Overview

The 21st-century business world will unquestionably be a dynamic and changing place. The rapid growth in technology, the globalization of business, and increasing competition make sales and relationship skills more important than ever. In the seventh edition of ABC's of Relationship Selling, my goal is to give students the information they need to compete in the 21st century. This edition has been updated to include more role-plays and experiential and www exercises, more information about the technology available to every salesperson, and most importantly, the ABC's of relationship selling.

ABC's is written by a salesperson turned teacher. For eight years I worked in sales with Colgate, Upjohn, and Ayerst. As an academic, I have taught selling to thousands of college students, businesspeople, and industry sales personnel, developing and using the strategies, practices, and techniques presented in this textbook. Moreover, each year I continue to spend time in field work with sales personnel. In my classes and programs, I stress "learning by doing" examples and exercises and videotape role-playing of selling situations. This book is the result of these experiences.

When students ask me why I moved out of sales, I always reply, "I really haven't. I'm just selling a different product in a different industry." We are all selling, whether it's a product, an idea, our parents, a friend, or ourselves—as when interviewing for a job.

ABC's Approach

ABC's was conceived as a method of providing ample materials for readers to construct their own sales presentations after studying the text. This gives the instructor the flexibility of focusing on the "how-to-sell" approach within the classroom. Covering the basic foundations for understanding the concepts and practices of selling in a practical, straightforward, and readable manner, it provides students with a guide to use in preparing sales presentations and role-playing exercises.

The Philosophy behind This Text

The title should help you understand the philosophy of this book. A student of sales should understand the ABC's—the basics—of personal selling. All of them. I do not advocate one way of selling as the best route to success! There are many roads to reaching one's goals.

I do feel a salesperson should have an assortment of selling skills and should be very knowledgeable, even an expert, in the field. Based on the situation faced, the salesperson determines the appropriate actions to take for a particular prospect or customer. No matter what situation is faced, however, the basic fundamentals of selling can be applied.

There is no place in our society for high-pressure, manipulative selling. The salesperson is a problem-solver, a helper, and an advisor to the customer. If the customer has no need, the salesperson should accept that and move on to help another person or firm. If the customer has a need, however, the salesperson should and must go for the sale. All successful salespeople I know feel that once they determine that the customer is going to buy someone's product—and that their product will satisfy that customer's needs—it is their job to muster all their energy, skill, and know-how to make that sale. That is what it's all about!

It is my sincere hope that after the reader has studied this book, he or she will say, "There's a lot more to selling than I ever imagined." I hope many people will feel that this material can help them earn a living and that selling is a great occupation and career.

At the end of the course, I hope all the students will have learned how to prepare and give a sales presentation by visually, verbally, and nonverbally communicating their message. I know of no other marketing course whose class project is so challenging and where so much learning takes place.

Finally, I hope each student realizes that these new communication skills can be applied to all aspects of life. Once learned and internalized, selling skills can help a person be a better communicator throughout life.

Basic Organization of the Text

The publisher and I worked hard to ensure that ABC's of Relationship Selling would provide students with the basic foundation—the fundamentals—for understanding all major aspects of selling. The 14 chapters in the text are divided into four parts:

• Selling as a Profession. Emphasizes the career, rewards, and duties of the professional salesperson and illustrates the importance of the sales function to the organization's success. It also examines the social, ethical, and legal issues in selling.
• Preparation for Relationship Selling. Presents the background information that salespeople use to develop their sales presentations.
• The Relationship Selling Process. At the heart of the text, this part covers the entire selling process from prospecting to follow-up. State-of-the-art selling strategies, practices, and techniques are presented in a "how-to" fashion.
• Time and Territory Management: Keys to Success. The importance of the proper use of managing one's time and sales territory is given thorough coverage.