Company knowledge includes information about a firm's history, development policies, procedures, products, distribution, promotion, and pricing. A salesperson also must know the competition, the firm's industry, and the economy. This knowledge can even be used to improve one's self-concept. A high degree of such knowledge helps the salesperson build a positive self-image and feel thoroughly prepared to interact with customers.

Wholesalers and retailers stock thousands of products, which often makes it difficult to support any one manufacturer's products as the manufacturer would like. This situation may result in conflicts between members of the channel of distribution. To reduce these conflicts and aid channel members in selling products, manufacturers offer assistance in advertising, sales promotion aids, and pricing allowances. Additionally, many manufacturers spend millions of dollars to compel consumers and industrial buyers to purchase from channel members and the manufacturer.

National, retail, trade, industrial, and direct-mail advertising create demand for products and are a powerful selling tool for the salesperson in sales presentations. Sales promotion activities and materials are another potential selling tool for the salesperson to use in selling to consumer and industrial buyers. Samples, coupons, contests, premiums, demonstrations, and displays are effective sales promotion techniques employed to help sell merchandise.

Price, discounts, and credit policies are additional facts the salesperson should be able to discuss confidently with customers. Each day, the salesperson informs or answers questions customers pose in these three areas. Customers always want to know the salesperson’s list and net price, and if there are any transportation charges. Discounts (quantity, cash, trade, or consumer) represent important buying incentives the manufacturer offers to the buyer. The buyer wants to know the terms of payment. The salesperson needs to understand company credit policies to open new accounts, see that customers pay on time, and collect overdue bills. See the appendix at the end of this chapter for additional discussions on pricing.

Finally, success in sales requires knowledge of the many technologies used to sell and service customers. Computers, word processing, e-mail, faxes, pagers, cellular phones, the Internet, and the World Wide Web have quickly become part of the professional's sales kit. Proper knowledge of the courteous manner in which these many technologies should be used is a necessity.