ABC's of Relationship Selling through Service, 9/e
Charles M. Futrell,
Texas A&M University
ISBN: 007310132x Copyright year: 2007
Revision Changes
Many reality-based features are included in the ninth edition to
stimulate learning. One major goal of this book is to offer better
ways of using it to convey sales knowledge to the reader. To do
this, the book includes numerous special features: Photo Essays. The book features many photographs accompanied
by captions that describe sales events and how they relate
to chapter materials. Chapter Topics and Objectives. Each chapter begins with a
clear statement of learning objectives and an outline of major
chapter topics. These devices provide an overview of what is to
come and can also be used by students to see whether they
understand and have retained important points. Sales Challenge/Solution. The text portion of each chapter begins
with a real-life challenge sales professionals face. The challenge
pertains to the topic of the chapter and will heighten
students' interest in chapter concepts. The challenge is resolved
at the end of the chapter, where chapter concepts guiding the
salespersons' actions are highlighted. Making the Sale. These boxed items explore how salespeople,
when faced with challenges, use innovative ideas to sell. Selling Tips. These boxes offer the reader additional selling
tips for use in developing their role-plays. Artwork. Many aspects of selling tend to be confusing at first.
"What should I do?" and "How should I do it?" are two questions
frequently asked by students in developing their roleplays.
To enhance students' awareness and understanding, many
exhibits have been included throughout the book. These exhibits
consolidate key points, indicate relationships, and visually illustrate
selling techniques. Chapter Summary and Application Questions. Each chapter
closes with a summary of key points to be retained. The application
questions are a complementary learning tool that enables
students to check their understanding of key issues, to think beyond
basic concepts, and to determine areas that require further
study. The summary and application questions help students
discriminate between main and supporting points and provide
mechanisms for self-teaching. Key Terms for Selling/Glossary. Learning the selling vocabulary
is essential to understanding today's sales world. This is facilitated
in three ways. First, key concepts are boldfaced and
completely defined where they first appear in the text. Second,
each key term, followed by the page number where it was first
introduced and defined, is listed at the end of each chapter.
Third, a glossary summarizing all key terms and definitions appears
at the end of the book for handy reference. Ethical Dilemma. These challenging exercises provide students
an opportunity to experience ethical dilemmas faced in the
selling job. Students should review Chapter 2's definition and
explanation of ethical behavior before discussing the ethical
dilemmas.Further Exploring the Sales World. These projects ask students
to go beyond the textbook and classroom to explore
what's happening in the real world. Projects can be altered or
adapted to the instructor’s school location and learning objectives
for the class.Cases for Analysis. Each chapter ends with brief but substantive
cases for student analysis and class discussion. These cases
provide an opportunity for students to apply concepts to real
events and to sharpen their diagnostic skills for sales problem
solving. Comprehensive cases are found in the back of the book.
As you see, the publisher and I have thoroughly considered
how best to present the material to readers for maximizing their
interest and learning. Teacher, reviewer, and student response
to this revision has been fantastic. They are pleased with the
readability, reasonable length, depth, and breadth of the material.
You will like this edition better than the previous one.
- Charles M. Futrell
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