Road Rage Free Essay Example, 1000 words

When we take into consideration the perspective of the Irish society with regards to road rage, we find out that the situation within the country is not at all different to what is rampant throughout the world. This means that road rage is a common phenomenon which is experienced by drivers around Ireland. The most common occurrence of road rage is within towns and this follows closely to a road and even in some cases includes motorways as well, where strict measures are in place to avoid the very same. All said and done, within the European nations, road rage has remained as a constant stigma of tension and worry as far as the government agencies and police authorities are concerned and without a change in the make up (thinking) of the drivers, there seems to be no way to look forward. Road rage are more common within South England, where the stats show a 29% happening while 18% is the figure provided for the same cases within North of England. Eastern England has a statistic of 15 % but since we are discussing the Irish perspective, we find that the figure for this country stands at 3% which is something that can be written home about. We will write a custom essay sample on Road Rage or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The figures for Wales and Scotland are at 5% and 6% respectively which suggests that road rage within Ireland is at the minimal possible level. Nonetheless measures are being taken with the passage of time to educate the drivers and indeed the general public with respect to their road responsibilities and to treat each and every pedestrian and/or driver with sheer respect and nothing else. One of the most important reasons that has been given for having road rage on the part of the drivers is that they were mentally disturbed or in agony due to family problems and the like. This means that road rage accounts itself more than half of its share on the family issues. These issues need to remain within homes and not publicly made a mess out of, at least on the roads in front of Tom, Dick and Harry. Research into road rage has suggested that United Kingdom is the worst affected by this violent behavior and thus it needs to get its act right if it wants to come down the research listings. ‘White Van Man’ has been indicted 13% of all the road rage incidents that have happened within the UK. Three in five of the offenders on the road felt pretty fine with their attitude on the road and stated that since it was the mistake of the victim in the first place, the same deserved to receive it for his/her own betterment. This means that more than anything else, there ne eds to be an attitude of empathy before a person vehemently demonstrates road rage and brings his/her own personality and eventually the actions under question.

Racism In Desirees Baby - 1272 Words

Kate Chopin’s short story â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† is about racism. Desiree, the main character who does not know her own identity at the beginning, is given a French name that means to be desired. Not only she is desired by her adoptive parents: Madame and Monsieur Valmonde, but also desired by her slave-owning husband Armand Aubigny. Investigating the symbolic spaces and objects associated with Desiree and Armand leads to a comparison of lightness and darkness in the story. The theme of the short story is that racism is one of the fundamental causes of destruction in society, is explored by comparison of lightness and darkness in the story. The first important detail of setting is the ‘quote’ where Desiree was found, on the boundaries of the†¦show more content†¦First, Desiree was found in the front of Valmonde’s plantation â€Å"lying asleep in the shadow of the big stone pillar.† (57) In the first quote, the words such as lying asleep at the stone pillar suggests that she finds comfort and safety beside the gate, similarly to the feeling of home. The stone pillars also suggest strength and support. These words imply that the Valmonde family is her pillar which will be essential to her first eighteen years of life at the plantation. The second time Desiree was discovered in front of the plantation by Armand, â€Å"she stood one day against the stone pillar in whose shadow she had lain asleep.† (57) The difference between the first and second quote is that Desiree stands by the stone pillars and instead of being asleep she seems to be ready to leave the Valmonde family behind. Stone pillars are mentioned again when Armand falls in love with Desiree and this represents that Desiree’s new pillar is Armand. Armand marries Desiree to demonstrate his obligation to marry someone who is white to maintain his position of authority in society. Armand’s presence in La Blanche’s cabin suggests that Armand has a sexual relationship with other women other than Desiree. La Blanche’s is a slave that works on Armand’s plantation and take cares of children. She differs from other slaves on the plantation due to her skin colour which is described by her name, La Blanche. La Blanche means the colour white inShow MoreRelatedRacial And Sexual Discrimination Throughout Desiree s Baby And Society1408 Words   |  6 PagesRacial and Sexual Discrimination Throughout Desiree’s Baby and Society It was a very tough life for many women and blacks during the 19th Century because of the domination of the white men. Their social and economic lives showed the hardships they faced and was a constant reminder of the domination. The social ideology present in â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† was a powerful and dangerous force that showed no mercy to any character. A woman with small children who lost her husband would find no support or comfortRead MoreAn Analysis Of Kate Chopin s Desiree s Baby 1705 Words   |  7 PagesThe Outlook of Racism in the 19th Century Written prior to the Civil War and published in 1893, Kate Chopin’s work â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† is a short story about miscegenation within a French family living in Louisiana in the late nineteenth century. Miscegenation is defined as the mixture of different racial groups, through marriage or cohabitation, between a white race and a member of another race. Chopin writes this piece of realistic fiction which exposes the issues of society that would not be facedRead MoreKate Chopin s Desiree s Baby878 Words   |  4 PagesKate Chopin’s â€Å"Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby† Many of Kate Chopin’s short stories deal with women in search of love, self-knowledge, and a sense of belonging, however, in â€Å"Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby† we see a much more apparent theme of miscegeny, slavery, and racism. In her critical essay on â€Å"Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby,† Rena Korb asserts that â€Å"Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby† mainly focusses on a woman seeking only a place of belonging. Upon reading â€Å"Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby† one could come to the conclusion that this story is much more concerned with expressingRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin1540 Words   |  7 PagesIn â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† Desiree is an orphaned woman who married her loving husband, Armand, and they are very much in love. In Kate Chopin’s short story is says, â€Å"He was reminded that she was nameless. What did it matter about a name when he could give her one of the oldest and proudest in Louisiana? (24-26). When t hey finally have a baby, they notice that the child is showing marks that he is a mix of two races. The husband blames the wife because of her unknown past and sends her and the baby awayRead MoreDescrimination of Women Essay938 Words   |  4 Pagesconsidered superior, so men were more important and valuable in the society than women. The stories Desiree’s baby and Trespass are focused the racism and discrimination by men on women. There we can see the both male demonism and racism which are very extremely harass women’s feelings. The both stories â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† and â€Å"Trespass† shows the relationship between men and women in different ways. Desirees Baby is the unfortunate story of a young woman who falls victim to both social and racial inequalityRead MoreDesiree s Baby : Irony1392 Words   |  6 PagesGreta Scalco Scalco 1 Dr. Sabrina Boyer ENG 131- FON01 12/11/2016 Irony in â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† Irony existed in real life from immemorial time and will continue to be, therefore, the authors of literary works will continue in the future to use this literary technique in their work to highlight the truths of human society, and readers will continue to be interested in such works in the future. Irony is a comment used to transmit disappointmentRead More Symbolism in Desirees Baby by Kate Chopin Essay944 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism in Desirees Baby by Kate Chopin Desirees Baby is Kate Chopins most well-known short story and most anthologized piece of work. The story takes place in southern Louisiana and her writing reflects her Creole-French descent. Chopin begins the story with a descriptive quote, when she reached LAbri she shuddered at the first sight of it, as she always did. It was a sad looking place...Big solemn oaks grew close to it and their thick leaved, far-reaching branches shadowed it likeRead MoreAn Analysis Of Armand Aubigny s Desiree s Baby 1538 Words   |  7 PagesArmand Aubigny’s Pride in â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† by Kate Chopin Through history, we have always yearned independence and equality as human beings. Undoubtedly, Kate Chopin is an extraordinary example She has landed a commendable place among American writers worthy of recognition. Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1850, Kate was raised by strong women who taught her the value of an education. Her family gave her a revolutionary vision and a feminist personality, but it was her talented and passionate skillsRead MoreDesirees Baby by Kate Chopin Essay1239 Words   |  5 PagesImagine finding out that your entire life was a lie, and that every single thing you knew about your identity and your family was completely false! Armand Aubigny, one of the main characters in Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin, experiences this exact dilemma throughout this short story. Desiree’s Baby is a story about a young man and woman, who fall in love, but Desiree, who does not know her birth parents, is considered nameless. When she and Armand have a child, the y are both very surprised becauseRead MoreThe Concept Of Race In Dà ©sirà ©es Baby By Kate Chopin762 Words   |  4 Pages In her short story named â€Å"Dà ©sirà ©e’s Baby†, Kate Chopin gives readers an inside view of the concept of race in the pre-Civil War era of Louisiana. Chopin’s protagonist, Dà ©sirà ©e, clashes with societal standards because of her mixed-race child and unknown racial origins. Race becomes a major conflict throughout the story and drives Dà ©sirà ©e’s husband to blame her for the child. The ironic ending of the story not only gives a surprising twist but also makes a stand against the concept of biological

Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay Research free essay sample

Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay, Research Paper Symbolism in Lord of the Fliess The narrative, Lord of the Flies, has many interesting symbols associating grownup society to pull the leg of lasting on an island. Many of the characters and points in this novel such as Jack or the conch can be interpreted on a macroscopic graduated table but the most of import being this ; a microcosm of kids on an island makes a great symbolic message about human nature, society and how grown-ups unrecorded and govern # 8211 ; and how they can non. When you consider the clip period this book was written, you can see where Golding got some of his inspiration. Europe was still retrieving after WW2 and the writer likely wanted to notice on the political convulsion during the 50s. The island is a microcosm of the universe during this clip, and its cicatrix represents human devastation once the childs were dropped or # 8220 ; reborn # 8221 ; on the island. If we look at the book as a political statement we can already feel leaders and followings. Obviously, Ralph, described as a good-looking, trusting on common sense type of regular chap, is the sympathetic, just, and even admired, democratic leader. He has a few loyal advisers and following. Piggy, a smart chubby male child, represents the scientific community and logical thought, with spectacless that represent lucidity, civilisation and the power to acquire back. He is basically Ralph # 8217 ; s method of regulating. Sam `n Eric, the twin laborers, stuck with Ralph until the terminal and did a batch of concerted activities for Ralph. They were the hut builders, fire stamps and wood gatherers. The small 1s besides liked Ralph. They were the citizens and at times were happy but easy grew discontent as Eden became snake pit. Throughout the narrative the small 1s didn # 8217 ; t do much but in the beginning they did vote Ralph in and fundamentally brought him into power. Because the people elected Ralph, he hence is a true democratic swayer. He passes the conch typifying ord er about, lets others talk, follows regulations and does non mean to interrupt them himself. There # 8217 ; s problem implementing the Torahs merely like our democracies, today. However, we are still nonparasitic citizens, much like the childs under Ralph # 8217 ; s reign. Jack and Roger are the complete antonym. Jack represents the savageness and hatred in all of us. Get downing out as a choirboy, he easy evolves into the hunting # 8220 ; Chief # 8221 ; of the resistance party. Methods used by Hitler were besides used by Jack. Entire control such as binding and strapping Wilfred and propaganda like utilizing the animal to animate fright and showing himself as the lone protection is used in his dictatorial regulation. He overthrows Ralph with merriment, and so returns to utilize musculus once he had friends like Roger. Roger is his right manus adult male but is even worse. He starts out throwing stones, moves on to tormenting hogs and in the terminal he deliberately kills Piggy. He was a panic while tormenting with Sam n # 8217 ; Eric and the executioner when he killed Piggy. He is what Jack uses to govern, much like Hitler # 8217 ; s personal guard and is even more utmost and totalitarian than Jack. Jack and Roger # 8217 ; s lift to pow er mirror existent life events. Ralph giving Jack control of the choir near the beginning of the book is brooding on many of the European dictator’s rise to power during WW2. Weak leaders of the Western universe did non implement the Treaty of Versailles nor did they defy the appropriations done by Hitler before the war. Cipher opposed him till it was excessively tardily much like this novel. Ralph tried, and their ain small â€Å"war† broke out when the fire was stolen and continued until Ralph was saved by opportunity when the naval forces came, similar to the United States switching the balance near the terminal of the war. Simon is the primary spiritual and good figure because of his religious and prophetic ways. Never violent and reasonably much alone is what he # 8217 ; s like throughout the narrative. He says to Ralph, # 8220 ; All the same. You # 8217 ; ll acquire back all right. I think so, anyway. # 8221 ; He hangs out in a tranquil topographic point in the book and dramas with a lizard at that place in the film, it was a soft scene and he is depicted as a little, frail character. These qualities make him guiltless and pure but he was besides the first to calculate out what the animal truly was. Shy and embarrassed he hides the fact that the animal may truly be their interior frights, which is precisely what the animal represented. The animal turned out to be nil more than a dead parachuter, who is freed by Simon, which in bend, frees the other male childs # 8217 ; frights. He besides experienced a # 8220 ; vision # 8221 ; like Moses while sitting following to the hog caput besides know as the Lord of the Fliess, something that inspires fright and exploits the insecurities that the male childs hold. This is a batch like the Devil people during the Middle Ages were so afraid of. To Simon, it represents danger and a bad portents because he falls victim to it while running off. The animal says, # 8220 ; -Or else, we shall make you. See? Jack and Roger and Maurice and Robert and Bill and Piggy and Ralph. Do you. See? # 8221 ; The hog caput was right ; Simon is killed by the whole group of dancing male childs. The hogs themselves may stand for some kind of grownup or feminine function because of the absence of females on this island. The hogs are the beginning of diversion, nutrient and comfort for Jack # 8217 ; s group. The linguistic communication besides suggests it, in Chapter Eight the group was # 8220 ; # 8230 ; fulfilled upon her. # 8221 ; They were besides # 8220 ; # 8230 ; wedded to her in lecherousness # 8230 ; # 8221 ; Painted, runing # 8220 ; female parents # 8221 ; and nameless, Tells us they # 8217 ; re traveling off from society, traveling back to a crude province. The hogs though triggered this behaviour. Lord of the Flies is filled with symbolism and can be expressed in political footings or in a spiritual sense. There are many messages between the lines but the last 1 may be the most of import. The stoping takes them back to adult society and the existent universe. The boys halt and allow the officer take attention of concern # 8230 ; but he does non. The grownup merely turns his dorsum and lets the male childs pull together, abandoning them. # 8220 ; The officer, surrounded by these noises, was moved and a small abashed. He turned off to give them clip to draw themselves together ; and waited, leting his eyes to rest on the spare patrol car in the distance. # 8221 ; Bibliography Lord of the Fliess

Personal Selling Essay Example

Personal Selling Paper In the past few tutorials we saw how marketers can use advertising, sales promotion and public relations to reach a large number of customers. While these methods of promotion offer many advantages, they each share one major disadvantage: they are a non-personal form of communication. And whether a company is in retailing or manufacturing, sells goods or services, is a large multinational or a local startup, is out to make a profit or is a non-profit, in all probability at some point they will need to rely on personal contact with customers. In other words, they will need to promote using personal selling. Unfortunately, personal selling is widely misunderstood. For instance, many customers think salespeople possess traits that include being manipulative, arrogant, aggressive and greedy. While many marketers believe salespeople are only out to make a quick sale intended to increase their income and that they often do this by making unscrupulous deals undermining the marketer’s attempt to build strong brands. While there certainly are some salespeople that fit these descriptions, today the most successful salespeople are those who work hard to understand their customers’ needs with the ultimate goal of ensuring that customer’s needs are satisfied at a high level. And, more importantly, personal selling holds a key role in the promotional activities of a large number of organizations. In fact, in the business market where one company sells products to another company, money spent to support the selling function far exceeds spending on advertising. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Selling specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Selling specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Personal Selling specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In this part of our highly detailed Principles of Marketing Tutorials, we begin a two-part look at personal selling. We will continue our coverage of personal selling in the next tutorial when we discuss the selling process used to obtain a customer order. What is Personal Selling? Personal selling is a promotional method in which one party (e. g. , salesperson) uses skills and techniques for building personal relationships with another party (e. g. , those involved in a purchase decision) that results in both parties obtaining value. In most cases the value for the salesperson is realized through the financial rewards of the sale while the customer’s value is realized from the benefits obtained by consuming the product. However, getting a customer to purchase a product is not always the objective of personal selling. For instance, selling may be used for the purpose of simply delivering information. Because selling involves personal contact, this promotional method often occurs through face-to-face meetings or via a telephone conversation, though newer technologies allow contact to take place over the Internet including using video conferencing or text messaging (e. . , online chat). Among marketing jobs, more are employed in sales positions than any other marketing-related occupation. In the U. S. alone, the U. S. Department of Labor estimates that over 14 million or about 11% of the overall labor force are directly involved in selling and sales-related positions. Worldwide this figure may be closer to 10 0 million. Yet these figures vastly under-estimate the number of people who are actively engaged in some aspect of selling as part of their normal job responsibilities. While millions of people can easily be seen as holding sales jobs, the promotional techniques used in selling are also part of the day-to-day activities of many who are usually not directly associated with selling. For instance, top corporate executives whose job title is CEO or COO are continually selling their company to major customers, stock investors, government officials and many other stakeholders. The techniques they employ to gain benefits for their company are the same used by the front-line salesperson to sell to a small customer. Consequently, our discussion of the promotional value of personal selling has implications beyond marketing and sales departments. Advantages of Personal Selling One key advantage personal selling has over other promotional methods is that it is a two-way form of communication. In selling situations the message sender (e. g. , salesperson) can adjust the message as they gain feedback from message receivers (e. g. , customer). So if a customer does not understand the initial message (e. . , doesn’t fully understand how the product works) the salesperson can make adjustments to address questions or concerns. Many non-personal forms of promotion, such as a radio advertisement, are inflexible, at least in the short-term, and cannot be easily adjusted to address audience questions. The interactive nature of personal selling also makes it the most effective promotional method for building relationships with customers, particularly in the business-to-business market. This is especially important for companies that either sell expensive products or sell lower cost but high volume products (i. e. , buyer must purchase in large quantities) that rely heavily on customers making repeat purchases. Because such purchases may take a considerable amount of time to complete and may involve the input of many people at the purchasing company (i. e. , buying center), sales success often requires the marketer develop and maintain strong relationships with members of the purchasing company. Finally, personal selling is the most practical promotional option for reaching customers who are not easily reached through other methods. The best example is in selling to the business market where, compared to the consumer market, advertising, public relations and sales promotions are often not well received. Disadvantages of Personal Selling Possibly the biggest disadvantage of selling is the degree to which this promotional method is misunderstood. Most people have had some bad experiences with salespeople who they perceived were overly aggressive or even downright annoying. While there are certainly many salespeople who fall into this category, the truth is salespeople are most successful when they focus their efforts on satisfying customers over the long term and not focusing own their own selfish interests. A second disadvantage of personal selling is the high cost in maintaining this type of promotional effort. Costs incurred in personal selling include: †¢ High cost-per-action (CPA) – As noted in the Promotion Decisions tutorial, CPA can be an important measure of the success of promotion spending. Since personal selling involves person-to-person contact, the money spent to support a sales staff (i. e. , sales force) can be steep. For instance, in some industries it costs well over (US) $300 each time a salesperson contacts a potential customer. This cost is incurred whether a sale is made or not! These costs include compensation (e. g. , salary, commission, bonus), providing sales support materials, allowances for entertainment spending, office supplies, telecommunication and much more. With such high cost for maintaining a sales force, selling is often not a practical option for selling products that do ot generate a large amount of revenue. †¢ Training Costs – Most forms of personal selling require the sales staff be extensively trained on product knowledge, industry information and selling skills. For companies that require their salespeople attend formal training programs, the cost of training can be quite high and include such expenses as travel, hotel, meals, and training equipment while also paying the trainees’ salaries while they attend. A third disadvantage is that personal selling is not for everyone. Job turnover in sales is often much higher than other marketing positions. For companies that assign salespeople to handle certain customer groups (e. g. , geographic territory), turnover may leave a company without representation in a customer group for an extended period of time while the company recruits and trains a replacement. Objectives of Personal Selling Personal selling is used to meet the five objectives of promotion in the following ways: †¢ Building Product Awareness – A common task of salespeople, especially when selling in business markets, is to educate customers on new product offerings. In fact, salespeople serve a major role at industry trades shows (see the Sales Promotion tutorial) where they discuss products with show attendees. But building awareness using personal selling is also important in consumer markets. As we will discuss, the advent of controlled word-of-mouth marketing is leading to personal selling becoming a useful mechanism for introducing consumers to new products. †¢ Creating Interest – The fact that personal selling involves person-to-person communication makes it a natural method for getting customers to experience a product for the first time. In fact, creating interest goes hand-in-hand with building product awareness as sales professionals can often accomplish both objectives during the first encounter with a potential customer. †¢ Providing Information – When salespeople engage customers a large part of the conversation focuses on product information. Marketing organizations provide their sales staff with large amounts of sales support including brochures, research reports, computer programs and many other forms of informational material. †¢ Stimulating Demand – By far, the most important objective of personal selling is to convince customers to make a purchase. In The Selling Process tutorial we will see how salespeople accomplish this when we offer detailed coverage of the selling process used to gain customer orders. †¢ Reinforcing the Brand – Most personal selling is intended to build long-term relationships with customers. A strong relationship can only be built over time and requires regular communication with a customer. Meeting with customers on a regular basis allows salespeople to repeatedly discuss their company’s products and by doing so helps strengthen customers’ knowledge of what the company has to offer. Types of Selling Roles As we noted above, worldwide millions of people have careers that fit in the personal selling category. However, the actual functions carried out by someone in sales may be quite different. In general there are four major types of selling roles: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Order Getters Order Takers Order Influencers Sales Support The objectives of each role are often very different and within each role there are serveral subclassifications. A detailed discussion of each role can be found in the Types of Selling Roles tutorial. Trends in Selling While the basic premise of personal selling, building relationships, has not changed much in the last 50 years, there are a number of developments that are impacting this method of promotion including: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Controlled Word of Mouth Customer Information Sharing Mobile and Web Computing Electronic Sales Presentations Electronic Sales Training Use of Customer Teams Selling Trends: Controlled Word of Mouth One of the most influential forms of promotion occurs when one person speaks highly of a product to someone else, particularly if the message sender is considered an unbiased source of information. Until recently, marketers have had little control over person-to-person promotion that did not involve salespeople (i. e. , biased source). However, marketers are beginning to experiment with new methods of promotion that strategically takes advantage of the benefits offered by word-of-mouth promotion. Unlike salespeople who attempt to obtain an order from customers, controlled word-of-mouth promotion uses real people to help spread information about a product but do not directly elicit customer orders. With controlled word-of-mouth promotion a marketer hires individuals to spread positive information about a product but in a way that does not make it obvious to others that they are being paid to do so. The technique is especially useful when building awareness of new products and this approach has been dubbed â€Å"buzz† marketing as a way to describe its objective of building a high level of awareness for a product. For example, a brewer may form a team of word-of-mouth marketers who visit local taverns and night spots. As part of their job these marketers may talk up a new beer sold by the brewer and even purchase the product for some customers. But in the course of doing so they do not directly disclose that they are being compensated by the brewer for their efforts. Controlled word-of-mouth has received a great deal of publicity though much of it has focused on potential ethical concerns. Some have expressed concern that paying people to act as if they are interested in a product without any indication of their relationship with the product breaches ethical standards. As more companies explore controlled word-of-mouth marketing it is expect to become an even more scrutinized form of personal selling. Selling Trends: Customer Information Sharing Possibly the most dramatic change to occur in how salespeople function on a day-to-day basis involves the integration of customer relationship management (CRM) systems into the selling arena. CRM is the name given to both the technology and the philosophy that drives companies to gain a better understanding of their customers with the goal of building stronger long-term relationships. The essential requirement for an effective CRM system is the need for all customer contact points (e. g. , salespeople, customer service, websites) to gather information so that this can be shared with others in the company. But CRM has faced some rough times within the sales force for the exact reason it is important: salespeople must share their information. Salespeople have historically been very good at developing relationships and learning about customers, but often loath sharing this since, in effect, information is what makes them important. In the minds of some salespeople, letting go of the information reduces their importance to the company. For example, some salespeople feel that sharing all they know about a customer will make them expendable as a salesperson since a company can simply insert someone new into their spot at anytime. While the attitude toward CRM has made its implementation difficult in many companies, salespeople should understand that it is not going away. CRM and information sharing has proven to be critical for maintaining strong customer relations and salespeople must learn to adapt to it. Selling Trends: Mobile and Web Computing The move to an information sharing approach is most effective when salespeople have access to information sharing features when they need it most. Mobile technologies, such as wireless internet (WiFi) and cellular Internet access, allow salespeople to retrieve needed information at any time. For example, if a salesperson takes a customer to lunch, the salesperson can quickly access company material to respond to questions such as how long it may take to receive product if an order is placed. Additionally, there is a growing trend to make key business applications available through a browser rather than having programs loaded on a salesperson’s computer. This allows for the application to be accessed from anywhere at anytime. For example, many companies have moved to web-based CRM systems where simply having Internet access allows salespeople to enter and retrieve information. Also, many new office productivity applications, such as word processing and spreadsheets, are now becoming web-accessible. New generation cellphones or smartphones along with other handheld devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDA), lighten the burden of carrying laptop computers. But because these handheld devices are web-enabled they provide access to much of the same information as a standard computer. While the computing power of handheld devices is still underpowered compared to conventional computers, the move to web-based computing may some day make the handheld the main instrument for inputting and outputting information. Selling Trends: Electronic Sales Presentations Technology is also playing a major role in how sales professionals reach prospects and existing customers. While audio/video conferencing has been available for many years using high-end telecommunication hookups, it has only been within the last few years that improvements in Internet access speeds, computing power and meeting software have made this method for reaching customers a practical alternative to face-to-face sales meetings. These options include: †¢ Online Video Conferencing – Online conferencing essentially acts in the same way as telecommunications videoconferencing, with one big exception; it is delivered over the Internet. Anyone who has an Internet connection knows that trying to deliver video over the Internet can be a trying experience as video often appears to be slow, jittery and sometimes not even recognizable. But these problems are quickly disappearing and while real time Internet video conferencing (i. e. , television quality video and audio) is still not routinely accessible to most salespeople, this is expected to change. †¢ Web/Phone Conferencing – To offset the problems associated with Internet delivery of real time audio and video, many companies deliver sales presentations using a combination of web and elecommunications. The most widely used services use the Internet, to deliver visual material (typically a slide presentation) and telecommunications, to allow for voice conversation. The process has a salesperson arrange for a conferencing time with a prospect who enters the conference by: 1) using their web browser to gain access to the visual presentation and 2) using their telephone to call into an audio conference. Splitting the visual and audio feeds allows for smoother presentations since the conference participants’ computers need only process the visual material. It should be noted, that while audio access is now being carried out over telephone connections, the emergence of telephone over the Internet (i. e. , VOIP voice over Internet Protocol) may soon help resolve some of the problems that have been encountered when delivering both. †¢ Online Text Chat Online chat allows for real time communication between multiple participants using text messaging. While this form of buyer-seller communication may not be very effective at getting customers to agree to make a purchase, it has proven very effective in building initial product nterest. For example, potential customers visiting a website may use the chat feature to ask a few questions about the company’s products. Engaging a customer this way can then lead to the customer agreeing to receive a phone call from a salesperson to further discuss the product. Selling Trends: Electronic Sales Training Developing the skills and techniques needed to be successful at selling requires an extensive commitment by the individual seller and the sellers company to sales training. Sales training is the hallmark of professional selling. If there is one thing that separates the truly successful salesperson from those who are not, it is the amount of training and preparation they engage in. Most organizations that employ a sales force offer new salespeople an extensive formal training program often held at dedicated training facilities. These training programs can range from a few days to many months depending on the industry. But once a salesperson has made the move to the field, training does not stop. Those involved in selling must continue to stay abreast of their products, customers, markets and competitors. While many companies may continue to employ the same methods used when they first trained their salespeople, a large number of firms are finding that ongoing training can be just as effective using electronic options such as delivering training over the Internet, through downloadable computer programs or through interactive CDs or DVDs. While feedback using electronic means is not as personal as it might be with in-person training, sophisticated electronic training programs are effective in educating and testing trainee’s knowledge. Also, a live trainer can be contacted very quickly via e-mail, online chat or by a phone call if a question does arise. Using electronic delivery, the cost to the company for adding or updating training material is inexpensive and quick compared to the cost and time needed to produce and ship paper-based materials. Additionally, the use of RSS feeds or email enables salespeople to be quickly notified when new training material is available. This is useful when the sales force must be made aware of a recent change that will impact how products are promoted such as a price change, new information to be used as comparison to competitor’s products, a potential problem that has arisen when installing or using a product or some other adjustment. Selling Trends: Use of Customer Teams As we noted in our discussion of technical specialists, salespeople may require the assistance of others in their organization to effectively deal with prospects. In fact, many companies are moving away from the traditional sale force arrangement, where a single salesperson handles nearly all communication with an account, in favor of a team approach where multiple people are involved. Teams consist of individuals from several functional areas such as marketing, manufacturing, distribution, and customer service. In some configurations all members share bonuses if the team meets sales goals. Clearly to be effective a team approach requires the implementation of customer relationship management systems that we discussed earlier. (From http://www. nowthis. com/principles-of-marketingtutorials/personal-selling/selling-trends-use-of-customer-teams/) (From http://www. udel. edu/alex/chapt20. html) Scope and Importance of Personal Selling In the US, 14 million people are employed in sales positions, according to the department of labor. Sales personnel include stockbrokers, manufacturing sales representatives, real estate brokers etc. Most students i n this class will have been employed as a sales person. Nature of Personal Selling Gives marketers: †¢ The greatest freedom to adjust a message to satisfy customers informational needs, dynamic. Most precision, enabling marketers to focus on most promising leads. vs. advertising, publicity and sales promotion †¢ Give more information †¢ Two way flow of information, interactivity. †¢ Discover the strengths and weaknesses of new products and pass this information on to the marketing department. †¢ Highest cost. Businesses spend more on personal selling than on any other form of promotional mix. †¢ Goals range from †¢ finding prospects †¢ convincing prospects to buy †¢ keeping customers satisfiedhelp them pass the word along. Types of Sales Persons †¢ Order Takers Seek repeat sales, make certain that customers have sufficient product quantities where and when they need it. Do not require extensive sales effort. Arrange displays, restocks them, answer phone calls. Low compensation, little training required. High turnover of personnel. 2 types: †¢ Inside Order Takers receive orders by mail/phone, sales person in a retail store. †¢ Field Order Takers travel to customers. Use laptop computers to improve tracking of inventory and orders etc. †¢ Order Getters Sell to new customers and increase sales to present customers, sometimes called creative selling. Generate customer leads, provide information, persuading customers and closing sales. Required for high priced, complex and/or new products. High pressure, requires expensive, time consuming training. †¢ Support Personnel Facilitate the selling function. Primarily business to business products. †¢ Missionary Salespeople Distribute information regarding new goods or services, describes attributes and leaves materials, does not close sales. Assist producers customers in selling to their own customers. IE call on retailers and persuade them to carry the product. Pharmaceuticals may go to doctors offices and persuade them to carry their products. Trade Salespeople May perform order taking function as well. Spend much time helping customers, especially retail stores, to promote the product. Restock the shelves, set up displays. Technical Salespersons Offer technical assistance to current customers. Usually trained engineers etc. †¢ Service Salespeople interacts with custome rs after sale is complete. Team selling entire team of selling professionals in selling to and servicing major customers, especially when specialized knowledge is needed to satisfy different interests in customers buying centers. Elements of the Personal Selling Process No 2 salespersons use exactly the same sales method, but it is generally a seven step process: †¢ Prospecting and Evaluating Seek names of prospects through sales records, referrals etc. , also responses to advertisements. Need to evaluate if the person is able (Undergraduate degree to attend a graduate program), willing and authorized to buy. Blind prospecting-rely on phone directory etc. †¢ Preapproach (Preparing) Review key decision makers esp. for business to business, but also family †¢ assess credit histories †¢ prepare sales presentations †¢ identify product needs. Helps present the presentation to meet the prospects needs. †¢ Approaching the Customer Manner in which the sales person contacts the potential customer. First impression of the sales person is Lasting and therefore important. Strive to develop a relationship rather than just push the product. Can be based on referrals, cold calling or repeat contact. †¢ Making the Presentation Need to attract and hold the prospects Attention to stimulate Interest and stir up Desire in the product so the potential customer takes the appropriate Action. AIDA Try to get the prospect to touch, hold or try the product. Must be able to change the presentation to meet the prospect needs. Three types of presentations: †¢ Stimulus Response Format: Appropriate stimulus will initiate a buy decision, use one appeal after another hoping to hit the right button Counter Clerk @ McDonalds Would you like fries with your burger? †¢ Formula Selling Format: (Canned Sales Presentation) memorized, repetitive, given to all customers interested in a specific product. Good for inexperienced sales people. Better with heavily advertised items that are presold. Telemarketing a credit card!! †¢ Need Satisfaction Format: Based on the principal that each customer has a different set of needs/desires. , therefore the sales presentation should be adapted to the individual customers needs, this is a key advantage of personal selling vs. advertising. Sales person asks questions first, then makes the presentation accordingly. Need to do homework, listen well and allow customers to talk etc. Must answer two types of questions: †¢ for more information †¢ overcome objections. Overcoming Objections Seek out objections and address them. Anticipate and counter them before the prospect can raise them. Try to avoid bringing up objections that the prospect would not have raised. Price objection is the most common Need to provide customers with reasons for the $s, build up the value before price is mentioned Must be convinced of price in own mind before you can sell to customer. Get budget info. on buyer before you try to sell, and must know what they want, must sell service on top of product augmented productto create value!! Must know value of product, provide warranties etc.!! †¢ Closing Ask prospect to buy product/products. Use trial closes, IE ask about financial terms, preferred method of delivery. 20% sales people generally close 80% sales. , Avon, over 1/2 US $1. 4 bn business from 17% of 415,000 SRs. Need to be prepared to close at any time. The following are popular closing techniques: †¢ Trial Close (Minor decision close) †¢ Assumptive close (Implied consent close) †¢ Urgency close †¢ Ask for the sale close If prospect says no, they may just need more reasons to buy!! †¢ Following Up Must follow up sale, determine if the order was delivered on time, installation OK etc. Also helps determine the prospects future needs. Accomplishes four objectives: †¢ customer gain short term satisfaction †¢ referrals are stimulated †¢ in the long run, repurchase †¢ prevent cognitive dissonance Old school, sell and leave!! Quickly before customer changes her mind!! Now: †¢ Stay a few minutes after salereinforce, make them feel good, made wise choice, leave small gift (with co. name on it!! ), call office at any time etc!! †¢ Follow up, reinforce, know birthdays, new year etc, friendly correspondence relationship building!! Handout Toyota Calling In Japans Car Market Half of cars are sold door-to-door. This is shrinking due to environmental changes. Toyota has more than 100,000 door-to-door sales people. Developing Long-term relationships is key, Keiretsu, do business with only those you know and trust. Face-to-face meetings before business to establish trust, the approach stage. Follow up is key to relationship: After sales: †¢ call inquiring on cars immediate performance †¢ hand written greeting cards †¢ written invitations for low cost oil changes Prospecting includes: †¢ Driving schools for people to obtain licenses = prospects †¢ Also referrals from existing customers is very important †¢ Curtesy calls to clients who referred new customers. Timing of presentation: †¢ To housewife in the middle of the day †¢ Just before 3 year Shaken, following 2 years At first I had no intention of buying a new car, but Mr. Saito is very good at proposing reasons why I should change = $1,600 shaken. Management of Salesforce Sales force is directly responsible for generating sales revenue. Eight general management areas: †¢ Establish Salesforce objectives Similar to other promotional objectives Demand oriented or image oriented. Major objective is persuasion, converting consumer interest into sales. Sales objectives; expected to accomplish within a certain period of time. Give direction and purpose and act as a standard for evaluation. Set for total salesforce and each individual salesperson. Can be $s, units sold, market share to achieve, for individual salespersons, also include ave. order size, ave. # of sales/time period, and ratio orders/calls. †¢ Organizing the Salesforce †¢ In-house vs. independent agents (manufacturers sales agents). †¢ Organize by: †¢ Geography (simplest, but not suitable if product(s) are complex or customers require specialized knowledge) †¢ Customer: Different buyers have different needs †¢ Product: Specific knowledge re: products is needed †¢ Size. Marginal analysis, or determine how many sales calls/year are needed for an organization to effectively serve its customers and divide this total by the average # of sales calls that a person makes annually. Also use subjective judgement. MBNA estimates how many calls to expect, one year in advance, and then determines the size of the salesforce at any given time. †¢ Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople Need to establish a set of required qualifications before beginning to recruit. Prepare a job description that lists specific tasks the salesperson should perform and analyze traits of the successful salespeople within the organization. May use assessment centersintense training environment that places candidates in realistic problem settings in which they give priorities to their activities, make and act on decisions. Recruitment should be a continual activity aimed at reaching the best applicants. Applicants that most match the demographics of the target market. Changing demographics, may be wise to hire hispanic sales people if your territory is in Florida!! †¢ Training Sales Personnel Use formal programs, or Informal on-the-job training. Can be complex or simple. Training should focus on: the company †¢ products †¢ selling techniques. Aimed at new hires and experienced personnel. Can be held in the field, educational institutions or company facilities. Oldsmobile spent $25 million last year to teach its dealers how to better treat its customers. †¢ Compensating Sales People To attract, motivate and retain sales people, that facilitate and encourage good treatment of the customers. Need to understand personalities of sales people. Strive for proper balance of freedom, income and incentives. Need to determine the best level of compensation required, and the best method of calculating it. Straight salary †¢ straight commission (selling insurance)single percentage of sales or sliding rate †¢ Combination plan †¢ Motivating Sales People Need a systematic approach, must also satisfy non-financial needs: †¢ Job security †¢ Working Conditions †¢ Opportunities to succeed Sales contests increase sales. Symbolic awardsplaques, rings etc. Can also use negative motivational methods for under performers. Due to burn outeven the best need motivating!! Ongoing process keep reps. hungry Need a motivational program. Spend time with reps, personal attention!! Take interest in them and the sales goals †¢ Compensation packet that rewards quality salesmanship and extra effort †¢ Recognition of extra effort of sales force †¢ Make sure SR feel important †¢ Keep SR informed of company activities †¢ Make certain reps. believe in the company †¢ Goals must be realistic and achievable and changeable †¢ Determine what they want and give it to them †¢ Controlling and Evaluating Salesforce performance Rely on information from call reports, customer feedback and invoices. Performance is determined by objectives. May compare with predetermined performance standards or with other sales people working under similar conditions. Handout Avon. $4 billion business, relied solely on personal selling until recently, environmental changes have changed this no longer is the wife expected to be at home model is dual income earning parents with children in day care. Need to develop more efficient ways to reach customers. Salespeople earn pure commission, 10% 50% for top sellers (over $32,750) Strategies tried: †¢ Avon Select. Direct mail catalog and toll free number, attract those that didnt know an Avon Lady, or didnt want to deal with one. Also used national TV and print campaign in conjunction. Problems = †¢ Salesperson creates confidence in the brand, delivering much more than advertising is able to do. When you take away the selling relationship, youre left with a brand thats relatively naked. †¢ Key is not to undercut the field salesforce, similar to dual distribution creating channel conflict. Mary Kay Corp has also tried this strategy but differently and more successfully: †¢ Catalogs carry different merchandise †¢ Forward commission to sales rep. in customers area Never have a grey area regarding competing with sales force. Other demotivational concerns: †¢ Restructured commissions †¢ Dropped awards, trips and other incentives †¢ Leadership Program. A Multi-level marketing (MLM) concept. Rewarded for products sold as well as people you recruit as a sales rep. by getting some of their commission and a portion of the commission of reps. they recruit etc. Created a hard sell envir onment and was consequently scrapped. To remotivate: New CEO †¢ Reinstate Birthday presents †¢ Anniversary plates †¢ Annual Pins †¢ Phone Blitzs to indicate appreciation Gifts [and recognition] are part of the magic