The Salesperson

Have you ever taken a moment to truly appreciate all that your sales people do?

Salespeople are Problem Solvers: They help people buy what they need. The goal of the salesperson is to help customers make good decisions, thus creating satisfaction before, during and after sales. Their first responsibility is to determine needs and locate the product, services and information that help customers reach their business goals.

Salespeople are Influencers: They act as a catalyst or influence buying decisions by applying their knowledge and persuasive powers to convince the customer that one of the solutions offered is viable and profitable.

Salespeople are Facilitators: As new products and services appear on the market, decision makers in all industries and segments face many choices. Salespeople make it easier for the customers to focus or uncover their most important needs. This requires questions, careful listening and identification of various priorities and solutions. This information allows them to facilitate a sound and profitable buying decision for the customer.

Responsibilities of Salespeople
Sales responsibilities obviously vary in different firms and these responsibilities have a purpose, involve a specific task and have a beginning, middle and end. Many of these tasks must be completed on an ongoing basis. Salespeople are responsible for bringing product and services to the market, fitting them to the customer needs, persuading them that the product is of value to them and in the process develop and nurture a strong relationship. In all these cases, the customer has control of the decisions.

There are basically two types of responsibility: Direct and Indirect.

Direct and Indirect Selling Responsibilities

Direct
1. Prospecting
2. Pre-call planning
3. Building customer relationships
4.Attracting customer attention & interest
5. Uncovering customer needs
6. Making sales presentations
7. Handling objections
8. Closing the sales
9. Servicing accounts

Indirect
1. Handling complaints
2. Maintaining customer relations
3. Market intelligence
4. Maintaining technical competency
5. Collecting accounts
6. Networking
7. Trade and public relations
8. Office work
9. Managing information


a. Direct Selling Responsibilities: Those that affect how the salesperson implements the sales process and works when he/she is face-to-face or over the phone with the customer. It is the first function of the salesperson and involves getting organized in your territory, finding new customers (prospects), planning sales calls, building relationships, uncovering their needs, attracting their interests in your solutions, making recommendations and presenting them, closing sales and following-up after the sales with service. For true sales professionals these activities happen over a period of several calls in formal or informal sequences.

b. Indirect Selling Responsibilities: Involve all the responsibilities salespeople must carry out to get themselves ready to sell, satisfy customers and create climate for continued sales. It may take more of a salesperson’s time than direct selling and includes extended services performed for the customer, the company or industry.
- Customers may require more services many times during the year –“touching base” with the customer is important.
- Companies may require salespeople to stay “smart” on new technologies through various training or continued education.
- Industry: Salespeople may spend many hours learning about what is new in their industry.

The following are indirect selling responsibilities;

1. Handling Complaints: When customers have problems with a product or service they express dissatisfaction back to the salesperson who sold the product. The way salespeople handle complaints can win them customers for life or cause customers to look for another supplier. Most firms provide guidelines for handling complaints. Resolving complaints may involve several steps or repeated calls or visits with the customers.

2. Maintaining Customer Relationships: When salespeople become insensitive to customer feeling or when customers feel they are taken for granted, they are taken over by competitors who can give them the attention they deserve. The warning signs to lack of customer attention include customers not returning calls or putting off appointments.

3. Market Intelligence:
Refers to info about customer trends, competitor activities, economic influences – i.e market conditions. Mkt intelligence is not salespeople’s formal job as firms have mkt research & analysts acting as “investigative reporters”. But the salesperson is the firm’s “front line” in the battle for customer business. Thus salespeople must have current knowledge of mkt conditions at all times.

4. Maintaining Technical Competency
Most sales rest on some sort of technical foundation as results and profits are based on how technology is adopted, purchased, used and evaluated. Professional sales people have to be up-to-date on current technology in their field. Many firms provide training to them in this regards.

5. Collections
A sale is incomplete until payment is made. Many firms give salespeople the responsibility to identify “credit worthy” accounts, and to assist with the collection process. Salespeople also explain the credit terms and policies, and to remind customers when accounts are overdue. The difficulty lies with placing too much responsibility on a salesperson to not only sell the account but to collect on bad debt as well.

6. Networking
A professional salesperson is expected to maintain contacts with numerous networking entities. These might consist of industry partnerships, associations, chambers of commerce, etc. Building and sustaining network contacts only leads to a larger more thriving customer base.

7. Educating Customer
As problem solvers and influencers, an important part of a salespersons job is to educate customers through meetings, seminars, one-on-one with customers, service contacts etc.

8. Office Work
Salespeople’s job includes some computer time, paper work, budgeting, administration, completion of weekly call reports, market conditions, order forms, etc.

9. Managing Information
Salespeople need to “plug in”, must be comfortable with computer, internet, email, and filing system etc.