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The Art of Selling 1 |
| Glossary |
Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z
ABC analysis - Evaluating the importance of an account; the most important is an A account, the second most important is a B account, and the least important is a C account.
Accommodating mode - Resolving conflict by being unassertive and highly cooperative; when using this approach, people often neglect their own needs and desires to satisfy the concerns of the other party.
Account opportunity - Another term for the sales potential dimensions of the sales call allocation grid.
Active listening - Process in which the listener attempts to draw out as much information as possible by actively processing information received and stimulating the communication of additional information.
Activity goals - Behavioral objectives, such as the number of calls made in a day.
Activity quota - A type of quota that sets minimal behavioral expectations for a salesperson’s activities. Used when sales cycle is long and sales are few. Controls activities of salespeople.
Adaptive planning - The development of alternative paths to the same goal in a negotiation session.
Adaptive selling - Approach to personal selling, in which selling behaviors and approaches are altered during a sales interaction or across customer interactions, based on information about the nature of the selling situation.
Administrative law - Laws established by local, state, or federal regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission or the Food and Drug Administration.
Adoption process - Step or steps that a person or an organization goes through when making an initial purchase and then using a new product or service.
Advantages - Why a feature would be important to anyone.
After-tax cash flows - Used to evaluate a purchase; ensures that the company has enough cash to pay for the purchase.
Agenda - Listing of what will and will not be discussed, and in what sequence, in a negotiation session.
Agent - Person who acts in place of his or her company. See also manufacturers’ agents.
Aggressive - Sales style that controls the sales interaction but often does not gain commitment because it ignores the customer’s needs and fails to probe for information.
Ambush negotiating - A win-lose tactic used by a buyer at the beginning of or prior to, negotiations when the seller does not expect it.
Amiable - Category in the social style matrix describing people who like cooperation and close relationships. Amiables are low on assertiveness and high on responsiveness.
Analysis paralysis – A situation where a salesperson prefers to spend practically all of his/her time analyzing the situation and finding out information instead of making sales calls.
Analytical - Category in the social style matrix describing people who emphasize facts and logic. Analyticals are low on assertiveness and responsiveness.
Application form - Preprinted form completed by a job applicant.
Approach - Method designed to get the prospect’s attention and interest quickly.
Articulation - The production of recognizable speech.
Assertive - Sales manner that stresses responding to customer needs while being self-confident and positive.
Assertiveness -Dimension of the social style matrix assessing the degree to which people have opinions on issues and make their positions clear to others publicly.
Assessment center - Central location for evaluating job candidates.
Avoiding mode - Resolving conflict in an unassertive and uncooperative manner. In this mode, people make no attempt to resolve their own needs or the needs of others.
Awareness phase - The first phase in the development of a buyer-seller relationship in which salespeople locate and qualify prospects and buyers consider various sources of supply.
Back-door selling - Actions by one salesperson that go behind the back of a purchaser too directly contact other members of the buying center.
Balanced presentation - Occurs when the salesperson shows all sides of the situation, that is, is totally honest.
Balance sheet method - Attempts to obtain commitment by asking the buyer to think of the pros and cons of the various alternatives, often referred to as the Ben Franklin method.
Banner advertising - Ads placed at the top, sides, or bottom of a web page, encouraging the viewer to visit a different web site.
Barriers - Buyer’s subordinates who plan and schedule interviews for their superiors; also called screens.
Benefit - How a particular feature will help a particular buyer.
Benefit approach - Approach method in which the salesperson focuses on the prospect’s needs by stating a benefit of the product or service.
Benefit summary method - Obtaining commitment by simply reminding the prospect of the agreed-on benefits of the proposal.
Bird dog - Individual who, for a fee, will provide the names of leads for the salesperson; also called a spotter.
Blitz - Canvassing method in which a large group of salespeople attempt to make calls on all prospective businesses in a given geographic territory on a specified day.
Body language - Nonverbal signals communicated through facial expressions, arms, hands, and legs.
Bonus - Lump-sum incentive payment based on performance.
Boomerang method - Responding to objections by turning the objection into a reason for acting now.
Bottoms-up forecasting - Forecast compiled by adding each salesperson’s forecast for total company sales.
Bounceback card - Card returned from a lead that requests additional information.
Brainstorming session - Meeting in which people are allowed to creatively explore different methods of achieving goals.
Bribes - Payments made to buyers to influence their purchase decisions.
Browbeating - Negotiation strategy in which buyers attempt to alter the selling team’s enthusiasm and self-respect by making unflattering comments.
Budget bogey - Negotiation strategy in which one side claims that the budget does not allow for the solution proposed; also called budget limitation tactic.
Budget limitation tactic - See budget bogey.
Business defamation - Making unfair or untrue statements to customers about a competitor, its products, or its salespeople.
Buyback - A seller’s guarantee to buy back unsold merchandise from the buyer.
Buy forward - Purchasing an entire year’s inventory at the low price.
Buyer’s remorse - The insecurity a buyer feels about whether the choice was a wise one; also called post-purchase dissonance.
Buying center - Informal, cross-department group of people involved in a purchase decision.
Buying community - Small, informal group of people in similar positions who communicate regularly, often both socially and professionally.
Buying signals - Nonverbal cues given by the buyer that indicate the buyer may be ready to commit; also called closing cues.
Canned presentation - See standard memorized sales presentation.
Cap - A limit placed on a salesperson’s earnings.
Capital equipment - Major purchases made by business, such as computer systems, that are used by the business for several years in its operations or production.
Cash discount - Price discount given for early payment in cash.
Category captain - Be the best supplier in a category that retailers often turn to for help in managing the category. This supplier works as partners with the reseller to gain insight into customer needs and develop a program for increasing category profits.
Category management - In selling to retailers, a current trend in the area of full-line selling.
Center-of-influence method - Prospecting method wherein the salesperson cultivates well-known, influential people in the territory who are willing to supply lead information.
Champion - Person who works for the buying firm in the areas most affected by the proposed change and works with the salesperson for the success of the proposal; also called advocate or internal salesperson.
Change agent - Person who is a cause of change in an organization.
Circular routing - Method of scheduling sales calls that involves circular patterns.
Closed-ended questions - See closed questions.
Closed questions - Questions that require the prospect to simply answer yes or no or to offer a short, fill-in-the-blank type of response.
Closing - Common term for obtaining commitment, which usually refers only to asking for the buyer’s business.
Closing cues - See buying signals.
Cloverleaf routing - Method of scheduling sales calls that involves using loops to cover different portions of the territory on different days or weeks; on a map it should resemble a cloverleaf.
Cold call - See cold canvass method.
Cold canvass method - Prospecting method in which a sales representative tries to generate leads for new business by calling on totally unfamiliar organizations; also called cold calls.
Collaborating mode - Resolving conflict by seeking to maximize the satisfaction of both parties and hence truly reach a win-win solution.
Collusion - Agreement among competitors, made after contacting customers, concerning their relationships with customers.
Combination plan - Compensation plan that provides salary and commission; offers the greatest flexibility for motivating and controlling the activities of salespeople.
Commerce Business - Daily Publication that contains all the invitations for bids issued by the federal government.
Commission - Incentive pay paid for an individual sale; often a percentage of the sale price.
Commission base - Unit of analysis used to determine commissions; for example, unit sales, dollar sales, or gross margin.
Commission rate - Percentage of base paid or the amount per base unit paid in a commission compensation plan, for example, a percentage of dollar sales or an amount per unit sold.
Commitment phase - The fourth stage in the development of a buyer-seller relationship in which the buyer and seller have implicitly or explicitly pledged to continue the relationship for an extended time period.
Common law - Legal precedents that arise out of court decisions.
Compensation method - Method used to respond helpfully to objections by agreeing that the objection is valid, but then proceeding to show any compensating advantages.
Competence - The buyer’s perception that the salesperson knows what he or she is talking about.
Competing mode - Resolving conflict in an assertive and non-cooperative manner.
Complacency - Assuming the business is yours and will always be yours.
Compliment approach - Approach in which the salesperson begins the sales call by complimenting the buyer in some fashion.
Compromising mode - Resolving conflict by being somewhat cooperative and somewhat assertive. People using this approach attempt to find a quick, mutually acceptable solution that partially satisfies both parties.
Computer-interactive whiteboard - Be the most sophisticated electronic whiteboard which allows users to access and control software applications on the computer, utilizing interactive meeting software tools.
Computer-peripheral whiteboard - Be an electronic whiteboard that is always connected to a computer, can do what an electronic copyboard can do, plus it can save the session as a computer file.
Concession - Occurs when one party in a negotiation meeting agrees to change his or her position in some fashion.
Consequence questions - Questions that illustrate the consequences of a disadvantage in a competitor’s product.
Consignment - Method of payment for goods in which the retailer makes no payment until after the product is sold.
Conspiracy - Agreement among competitors, made prior to contacting customers, concerning their relationships with customers.
Consultative selling philosophy - Form of customized presentation in which salespeople identify the prospect’s needs and then recommend the best solution, even when the best solution does not include the salesperson’s own products or services.
Contest - Trade promotion a firm uses to increase sales by rewarding top salespeople with trips, extra money, or merchandise.
Contract to sell - Offer made by a salesperson that received an unqualified acceptance by a buyer.
Conventional resumé - Form of life history organized by type of work experience.
Conversion goals - Measures of salesperson efficiency.
Conversion rate - Similar to a batting average, calculated by dividing performance results by activity results, for example, dividing the number of sales by the number of calls.
Co-op advertising - Advertising paid for by both retailer and manufacturer, often with some assistance in preparing the ad from the manufacturer.
Corporate culture - The values and beliefs held by a company and expressed by senior management.
Coupon clippers - People who like to send off for product information even though they have no intention of ever buying the product or service.
Credibility – The characteristic of being perceived by the buyer as believable and reliable.
Credible commitments -Tangible investments in a relationship that indicate commitment to the relationship.
Credulous person standard - Canadian law stating that a company is liable to pay damages if advertising and sale presentation claims and statements about comparisons with competitive products could be misunderstood by a reasonable person.
Creeping commitment - Purchase decision process that arises when decisions made early in the process have significant influence on decisions made later in the process.
Cross-selling - Similar to full-line selling, except that the additional products sold are not directly associated with the initial products.
Cultural relativism - A view that no culture’s ethics are superior to another culture’s.
Cumulative discount - Quantity discount for purchases over a period of time; the buyer is allowed to add up all the purchases to determine the total quantity and the total quantity discount.
Curiosity approach - Arousing interest by making an unexpected comment that piques the prospect’s curiosity.
Customer intentions survey - Method of forecasting sales in which customers are asked how much they intend to buy over the forecasting period.
Customer orientation - Selling approach based on keeping the customer’s interest’s paramount.
Customer service rep - In-bound salesperson that handles customer concerns.
Customer share - The average percentage of business received from a company’s accounts.
Customized presentation - Presentation developed from a detailed and comprehensive analysis or survey of the prospect’s needs that is not canned or memorized in any fashion.
Databases - contain information on leads, prospects, and customers.
Deal - Promotional discount offered by a manufacturer to a retailer, often (but not always) in exchange for featuring a product in a newspaper ad and/or a special display.
Deception - Unethical practice of withholding information or telling white lies.
Deciders - Buying center members who make the final selection of the product to purchase.
Decoding - Communication activity undertaken by a receiver interpreting the meaning of the received message.
Deferred dating - Scheduling payment of a bill at a later (deferred) date; often done by the manufacturer to allow a reseller time to sell the product in order to generate the cash needed to pay for it.
Dependability - The buyer’s perception that the salesperson will live up to promises made; is not something a salesperson can demonstrate immediately.
Derived demand - Situation in which the demand for a producer’s goods is based on what its customers sell.
Diagnostic feedback - Information given to a salesperson indicating how he or she is performing.
Digital sales assistant (DSA) - Indicates any software tool that is designed to help salespeople get their message across. Power Point and Astound would be two examples of DSA's.
Direct denial - Method of answering objections in which the salesperson makes a relatively strong statement indicating the error the prospect has made.
Direct request method - Attaining commitment by simply asking for one in a straightforward statement.
Disadvantage questions - Questions that ask a customer to articulate a specific problem.
Disguised interview - Discussion between an applicant and an interviewer in which the applicant is unaware that the interviewer is evaluating the applicant for the position.
Distribution channel - Set of people and organizations responsible for the flow of products and services from the producer to the ultimate user.
Document cameras (also called visual presenters) - Are similar to traditional overhead projectors in their ability to display transparencies. However, since they are essentially cameras, they are also capable of displaying any three-dimensional object without the use of a transparency.
Dormant accounts - Accounts that have not purchased for a specified time.
Draw - Advance from the company to a salesperson made against future commissions.
Driver - Category in the social style matrix describing task-oriented people who are high on assertiveness and low on responsiveness.
Efficient customer response (ECR) system - Distribution system that drives inventory to the lowest possible levels, increases the frequency of shipping, and automates ordering and inventory control processes without the problems of stockouts and higher costs.
Electronic copyboard - A projection device which can scan and print whatever is written on its surface, It is not connected to a computer.
Electronic whiteboards - A digital version of easels.
Ego-involved - Refers to the perception of an audience member that presented subject matter is important to his or her own well being. For a contrast, see issue-involved.
Elaboration questions - Questions that are positive requests for additional information rather than simply verbal encouragement.
Electronic data interchange (EDI) - Computer-to-computer linkages between suppliers and buyers for information sharing about sales, production, shipment, and receipt of products.
Electronic mail - Method of sending correspondence from one computer to another.
Emotional intelligence - The ability to effectively understand and use your own emotions and those of people with whom you interact. Includes four (4) aspects: (1) knowing your own feelings and emotions as they are happening, (2) controlling your emotions so you do not act impulsively, (3) recognizing your customer’s emotions (called empathy), and (4) using your emotions to interact effectively with customers.
Emotional needs - Types of organizational and/or personal needs that are associated with some type of personal reward and gratification for the person buying the product.
Emotional outburst tactic - Negotiation strategy in which one party attempts to gain concessions by resorting to a display of strong emotion.
Encoding - Communication activity undertaken by a sender translating his or her thought into a message.
Encouragement probes - Questions or nonverbal signals that encourage customers to reveal further information.
Endless-chain method - Prospecting method whereby a sales representative attempts to get at least one additional lead from each person he or she interviews.
End users - Businesses that purchase goods and services to support their own production and operations.
E-selling - Utilizing email to generate leads.
Ethical imperialism - The view that the ethical standards that apply locally or in one’s home country should be applied to everyone’s behavior around the world.
Ethics - Principles governing the behavior of an individual or a group.
Ethics review board - May consist of experts inside and outside the company who are responsible for reviewing ethics policies, investigating allegations of unethical behavior, and acting as a sounding board for employees.
Evaluative feedback - Information to a salesperson indicating how he or she is performing.
Exclusive sales territories - Method that uses geographic location of a prospect to determine whether the salesperson can sell to him or her.
Excuses - Concerns expressed by the buyer that are intended to mask the buyer’s true objections.
Executive summary - In a written proposal, a summary of one page or less that describes the total cost minus total savings, a brief description of the problem to be solved, and a brief description of the proposed solution.
Expansion phase - The third phase in the development of a relationship in which it takes a significant effort to share information and further investigate the potential relationship benefits.
Expense budget - Budget detailing expenses; may be expressed in dollars or as a percentage of sales volume.
Expert opinions - Method of forecasting sales that involves averaging the estimates of several experts.
Expert system - Computer program that mimics a human expert.
Exploration phase - The second phase in the development of a relationship in which both buyers and sellers explore the potential benefits and costs associated with the relationship.
Expressed warranty - Warranty specified through oral or written communications.
Expressive - Category in the social style matrix describing people who are both competitive and approachable. They are high on assertiveness and responsiveness.
Extranets - Secure internet-based networks connecting buyers and suppliers.
Extrinsic orientation - Orientation of salespeople characterized by viewing their job as a way to achieve rewards such as compensation given to them by others.
FAB - When salespeople discuss features, advantages (why that feature would be important to anyone), and benefits when describing their product or service.
Face - A person’s desire for a positive identity or self-concept.
Factual questions - Questions that ask for factual information and usually start with who, what, where, how, or why.
Fax - Electronic document transfer device; short for facsimile.
Feature - (1) Quality or characteristic of the product or service. (2) Putting a product on sale with a special display and featuring the product in advertising.
FEB - Stands for feature, evidence, benefit; technique useful in interviewing.
FEBA - A method of describing a product or service where salespeople mention the Feature, provide Evidence that the feature actually does exist, explain the Benefit (why that feature is important to the buyer), and then ask if the buyer Agrees with the value of the feature and benefit.
Feedback - See diagnostic feedback and evaluative feedback.
Feel-felt-found method - Method of helpfully responding to objections in which the salesperson shows how others held similar views before trying the product or service.
Felt stress - Persistent and enduring psychological distress brought about by job demands or constraints encountered in the work environment.
Field sales manager - First-level manager.
Field salespeople - Salespeople who spend considerable time in the customer’s place of business, communicating with the customer face to face.
Field support representative - Telemarketer who works with field salespeople and does more than prospect for leads.
Flip chart - A larger easel-type chart placed on the floor, which is used in making presentations to a group.
FOB (free on board) - Term used to designate the point at which responsibility shifts from seller to buyer.
FOB (free on board) destination - Terms of a contract indicating the seller has title until the goods are received at the destination.
FOB (free on board) factory - Terms of a contract indicating the buyer has title when the goods leave the seller’s facility.
Focus of dissatisfaction - The person in the organization who is most likely to perceive problems and dissatisfactions; leads to the focus of power.
Focus of power - The person in the organization who can approve, prevent, or influence action.
Focus of receptivity - The person in the organization who will listen receptively and provide a seller with valuable information; leads to the focus of dissatisfaction.
Follow-up - Activities a salesperson performs after commitment is achieved.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act - Law that governs the behavior of U.S. business in foreign countries, restricts the bribing of foreign officials.
Forestall - To resolve objections before buyers have a chance to raise them.
Free on board - See FOB.
Free-standing insert (FSI) - Advertisement that is printed separately, then inserted in a newspaper.
Full-line selling - Selling the entire line of associated products.
Functional relationship - Series of market exchanges between a buyer and a seller, linked together over time. These relationships are characterized as win-lose relationships.
Functional resumé - Life history that reverses the content and titles of a conventional resumé and is organized by what a candidate can do or has learned rather than by types of experience.
Gatekeepers - Buying center members who influence the buying process by controlling the flow of information and/or limiting the alternatives considered. Sometimes called barriers or screens.
Geographic salesperson - Salesperson assigned a specific geographic territory in which to sell all the company’s products and services.
Global account manager (GAM) - Sales executive responsible for coordinating sales efforts for one account globally.
Good guy-bad guy routine - Negotiation strategy in which one team member acts as the good guy while another team member acts as the bad guy. The goal of the strategy is to have the opposing team accept the good guy’s proposal to avoid the consequences of the bad guy’s proposal.
Goodwill - Value of the feelings or attitudes customers or prospects have toward a company and its products.
Greeter - Interviewer who greets the applicant and may conduct a disguised interview.
Gross margin quota - Minimum levels of acceptable profit or gross margin performance.
Group interview - Similar to panel interview, but includes several candidates as well as several interviewers.
Guaranteed price - Price guaranteed to be the lowest. If the price falls, the buyer is refunded the difference between the original and the new price for any inventory still in stock.
Halo effect - How and what one does in one thing changes a person’s perceptions about other things one does.
Handouts - Written documents provided to buyers before, during or after a meeting to help them remember what was said.
High-context culture - Culture in which the verbal part of communication carries less of the information in a message than the nonverbal parts. The sender’s values, position, and background are conveyed by the way the message is expressed. Examples of high-context cultures include Japan, France, Spain, Asia, and Africa.
Honesty - Combination of truthfulness and sincerity; highly related to dependability.
House accounts - Accounts assigned to a sales executive rather than the specific salesperson responsible for the territory containing the account.
Implication questions - Questions that logically follow one or more problem questions (in SPIN); designed to help the prospect recognize the true ramifications of the problem.
Implied warranty - Warranty that is not expressly stated through oral or written communication but is still an obligation defined by law.
Impression management - Activities in which salespeople engage to affect and manage the buyer’s impression of them.
In-bound - Salespeople or customer service reps who respond to calls placed to the firm by customers rather than placing calls out to customers.
Inbound telemarketing - Use of the telephone, usually with an 800 number, that allows leads and/or customers to call for additional information or to place an order.
Incentive pay - Compensation based on performance.
Indirect denial - Method used to respond to objections in which the salesperson denies the objection but attempts to soften the response by first agreeing with the prospect that the objection is an important one.
Inflection - Tone of voice.
Influencers - Buying center members inside or outside an organization who directly or indirectly influence the buying process.
Influential adversaries - Individuals in the buyer’s organization who carry great influence and are opposed to the salesperson’s product or service.
Inside salespeople - Salespeople who work at their employer’s location and interact with customers by telephone or letter.
Integrated marketing communications - Coordinated communications programs that exploit the different strengths of different communications vehicles to maximize the total impact on customers.
Interactivity - The time between sending a message and getting a response to it.
Internal partnerships - Partnering relationships between a salesperson and another member of the same company for the purpose of satisfying customer needs.
Internal selling - A communication process by which salespeople influence other employees in their firms to support their sales efforts with customers.
Interview - Personal interactions between candidates and job recruiters for the purpose of evaluating job candidates.
Intrinsic motivation - Motivation stimulated by the rewards salespeople get from simply doing their job.
Intrinsic orientation - An orientation of salespeople characterized by seeking rewards from simply doing their jobs well.
Introduction approach - Approach method in which salespeople simply state their names and the names of their companies.
Inventory turnover - Measure of how efficiently a retailer manages inventory; calculated by dividing net sales by inventory.
Invitation to negotiate - The initiation of an interaction, usually a sales presentation, that results in an offer.
Issue-involved - Refers to the perception by an audience member that a subject is important although it may not affect him or her personally. For a contrast, see ego-involved.
Job descriptions - Formal, written descriptions of the duties and responsibilities of a job.
Just-in-time (JIT) inventory control - Planning systems for reducing inventory by having frequent deliveries planned just in time for the delivered products to be assembled into the final product.
Keiretsu - A group (more than two) or family of Japanese companies that form strategic partnerships to jointly develop plans to exploit market opportunities and share the risks and rewards of their investments.
Key accounts - Large accounts, usually generating more than a specified amount in revenue per year, that receive special treatment.
Kickbacks - Payments made to buyers based on the amount of orders they place for a salesperson’s products or services.
Lead - A potential prospect; a person or organization that may have the characteristics of a true prospect.
Lead qualification system - A process for qualifying leads.
Lead management system - The part of the lead process where salespeople carefully analyze the relative value of each lead.
Lead user - Companies that face and resolve needs months or years ahead of the rest of the marketplace.
Leapfrog routing - Method of scheduling calls that requires the identification of clusters of customers; visiting on these clusters and leaping over single, sparsely located accounts should minimize travel time from the sales office to customers.
Learning organization - Type of firm that acquires information about its environment and remembers this information so that it can guide organizational decision making even if employees in the organization change.
Letters of credit - Common method of international payment; similar to a personal check, except that the company can collect cash from a customer’s letter of credit only when it can prove that the customer did not pay for the merchandise.
Life-cycle costing - Method for determining the cost of equipment or supplies over their useful life.
Likability - Behaving in a friendly manner and finding a common ground between the buyer and seller.
Linear DSA - A canned electronic slide presentation, which forces the seller to follow a predetermined path through the slides and information.
List price - Quoted or published price in a manufacturer’s catalog or price list from which buyers may receive discounts.
Lowballing - Negotiation strategy in which one party voices agreement and then raises the cost of that agreement in some way.
Low-context culture - Culture in which the verbal part of communication carries more of the information in a message than the nonverbal parts. The sender’s values, position, and background are conveyed by the content of the message. Examples of low-context cultures include the United States, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland.
Lubrication - Small sums of money or gifts, typically paid to officials in foreign countries, to get the officials to do their job more rapidly.
Major sale - Sale that involves a long selling cycle, a large customer commitment, an ongoing relationship, and large risks for the buyer if a bad decision is made.
Manufacturer agents - Independent businesspeople that are paid a commission by a manufacturer for all products and services they sell.
Market - (1) Mall where manufacturers show and sell products to retailers. (2) A short period of time when manufacturers gather to sell products to retailers.
Market analysis - Method of developing sales strategies by looking for patterns among customers in their needs and methods of purchasing.
Market exchange - Relationship that involves a short-term transaction between a buyer and a seller who do not expect to be involved in future transactions with each other.
Market share - Percentage of total market sales that is accounted for by one product or total product category sales divided by brand sales.
Marketing mix - Elements used by firms to market their offerings, product, price, place (distribution), and promotion. Personal selling is part of the promotion element.
Markup - The percentage of sales by which the price for the product is initially increased.
Material requirements planning (MRP) - Planning system for reducing inventory levels by forecasting sales, developing a production schedule, and ordering parts and raw materials with specific delivery dates.
Mind share - The degree to which a manufacturer’s product receives attention from (occupies the mind of) the distributor.
Mini-max strategy - Approach used to set negotiation objectives that help the sellers understand and prepare for the trade-off that will occur in the negotiation session.
Minimum call objective - Minimum that a salesperson hopes to accomplish in an upcoming sales call.
Minimum position - Negotiation objective that states the absolute minimum level the team is willing to accept.
Missionary salespeople - Salespeople who work for a manufacturer and promote the manufacturer’s products to other firms. Those firms buy products from distributors or other manufacturers, not directly from the salesperson’s firm.
Modified rebuy - Purchase decision process associated with a customer who has purchased the product or service in the past but is interested in obtaining additional information.
MRO supplies - Minor purchases made by businesses for maintenance and repairs, such as towels and pencils.
Multiattribute model - Model describing how information about a product’s performance on various dimensions is used to make an overall evaluation of the product.
Multilevel selling - Strategy that involves using multiple levels of company employees to call on similar levels in an account; for example, the VP of sales might call on the VP of purchasing.
Multiple-sense appeals - Appealing to as many of the senses (hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell) as possible.
National accounts - Prospects or customers that are covered by a single, national sales strategy; may be a house account.
National account manager (NAM) - Sales executive responsible for managing and coordinating sales efforts on a single account nationwide.
Need payoff questions - Questions that ask about the usefulness of solving the problem.
Needs satisfaction philosophy - Form of customized presentation in which the prospect’s unique needs are identified and then the salesperson shows how his or her product or service can meet those needs.
Negotiation - Decision-making process through which buyers and sellers resolve areas of conflict and arrive at agreements.
Negotiation jujitsu - Negotiation response in which the attacked person or team steps away from the opponent’s attack and then directs the opponent back to the issues being discussed.
Net present value (NPV) - The investment minus the net value today of future cash inflows (i.e., discounted back to their present value today at the firm’s cost of capital).
Net price - The price the buyer pays after all discounts and allowances are subtracted.
Net profit margin - The profit on the product, expressed as a percentage of sales.
Net sales - Total sales minus returns.
Networking - Establishment of connections to other people and then using those networks to generate leads, gather information, generate sales, etc.
New task - Purchase decision process associated with the initial purchase of a product or service.
Nibbling - Negotiation strategy in which the buyer requests a small extra or add-on after the deal has been closed. Compared to lowballing, a nibble is a much smaller request.
Noise - Sounds unrelated to the message being exchanged between a salesperson and a customer.
Nonlinear DSA - An electronic slide presentation which allows the flexibility of choosing the order of presentation.
Nonverbal communication - Nonspoken forms of expression, body language, space, and appearance, that communicate thoughts and emotions.
North America Industry Classification System (NAICS) - a uniform classification system for all businesses for all countries in North America.
Objection - Concern or question raised by the buyer.
Offer - Specific statement by a seller outlining what the seller will provide and what is expected from the buyer.
Office scanning - Activity in which the salesperson looks around the prospect’s environment for relevant topics to talk about.
Open-door policy - General management technique that allows subordinates to bypass immediate managers and take concerns straight to upper management when the subordinates feel a lack of support from the immediate manager.
Open-ended questions - Questions that require the prospect to go beyond a simple yes/no response.
Opening position - The initial proposal of a negotiating session.
Opinion questions - Questions that ask for a customer’s feelings on a subject.
Opportunity cost - The return a buyer would have earned from a different use of the same investment capital.
Optimistic call objective - the most optimistic outcome the salesperson thinks could occur in a given sales call.
Order - Written orders that become contracts when they are signed by an authorized representative in a salesperson’s company.
Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) - Business that purchases goods (components, subassemblies, raw and processed materials) to incorporate into products it manufactures.
Outbound - Salespeople, customer service reps, prospectors, account managers, and field support telemarketers who place phone calls out to customers.
Outbound telemarketing - Using the telephone to generate and qualify leads to determine whether they are truly prospects or not; also used to secure orders and provide customer contact.
Outlined presentation - Systematically arranged presentation that outlines the most important sales points. Often includes the necessary steps for determining the prospect’s needs and for building goodwill at the close of the sale.
Outsourcing - The purchase of goods and services from outside the firm that were previously produced inside the firm.
Panel interview - Job interview conducted by more than one person.
Partnership - Ongoing, mutually beneficial relationship between a buyer and a seller.
Participative leadership - Style of leadership that allows followers to make a contribution to decision making.
Pass-up method - Responding to an objection by letting the buyer talk, acknowledging that you heard the concern, and then moving on to another topic without trying to resolve the concern.
Payback period - Length of time it takes for the investment cash outflows to be returned in the form of cash inflows or savings.
Performance goals - Goals relating to outcomes, such as revenue.
Personal selling - Interpersonal communication process in which a seller uncovers and satisfies the needs of a buyer to the mutual, long-term benefit of both parties.
Pioneer selling - Selling a new and different product, service, or idea. In these situations, it is usually more difficult for the salesperson to establish a need in the buyer’s mind.
Portfolio - Collection of visual aids that can be used to enhance communication during a sales call.
Postcard pack - Cards that provide targeted information from a number of firms; this pack is mailed to prospective buyers.
Postpone method - Objection-response technique in which the salesperson asks permission to answer the question at a later time.
Postpurchase dissonance - See buyer’s remorse.
Preferred supplier - Supplier that is assured a large percentage of the buyer’s business and will get the first opportunity to earn new business.
Pre-qualification - In order to help salespeople use their time wisely, firms engage in behaviors to help see if a lead is qualified before even turning them over to the field sales force.
Price discrimination - Situation in which a seller gives unjustified special prices, discounts, or special services to some customers and not to others.
Primary call objective - Actual goal the salesperson hopes to achieve in an upcoming sales call.
Prime selling time - Time of day at which a salesperson is most likely to be able to see a customer.
Probing method - Method to obtain commitment in which the salesperson initially uses the direct-request method and, if unsuccessful, uses a series of probing questions designed to discover the reason for the hesitation.
Problem questions - Questions about specific difficulties, problems, or dissatisfactions that the prospect has.
Procurement Automated Source System (PASS) - A Small Business Administration database that contains information on federal purchasing agents working on federal contracts.
Producer - Firm that buys goods and services to manufacture and sells other goods and services to its customers.
Product approach - Approach in which the salesperson actually demonstrates the product features and benefits as soon as he or she walks up to the prospect.
Production era - A business era, prior to 1930, in which firms focused on making products with little concern for buyers needs and developing products to satisfy those needs. The role of salespeople in this era was taking orders.
Productivity goals - Objective concerning how efficiently a salesperson works, such as sales per call. Efficiency measures indicate an output divided by an input.
Profit quota - Minimum levels of acceptable profit or gross margin performance.
Prospect - A lead that is a good candidate for making a sale.
Prospecting - The process of locating potential customers for a product or service.
Puffery - Exaggerated statements about the performance of products or services.
Push money (PM) - Money paid directly to the retailer’s salespeople by the manufacturer for selling the manufacturer’s product. See also spiffs.
Qualifying a lead - The process of determining if a lead is in fact a prospect.
Quantifying the solution - Showing the prospect that the cost of the proposal is offset by added value.
Question approach - Beginning the conversation with a question or stating an interesting fact in the form of a question.
Quick-response system - Minimizing order quantities to the lowest level possible while increasing the speed of delivery to drive inventory turnover; accomplished by prepackaging certain combinations of products.
Quota - Quantitative level of performance for a specific time period.
Rapport - Close, harmonious relationship founded on mutual trust.
Rate of change - A critical element to consider about change, refers to how fast change is occurring.
Rational needs - Types of organizational and/or personal needs that are directly related to product performance.
Reciprocity - Special relationship in which two companies agree to buy products from each other.
References - People who know an applicant for a position and can provide information about that applicant to the hiring company.
Referral approach - Approach in which the name of a satisfied customer or friend of the prospect is used at the beginning of a sales call.
Referred lead - Name of a lead provided by either a customer or a prospect of the salesperson.
Reflective probes - Neutral statements that reaffirm or repeat a customer’s comment or emotion, allowing the salesperson to dig deeper and stimulate customers to continue their thoughts in a logical manner.
Relational partnership - Long-term business relationship in which the buyer and seller have a close, trusting relationship but have not made significant investments in the relationship. These relationships are characterized as win-win relationships.
Relationship behaviors - Actions taken by a manager to deal with a subordinate’s feelings and welfare, develop support, or build the salesperson’s self-confidence or commitment to the job or organization.
Relationship manager - The role of salespeople in the partnering era to manage their firms resources to develop win-win relationships with customers.
Request for proposals (RFP) - Issued by a potential buyer desiring bids from several potential vendors for a product. RFPs often include specifications for the product, desired payment terms, and other information helpful to the bidder. Also called request for bids or request for quotes.
Requirements - Conditions that must be satisfied before a purchase can take place.
Resale price maintenance - Contractual term in which a producer establishes a minimum price below which distributors or retailers cannot sell their products.
Resellers - Businesses, typically distributors or retailers, that purchase products for resale.
Responsiveness - The degree to which people react emotionally when they are in social situations. One of the two dimensions in the social style matrix.
Retail salespeople - Salespeople who sell to customers who come into a store.
Return on investment (ROI) - Net profits (or savings) expected from a given investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment.
Revenue quota - The minimum amount of sales revenue necessary for acceptable performance.
Role accuracy - The degree to which a salesperson’s perceptions about the sales role are correct.
Role ambiguity - The degree to which a salesperson is not sure about the actions required in the sales role.
Role clarity - The degree to which a salesperson understands the job and what is required to perform it.
Role conflict - The extent to which the salesperson faces incompatible demands from two or more constituencies that he or she serves.
Role stress - The psychological distress that may be a consequence of a salesperson’s lack of role accuracy.
Routine call patterns - Method of scheduling calls used when the same customers are seen regularly.
Routing - Method of scheduling sales calls to minimize travel time.
Salary - Compensation paid periodically to an employee independently of performance.
Sale - The transfer of title to goods and services by the seller to the buyer in exchange for money.
Sales call allocation grid - Grid used to determine account strategy; the dimensions are the strength of the company’s positions with the account and the account’s sales potential.
Sales era - A business era, from 1930 to 1960, in which firms focused on increasing demand for the products they produced. The role of salespeople in this era was persuading customers to buy products using high-pressure selling techniques.
Sales quota - The minimum number of sales in units.
Scope of change - A critical element to consider about change, refers to the extent or degree to which the change affects an organization.
Screens - See barriers.
Search engines - The tools that individuals use to locate the web site for which they are looking.
Secondary call objectives - A level of goals a salesperson hopes to achieve during a sales call that have somewhat less priority than the primary call objective.
Seeding - Where the seller sends the customer important and useful things prior to the meeting.
Selective perception - Occurs when we hear what we want to hear, not necessarily what the other person is saying.
Selling - See personal selling.
Selling center - A team that consists of all people in the selling organization who participate in a selling opportunity.
Selling deeper - Selling more to existing customers.
Selling history - How well a product or product line sold during the same season in the previous year.
Sexual harassment - Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other, similar verbal (e.g., jokes) and nonverbal (e. g., graffiti) behaviors.
Simple cost-benefit analysis - Simple listing of the costs and savings that a buyer can expect from an investment.
Situation questions - General data-gathering questions about background and current facts that are very broad in nature.
Situational stress - Short-term anxiety caused by a situational factor.
Small talk - Talk about current news, hobbies, and the like that usually breaks the ice for the actual presentation.
Sneak attack - See ambush negotiating.
Social style matrix - Method for classifying customers based on their preferred communication style. The two dimensions used to classify customers are assertiveness and responsiveness.
Socratic approach - Variation of the question approach in which a customer is queried for his or her opinion concerning a crucial topic related to the seller’s product and the customer’s need.
Soft savings - The value of offset costs and productivity gains.
Spam - a term used for unwanted and unsolicited junk email.
Speaking-listening differential - The difference between the 120-to-160-words-per-minute rate of speaking versus the 800-words-per-minute rate of listening.
Spiffs - Payments made by a producer to a reseller’s salespeople to motivate the salespeople to sell the producer’s products or services.
SPIN - Logical sequence of questions in which the needs of a prospect are identified. The sequence is situation questions, problem questions, implication questions, and need payoff questions.
Spotter - See bird dog.
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) - A uniform classification system for an industry. The SIC system is being replaced by the new North America Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Standard memorized sales presentation - Carefully prepared sales story that includes all the key selling points arranged in the most effective order; often called a canned sales presentation.
Statutory laws - Laws based on legislation passed by either state legislatures or Congress.
Straight commission - Pays a certain amount per sale; plan includes a base and a rate but not a salary.
Straight-line routing - Method of scheduling sales calls involving straight-line patterns.
Straight rebuy - Purchase decision process involving a customer with considerable knowledge gained from having purchased the product or service a number of times.
Straight salary - Compensation method that pays salespeople a fixed amount of money for working a specified amount of time.
Strategic partnership - Long-term business relationship in which the buyer and seller have made significant investments to improve the profitability of both parties in the relationship. These relationships are characterized as win-win relationships.
Strategic profit model (SPM) - Mathematical formula used to examine the impact of strategic decisions on profit and return on investment.
Strength of position - Dimension of the sales call allocation grid that considers the seller’s strength in landing sales at an account.
Stress interview - Any interview that subjects an applicant to significant stress; the purpose is to determine how the applicant handles stress.
Submissive - Selling style of salespeople who are often excellent socializers and like to spend a lot of time talking about non-business activities. These people are usually reluctant to attempt to obtain commitment.
Subordination - Payment of large sums of money to officials to get them to do something that is illegal.
Suggested retail price - Price for which the manufacturer suggests the store retail the product.
Superior benefit method - Type of compensation method of responding to an objection during a sales presentation that uses a high score on one attribute to compensate for a low score on another attribute.
Supply chain management - Set of programs undertaken to increase the efficiency of the distribution system that moves products from the producer’s facilities to the end user.
Systems integrator - Outside vendor who has been delegated the responsibility for purchasing; has the authority to buy products and services from others.
Target position - Negotiation objective that states what the team hopes to achieve by the time the session is completed.
Task behaviors - Actions taken by a manager to enable a subordinate to complete a task.
Team selling - Type of selling in which employees with varying areas of expertise within the firm work together to sell to the same account(s).
Telemarketing - Systematic and continuous program of communicating with customers and prospects via telephone and/or other person-to-person electronic media.
Testimonial - Statement, usually in the form of a letter, written by a satisfied customer about a product or service.
Tests - Personality or skill assessments used in assessing the match between a position’s requirements and an applicant’s personality or skills.
Third-party testimony method - Method of responding to an objection during a sales presentation that uses a testimonial letter from a third party to corroborate a salesperson’s assertions.
Tickler file - File or calendar used by salespeople to remind them when to call on specific accounts.
Total quality management (TQM) - Set of programs and policies designed to meet customer needs by delivering defect-free products.
Trade - All members of the channel of distribution that resell the product between the manufacturer and the user.
Trade discount - Discount in which the price is quoted to reseller in terms of a percentage off the suggested retail price.
Trade fair - The European term for trade shows.
Trade promotion - Promotion aimed at securing retailer support for a product.
Trade salespeople - Salespeople who sell to firms that resell the products rather than using them within their own firms.
Trade show - Short exhibition of products by manufacturers and distributors.
Trial close - Questions the salesperson asks to take the pulse of the situation throughout a presentation.
Trust - Firm belief or confidence in the honesty, integrity, and reliability of another person.
Turnaround - Amount of time taken to respond to a customer request or deliver a customer’s order.
Turnover (TO) - Occur when an account is given to another salesperson because the buyer refuses to deal with the current salesperson.
Turnover - How quickly a product sells; calculated by dividing net sales by average inventory.
Two-way communication - Interpersonal communication in which both parties act as senders and receivers. Salespeople send messages to customers and receive feedback from them; customers send messages to salespeople and receive responses.
Tying agreement - Agreement between a buyer and a seller in which the buyer is required to purchase one product to get another.
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) - Legal guide to commercial practice in the United States.
Upgrading - Convincing the customer to use a higher-quality product or a newer product.
Users - Members of a buying center that ultimately will use the product purchased.
Value analysis - Problem-solving approach for reducing the cost of a product while providing the same level of performance.
Value proposition - A written statement (usually of no more than two sentences) that clearly states how purchasing your product or service can help add shareholder value.
Variable call patterns - Occur when the salesperson must call on different accounts.
Variable routing - Method of scheduling sales calls used when customers are not visited on a cyclical or regular basis.
Vendor - A supplier.
Vendor loyalty - Develops when a buyer becomes committed to a specific supplier because of the supplier’s superior performance.
Verbal communication - Communication involving the transmission of words either in face-to-face communication, over the telephone, or through a written message.
Versatility - A characteristic, associated with the social style matrix, of people who increase the productivity of social relationships by adjusting to the needs of the other party.
Videoconferencing - Meetings, in which people are not physically present in one location but are connected via voice and video, seems to be growing in usage.
Visual presenters (also called Document cameras) - Are similar to traditional overhead projectors in their ability to display transparencies. However, since they are essentially cameras, they are also capable of displaying any three-dimensional object without the use of a transparency.
Voice characteristics - The rate of speech, loudness, pitch, quality, and articulation of a person’s voice.
Warranty - Assurance by the seller that the goods will perform as represented.
Webcasting - A form of videoconferencing in which the broadcast of the meeting occurs over the Internet.
Willingness - Salesperson’s desire and commitment to accomplish an objective or task.
Win-lose negotiating - Negotiating philosophy in which the negotiator attempts to win all the important concessions and thus triumph over his or her opponent.
Win-lose relationship - Type of relationship characterized by one or a series of market exchanges wherein each party is concerned only with his or her own profits with no concern for the welfare of the other party.
Win-win negotiating - Negotiating philosophy in which the negotiator attempts to secure an agreement that completely satisfies both parties.
Win-win not yet negotiating - A negotiation session in which the buying team achieves its goals while the selling team doesn’t. However, the sellers expect to achieve their goals in the near future, thanks to the results of that negotiation session.
Win-win relationship - Type of relationship in which firms make significant investments that can improve profitability for both partners because their partnership has given them some strategic advantage over their competitors.
Word picture - Story or scenario designed to help the buyer visualize a point.
Zoning - Method of scheduling calls that divides a territory into areas called zones. Calls are made in a zone for a specified length of time, then made in another zone for the same amount of time.