Glossary

A

Account analysis estimating the sales potential for each customer and prospect in the territory.

Account attractiveness the degree to which a customer is desirable to the company, such as generating new business.

Account call rates a calculation of the number of times a particular account is called on in a given time (week, month, or year).

Account priorities goals and objectives for individual customers.

Active listening carefully monitoring the dialogue with the customer, watching for buying signals (verbal and nonverbal).

Activity priorities goals and objectives for specific sales related activities (i.e., number of new accounts).

Adaptive selling the altering of sales behaviors during a customer interaction or from one situation to another based on information the sales rep gathers about the nature of the selling situation.

Advantage a particular product/service characteristic that helps meet the customer’s needs.

Alternative choice close gives the prospect options (neither of which is not to buy at all). It focuses on making the choice between viable options—options the prospect is most likely to accept.

Approach the first part of the sales presentation. It is a transition point from the greeting to the main body of your presentation, where the primary sales message will be delivered to the customer.

Assessment approach a sales strategy in which you ask the customer to complete a set of questions, collect the data, analyze the information, and make a presentation based on your analysis.

Assumptive close a closing technique in which a salesperson assumes the buyer accepts the sales presentation and the sale will be successfully completed.

Attitude a state of mind or feeling with regard to a person or thing (or product or service).

Autonomy the degree of independence the salesperson can exercise in making his or her own decisions in the day-to-day operation of the job.

Average cost of a sales call has been estimated to be over $450, depending on the industry. This cost is increasing by about 5 percent per year.

B

Balance sheet close also known as t-account close, gets the salesperson directly involved in helping the prospect see the pros and cons of placing the order by creating a list of “Reasons for Buying” and “Remaining Questions” on paper.

BARS (behaviorally anchored rating scale) an approach to performance appraisal directed at resolving problems related to the selection of attributes for evaluation and how they are presented on the form.

Basic control unit the fundamental geographic area used to form sales territories—county or city, for example.

Behavior refers to what salespeople do—that is, the tasks on which they expend effort while working.

Benefit is the favorable outcome to the buyer from the advantage found in the product feature.

Bias refers to the degree to which performance evaluations differ from objective reality, usually based on errors by the evaluator (in our case, the sales manager).

Big data a popular term that represents the increasing magnitude of data (in size, scope, variety, and complexity) that is generated by information systems and readily available for analysis.

Bird dogs or spotters are people who come into contact with an unusually large number of people in the course of their daily routine. Salespeople use bird dogs as their eyes and ears in the marketplace.

Blended technology sales call a sales call on a buyer that includes some in-person salespeople and some via electronic means.

Blogs online journals and forums that are generally publicly accessible.

Bonus a payment made at the discretion of management for achieving or surpassing some set level of performance.

Bounce-back occurs when a salesperson turns a customer concern into a reason for action. The bounce-back is effective in many different situations (appointment setting, negotiating, and closing).

Brand equity the value inherent in a brand name in and of itself.

Bribe a financial present given to a buyer to manipulate his or her purchase decision.

Business climate a set of unwritten norms and rules that influence the behavior of individuals. Every organization has a business climate. See also corporate culture.

Business ethics moral principles and standards that guide behavior in the world of business. The purpose of such principles and standards is to define right and wrong behavior for salespeople. See also ethics.

Business-to-business (B2B) market (previously called industrial selling)—the sale of goods and services to buyers who are not the end users. Relationship selling is much more predominant in the B2B market than the B2C market.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) market the sale of goods and services to end-user consumers (retail selling).

Buying center all the people who participate in purchasing or influencing the purchase of a particular product. Buying center members include initiators, users, influencers, gatekeepers, buyers, deciders, and controllers.

Buying signals verbal and nonverbal cues that the customer is ready to make a commitment to purchase.

Buy-now close also sometimes referred to as the impending event close or standing-room-only close, creates a sense of urgency with the buyer that, if he or she doesn’t act today, something valuable will be lost.

C

Call frequency the number of times the salesperson calls on certain customers or classes of customers (for example, retail stores with less than a certain amount of sales in a given period). It is expressed as so many times per week, month, and year.

Call reluctance occurs when salespeople resist prospecting because (of all the activities required in successful relationship selling) it is the one that involves making cold calls. Salespeople must overcome call reluctance.

Career priorities priorities that deal with what kind of sales career one wants to have over time.

Caveat emptor (“Let the buyer beware”) adage that defined the 20th-Century sales model. It was generally considered the buyer’s responsibility to uncover any untruths in the seller’s statements.

Centers of influence people who are in a position to persuade a salesperson’s potential customers.

Closing the sale obtaining a commitment from the prospect or customer to make a purchase. It is one of the most important sales call goals.

Code of ethics formulated through learning a sense of right and wrong. Employees make ethical decisions using two ethical frameworks—their own personal code of ethics and the company’s ethical code.

Cold calls also referred to as canvassing—telephoning or going to see potential prospects in person without invitation.

Collusion occurs when competing companies get together and fix prices, divide up customers or territories, or act in a way to harm a third party (often another competitor or a customer).

Commission a payment based on short-term results, usually a salesperson’s dollar or unit sales volume.

Compensate for deficiencies moving the customer from focusing on a feature in which your product performs poorly to one in which it excels.

Compensation all monetary rewards professional salespeople receive.

Compensation plan is the method used to implement the reward structure in an organization.

Competitor defamation harming a competitor by making unfair or untrue statements about the company, its products, or the people that work for it.

Competitor obstruction the practice of impeding competitor access to a customer.

Complex logistics networks intricate supply-chain management systems designed to manage the distribution of products to markets around the world.

Conferences events held by the sales organization to provide a forum for prospecting. Conferences typically combine information sessions with social outings and are usually held in attractive locations.

Confidentiality the sharing of sensitive information between salespeople and customers—an important aspect of relationship selling.

Consultative selling the set of skills, strategies, and processes that works most effectively with buyers who demand, and are willing to pay for, a sales effort that creates new value and provides additional benefits beyond the product.

Corporate culture developed through establishment of a well-defined mission together with a successful corporate history and top management’s values and beliefs. Corporate cultures shape employee attitudes and actions and help determine the plans, policies, and procedures salespeople and their managers can implement.

Cultural differences the unique manifestations of a specific set of norms, accepted behaviors, and beliefs created by every culture.

Cultural values the set of ideals expressed as beliefs adopted by a particular culture.

Culture a system of values, beliefs, and morals shared by a specific group of people that lasts over time.

Customer advocacy a customer is satisfied, loyal, and willing to spread the word that he or she is pleased with you.

Customer benefit approach a sales technique that involves starting the presentation with a solution to at least one of the customer’s problems, creating an instant win–win situation.

Customer-centric firms that put the customer at the center of everything that happens both inside and outside the organization.

Customer complaints concerns raised by the customer about some aspect of the relationship. They may involve service problems, the salesperson’s performance, pricing concerns, product quality, or any other issue that creates a problem for the customer.

Customer delight exceeding customer expectations to a surprising degree; is a powerful way to gain customer loyalty.

Customer journey the stages a customer goes through from identification as a prospect via a lead, to initial contact, through the process of engagement, and into a long-term relationship. At each stage, gaining customer insights is critical to salesperson success.

Customer loyalty when salespeople give customers many reasons not to switch to competitors. Your value proposition must be strong enough to move customers past mere satisfaction and into a commitment to you and your products for the long run.

Customer mindset the salesperson’s belief that understanding and satisfying customers, whether internal or external to the organization, is central to doing his or her job well. It is through this customer mindset that a customer orientation comes alive within a sales force.

Customer orientation the importance that a firm places on customers. Customer-oriented organizations instill an organizationwide focus on understanding customer requirements, generate an understanding of the marketplace, disseminate that knowledge to everyone in the firm, and align system capabilities internally so that the organization responds effectively with innovative, competitively differentiated, satisfaction-generating products and services.

Customer relationship management (CRM) a comprehensive business model for increasing revenues and profits by focusing on customers. CRM uses advanced technology to maximize the firm’s ability to add value to customers and develop long-term customer relationships.

Customer satisfaction the degree to which customers like the product, service, and relationship.

Customer value when the customer weighs the costs (monetary and otherwise) of a relationship with a seller, and the benefits realized from that relationship outweigh the costs.

D

Daily event schedule one of the basic elements in a good time management plan. It involves a daily to-do list with specific tasks.

Data mining sorting the information warehoused in a database to learn more about current and potential customers.

Data warehouse a comprehensive, customer-centric approach to handling customer data and transforming it into useful information for developing customer-focused strategies and programs.

Deception occurs when a manager and/or salesperson are not being totally honest with each other.

Defer is postponing the customer concern until salespeople have had the chance to explain other material.

Demarketing a process that a company may engage in during periods of shortage that may involve a part, or all, of its product line. The process seeks to reduce demand in the short run.

Derived demand demand for goods and services derived from the customers’ demand for the goods or services it produces or markets.

Development a long-term road map or career track for a salesperson so he or she can realize professional goals.

Direct close the most straightforward closing approach, in which the salesperson simply asks for the order.

Direct denial an immediate and unequivocal rejection of a customer statement.

Directories published books of contacts (available from a variety of sources) that can serve as lead generators.

Dishonesty providing false or deliberately inaccurate information to customers.

E

Effectiveness refers to some measure of organizational outcomes for which a salesperson is at least partly responsible.

Effort the core of motivation. That is, motivation may be thought of as the amount of effort a salesperson chooses to expend on each activity or task associated with the job.

80:20 rule 80 percent of a company’s business comes from 20 percent of its customers.

Empathy a salesperson’s identification with and understanding of the buyer’s situation, feelings, and motives.

Employee benefits part of a compensation package designed to satisfy the salesperson’s basic needs for security. They typically include medical and disability insurance, life insurance, and a retirement plan.

Employment agencies companies that specialize in the placement of individuals in jobs. Some companies focus on certain types of jobs, like sales, and others are general employment agencies.

Endless chain referral occurs when the salesperson asks an open-ended question during each customer contact in an effort to gather the names of potential prospects, who in turn will provide more leads.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that links bid estimation, order entry, shipping, billing systems, and other work processes.

Enterprise selling the set of skills, strategies, and processes that work most effectively with strategically important customers who demand an extraordinary level of value creation from a key supplier. The primary function of enterprise selling is to leverage the sales organization’s corporate assets to contribute to the customer’s strategic success.

Equivalent products the degree to which products are comparable around the world. Products that are very similar around the world are considered equivalent (for example, many technology products are very similar around the world).

Ethics moral principles and standards that guide behavior. Importantly, social values set the standards for ethical behavior. A particular action may be legal but not ethical.

Expectancy the salesperson’s estimate of the probability that expending effort on a task will lead to improved performance on some dimension.

Expectancy theory of motivation provides the framework for motivating salespeople.

Expense account a formal reimbursement plan for travel, lodging, meals, entertainment, and other expenses incurred by sales reps in the field.

External environment or macroenvironment the issues that arise outside the control of the selling organization. Examples include the Federal Reserve raising interest rates or the government regulating a product. See also internal environment.

External sources for recruits include people in other firms (who are often identified and referred by current members of the sales force), educational institutions, ads, and employment agencies.

Extrinsic rewards the rewards bestowed on the salesperson by people or organizations outside the individual, most notably the company. See also intrinsic rewards.

F

FAB an acronym that stands for “features, advantages, and benefits.” By applying the FAB approach, salespeople can make the company’s products and services relevant for the customer.

Feature is any material characteristic or specification of the company’s products and services.

Firing a customer a rather harsh way to express the idea that a customer does not generate enough profit, and thus needs to find alternative sources or channels for products needed.

Follow-up one of the most important ways to add value through excellent service after the sale. Effective follow-up is one way that salespeople and their firms can improve customer perceptions of service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty and retention rates.

Formalization the structure, processes and tools, and managerial knowledge and commitment that are formally established in support of a firm’s culture.

Formula presentation a prepared outline that directs the overall structure of the presentation but enables the salesperson to gain customer feedback and adjust the presentation. A formula presentation is highly structured but increases customer interaction by soliciting more information.

4 Ps of marketing product, place or distribution, price, and promotion. They are also known as the marketing mix.

G

Gamification approaching other tasks and turning them into a videogame-like platform.

Gift a nonfinancial present.

Global account manager the individual in an organization responsible for managing large global customer accounts, whose responsibilities include managing and setting strategic goals for the account and facilitating local implementation issues as they come up around the world.

Global marketing communications the coordination of complex messaging that is consistent around the world, as well as the accuracy and timing of customer communication.

Globalization the process of creating an increasingly integrated global economy generally represented by free trade, free flow of capital, and the searching out of low-cost foreign labor markets.

I

Inbound telemarketing gives prospects a way to receive more information from the sales organization via the telephone.

Incentive pay is the compensation paid by commission or bonus that direct salespeople’s efforts toward specific strategic objectives during a given time period.

Incentives financial as well as nonfinancial rewards. Nonfinancial incentives include recognition programs, promotions to better territories or to management positions, or opportunities for personal development.

Indirect denial is less threatening than a direct denial and involves agreeing with the customer and validating their objection before explaining why it is untrue or misdirected.

Industrial selling an old term for business-to-business (B2B) selling. See business-to-business market.

Input measures objective measures of performance that focus on the efforts sales representatives expend rather than the results of those efforts.

Inside salespeople salespeople who do not call on clients face to face. Telemarketers are inside salespeople.

Instrumentalities are the salesperson’s estimates that improved performance will lead to attaining particular rewards.

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) ensures that all the messages about a company and its products are consistent.

Internal customers people within a firm who may not have direct external customer contact but who nonetheless add value that will ultimately benefit the people and companies that buy the firm’s products and services.

Internal environment or organizational environment, issues that arise inside the company and are controllable by the firm. Examples include hiring more support staff or improving quality control. See also external environment.

Internal marketing marketing inside a firm to provide a consistency of messages among employees and to show that management is uniform in supporting key strategic themes.

Internal sources for recruits, consist of people already employed in other departments within the firm.

Intimate space the space within 2 feet of a person. This space is reserved for family and close friends. Salespeople who violate this space are considered rude and even offensive.

Intrinsic rewards the rewards inherent to satisfaction derived from elements of the job or role itself. The salesperson bestows intrinsic rewards on himself or herself. See also extrinsic rewards.

J

Job analysis determines what activities, tasks, responsibilities, and environmental influences are involved in the job.

Job description used to develop a statement of job qualifications, which lists and describes the personal traits and abilities a person should have to perform the tasks and meet the responsibilities involved.

Job enlargement the fact that the sales role today is broader and contains substantially more activities than it once did.

Job qualifications are the personal traits and abilities a person should have to perform the job.

Job satisfaction refers to all the characteristics of the job that sales reps find rewarding, fulfilling, and satisfying. Job dissatisfaction refers to aspects they find frustrating and unsatisfying.

Junk mail unsolicited mass direct mail that many customers throw away.

K

Key account one of a firm’s largest customers (especially one with a buying center) whose potential business over time represents enough dollars and entails enough cross-functional interaction among various areas of both firms to justify the high costs of the team approach. Key accounts generally have a senior salesperson as the key account manager (KAM).

Key success factors the various skills and knowledge components required to perform the sales role successfully. Identifying these key success factors in contemporary selling is the first step in recruiting and selecting good salespeople.

L

Language an essential building block of culture and the primary communication tool in a society.

Lead the name of someone who might have the potential to buy from the sales company. See also prospects.

Libel defamation in which unfair or untrue written statements materially harm the reputation of a competitor or the personal reputation of anyone working for it.

Life priorities personal priorities that deal with basic choices in life.

Lifetime value of a customer an estimate of the present value of the stream of future profits expected over a customer’s lifetime of purchases.

M

Margin refers to profit made by the firm.

Market orientation the operationalization or implementation of the marketing concept. Actions taken by a firm that is market-oriented are focused on aligning all the various organizational processes and functions toward maximizing the firm’s success in the competitive marketplace.

Market potential combines historical data and market research results with feedback from salespeople to estimate the potential sales for all similar products in a given area.

Marketing concept an overarching business philosophy where companies turn to customers for input in making strategic decisions about what products to market, where to market them, how to get them to market, at what price, and how to communicate with customers about the products.

Marketing dashboard a convenient location where various customer-related data and metrics are collated and displayed as useful key information by users, often as a home page on users’ computers.

Marketing mix the 4 Ps of marketing, which is the toolkit marketers use to develop marketing strategy (product, place or distribution, price, and promotion).

Matrix organization an organization of direct reports and supporting internal consultants who bring their collective expertise to bear for a client.

Memorized presentation a very structured presentation that focuses on the product and is based on the memorization of specific canned statements and questions. Companies and salespeople who adopt a memorized presentation strategy believe they can make a compelling argument for the product without spending time learning more about the customer’s problems and needs.

Mentors managers in sales organizations who work with their salespeople to enhance their effectiveness during sales presentations and help them improve their skill sets.

Metropolitan statistical area (MSA) an integrated economic and social unit with a large population nucleus.

Minor point close occurs when the salesperson focuses the buyer on a small element of the decision. The idea is that agreeing on something small reflects commitment to the purchase and lets the salesperson move forward with the deal.

Modified rebuy where a customer wants to modify the product specs, prices, or other terms it has been receiving from existing suppliers and will consider dealing with new suppliers to make changes.

Motivation refers to an individual’s choice to initiate action on a certain task, expend a certain amount of effort on that task, and persist in expending effort over a period of time.

N

Need analysis occurs when a firm determines the best solution to the customer’s requirements by combining knowledge of the company’s products and services with the recognition of customer needs. The salesperson must make the analysis quickly, often during the presentation.

Need identification involves questioning customers to discover their needs.

Need satisfaction occurs when the salesperson presents the company’s solution (products and services) to a customer’s needs.

Need satisfaction presentation a sales presentation in which the focus is on customers and satisfying their needs. As much as 60 percent of the first half of the presentation is spent asking questions, listening, and determining the customer’s real needs.

Negotiation a process in which a sales organization works with customers to develop a win–win solution to their problems. It is at the heart of the relationship selling process.

Networking using contacts—personal, professional, everyone a sales rep meets—to develop leads.

New-task purchase occurs when a customer is buying a relatively complex and expensive product or service for the first time.

Nonfinancial incentives incentives in addition to financial compensation such as opportunities for promotion or various types of recognition for performance like special awards and citations.

Nonverbal communication communication that does not involve words, such as someone’s facial expressions, posture, eye contact, gestures, and even dress.

O

Objections concerns that some part of a product offering (solution) does not fully meet the buyer’s need. The objection may be over price, delivery, terms of agreement, timing, or myriad other potential elements of a deal.

Objective measures of salesperson performance reflect statistics the sales manager can gather from the firm’s internal data. These measures are best used when they reflect elements of the sales process. See also subjective measures of salesperson performance.

On-the-job (OJT) training individual instruction (coaching) and in-house classes held close to where the salesperson is working, such as district sales offices.

Opportunity rate the proportion of salespeople promoted into management in a year.

Organization of critical information ability to organize and create a system for easy access to information critical to effective time management.

Organizational citizenship behaviors encompass four basic types of activities: (1) sportsmanship, (2) civic virtue, (3) conscientiousness, and (4) altruism.

Outbound telemarketing involves making unsolicited phone calls to leads in an attempt to qualify them as prospects.

Outcome bias occurs when a sales manager allows the outcome (rather than the process) of a decision or a series of decisions made by a salesperson to overly influence his or her performance ratings.

Output measures objective measures of performance that represent the results of efforts expended by a salesperson.

Outside salespeople salespeople that call on clients in person.

Outsourced sales force entails hiring sales agents—who usually work for a broker organization—who specialize in selling particular types of product lines within the hiring firm’s channel of distribution.

Outsupplier a potential supplier that is not on a buyer’s approved vendor list. An outsupplier’s objective is to move the customer away from the automatic reordering procedures of a straight rebuy toward the more extensive evaluation processes of a modified rebuy.

P

Perceived risk in a buying center, is based on the complexity of the product and situation, the relative importance of the purchase, time pressure to make a decision, and the degree of uncertainty about the product’s efficacy.

Perceived role ambiguity occurs when a salesperson lacks sufficient information about the job and its requirements.

Perceived role conflict arises when a salesperson believes that the demands of two or more of his or her role partners are incompatible.

Perceived value whether or not something has value is in the eye of the beholder—the customer.

Performance behavior evaluated in terms of its contribution to the goals of the organization. Performance has a normative element reflecting whether a salesperson’s behavior is good or bad, appropriate or inappropriate, in light of the organization’s goals and objectives.

Performance gap the difference between what a salesperson promised and what he or she delivers to a buyer. Performance gaps result in customer complaints.

Performance management system integrates all the elements of feedback on the process of serving customers so that performance information is timely, accurate, and relevant to the customer management aspects of the firm.

Perquisites (perks) might include higher compensation, a better automobile, better office facilities, and the like to provide incentives for top salespeople to move into more advanced sales positions.

Personal interviews structured and unstructured, the most common method of selecting salespeople and the one sales managers consider most helpful.

Personal priorities what’s really important to a given individual. See also professional priorities.

Personal space the space of 2–3 feet around a person. It should not be violated except for a handshake.

Persuasive communication hoping to convince someone to do something or win someone over to a particular course of action.

Preapproach planning the sales call before actually making the initial approach to set the appointment.

Price discrimination the practice of giving different prices or discounts to different customers who purchase the same quality and quantity of products and services.

Pricing for global markets the process of creating a pricing strategy around the world that maximizes revenue and profit while remaining competitive in individual markets.

Problem-solving presentation approach considered the most complex and difficult sales presentation strategy. It is based on a simple premise that the customer has problems and the salesperson is there to solve them by creating win–win solutions.

Product demonstration a sales presentation for a product (like a car) for which demonstrating the product is a critical part of the presentation.

Professional priorities an individual’s goals and objectives for his or her work life and career. See also personal priorities.

Promotion mix or marketing communications mix, includes personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, public relations and publicity, and direct marketing.

Prospecting pursuing leads that you hope will develop into customers as a way to fill your pipeline of future business.

Prospects leads who meet certain criteria to qualify as potential customers. Prospects are considered to be a set of very likely potential customers.

Public space the space greater than 12 feet around a person. It is the most accessible space around the customer.

Q

Qualifying the prospect the process of analyzing a lead to see if the person meets the criteria to be a prospect.

Question method asking customers questions in the approach to involve them right from the start and get customer feedback to position you for success in the presentation.

Quota the minimum requirement a salesperson must reach to earn a bonus. Quotas can be based on goals for sales volume, profitability of sales, or various account servicing activities.

R

Ratio measures Combining various outputs and/or inputs measures of performance in selected ways.

Reciprocity the practice of suppliers buying from one another.

Referral occurs when an existing customer sends business to his or her salesperson.

Rejection not the way a salesperson should take the failure to get an order or close a deal. Such outcomes are not personal rejections.

Relationship selling has the central goal of securing, building, and maintaining long-term relationships with profitable customers. Relationship selling works to add value through all possible means.

Repeat purchase or straight rebuy occurs when a customer buys the same product under the same circumstances again and again. It tends to be much more routine than new-task purchase or modified rebuy.

Restraint of trade forcing a dealer or other channel member to stop carrying its competitors’ products as part of its arrangement with the dealer.

Retail selling involves selling goods and services to end-user consumers for their own personal use.

Retention rate how long a salesperson or company keeps customers.

Return on customer investment how much time, money, and other resources are invested in a customer divided by how much the company earns from that customer’s purchases.

Reward mix relative emphasis placed on salary versus commission or other incentive pay and nonfinancial rewards.

Role inaccuracy the degree to which the salesperson’s perceptions of his or her role partners’ demands are accurate.

Role-playing a popular technique in which the sales trainee acts out a part, most often a salesperson, in a simulated buying session.

Routing schedule the plan for reaching all customers in a given time period and territory.

S

Salary a fixed sum of money paid at regular intervals.

Sales analytics the identification, interpretation, and communication of patterns within data with implications particularly directed towards the sales function within an organization.

Sales contests get reps to compete for prizes like vacations and clothes. They encourage extra effort aimed at specific short-term objectives.

Sales management the way the various aspects of relationship selling are managed within the salesperson’s firm.

Sales potential the share of total market potential a company expects to achieve.

Sales presentation the delivery of information relevant to solving the customer’s needs. It often involves a product demonstration.

Sales pressure the pressure exerted on the salespeople. It is one of the ethical issues in the relationship between managers and salespeople. Management should define clear sales goals without threatening undue pressure.

Sales territory an area defined by the company that includes customers or potential customers for the salesperson to call on. It is often designated geographically.

Sales training analysis investigates the training needs of a sales force and results in a plan for management to conduct a training program designed to benefit a particular salesperson or, more likely, an entire sales force.

Selection procedure a process that results in hiring the best sales rep from the available pool of applicants.

Self-evaluation means salespeople prepare an assessment of their own performance against the established objective and subjective performance criteria. This is part of 360-degree performance feedback and should be done before the formal performance review session with the manager.

Selling center brings together individuals from around the organization (marketing, customer service, sales, engineering, and others) to help salespeople do their jobs more effectively.

Service recovery a well-handled follow-up to customer problems that solidifies long-term customer relationships.

Silence a closing tool in which a salesperson sits back, stays quiet, and lets the customer talk.

Single-source supplier only one vendor used by a firm for a particular good or service to minimize the variation in quality of production inputs.

Slander defamation in which unfair or untrue oral statements materially harm the reputation of a competitor or the personal reputation of anyone working for it.

Slotting allowances fees retailers charge sales organizations for guaranteed shelf space. They cover the cost of setting up a new item in their IT system, programming it into inventory, and ultimately distributing it to stores.

Social media Internet-based platforms that allow users to create their own content and share it with others that access the site. These platforms all aim to build community and communication-sharing among users.

Social responsibility the responsibility a company has toward its stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, the government, creditors, and a host of other entities, who expect the company to act in an ethical manner.

Social space the space from 4 to 12 feet, often the space between customer and salesperson in a personal sales presentation.

Solution selling a relationship selling approach in which the salesperson’s primary role is to move the buyer toward visualization of a solution to his or her problem (need).

Spam junk email. Many email users (especially business users) filter spam out of their inboxes before they even view the messages.

SPIN strategy a comprehensive selling approach based on a series of four questions about the situation, problem, implication, and need payoff.

Stall occurs when customers ask for more time because they wish to delay the final decision for several reasons.

Straight rebuy occurs when a customer reorders an item he or she has purchased many times. See also repeat purchase.

Strategic partnerships formal relationships where companies’ assets are shared for mutual advantage.

Subjective measures of salesperson performance typically relies on personal evaluations by someone inside the organization, usually the salesperson’s immediate supervisor. They are generally gathered via direct observation but may involve input from customers or other sources. See also objective measures of salesperson performance.

Summary-of-benefits close a relatively formal way to close by going back over some or all of the benefits accepted, reminding the buyer why those benefits are important, and then asking a direct closing question (or perhaps ending with a choice or some other method).

Supply-chain management the way firms manage every element in the channel of distribution. Firms that have excellent supply-chain management add a great deal of value for customers.

Sustainability a movement succinctly defined as firms doing well by doing good across the multifaceted aspects of their operations, which significantly impacts relationships with client firms as well as with the public at large.

T

Team selling these structures commonly make the salesperson responsible for working with the entire selling team in order to manage the customer relationship.

Technology the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, techniques, crafts, systems, or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or serve some purpose.

Technology acceptance model (TAM) a model has been well tested and consistently predicts that salesperson attitude and behavioral intentions to use a technology are positively impacted by the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of the technology by the salesperson.

Telecommuting working from a remote or virtual office, often at home, and seldom traveling to company offices.

Telemarketing selling by telephone. It is a support provided to salespeople by many firms and may be outbound, inbound, or both. Recent legislation limits outbound telemarketing.

Tenacity sticking with a task, even through difficulty and adversity.

Territory management plan defines where and how customers will interact with the company, in order to maintain the right relationship with its customers. It involves designing and monitoring the territory and tapping its full potential.

360-degree performance feedback solicits information for performance evaluation simultaneously from multiple sources, such as external customers, internal customers, selling team members, sales assistants, the sales manager, and the salesperson himself or herself.

360-degree view of the customer deep, fact-based insights about customers for sales and marketing decision making.

Time management plan a schedule of goals based on identification of personal and professional priorities.

Touchpoints various points at which a firm has contact with its prospects and customers for the purpose of acquiring, retaining, or cross-selling customers. Examples include a call center, salesperson, distributor, store, branch office, website, or email.

Trade shows major industry events in which companies doing business in a particular industry gather together to display their new products and services.

Training generally focuses on building specific skill and knowledge sets needed to succeed in a job.

Transactional selling the approach of conducting business as a series of discrete transactions. Transactional selling creates its value by stripping costs and making acquisition easy.

Trial close at any time during the sales process, the salesperson tries to close upon detecting one or more buying signals. The buyer may or may not actually be ready to commit. If commitment is achieved, it is considered the close. If commitment is not achieved, the trial close can uncover buyer objections that must be overcome. A trial close can involve any of the closing methods discussed in the book.

Trial offer an offer that allows the customer to use a product (perhaps in a small quantity) without a commitment to purchase.

Trust a belief by one party that the other party will fulfill its obligations in a relationship.

Turnover the number of people who leave the organization in a given time period (usually one year). Turnover is often expressed as a percentage (those who leave versus the total sales force).

U

Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) a group of regulations that defines the legal implications of selling. Consisting of nine articles, and modified by each state, the UCC sets out the rules and procedures for almost all business practices in the United States.

Utility the want-satisfying power of a good or service.

V

Valence for performance the salesperson’s perception of the desirability of improving performance on a given dimension.

Valence for rewards the salesperson’s perceptions of the desirability of receiving increased rewards as a result of improved performance.

Value the net bundle of benefits derived by the customer from the product you are selling.

Value-added selling works to add value through all possible means. Examples include better customer service, enhanced product quality, or improved buyer–seller communication. A value-added selling approach changes much of the sales process to a relationship approach.

Value chain envisioned by Michael Porter of Harvard to identify ways for a selling firm to add customer value.

Value proposition the communication of value, which is the net bundle of benefits that the customer derives from the product you are selling.

Virtual office a location outside the company’s offices where a salesperson works from (often his or her home).

W

Warm calls a prospecting approach in which the salesperson makes a personal visit or phone call based on some pre-work in leads qualifying via one of the other sources of prospects.

Weekly/monthly planning calendar one of the basic elements in a good time management plan. Salespeople use it to create lists with specific tasks they want to accomplish in longer periods of time.

Word of mouth a powerful source of leads that have a strong chance of resulting in qualified prospects.

Work/family conflict a lack of balance between work and family life, usually involving work encroaching on family.

Workload analysis a determination of how much work is required to cover each sales territory.