Key Terms

prospect: a potential customer
order getting: seeking out buyers and giving them a well-organized presentation; sometimes referred to as "creative selling". sales are classified into 2 groups: order getting and order taking.
order taking: the completion of a sale to a customer who has sought out a product.
rational buying motive: a conscious, logical reason to make a purchase, such as convenience or comfort. Sales people should be trained to interpret whether a customer has a rational buying motive for making a purchase or an emotional buying motive that prompts a purchase.
emotional buying motive: a feeling a buyer associates with a product, such as recognition or prestige
customer benefits: the advantages of personal satisfaction that a customer will get from a product. Knowing a product's customer benefits is essential for success in selling because people buy products for their benefits.
buying process: a series of steps a customer goes through when making a purchase. In preparation for selling, the sales trainee must also understand the buying process.

The Stages of Selling (AIDA)
Attention: Getting the prospective buyer's attention.
Interest: Developing an interest in the product.
Desire: Creating a desire for the product.
Action: Getting the customer to buy.

prospecting: a systematic approach to developing new sales leads or customers, who are identified through referrals, public records, or surveys. Prospecting is seeking out new leads.
preapproach: the marketing activities that precede a saleperson's approach to a prospective customer that are intended to help achieve a successful sale.
approach: a salesperson's first contact with a customer
objections: any concern, hesitation, doubt, or other reason a customer has for not making a purchase. When customers voice objections during the presentation of the product, a good salesperson selects appropriate methods to respond to the customers' worries.
suggestion selling: selling additional goods to a customer to go along with a product or products the customer is purchasing.
sales check: a written record of a sales transaction. A sales check provides valuable info to the business, such as the date, items purchased, and purchase price.

3 basic budgets are needed for sales activities:
-sales budget
-selling expense budget
-administrative sales cost budget

sales territories: geographical areas in which existing and potential customers are grouped. A business that covers a wide area should establish sales territories to ensure market coverage, reduce selling costs, and improve customer relations.
sales quota: a performance goal assigned to a salesperson for a specific period. A sales quota can be used to indicate strong and weak areas in the sales operation, provide incentives for the workforce, and improve effectiveness of compensation plans.
directing sales operations: you must direct your sales activites by providing motivation, incentives, a favorable environment, resources, leadership.
commission: a fee for services rendered based on a percentage of an amount sold; payment is based on sales alone. A commission plan has an advantage in the incentive it provides for employees, but a disadvantage in the difficulty in directing commissioned salespeople.
sales call report: an account of sales activites, including such items as number of calls made, orders obtained, and miles traveled.
SWOT analysis: a strategic planning technique that analyzes a company's internal strengths and weaknesses, and opportunities and threats in the external sales environment.