Performance Indicator 4.14-4.16 Explain key factors in building a clientele Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

How does a company benefit from building a clientele? Increased sales volume Loyal customers are repeat customers that provide the financial backbone for any business. Repeat business = increased sales. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

How does a company benefit from building a clientele? Reduced selling cost To make a first sale a business spends considerable time and money to advertise, determine the customer needs and wants, and build a relationship. Once the relationship is established these costs can be reduced. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

How does a company benefit from building a clientele? Customer loyalty Loyal customers are sometimes willing to stay with a company even if it is experiencing problems due to the good relationship previously established. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

How does a company benefit from building a clientele? Word-of-Mouth Advertising The best type of advertising because people tend to believe their friends. Loyal customers promote the business and attract new customers by sharing positive experiences with the business. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

How does a company benefit from building a clientele? Increased income and profit All previous benefits contribute to this most important benefit. Loyal customers encourage others to become customers resulting in higher profits to be reinvested in the business. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

How do salespersons benefit from building a clientele? Increased earnings Loyal customers who give a salesperson all their business increase his/her earnings through commissions and bonuses. Repeat sales After building a relationship with a customer the salesperson is familiar with his/her needs and wants and can close a sale in less time. This allows the salesperson more time to prospect and grow his/her customer base. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

How do salespersons benefit from building a clientele? Referrals Loyal customers provide salespeople with leads to new customers. They are willing to do this because they are satisfied with the business. Personal satisfaction Selling the right product to the right customer is very rewarding because the customers appreciate the service and may develop long-standing professional relationships. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

What are the costs incurred for failing to build a clientele? Customer turnover will be high. Time invested in finding customers and working with them will be lost. Dissatisfied customers will tell others making it harder for the business to cultivate new customers. The ultimate cost would be business failure. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

ETHICS in Marketing The importance of business ethics in selling: Ethics are the basic principles that govern behavior. Ethics are highly valued because salespeople are the face of the company. Customer’s evaluate the company’s ethical standards. Salespeople should acknowledge that trust is the foundation of customer relationships. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

Illegal selling activities – Crossing the line! Misrepresenting the truth (bold-faced lie) Saying something unfair or untrue about another business or product. Participating in bribery. Neglecting to provide accurate information to the customers. Unfairly competing within the marketplace such as: making price deals, requiring exclusive dealership, tying-in sales (making the purchase of another product mandatory), requiring reciprocity (doing business only with those who buy from you.) Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

Customer-oriented ethical issues in sales: While working with customers salespersons must be cautious with: Gift-giving: One of the most widely disputed issues. Bribe versus gift? Entertaining: can be viewed as favoritism or bribery. Answering questions - without really knowing the answers could lead to legal issues of misrepresentation. Communicating product information – some salespeople are tempted to without negative product information OR exaggerate its performance. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

Competitor-oriented ethical issues in sales: Some salespeople are tempted to “do what it takes” to hurt their competitors. Tampering with or hiding competitor’s products. Belittling competitor’s products or questioning reliability. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

Employer-oriented ethical issues in sales: Questionable activities that employers might participate in are as follows: Putting unreasonable pressure on salespeople like setting unrealistic sales quotas, etc. Neglecting to pay commission due when a territory is split and distributed among other sales personnel. Being a poor role model for ethical behavior. Looking the other way when staff members behave unethically. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

Coworker-oriented ethical issues in sales: In employee-to-employee relationships, a salesperson might be tempted to behave in an overly competitive way by: Manipulating sales contests for personal gain Declaring sales totals completed for a previous month as completed at the beginning of the month. Encouraging other coworkers to behave unethically. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope

YOUR personal code of ethics Your ethical standard is your personal code of ethics. Ethical sales behavior comes from this code. What you do in ethical situations in your personal life determines what you’ll do in sales situations. Acquire a foundational knowledge of selling to understand its nature and scope