Objectives. The four objectives of a sales organization in order to fulfill its mission to get customers and keep them are: To get results for customers To develop new business To retain and increase current business To delight customers To get results for customers. Results must be defined by customers – increased sales, reduced distribution costs, increased profit margins, increase in share of market, high ROI, increased product awareness, or improved corporate image, for example. Salespeople must help customers get results for two reasons: (1) If customers do not get results, they will not renew their advertising schedules. Thus, salespeople must take a long-term view and create renewable business. They must get results for customers as the customers define results. (2) Helping people makes a salesperson’s job more meaningful, and, thus makes both the customer and a salesperson happier. Also, communicating the primary objective of getting results not only turn customers into partners, but also communicates that you care more about them than about yourself, your commissions, or maximizing revenue for your company. But getting results for customers and partners also leads to you and your company making more money because virtually all advertising budgets are based on a percentage of total sales. For example, in 2017 beverage industry companies averaged investing 4.1 percent of their total sales in advertising, and department stores invested 4.0 percent of their total sales in advertising. These percentages of sales invested in advertising by industry tend to remain relatively stable over time, which means that if a customer or partner gets results and sales go up, say 10 percent, its advertising budget is almost certain to go up 10 percent. Therefore, the customer’s investment in your medium will probably go up 10 percent or more. To develop new business. That is, to turn prospects into customers and then partners. A sales organization must continually develop new business from direct clients not only
in a different type of results – ratings, circulation, cost-per-points, cost-per-thousands, cost-per-clicks, reach, and frequency, all of which you’ll learn about in Chapter 17: Measurement. As inexperienced direct accounts gain experience, needs shift from asking for marketing and advertising advice to asking for responsive service and competitive prices. However, one thing direct accounts, especially retailers, will always focus on is results, which will always be more important to them than ratings, circulation, or research data. In the following sections of this chapter, you will learn more about strategies for calling on direct accounts and on agencies. Missionary selling Missionary selling most involves calling on the principle owner, the CEO, or director of marketing or advertising of an account. In other words, calling directly on an account and not on the account’s advertising agency, if the account has one, is referred to as direct selling. Often, direct selling, particularly in local media, entails calling on retail businesses. The information that follows is for calling on retail businesses, but it also applies to most direct selling. The retail business Retailers bridge the gap between manufacturers and consumers, and advertising plays an important role because retailers sell their goods and services in a highly competitive environment. Few businesses that start up survive; two out of every three new retail businesses will fail within one year. Changes in the nation’s demographics, life-styles, and buying habits have caused many of the more traditional retailers to rethink their strategies, especially because of the dominance of Amazon in online shopping. Single-brand loyalty has declined, and mass-marketing techniques have been developed to accommodate the proliferation of new products. Consumer groups that used to share homogeneous tastes have now splintered into many groups, all demanding different products to meet their different and changing needs.