Marketing Plan

What Makes a Good Salesman (HBR Classic)
David Mayer, Herbert M. Greenberg
July 2006 Issue
Reprint # R0607N

Abstract:
Despite millions of dollars spent on combating the high turnover rate among insurance agents, the rate--approximately 50% within the first year and 80% within the first three years--had remained steady for the more than 35 years preceding the publication of David Mayer andHerbert M. Greenberg's 1964 article. The authors devoted seven years of research to studying the problem of the ineffectiveness of large numbers of salespeople. They discovered flaws in the established methods of selection and revealed the two basic qualities that any good salesperson must have: empathy and ego drive. Empathy, in this context, is the central ability to feel as other people do tosell them a product or service; a buyer who senses a salesperson's empathy will provide him with valuable feedback, which will in turn facilitate the sale. The authors define the second of the two qualities, ego drive, as the personal desire and need to make the sale--not because of the money to be gained but because the salesperson feels he has to. For sales reps with strong ego drives, every saleis a conquest that dramatically improves their self-perception. In the dynamic relationship between empathy and ego drive, each must work to reinforce the other. Why did the executives that Mayer and Greenberg studied continue to hire salespeople who did not have the ability to perform well? The companies were hindered in the preselection process by flaws in the prevailing forms of aptitudetesting. Test takers could easily give answers they knew the test givers wanted to hear, in part because the tests sought to identify particular psychological traits rather than the personality type most capable of selling.

Major Sales: Who Really Does the Buying? (HBR Classic)
Thomas V. Bonoma
July 2006 Issue
Reprint # R0607P

Abstract:
When is a buyer not really a buyer? How can the bestproduct at the lowest price turn off buyers? Are there anonymous leaders who make the actual buying decisions? As these questions suggest, the reality of buying and selling is often not what it seems. What's more, salespeople often overlook the psychological and emotional factors that figure strongly in buying and selling. By failing to observe these less tangible aspects of selling, a vendor canlose sales without understanding why. In this article, first published in 1982, Thomas V. Bonoma sets up a procedure for analyzing buying decisions and tells sellers how to apply the resulting framework to specific situations. Steps in the procedure include the following. First, identify the actual decision makers. Though it may come as a surprise, power does not correlate perfectly withorganizational rank. The author outlines five bases of power and offers six behavioral clues for identifying the real decision makers. Second, determine how buyers view their self-interest. All buyers act selfishly, but they sometimes miscalculate. As a result, diagnosing motivation is one of the most difficult management tasks to do accurately. The author suggests several techniques to determine how buyerschoose their own self-interest. Third, gather and apply psychological intelligence. There is no formula for placing sound psychological analyses magically in the sales staff's hands. However, the author offers three guidelines--make sure that sales calls are highly productive and informative, listen to the sales force, and reward rigorous fact gathering, analysis, and execution--to help managersincrease sales effectiveness.


What Makes a Good Salesman (HBR Classic)
David Mayer, Herbert M. Greenberg
July 2006 Issue
Reprint # R0607N

Abstract:
Despite millions of dollars spent on combating the high turnover rate among insurance agents, the rate--approximately 50% within the first year and 80% within the first three years--had remained steady for the more than 35 years preceding...