University of the Cordilleras

College of Business Administration

3rd Trimester, 2019 – 2020

BME 400 (Professional Salesmanship)

Instructor: Galilee Faith D. Guinto, MBA

Topic 1:
Nature of Salesmanship
1. Importance of selling
2. Definition of Salesmanship and Personal Selling
3. Mythodology of selling
4. Characteristics of a sales career
5. Building Blocks of Personal Selling
6. Reasons why some fail and quit in their personal selling business
7. Pitfalls of a starter
8. Methods of evaluating performance of a salesperson

Module 1: 5 hours
Nature of Salesmanship

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the unit, the student is able to:
• understand the reason why professional salesmanship in important
• define, in their own words, the terms salesmanship and personal selling
• identify the myths in selling and explain why it is not true
• enumerate the advantages of opting for personal selling
• explain the importance of having the right attitude, skills, and knowledge in
personal selling
• understand the reasons why some people quit or fail in personal selling.
• enumerate and explain the pitfalls of a starter
• identify the different methods of evaluating performance of a salesperson.

Teaching - Learning Activity (Lesson Proper):

Why Salesmanship?
• It is noble mission of helping people satisfy their daily needs and wants
• All business is selling
• Every employee is a Salesperson.
• To make someone’s life better.
Definition of Salesmanship
An art of selling goods and services from the company (seller) to prospective buyers
by providing them information and motivates them to make favorable buying
decisions. – Austria and Castaneda

Definition of Personal Selling

Personal selling is the process of communicating with a potential buyer (or buyers)
face-to-face with the purpose of selling a product or service.
Reference: https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/small/Op-Qu/Personal-
Selling.html#ixzz6Q6J492Nn

Mythodology of Selling
1. Sales people are born, not made
2. Good salespeople are good talkers
3. Good salesperson can sell anything
4. Good salesperson can sell to anyone
5. Selling is fun
6. Good salesperson never takes “no” for an answer
7. The locker room syndrome
8. Selling is bag of tricks
9. People don’t want to buy
10. The “get rich quick” illusion

Characteristics of a Sales Career/Advantages of a salesperson

- High earnings – from 15k to 25k plus commissions and incentives for every sale
closed.
- Flexible time with Less Supervision
- Challenging job
- Ability to get recognized
- Working conditions

Building Blocks of Personal Selling

1. Sell yourself first – This pertains to being aware of how you look and having the
right attitude which includes to product knowledge, selling skills and the right
attitude
2. Sell by asking not by telling – Selling shouldn’t feel forced. Show concern for
your customers and willingness to solve the problem they are facing.
3. Sell Results - People buy results - what they get out of it - what it does for them -
not what it is.
10 easons Why Salespeople Fail according to Adam Honig
1. Not listening enough
Being a good listener is probably the most overlooked sales skill of all. Many
sales reps spend far too much time talking, and nowhere near enough time
listening to what the customer truly wants. If you listen attentively, and pay
attention, the customer will tell you everything you need to know in order to
close their deal.
2. Not understanding the value proposition
Sales is all about creating value. Many sales reps don’t understand this
concept, and instead try to pressure the customer to complete the transaction
instead of building up the value of whatever it is you’re selling in the
customer’s eyes. In order to build value, you must understand what your
product offers that creates that value.
3. Inconsistency
If you’ve ever worked in sales, you’ve almost certainly worked with sales reps
who go from the top of the board one month to struggling for deals the next,
part of a vicious cycle. Those who last in sales understand that producing
consistently is the key to a successful sales career, and that constant ups and
downs can make sales feel more stressful than it already is.
4. Being too timid
While the fast-talking, overbearing salesperson annoys most customers beyond
belief, a timid salesperson won’t last longer than a few months in the
profession. If you’re scared to call people, too shy to approach them, and
don’t have the courage to ask for the business, you might as well dust off your
resume and start searching indeed.com for a new job.
5. The sales cycle is a bad fit
An often overlooked factor when looking for a sales job is whether or not the
sales cycle is a good fit for a particular sales rep. Selling a car to a customer
can take a few hours, while selling telecom services to an enterprise client can
take months or longer from start to finish. Some sales reps thrive on the quick
sale, while others can handle a longer cycle.
6. Lack of follow-up
It’s amazing how many sales reps give up after only one or two follow-ups to a
lead, or a prospect that they’ve already pitched. Research has shown that it
typically takes between 8-12 follow-up calls to close a deal, so sales reps who
don’t hit those numbers are doing themselves and their sales careers huge
disservice.
7. Focusing too much on the negative
There can be a lot to complain about in sales; the leads aren’t any good, the
industry is in a downturn, the comp plan changed for the worst. It’s easy to
complain, but it gets you absolutely nowhere. Successful sales reps put aside
 all negativity and excuses, and make things happen. The leads are bad? Go
out and find prospects yourself. The comp plan changed? Sell twice as much!
No one has ever gotten to the top of any sales organization by complaining.
8. Not setting daily goals
Every salesperson has a sales goal that’s set by the company. But not every
salesperson sets achievable daily or weekly goals for themselves in order to
achieve that bigger goal. If you want to close a certain number of deals per
month, it will take measurable daily activity to get there: prospecting, calling,
pitching, and following-up. If you don’t get in the habit of setting smaller
consumable goals, you won’t come anywhere near hitting the bigger ones.
9. Not knowing the product and competition
To succeed in any industry, you absolutely have to understand your product
inside and out, as well as what your competition is offering that you aren’t, and
what you’re offering that they’re not. Sure, you could try to get by on likability
and wit alone, but the smart buyers that you’ll inevitably run into will make the
difference between being at the top of the board or somewhere towards the
bottom.
10. They don’t embrace being a salesperson
Possibly the biggest reason why some people don’t last long in sales is that
they never embrace their profession. The general public doesn’t value
salespeople as much as they should, and some people can never get past
that. The best salespeople embrace their position and own it, understanding
the role they play for their companies and their families, at the front lines of the
workforce. To put it simply; the best salespeople love what they do.

Pitfalls for a starter

• Lack of preparation
• Lack of information
• Inconsistent branding
• No wow factor
• Outdated information

Methods of evaluating performance of a salesperson

1. By sales target - The organization sets sales. target for each salesman that he
has to attain. Such targets may be set either on the basis of units to be sold or
based on the value of sales.
Points to consider:
- The target for sales must not be impossible to attain.
- It must be reasonable.
- It must be set taking into account the past records, market potentials,
etc.
 - Sales target must not be rigid.
- The incentives to be given to the salesmen shall be linked to the targets.
2. By Sales territory - A sales territory is a small segment of the entire market for a
product or service. Each salesman is usually made in charge of a particular
area or territory. For the trend in sales in each such area, the salesman
concerned becomes accountable.
3. By Sales report - Salesmen are duty bound to prepare reports on the progress
of their work and forward the same to their organization for necessary action.
As the salesmen are the persons who know the dealers, buyers and
competitors in each area, they are expected to send periodical reports to
their office at regular intervals.

Activity 1: Essay (20 points)

Based on your experience, make an essay about the following:
1. Selling
2. Salespeople

*Use the link which will be provided by your instructor to answer the activity online

Activity 2: Definition of Professional Salesmanship (10 points)

Take a look at the picture carefully and answer the question below. Briefly explain
your answer.

*Use the link which will be provided by your instructor to answer the activity online
Assessment: (30 points)

Module 1; Quiz 1: Use the link that will be provided by your instructor to access online
quiz.

Scoring Tool

Answer Key

References:
Austria, C., Castañeda, L. (2018) Professional salesmanship. Quezon City,
Philippines : MaxCor Publishing House, Inc.,
Camilar-Serrano, A., Dela Peña, G., Hebron, D., (2017) Sales management : OBE
approach. Quezon City, Philippines : MaxCor Publishing House, Inc.,
Ingram, T., Et al. [and 4 others] (2017) Professional salesmanship. South Triangle,
Quezon City : C & E Publishing, Inc.,
Johnston, M., Marshall, G. (2016) Sales force management : leadership,
innovation, technology. New York, NY : Routledge
Perreault, W., Cannon, J., McCarthy, E., (2017) Essentials of marketing : a
marketing strategy planning approach. New York, NY. : McGraw-Hill Education

https://customerthink.com/10-reasons-why-salespeople-fail/
https://accountlearning.com/methods-of-evaluating-performance-of-salesperson/