of sales planning forms, a popular feature of previous editions, has be(( expanded. These forms provide the student with important skill development opportunities.
5. The new edition is a more concise, tightly focused textbook. Information not essential to coverage of the topic or concept has been removed. The finished product is very "reader friendly" because the text is focused on important "must know" information. In most cases a real-world example is provided to enhance student interest and clarify important concepts.
6. A new and expanded Web site has been developed for use by students and professors. One new feature is an interactive study guide/pretest for students who want to check their comprehension of key concepts in the book.

Special Acknowledgments

Selling Today has been the recipient of many accolades over the years. Three of the most important honors will be of interest to current and potential adopters. Selling Today was selected by Intelecom for use in its telecourse entitled, The Sales Connection. An esteemed panel of business and academic professionals spent over 2 years developing this important new college course. Selling Today was also selected by Certified Marketing Services International (CMSI) for use with the first international program for sales certification. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) authorized CMSI to develop and administer this important new program. The major objective of this certification program is to increase the standard of excellence in the field of personal selling. Sales Links/Mentor Associates, a popular Internet Web site for persons involved in major account selling, sales training, and sales optimization selected Selling Today as the best overall textbook covering the field of personal selling.

Organization of This Book

The material in Selling Today is organized around the four pillars of personal selling: relationship strategy, product strategy, customer strategy, and presentation strategy. The two chapters that make up Part I set the stage for an in-depth study of the four strategies. The first chapter describes the evolution of personal selling from 1950 to the present and introduces the four strategies. The second chapter gives students an opportunity to explore specific career opportunities in the four major employment areas: service, retail, wholesale, and manufacturing. Career-minded students will also find the first appendix, "Finding Employment: A Personalized Marketing Plan for the Age of Information," very helpful.

Research indicates that high-performance salespeople are better able to build and maintain relationships than are moderate performers. Part II, "Developing a Relationship Strategy," focuses on several important person-to-person relationship-building practices that contribute to success in personal selling. Chapter 4 examines the influence ethics on relationships between customers and salespeople.

Part III, "Developing a Product Strategy," examines the importance of complete and accurate product, company, and competitive knowledge in personal selling. A well-informed salesperson is in a strong position to configure value-added product solutions for complex customer needs.

Part IV, "Developing a Customer Strategy," presents information on why and how customers buy and explains how to identify prospects. With increased knowledge of the customer, salespeople are in a better position to understand complex customer wants and needs.

The concept of a salesperson as advisor, consultant, and partner to buyers is stressed in Part V, "Developing a Presentation Strategy." The traditional sales presentation that emphasizes closing as the primary objective of personal selling is abandoned in favor of three types of need-satisfaction presentations. As in the seventh edition, the salesperson is viewed as a counselor and consultant. Part VI includes three chapters: "Management of Self: The Key to Greater Sales Productivity," "Communication Styles: Managing the Relationship Process," and "Management of the Sales Force:"

Learning Tools That Enhance Instruction

The eighth edition of Selling Today includes several learning tools that will aid both teaching and learning. The design and development of these learning activities was influenced by experiences acquired by the, authors in over 1000 seminars, workshops and conferences.

1. Six challenging video case problems are provided. Each video case problem (10-13 minutes in length) is introduced in the text. These introductions take the form of an opening vignette provided at the beginning of selected chapters. Once students view the video, they study additional case information at the end of the chapter and then prepare answers to thought-provoking questions. The video introduces the student to salespeople employed by real companies. These real world examples enhance the students understanding of various career opportunities in personal selling. Video case problems are provided for Chapters 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12.
2. An optional role play/simulation provides students with a realistic opportunity to apply major concepts presented in selected chapters. They are given information about a selling position in the service industry and required to make several critical decisions and complete a number of tasks. All materials needed for both salesperson and customer roles are provided in this easy-to-use exercise. Easy-to-follow instructions are provided in the text (and the Instructors Resource Manual) at the end of Chapters 1, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. These instructions refer to assignments in Appendix 3. The role play/simulation provides a bridge between classroom instruction and the real world of personal selling.
3. Most chapters feature three or four insights that focus on the themes "Building .. Quality Partnerships," "Building Partnerships in a Diverse World," "Selling in Action" or "Customer Relationship Management with Technology." These insights explore current real-world examples of what the student is learning throughout the text. This feature gives students a contemporary look at personal selling. Each chapter includes the following special features that aid the teaching and learning process:
   
   • A list of learning objectives to help the student focus on the important concepts.
   • A summary that provides a brief review of the most important ideas presented.
   • A list of key terms that follows the chapter summary.
   • A set of review questions that reinforce the student's understanding of the major concepts presented in the chapter.
   • A series of application exercises that will provide the reader with an opportunity to apply concepts and practices presented. Each chapter includes one "Internet Exercise."
   • A case problem that permits the reader to analyze and interpret actual selling situations. Each case problem is based on a real-life situation.
   
    
4. Every chapter features an insight on the use of sales force automation, now referred to as Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The trend toward greater use of technology to improve personal selling effectiveness has grown extensively during the past three years and will continue to in the years ahead. In response to this important trend the eighth edition features 17 "Building Customer Relationships with Technology" insights. Each insight explains how salespeople use sales automation to improve quality in the selling process. Optional, easy to complete "Customer Relationship Management Application Exercises" have been expanded in this edition to 16 chapters. These interactive exercises give students the opportunity to use the "Windows" version of the highly acclaimed ACT! Contact Management Software program developed by Pat Sullivan and Mike Muhney, leaders in the field of sales force automation.

See the Selling Today home page at http://www.prenhall.com/manningreece. The student can use the Selling Today home page to access the ACT! Contact Management, System that features a prospect database and other information to be used by student as they make a range of decisions regarding qualifying prospects, approaching prospects, the sales presentation, demonstration, negotiation, closing, and servicing the sale. Students can print prospect profiles, sales letters, and telephone contact lists conduct key word searches to find important references in the database; and do many other things. Simple single-stroke instructions are provided that enable students to experience the many advances in sales automation.

Intelecom Telecourse

The eighth edition of Selling Today, as noted previously, has been selected by Intelecom for use in its video course entitled, "The Sales Connection." A growing number of colleges and universities are embracing distance learning, so this telecourse will likely enjoy continued popularity in the academic community. Intelecom spent over 24 months and invested in excess of $1,000,000 to develop the telecourse. The 26 Selling Today/Sales Connection videos present strategies and techniques of top rated sales oriented companies and their high performing individual salespeople. In addition, over 25 recognized college and university professors are featured in the videos.

Supplements Available with the Textbook

A complete supplements package is available to adopters including 100 color acetates. New to this edition is the interactive power point presentation software with over 170 slides covering key concepts presented in the text. Also included in this package is a complete Instructors Resource Manual that contains:

• Detailed presentation outlines
• Answers to review questions
• Copies to be printed for students, and a trainer's guide for the "gray issues" ethics game
• Suggested responses to learning activities
• Copies of printouts for CRM sales automation exercises
• Detailed instructions for using the video case problems
• A complete trainers guide for using the role play/simulation
• A video tape supplement keyed to learning activities in the text.

A completely revised author-developed test bank that includes over 1,000 questions is available, as is a computerized test bank, Prentice Hall Custom Test.

Prentice Hall Test Manager 4.2: This powerful computerized testing package is available for Windows-based computers. It offers full mouse support, complete question editing, random test generation, graphics and printing capabilities. Toll free technical support is offered to all users, and the Test Manager is free. You may contact your local rep or call our Faculty Support Services department at 1-800-333-7945. Please identify the main text author, title, and disk size. Some test item files are also available on Macintosh.

For those instructors without access to a computer, we offer the popular Prentice Hall Telephone Testing Service. It is simple, fast, and efficient. Simply pick the questions you would like on your test from this bank and call our College Media department at 1-800-842-2958; outside the United States call 1-201-592-3263. Identify the main text and test questions you would like, as well as any special instructions. We will create the test (or multiple versions, if you wish) and send you a master copy for duplication within 48 hours. Free to adopters for life of text use.

Dr. Barry L. Reece, Professor Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Dr. Reece has devoted more than three decades to teaching, research, consulting, and the development of training programs in the areas of sales, supervision, human relations, and management. He has conducted over 600 seminars and workshops for public and private sector organizations. He has written several textbooks and articles in the areas of sales, supervision, communications, and management. Dr. Reece was named "Trainer of the Year" by the Valleys of Virginia Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development and was awarded the "Excellence in Teaching Award" by the College of Human Resources and Education at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Dr. Reece has contributed to numerous journals and is author or co-author of twenty-five books including Business, Human Relations—Principles and Practices, Supervision and Leadership in Action and Effective Human Relations in Organizations. He has served as a consultant to Lowe's Companies, Inc., First Union, WLR Foods, Kinney Shoe Corporation, Carilion Health System, and numerous other profit and not-for-profit organizations.

Gerald L. Manning Des Moines Area Community College

Mr. Manning has served as chair of the Marketing/Management Department for more than 30 years. In addition to his administrative duties, he has served as lead instructor in sales and sales management. The classroom has provided him with an opportunity to study the merits of various experiential learning approaches such as role-plays, simulations, games, and interactive demonstrations. Partnership Selling: A Role Play/Simulation for Selling Today, included in the eighth edition of Selling Today, was developed and tested in the classroom by Mr. Manning. He has also applied numerous personal selling principles and practices in the real world as owner of a real estate development and management company.

Mr. Manning has served as a sales and marketing consultant to senior management and owners of over 500 businesses, including several national companies. He appears regularly as a speaker at national sales conferences. Mr. Manning has received the "Outstanding Instructor of the Year" award given annually by his college.

Keeping Current in a Changing World

Throughout the past decade, Professors Manning and Reece have relied on three strategies to keep current in the dynamic field of personal selling. First, both are actively involved in sales training and consulting. Frequent interaction with salespeople and sales managers provides valuable insights regarding contemporary issues and developments in the field of personal selling. A second major strategy involves extensive research and development activities. The major focus of these activities has been factors that contribute to high-performance salespeople. The third major strategy involves completion of training and development programs offered by America's most respected sales training companies. Professors Manning and Reece have completed seminars and workshops offered by Learning International, Wilson Learning Corporation, Forum Corporation, Franklin Covey, and several other companies.