Understanding

Selling &
Salespeople

Whats My Job?

Preparation => understanding:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Selling, salespeople, sales

philosophies
Acquiring knowledge & info.
Prospecting/targeting
Sales goals, strategies, aids
People types
Customer purchasing behavior

Selling to Scary Larry

Brandon is a salesperson for Agri

King who is about to call on Larry, a
prospective customer. Larry has had
some negative experiences with a
previous salesperson. What advice
do you have for Brandon in order to
get at least some of Larrys
business?

Amateur vs Professional

Helen is about to begin her career

as a sales representative for Market
Tech. Her supervisor has stressed
to her the importance of being a
professional. What does this mean
to Helen? What is (or should be)
Helens main job goal?

Sales Quiz
Q.

What percent of all salespeople are

classified as professional in typical
customer surveys?
a. 75%
b. 66%
c. 50%
d. 25%
e. 5%
Source: Non-Manipulative Selling (Prentice Hall, 1987,
p. 221)

Common negative
experiences with salespeople:

Telemarketer

Door-to-door salesperson

Used car dealer

Negative Sales Quotes

Salesmanship: The art of selling someone
something that they dont want, dont
need, and certainly cant afford. (Bob
Sagett, Americas Funniest Home Videos,
March 14, 1993)
Question: How can you tell if a salesperson
is lying?
Answer: His/her lips are moving.

Examples of negative
descriptions of salespeople:
Annoying
Arm twister
Arrogant
BSer
Condescending
Dishonest
Fake
Fast talker
Greedy
Intimidating
Long-winded
Manipulative

Narrow-minded
Never give up
Phony
Pushy
Relentless
Show off
Smooth talker
Sneaky
Telemarketer
Tricky
Unthoughtful
Wont take no

Negative perceptions about salespeople are often perpetrated by

cartoons, jokes, stories, etc. that criticize or make fun of
salespeople. Because of negative perceptions some people have
about salespeople, whether true or not, some companies have opted
to develop job titles for salespeople that dont use the word sales.

Examples include:

CPS = crop production specialist

LPS = livestock production specialist
Agronomist
Rep
Account executive
Customer relations specialist
Territory manager
Consultant
Technical assistant
District manager
Marketing specialist

Preparing to become a successful,

professional salesperson starts with an
understanding of:

What selling is.

What a salesperson does.

What it means to have a strong

commitment to being a caring person,
consultant, and problem solver.

Definitions of a Professional
1.

2.

(noun) a person practicing a

profession or engaged in a
specified occupation for pay (e.g
professional writer, professional
golfer)
(adjective) associated with the
high standards, quality, or status of
a profession

Personal (Professional)
Selling defined

The process of:

Developing customer relationships,
Discovering customer needs,
Matching appropriate products with
these needs, and communicating
benefits.
Manning and Reece
Selling Today

Selling Philosophy of Good

Salespeople:

Selling is problem solving

Selling is a helping, caring activity
A customer is a person to be served, not a prospect to be sold
Treat people as human beings, not $ signs
Unique products, relationships, cultures are important
Be customer driven, not product driven
Focus on customer needs
The customer is the reason a salesperson exists
Long-term success depends on pleasing others
Selling is a win-win activity
A commitment to self improvement and life-long learning
essential for long-term success
Adherence to a strict code of ethics emphasizing, among other
things, mutual trust, respect, and honesty is essential

Professional salespeople view themselves and their jobs in a

positive way, opposite of consmanship. Some examples of
positive descriptions of good salespeople include:
Ambitious
Articulate
Benefits
Calm
Charismatic
Clean cut
Commitment
Communicator
Compassionate
Confident
Courteous
Creative
Customer service
Dedicated
Detail oriented

Determined
Easy going
Energetic
Enthusiastic
Excited
Friendly
Genuine
Helpful
Honest
Integrity
Intelligent
Knowledgeable
Likeable
Listener
Motivated

Nice
Open-minded
Optimistic
Organized
Outgoing
People oriented
Persuasive
Planner
Polite
Positive
Prepared
Problem solver
Professional
Quick on feet
Sensitive

Smart
Self improvement
Self motivated
Service
Smooth
Tactful
Technical
Trustworthy
Understanding
Upbeat
Well dressed
Well trained

What Makes a Good Salesperson?

1.
2.

Empathy = the ability to sense what

the customer is feeling.
Drive = the personal need and want
to make a sale (not merely for the
money); = a proper ego that is
enhanced by success while
somewhat weakened yet motivated
and not shattered by failure.
Harvard Business Review
July-August, 1964

Selling is a process that:

Facilitates the transfer of goods & services

Persuades prospects to buy
Occurs over various lengths of time
Involves multiple steps (preparing, opening, presenting,
closing, servicing), although maybe not all on every call
Is part of marketing (promotion)
Is customer (vs. product) driven
Bridges the final 3 feet between the company and the
customer
Aims to develop long-term, win-win relationships
Strives for repeat business
Is technically oriented
Emphasizes service and value

Selling is helping people:

Solve

problems
Make more $
Buy
Meet their needs/goals

Selling is a profession
based on:
Scientific skills, even though it is not
an exact science
Knowledge about selling
principles/theories
A code of ethics
Psychological & sociological aspects
of human behavior

 What

do salespeople do?

1) They Sell:
Products/services
Solutions
Information
Ideas
Service
Their company
Themselves

Why Do Salespeople Sell?

1.

2.

Old fashion, Non Professional, Negative

Reason
= to increase sales volume to increase
company profits or personal sales
commissions regardless of customer
benefits
Modern, Professional, Positive Reason
= to meet customer needs, solve
customer problems, and increase
customer satisfaction

2) They work with people:

Solve problems
Represent the company
Communicate (benefits?) with customers
Develop relationships, partnerships, alliances
Discover needs
Gather information
Educate customers
Catalyze change
Help people buy
Serve customers
Treat people with respect

3) They Manage:
Their

time
Their territory
Their records
Their stress

Seed Selling Is More Than Taking

Orders

1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.

Examples:
Recommend seeds that fit a farmers operation.
Plant and manage test plots.
Collect and share information with customers on
fertility, planting depth and rates, chemicals,
crop diseases, cultivation, and yields.
Soil testing.
Financial consulting.
Provide service to customers.
Joyce Vogelman, Iowa Farmer Today
April 8, 1995, p. 3-4

Rewards of being a
professional salesperson:

Freedom (own boss)

Job variety
Challenge
Tangible accomplishments
Recognition/awards
Financial compensation
Opportunities for advancement
On cutting edge
Personal relationships
Satisfaction from helping others
Job security
Entertaining customers
Travel

Negative aspects of being a

professional salesperson:
Long hours (physically exhausting)
Isolation (often work alone)
Mentally depressing

Rejections
Complaints

Stress

Sales Quotes: Course Introduction

The foundation of good selling is the desire to help people.
Professional agricultural salespeople typically view themselves
as problem solvers and selling as problem solving.
People tend to respond better to being treated as human beings
than as dollar signs. (Sales Upbeat, Feb., 2, 1995)
The high-pressure salesperson is as outmoded today as the
horse and buggy. To be a top seller, todays sales
representative must have genuine character, sincerity of
purpose, honesty, straightforwardness, and a desire to be of
service. (Sales Upbeat, Dec. 8, 1994)
Selling is not an exact science.

Sales Quotes: Course Introduction

Selling is more than taking orders. (Iowa Farmer Today,
April 8, 1995)
Forget about the sales you hope to make and concentrate on
the service you want to render. The moment peoples
attention is centered on service to others, they become
more dynamic, more forceful and harder to resist. How
can you resist someone who is trying to help you solve a
problem? . . . Start out each morning with the thought, I
want to help as many people as possible today, instead of
I want to make as many sales as possible today . . .
(Harry Bullis, former Chairman of the Board, General Mills)
The object of a salesperson is not to make sales, but to make
customers.

Sales Quotes: Course Introduction

A salesperson is no longer a vendor out to sell a product, but
rather a consultant out to help their customers business.
(adapted from Consultative Selling by Mack Hanan)
There is no such thing as soft sell and hard sell, there is
only smart sell and stupid sell. (Charles Brower,
American Advertising)
Selling should be a friendly act. It is something we do WITH
and FOR people, not TO them. (Jim Cathcart,
Relationship Selling, 1990)
People dont care what you know until they know that you
care. (Jim Cathcart, Relationship Selling, 1990)

Sales Quotes: Course Introduction

Natural talent, intelligence, a wonderful education none of

these guarantees success. Something else is needed: the
sensitivity to understand what other people want and the
willingness to give it to them. Worldly success depends on
pleasing others. No one is going to win fame, recognition,
or advancement just because he or she thinks its
deserved. Someone else has to think so too. (John
Luther)
No matter what you ultimately do in life, the sales tools you
acquire along the way will help you achieve your goals.
(Andrew Carnegie)
Everyone lives by selling something. (Robert Louis
Stevenson)

Sales Quotes: Course Introduction

Selling involves a person helping another person. The
salesperson often works with prospects or customers to
examine their needs, provide information, suggest a
product to meet their needs, and provide after-the-sale
service to ensure long-term satisfaction. (Charles Futurell,
ABCs of Relationship Selling, 1997)
You are involved in selling when you want someone to do
something. (Charles Futrell, ABCs of Relationship Selling,
1997)
In todays competitive environment, where good
interpersonal skills are so valued, the lack of selling
capability can put anyone at a disadvantage. (Charles
Futrell, ABCs of Relationship Selling, 1997)

Sales Quotes: Course Introduction

Our most important policy is caring. (Farm Bureau Financial
Services, 1999)
If nobody sells, a terrible thing happens NOTHING!
An amateur keeps trying to get it right. A professional
keeps working so as to never be wrong. (TV ad, MNF,
9/11/06)
We dont push products, we push solutions. Rob Meade,
GROWMARK

Sales Quotes: Course Introduction

Life is pretty much a selling job. Whether we succeed or fail

is largely a matter of how well we motivate the human
beings with whom we deal to buy us and what we have to
offer. Zig Ziglar, Top Performance