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0 10-July-2020

Study Guide in PROFESSIONAL SALESMANHIP (PROF 107) Module No. 1

STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO. ___ 1

Chapter 1: Salesmanship: Its Nature and Rewards

MODULE OVERVIEW

 History of Salesmanship in the Philippines

 Distinction between Selling and Salesmanship
 Selling is Servicing Your Prospect
 Forms of Selling
 The Professional Salesman’s Creed
 Career Opportunities in Selling
 The Manufacturer’s Sales People
 Professional Sales Requirements
 Salesmanship Not by Salesman
 Advantages and Disadvantages of Selling as a Career
 Social Reward of Selling
 Compensation Plans
 Fringe Benefits

MODULE LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the chapter, the students can:

 Understand the History of Salesmanship in the Philippines

 Differentiate Selling and Salesmanship
 Categorize the Forms of Selling
 Enumerate the Opportunities in Selling
 Classify the Advantages and Disadvantages of Selling
 Consider the Rewards of Selling
 Study the Compensation Plans and Fringe Benefits in Selling

LEARNING CONTENTS

Introduction:

Personal selling is a dynamic force that affects our everyday lives. Billions of pesos worth goods and
services are sold each year through personal selling. Current trends in development suggest that personal
selling will play an even more important role in industry and economy in the future than it does today.

What is Personal Selling?

Personal selling - the employment of men and women who determine the needs of potential buyers
and attempt to persuade these prospects to satisfy their needs through the purchase of products and
services.

These are the important aspects of this definition of PERSONAL SELLING:

 Selling does not only involve men; it also involves women who find selling a rewarding career.
 A salesman determines the needs of the buyer and accordingly offers him the goods and services. He
renders service to his clients by discovering their needs.
 The word “attempt” must be given consideration. Selling as a career can be very frustrating. No
matter how hard the salesman tries to make a sale, there will be times when his attempts are fruitless.
People will say “NO” for a number of reason.

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 Persuasion in selling. Discovery of the buyer’s needs is not enough, the more important thing is for
the salesman to convince them to purchase the products or services he is selling.
 Satisfy their needs. Buyers who have positive experience with the product will surely buy the same
product the next time around. They may even recommend it to friends and relatives. People who had
sad experiences can be counted as “lost” customers.
 A salesman either sells products or services.
 Professionalism is observed. Personal interaction is an important factor in selling. Any individual is a
potential buyer, thus a salesman must treat his customers with utmost professionalism.

History of Salesmanship in the Philippines

History says that Philippines had trade relations with foreign countries like Japan, Siam, Cambodia,
Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and China. A Spanish document of 1586 noted that the Filipinos were “keen traders”
and have traded with China for many years, before the colonization of Spain. Since currency was not used
then as the medium of exchange, the primitive method of trade was barter – the direct swapping of a product
for another product. The merchandise, was sometimes priced in terms of gold and metal gongs.

When Yung Lo (1402 - 1424) became the emperor of China, he sent a large fleet containing
sixty vessels of merchandise to the Philippines, under the command of Admiral Chen Ho. Different types of
commodities were sold to the natives who paid their debts after one year. The Chinese traders were very
much impressed and satisfied with the natives for their honesty and prompt payment of their obligations. The
word “cheat” is not in the vocabulary of the ancient Filipinos. It is also interesting to note that our interaction
with China gave birth to our tawad system, suki, tingi, and pakyaw system.

Distinction between Selling and Salesmanship

A large segment of society believes that selling and salesmanship are one and the same. This
concept is not quite correct. While selling and salesmanship are interrelated, there is a fine distinction
between two.

Salesmanship is the art of convincing and persuading people to buy product, while selling is just
transferring the title in goods, services or idea with a valuable consideration.

Selling is not as complex as it seems. For example, where a continuing relationship has been built up
between salesman and clients, repeat orders may call for little if any persuasion. If the prospect has been
presold in any variety of ways, all that maybe necessary is some discussion of the terms of sale before taking
the order. A minimum of sales talent is required if the product or service offered is comparatively inexpensive,
when the prospect is well aware of the product’s merits, or when the product is so well established that it is
purchased with a minimum of thought.

Thus, it is the special problems involved in certain selling situations that necessitate the salesman’s
personal touch and justify his pay.

Salesmanship is the ability or skill in selling. It is the art of influencing or persuading people to buy a
commodity or service. Salesmanship is the style of determining and discovering what motives will be aroused
and what needs will be satisfied. This is where the talents of a salesman are being harnessed to the best
advantage of the company. He evaluate the various features of the product convincing his customers to buy
the product.

Selling is Servicing Your Prospect

Selling is not a solidary activity. It is continuous relationship between the buyer and seller. The
salesman’s effort is useless if he is not able to make a sale. In other words he is not able to serve his
prospective client. Selling is servicing people, discovering their needs, and helping them act to buy. The
salesman provides his prospective client with the latest market information and advice about goods and
services, advertising, and merchandising problems related to the sale of the product. A salesman is of service
to his company if:

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 he represents the company in the area entrusted to him;

 he increases and generates more profit for the company;
 he manages his time and improves on his weak points;
 he submits his reports, correct and on time;
 he adheres to company policies and methods; and
 he works in harmony with his superiors as well as with his fellow salesman.

Forms of Selling

 Personal Selling or Direct Selling – is a direct face to face interaction between the buyer and seller.
It is an oral presentation through conversation with the buyers with the aim of making a sale.
Nowadays personal selling is also known as “hard selling” or “pressure selling”. It is an aggressive
and direct approach to buyers. It requires the salesman to plan a sales presentation that will ultimately
convince the buyers to buy. Hard selling is coupled with hard work and lots of common sense.
 Non-personal Selling – this is selling through the aid of some forms of media like advertising,
window displays, samplings, and other forms of promotion. This type of selling is also known as “soft
selling”. No sales effort is required on the part of the salesman only gentle and subtle persuasion
using different promotion techniques. If the product is inexpensive, soft selling is all that is needed.

The Professional Salesman’s Creed

 I will place customer and company interest above self-interest.

 I will be constantly be alert to the concept that successful selling must bring mutual and continuous
benefits to both the buyer and seller,
 I will maintain an optimistic and positive attitude toward my business at all times.
 I will maintain loyalty to my company, my associates, and my customers.
 I will do everything possible to support the free-enterprise system based upon open competition and
freedom of choice in the market place.
 I will continue develop new knowledge, skills, and attitudes to keep pace with the changing
technological and social environment.
 I will make every effort possible to utilize efficiency and my total capacities in rendering quality service
to my customers and company.
 I will never violate the trust and confidence of my customers or associates.
 I will maintain honesty and integrity in all my dealings with my customers, competitors, colleagues,
and company.
 In all of my personal activities, I will attempt to do what is right and just for all parties concerned.

Career Opportunities in Selling

1. The Manufacturer’s Sales People – they are sales people who may sell to wholesalers, retailers, or
other middlemen. A factory owner may solve his sales problems by making arrangements to dispose
of his entire product to some individuals, or to some companies that will be responsible in marketing
it.

 The Pioneer-Products Sales People – these are individuals whose function is to secure outlets for a
new product to wholesalers, distributors, and dealers. To attain success in this particular field of
selling, one must be self-reliant, self-generating, aggressive, and imaginative. There will never be a
surplus of individuals in this field.
 The Dealer-Servicing Sales People – Sales people of this type need not be as aggressive or
imaginative as the first type. They contact retailers or wholesalers at frequent intervals, offer whatever
goods they have, thus preventing his established group of outlets from an “out-of-stock” situation.
Persistence, enthusiasm, warmth and friendliness are necessary traits for this type of salesman.
 The Merchandising Sales People – They differ from the pioneer-product man and the dealer-servicing
man in such a way that their chief duty is to promote sales. They are sometimes called “sales
promoter” because they gather latest information about their target market, give advice and
counselling to middlemen and try to give favourably influence sales volume.

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2. The Wholesalers Sales People – this refers to an individual who acts as the intermediary between the
manufacturer and the retailers or industrial users.
3. The Retailer’s Sales People – they are considered important links in the marketing channel because
they are both marketers and consumers. They execute many marketing activities like buying, selling,
grading, risk taking, and developing information about customer’s want. Retailer’s sales people are
customers of producers and wholesalers.
4. The Specialty Sales People – they carry only one complete line of merchandise. The merchandise
they sell are usually higher in prices and call for personal selection by customer. This type of sale
necessities ingenuity, initiative, perseverance, and considerable selling skill.

Classification of Specialty Sales People:

 Consumer goods specialties. This type of sales people handles products such as vacuum cleaners,
refrigerators, encyclopedia, brushes, cosmetics, greeting cards, books, or pots and pans. The sales
representative must display a great deal of initiative in locating prospects and a high degree of
persuasiveness in getting them to buy.
 Industrial good specialties. They sell products like cash registers, office machine, industrial machines
and they are trained to render service as well as to make sales. They are often referred to as trouble
shooters of the company. They teach customers ways to cut costs, increase sales, improve products
or solve problems that have been affecting the business.
 Sales engineer. The job demands for a considerate technical knowledge. Most of them hold
engineering degrees, but a greater percentage learned their lesson on the job. He acts as consultant,
an engineer, or a teacher.

Cases where a high degree of sales effort is required:

 selling directly to builders, hotel and motel operators and other large scale users
 direct selling to government entities
 quantity selling to premium distributing companies
 sale of advertising services to clients
 selling real estates, which include private homes, land, apartment and building
 overseas sale

If the product is not too costly, inexpensive and are fully advertised, little sales effort is required.

Professional Sale Requirements

A sale to be considered professional must have the following factors:

 It fully satisfies the needs and wants of a customer.

 The salesman earned profit from the sale.
 The producer gained profit from sale.
 There is continued patronage of the customer.

In the absence of any of these factors, a sale cannot be considered professional. Repeat orders may
result from satisfied prospects and usually will recommend the product to someone he knows and eventually
expanding the target market thus making our economy stable and well developed.

Salesmanship Not by Salesmen

Selling is not only confined to people who are called salesman. Selling or salesmanship also involves:

1. POLITICIANS – a politicians sells himself. He persuades his constituents to vote for him.
2. PRIESTS, MINISTERS – they convince the whole congregation for a continued financial support and
persuades people to join the congregation.
3. DOCTORS, LAWYERS, TEACHERS, SECRETARIES – they sell their expertise.
4. A JOB APPLICANT seeks employment with his expertise.

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5. A LOVER offering his love and affection to his sweetheart.

Advantages of Selling as a Career

As the saying goes, “Every man is the architect of his own fortune.” The choice of a right career leads to
success and satisfaction in one’s work. Examine what kind of lives various sales people lead.

 Relatively high income. According to some studies, selling is considered to be one of the more
remunerative vocations. The income of a salesman is higher as compared to an office personnel at
the same organization level. He can aspire for higher income than can most other workers, in
proportion to what he can produce in terms of sales volume. There is no ceiling on what he can earn,
sky is the limit.
 Travelling. Some jobs requires extensive or no travelling. You can see the world by selling as a
salesman.
 Satisfaction of Rendering Service . In selling you get a feeling of satisfaction in knowing that you are
contributing to the financial independence, comfort, and happiness of others. A salesman sells not
only to gain profit but also to share with his fellow salesman what he knows will benefit them.
 Chance for Advancement. There is no career that promises a sure path for promotion to higher levels
of management other than selling. The door is open for higher executive levels for those with proper
qualifications, training, and experience. The criteria used for measuring the rate of advancement is
the ability to produce in terms of profits to the company.
 Calls for Job Security. People in selling appear to be well rewarded financially. If a salesman can sell,
he has a sure job. The bigger the sales the salesman makes the more he becomes an asset to the
company. The manager cannot fire him from his job.
 Managing Oneself. Salesman are not subject to direct supervision by someone else. The salesman
are relatively free to do anything, as long as they show satisfactory results. This is one of the
advantages of selling that appeals to men who value their freedom must also be coupled by self-
discipline.
 Meet Challenges. People get bored with routine jobs; if there is no challenge in their work, they soon
tire of it. Selling will never be a dull vocation because it’s full of challenges and new experiences.
Interpreting the needs of the consumer and funnelling marketing data back to the producer makes
selling a joyous adventure.
 No Need for Academic Laurels. A degree is not needed in selling. A mere “product knowledge” can
make a salesman survive the business field.

Disadvantages of Selling

Selling is more than just a matter of talking, having contracts, or mastering the products, there are
corresponding disadvantages:

 Long Hours of Work. No specific hours of work for a salesman.

 Compensation is not on a Regular Basis. Irregular income is difficult to budget.
 Lots of Frustrations. Salesman gets frustrated every time they are not able to make a sale or meet
the required quota imposed by the company.
 It Calls for Hard Work and Persistence. The harder a salesman works the more he makes money.

Social Reward of Selling

Professional selling must be to the mutual satisfaction of both the buyer and the seller. Under this
situation a good business relationship is established. In selling you meet a lot of people. The salesman must
there be sociable. There is no other job aside from selling that can give opportunity for unlimited financial
rewards. Moreover, salesmen get to meet interesting personalities. Salesmen do not remain static; they have
continuous interaction with people.

Compensation Plans

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The computation of compensation varies from company to company depending on the responsibilities sales
people exercise with respect to pricing and discounts, customer credit, product mix, use of available selling
time and selection of promotion and advertising media. A compensation plan should be flexible in order to
meet the ever-exchanging activities of our business environment like territory variations, salesperson’s ability
and maturity, product changes, price changes, specials sales, inventory adjustments, return privileges and
other resulting from environmental influences and on-the-spot decisions.

The Three Basic Compensation Plans

There are several factors to be taken into account for the total amount to be paid to a sales
representatives: the compensation structure of the company as a whole; earnings which will attract and keep
efficient sales representative; the compensation paid by the company’s competitors to their sales
representatives for similar sales work; the caliber of man required for the available job; his financial status and
the probable cost of sales.

The sales representative’s compensation should be in consonance with other employees in the
company considering his education, experience, skill, and responsibility. Some companies usually give job
evaluation to sales representative to make sure that their compensation received by other employee by other
employees in the company.

The amount of compensation for sales representatives must be efficient to be able to equal their
abilities and to enable them to maintain a standard of living to which they have become accustomed.

1. Straight-salary plan. It is considered to be the simplest compensation plan. The salesman receive a
fix amount at a regular intervals (usually every 15 th or end of the month or weekly) which represents
the total payments for their services.
2. Straight-commission plan. The theory behind this plan is that the performance of the salesman will
have to be measured according to productivity.
3. Combination salary-and-incentive plan. Almost all sales compensation plans are combinations of
salary plus commission plan. Here the salesman receives a small base salary, but he gets a larger
percentage on commissions. The advantage of this plan is that it gives assurance on the living wages
of the salesman, his current expenses and at the same time gives him an incentive to pitch harder
and earn more.

Bonus – is defined as an amount paid for the performance of a specific sales task. Bonuses may be applied
when a salesmen achieved a certain percentage of the sales quota, accomplishing additional number of new
accounts, following up on a certain number of leads and selling hard to sell numbers of line. The company can
combine bonus with commission plan or the salary plan or just a combination of both. In other words, bonus is
an extra financial reward if the salesman increases his sales or reduces his expenses.

Fringe Benefits – like a financial rewards and considered as motivating factors. They satisfy the security
needs of the salesman. It helps to lessen job dissatisfaction and serves as an inspiration for the salesmen to
sell more. As provided by law, fringe benefits include medical, disability and death benefits, pensions,
insurance, retirement benefits. Some big companies give paid vacations, car if salesman travels often,
entertainment expenses, free hospitalization, and shares in company profit.

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

Answer the following questions:

1. What is salesmanship? How does it differ with selling?

2. What are the important requisites of salesmanship?
3. When do we apply salesmanship?
4. What is the importance of salesmanship in our economy?
5. What is the key to professional selling?
6. In what respects are we all salesman?
7. What are manifestations of a satisfactory selling career?

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8. What are the different types of compensation a salesman usually receives?

9. What are the different fringe benefits usually enjoyed by a salesman?
10. How do bonuses affect the normal life of a salesman?LEARNING ACTIVITY 2

SUMMARY

Personal selling is a dynamic force that affects our everyday lives. Current trends in development
suggests that personal selling will play an important role in our economy. History points out that as early as
1586, the Filipino merchants had already proven that they are good and honest merchants. It says that
salesmanship first take place before the actual selling of the product. Many believed that selling and
salesmanship are one and the same thing. This is not true because salesmanship is just the ability or skill in
selling. It helps to discover what motives will be aroused and what needs will be satisfied. On the other hand,
selling is assisting people to buy the product. Selling maybe personal selling or direct selling and non-personal
selling. Direct selling is when you come face to face with the buyer, while non-personal selling deals with such
aspects as advertising, window displays, samplings and other forms of promotion.
There are many types of jobs open to any who wishes to take selling as a career. First, we have the
manufacturer’s sales people who represent manufacturers or wholesalers and sell to wholesalers, retailers,
institution, public utilities and other middlemen to the ultimate consumers. There’s the wholesalers sales
people acting as the middlemen between the manufacturer, retailer or industrial user and offering a large
number of unrelated lines of merchandise usually deposited in a warehouse. There’s the retailer’s sales
people, who sell at retail and usually deal or do business with retail stores where the customers visit them. We
have the specialty sales people who have only one line to sell. They specialize on this line. He sells unique or
distinctive product or a product which has much sales resistance from the public. This means that his task is
difficult.
Selling is not only limited to people who are called salesmen. It also applies to a politician, priest,
ministers, job applicant, the lover, different organizations or institutions.
Selling has many advantages, over types of career. You can have a chance to travel and see the
world for free. It affords high income and professional growth and advancement in the company. In selling,
service is the key word. It should be your primary consideration when dealing with your prospects. When you
sell, you serve people. Selling does not call for a college degree. Formal schooling is not necessary though it
helps.
Attractive compensation plans inspire salesman to do their best. There are several types of
compensation plans: The straight salary plan is the most widely used. This is used by many retail stores,
manufacturers of industrial equipment whose Salesforce cover irregular territories. In straight commission
plan, the salesman are usually paid a definite percentage of the sales but they pay their own expenses. Under
the combination salary commission plan, the salesman receive his pay plus a bigger percentage of
commissions.
The chapter concludes with a discussion of other benefits that salesman usually enjoy. These
motivate of other benefits that salesman usually enjoy. These motivate them to be hard-working, loyal, and
honest to the company which they represent.

REFERENCES

Canfield, Bertrand R. Sales Administration – Principles and Problems, 4th ed. Prentice Hall Inc.
Carrion, Juan Antonio. Salesmanship Imperatives. GIC Enterprises and Co, Inc. 1980
Frey, Albert Wesley and Gerald Albaum. Marketing Handbook, 2nd ed. New York: The Ronald Press Company
Arante, Gomez, Salesmanhip Revised Edition, 1993

Electronic Source/s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaBw0NBzDgI
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/salesmanship/salesmanship-definition-importance-duties-and-types/50988

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