Sales Management: Products and Services. Dr Jae K Shim

or reflexes are learned. Forgetting, which is the loss or fading of a thought that was previously in the mind, is another aspect of learning. Because of forgetting, it is often necessary for the salesperson to repeat or reinforce and idea if she is to be effective in influencing the consumer to buy a particular product or service.

      Although learning takes place in different ways, the three basic processes involved are stimulus, response, and reinforcement. In order for a stimulus to take place, and object generally must be perceived, and motivation must also be present. The object may be physical or non-tangible. For example, the customer may be stimulated by such physical things as a particular product, a given size or quantity, its color, or its style. In other cases she might be stimulated by such intangibles as the service she receives or the prestige value of the product. In addition to perceiving the object, the customer will also be motivated by love, security, safety, or many other motives.

      The response is an action or reaction resulting from the stimulus and can be either physical or mental. Responses vary in speed, frequency, and/or in the nature of the response. Research has also shown that learning tends to increase as the speed, the frequency of correct responses, and the reward of the response increases.

      Reinforcement is the third basic factor in the learning process. Definitions vary among authors, but it may be loosely defined as a condition which increases the probability of an identical favored response. It can also be defined as a rewarding or satisfying situation which helps to stimulate the same response. There are three laws of reinforcement -- the law of effect, the law of exercise, and the law of readiness. The law of effect refers to repetition of a satisfactory response. If an association is formed between a stimulus (a product advertisement), a response (going to the store to buy it), and reinforcement (experiencing satisfaction with the product), the connection of these three processes is generally strengthened by repetition.

      The law of exercise relates to a form of conditioning. If the customer experiences the same stimulus a second time, she responds more quickly and with less difficulty because of her satisfying experience in the first instance. It is similar to a runner who continues to improve her performance as she continues to exercise and practice.

      The law of readiness refers to the customer’s ability and willingness to solve a problem. If she has the ability and willingness to learn, effective learning generally can take place. And conversely, if these two qualities are absent, then little or no learning will occur. As previously discussed, learning is any change in a person’s response or behavior. Applying it to selling, then, means that the salesperson must be able to change customers from negative or indifferent positions to positive ones if she is to be successful in making sales.

Dyadic interaction

      There has been considerable research on qualities necessary for success in selling and on consumer behavior. However, most of these studies have been made exclusive of each other, and only in recent years has there been research on the interaction between the customer and the salesperson. Such research is referred to a “dyadic interaction” where two separate units are treated as one. It is an integrated analysis of the roles played by both parties in a sale. These studies also focus attention on the transaction itself and on such factors as content of the transaction, average length of the transaction, and when and where the transaction takes place.

      Other related variables also are isolated, controlled, and studied. Some of these studies have shown that the more alike the customer and salesperson are in such factors as age and economic and social background, the greater is the probability for a sale. Other studies have indicated that dependent persons tend to favor more assistance from the salesperson in arriving at purchase decisions, while independent persons tend to prefer a minimum of assistance. As far as the sex of the purchaser is concerned, some of these studies have shown that males are more likely to respond favorably to aggressive salespeople than are females. Research of this kind is relatively new, and the findings should not be accepted as hard-and-fast conclusions which will always apply. However, such studies emphasize the many variables that must be analyzed in order to better understand the interaction between the customer and the salesperson.

      

Indicate whether each of the following statements “is true or false

      1.If two persons witness the same robbery of a bank, they are both likely to give identical accounts of the event.

      2.A “straight” college professor may buy mod clothes because of a multiple syndrome of circumstances.

      3.The three basic factors in the learning process are stimulus, response, and readiness.

      4.Dyadic interaction research has produced some hard-and-fast conclusions regarding the interaction between the customer and the salesperson.

       Answer

      1.False. No two persons are likely to perceive the same stimulus in exactly the same way. Two witnesses to the same event often tell vastly different stories based on different perceptions.

      2.True. The clothes may have caught his eye, a friend (or his wife) may have recommended them, almost everyone else at the university was wearing them, and he was influenced by a highly persuasive salesperson.

      3.False. They are stimulus, response, and reinforcement. Readiness is one of the three laws of reinforcement.

      4.False. The findings should be regarded as tentative at best, but relevant variables are being identified and future research is likely to produce more useful knowledge.

       CHAPTER 5

       Information on the Company, the Product, Competition and Advertising

      “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” and how carefully a salesperson prepares for a sale will greatly determine how successful she will be. It is, therefore, important for the salesperson to know certain things about her company, her product, her competition, and current advertising before approaching the prospective buyer.

Company information

      The salesperson serves as a personal representative of her company and should be well informed about its history, growth, and development. How has it grown since its beginning? What are its particular policies which distinguish it from its competitors? What is its present size and sales volume? What is the present price of its stock? What new product lines and improvements have been made, and what are its future plans and objectives? What are its attitudes and practices relating to current social issues such as pollution and civil rights? The salesperson should also be familiar with central and regional operations of the company, where they are located, plus the name of major executives and some background information on each of them. More importantly, the salesperson should know the company’s policies and procedures as related to prices, discounts, delivery, credit, and service.

Product information

      It is the salesperson’s responsibility to be well informed on her product. She should know how her product is made and be fully informed on its different styles, models, sizes, and prices. Markets are constantly changing and most products are periodically redesigned and improved; keeping up to date on product knowledge is, therefore, a never-ending process. The sources for obtaining current information on her product are many. They include company manuals and brochures, training programs, advertisements, magazine and newspaper articles, discussions with other salespeople, trade and association reports, and other related sources.

      A salesperson should also know the major selling points and disadvantages of her product or service and specifically how it differs from other products or services. For instance, how can it fulfill varying needs and problems of prospective buyers and what are its limitations? Every product or service has some limitations, and the salesperson should know