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'swas 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 dofeel 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 Sellingwould
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.
What's New Lots! But the basic core of our sales process remains because reviewers, users,
and especially students love it. Added is more about - Sales call role-plays
- World Wide Web exercises
- E-sales
- Customer relationship management
- ACT! Customer Contact
- Technology in selling
- Sales careers
- Relationship selling
- Total quality selling
- Global selling
- Ethics
- Small business
- Experiential exercises
The following features have been expanded or are new to this edition: Sales Call Role-Plays. Actually used in my classes by hundreds of students,
these role-plays are created from information used by today's top sales forces. World Wide Web. At the end of the book, these Web exercises introduce
prospective salespeople to the use of the World Wide Web. ACT! Customer Contact. Using software for keeping in contact with customers
and prospects is a necessity in the 21st century. Student Application Learning Exercises (SALE). Chapters directly related
to creating the role-play have SALEs that aid students in better understanding
how to construct this popular class project. These were first used in Professor
Futrell's classes in the fall of 1997. Students unanimously felt they were great
in helping them correctly construct their role-plays. Selling Experiential Exercises. These end-of-chapter exercises help students
better understand themselves and/or the text material. Many can be done within
class or completed outside and discussed within class. Selling Globally. Many of these new box items were written by friends
and colleagues from countries around the world. Technology in Selling. A central theme within each chapter shows the use
of technology and automation in selling and servicing prospects and customers. Text and Chapter Pedagogy Many reality-based features are included in the seventh 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 faced by sales professionals. The challenge pertains to
the topic of the chapter and will heighten students' interest in the chapter
concepts. The challenge is resolved at the end of the chapter, where chapter
concepts guiding the salesperson's 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 role-plays. 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. They also make effective use of color to enhance their imagery and
appeal. 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 give 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 the learning
objectives for the class. Cases for Analysis. Each chapter ends with several brief but substantive
cases for student analysis and class discussion. These cases provide an opportunity
to students to apply concepts to real events and to sharpen their diagnostic
skills for sales problem solving. As you see, the publisher and I have thoroughly considered how best to present
the material to readers to maximize 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 last one. Teaching and Learning Supplements McGraw-Hill/Irwin has spared no expense to make ABC'sthe premier text in the
market today. Many instructors face classes with limited resources, and supplementary
materials provide a way to expand and improve students' learning experience.
Our learning package was specifically designed to meet the needs of instructors
facing a variety of teaching conditions and for both the first-time and the
veteran instructor. Tutor Software. This Windows program allows students to test themselves.
It is organized by chapter and offers true/false, multiple-choice, and matching
questions. Pro-Selling Video. Several hours of student role-plays, exercises, examples
of selling techniques, and industry sales training programs show students how
to prepare their role-plays and how course content relates to the sales world. Inc. Business Resources Video Package. A new feature from Inc. demonstrating
key features of relationship selling. Instructor's Manual. Loaded with ideas on teaching the course, chapter
outlines, commentaries on cases, answers to everything-plus much more-the Instructor's
Manualis a large, comprehensive time-saver for teachers. Test Bank. The most important part of the teaching package is the Test
Bank. The Test Bank was given special attention during the preparation of the
seventh edition because instructors desire test questions that accurately and
fairly assess student competence in subject material. Prepared by Dr. Thomas
K. Pritchett, Dr. Betty M. Pritchett of Kennesaw State University, and myself,
the Test Bankprovides hundreds of multiple-choice and true/false questions.
Professor Tom Pritchett also uses the book for his selling classes. The test
items have been reviewed and analyzed by Texas A&M University's Measurement
and Testing Center and class tested to ensure the highest quality. Each question
is keyed to chapter learning objectives, has been rated for level of difficulty,
and is designated as either factual or application so that instructors can provide
a balanced set of questions for student exams. Computerized Test Bank. A Computerized Test Bank for the IBM PC is available
free to adopters. The Computerized Test Bank allows instructors to select and
edit test items from the printed Test Bankand to add their own questions. Various
versions of each test can be custom printed. TeleTest. A favorite of the author, TeleTestallows the instructor to select
test questions, call McGraw-Hill/Irwin, and have the test typed out and mailed
(or E-mailed) to the instructor. Irwin/ McGraw-Hill can supply various versions
of the same questions and can randomly select questions for a chapter by difficulty
level. Transparency Masters. The Instructor's Manualcontains masters of materials
within and outside of the book to create transparencies for overhead projection
or photocopies for distribution to students. Instructor CD-Rom. A course preparation CD including: - A PowerPoint Presentation. A brand new program offering over 200 lecture
slides. These slides can be customized for any course.
- Computerized Test Bank. The Computerized Test Bank allows instructors to
select and edit test items from the printed Test Bank and to add their own
questions. Various versions of each test can be custom printed.
- Electronic Version of the Instructor's Manual.
Course Website. At http://www.mhhe.com/futrell,you
can access downloadable versions of instructor support materials, as well as
a student tutorial and student self-assessment quizzes. New! ACT!™ Express Software. For many businesspeople, staying in
touch with prospects, customers, clients, vendors, and suppliers-people outside
the company-is critical to a businessperson's success. And that success depends
on managing those contacts for highly productive business relationships. Included with this textbook is ACT!™ Express, a tool that will help
students entering the business world. Based on the best-selling ACT! contact
management system, ACT! Express shows students how to become more productive-resulting
in better business relationships and greater business opportunities. Whether in sales, a small or start-up company, a consulting practice, a professional
services firm, and more, students will become more proficient at effectively
managing their contacts. But what is a contact manager? A contact manager will help the students manage all the tasks and information
critical to building effective business relationships, such as: - Finding and contacting prospects.
- Following up with prospects and clients.
- Sending product information, proposals, and quotes.
- Scheduling meetings.
- Generating correspondence.
- Managing customers' postsales activities and requests.
- Keeping a history of previous customer interactions.
- Generating reports of activities and client/account status.
Effective contact management means making the most of contacts with prospects,
customers, clients, vendors, and suppliers. ACT! Express includes the following features: - Complete contact and calendar management. Seventy predefined fields for
contact information, notes, tasks, schedules, history, and more.
- Search capabilities.Quickly locate any information in the database by name,
ZIP code, phone number, or keyword.
- Groups. Sort contacts into groups by company, interests, or other commonalities.
- Activity reminders.Set alarms for upcoming activity reminders.
- Basic E-mail functions.Send and track E-mail correspondence-and attach E-mails
directly to specific contact records.
- Basic contact reporting.Easily generate basic reports such as Activity History,
Task List, Source of Referrals, and more.
- Built-in word processor.Includes prewritten letters that can be easily personalized.
- Data synchronization with Palm Powered™ Handhelds.Take contact information,
notes, and history anywhere.
Students who become proficient with ACT! Express may want to explore more
advanced functions available in the full ACT! contact management system. Students desiring more information about either ACT! Express or ACT! are encouraged
to visit www.act.com/students. Acknowledgments Working with the dedicated team of professionals at McGraw-Hill/Irwin, who
were determined to produce the best personal selling book ever, was a gratifying
experience. In overseeing this revision, Developmental Editor Scott Becker worked enthusiastically
to ensure a quality product. Judy Kausal, as Photo Research Coordinator, oversaw
the selection of appropriate new photographs for this edition. Project Manager
Destiny Rynne ably guided the manuscript and page proof through the production
process. Another group of people who made a major contribution to this text were the
sales experts who provided advice, reviews, answers to questions, and suggestions
for changes, insertions, and clarifications. I want to thank all of these colleagues
for their valuable feedback and suggestions: - Deborah Mowery - James Madison University
- LeRoy Robinson, Jr. - University of South Florida
- Craig Kelley - Cal State Sacramento
- Albert Taylor - Austin Peay State University
- Eric Soares - Cal State Hayward
- Norm Humble - Kirkwood Community College
- Frances DePaul - Westmoreland County Community College
- Andrew Yap - Florida International University
- Brian Tietje - California Polytechnic University
I would also like to thank the many Texas A&M students who have used the
book in their classes and provided feedback. Thanks also to the many instructors
who call me each year to discuss the book and what they do in their classes.
While we have never met face to face, I feel I know you. Your positive comments,
encouragement, and ideas have been inspirational to me. Additionally, salespeople and sales managers have provided photographs, selling
techniques, answers to end-of-chapter exercises and cases, and other industry
materials that enrich the reader's learning experience. they are: Kim Allen, McNeil Consumer Products Company; Alan Baker, Noxell Corporation;
Michael Bevan, Parbron International of Canada; Richard Ciotti, JC Penney Company;
John Croley, The Gates Rubber Company; Terry and Paul Fingerhut, Steamboat Party
Sales, Inc., Tupperware; Bill Frost, AT&T Communications; Steve Gibson,
Smith Barney; Gary Grant, NCR; Jerry Griffin, Sewell Village Cadillac-Sterling,
Dallas; Martha Hill, Hanes Corporation; Debra Hutchins, Sunwest Bank of Albuquerque;
Mike Impink, Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA); Bob James, American Hospital
Supply Corporation; Morgan Jennings, Richard D. Irwin, Inc.; Patrick Kamlowsky,
Hughes Tool Company; Cindy Kerns, Xerox Corporation; Alan Killingworth, FMC
Corporation; Santo LaQuatra, SmithKline Beecham; Stanley Marcus; Gerald Mentor,
Richard D. Irwin, Inc.; Jim Mobley, General Mills, Inc.; George Morris, The
Prudential Insurance Company of America; Vikki Morrison, First Team Walk-In
Realty, California; Greg Munoz, The Dow Chemical Company; Kathleen Paynter,
Campbell Sales Company; Bruce Powell, Richard D. Irwin, Inc.; Jack Pruett, Bailey
Banks & Biddle; Emmett Reagan, Xerox Corporation; Bruce Scagel, Scott Paper
Company; Linda Slaby-Baker, The Quaker Oats Company; Sandra Snow, The Upjohn
Company; Matt Suffoletto, International Business Machines (IBM); Ed Tucker,
Cannon Financial Group, Georgia. For the use of their selling exercises and sales management cases, I am especially
grateful to - Gerald Crawford, Keith Absher, Bill Stewart - University of North Alabama
- Dick Nordstrom - California State University-Fresno
- James L. Taylor - University of Alabama
- George Wynn - James Madison University
A special thanks goes to Crystal Goodman for helping with all aspects of the
textbook. Finally, I wish to thank the sales trainers, salespeople, and sales managers
who helped teach me the art of selling when I carried the sales bag full time.
I hope I have done justice to their great profession of selling. I hope you learn from and enjoy the book. I enjoyed preparing it for you.
Readers are urged to forward their comments on this text to me. I wish you great
success in your selling efforts. Remember, it's the salesperson who gets the
customer's orders who keeps the wheels of industry turning. America cannot do
without you. Charles M. Futrell c-futrell@tamu.edu http://futrell-www.tamu.edu |