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Marketing News is South-Western's service to provide summaries of the latest marketing news stories. Review the brief summaries and, for stories of interest, select the full summary. |
| PERSONAL SELLING AND SALES MANAGEMENT | |
| Title | Brief Summary |
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As today's marketing environment becomes more complex, traditional sales tactics are giving way to new selling techniques—ones that emphasize problem solving, empathy, and putting oneself in the customer's shoes. Of the new approaches emerging within the sales profession, reps identify consultative selling to be the most challenging. (Updated October 2006) |
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Powers Distributing has grown from a small family business into a multimillion-dollar beverage wholesaler. How does the Michigan-based company keep pace with a rapidly changing industry? (Updated July 2006) |
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Marketing and sales professionals are increasingly turning to advanced software programs to monitor business and evaluate performance. One major software firm, Canadian-based Cognos Inc., develops "dashboard" tools that enable managers to identify valuable customers, track sales more effectively, and align sales plans with company objectives. (Updated February 2006) |
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Sales professionals often employ highfalutin tips and complex methods to become more effective at selling. Yet one of the most overlooked tools a rep can use is also one of the most basic to the human experience: humor. (Updated June 2005) |
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Throughout American history, a handful of salespeople have achieved success far beyond the ordinary. These high achievers weren't merely lucky--they adhered to some fundamental principle or another that made them great. By looking back at the traits of famous sales pioneers and applying their time-tested principles, today's business students can discover what it takes to become the sales leaders of tomorrow. (Updated November 2004) |
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The rules of selling have changed over the years. Effective selling in today's marketplace is not about old fundamentals like price or products, nor is it even about polished presentations and fancy brochures. To be successful, the salesperson of the new century must understand the complex problems that customers encounter and be able to offer the right solution from among an ever-increasing number of options. (Updated November 2004) |
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While
the old adage "the customer is always right" may well be true,
there are times when it's appropriate to tell a particular buyer--the one
who saps your strength and wastes your time again and again--that although
the customer may be right, the relationship is wrong. As is true with poker,
when dealing with customers you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when
to fold 'em. (Updated June 2004) |
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People
don't listen the way they used to. It seems nowadays that any attempt at
communication that doesn't immediately get to the point gets tuned out.
In a world where fast-paced electronic society has raised the bar on communication
skills, the ability to communicate faster and smarter is becoming more critical
than ever before. (Updated October 2003) |
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A
federal "do-not-call" registry that thwarts telemarketing calls has attracted
more than 45 million registrants signed up to stop pesky telemarketers.
The registry has angered marketing industry groups that argue the do-not-call
list violates free-speech rights. President Bush has signed legislation
to uphold the national registry, but the battle between the courts and the
FTC is just heating up to decide whether or not the registry will stay or
go. (Updated October 2003) |
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While
companies spend valuable resources generating leads from tradeshows, advertisements,
web pages, etc., the majority of leads are doomed to end up in the trash
or "dead file" of sales staff. Such leads can often create unrealistic expectations
of "low hanging fruit," when in reality the leads may require long-term
cultivation to come to fruition. (Updated October 2003) |
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