CHAPTER 13
                 SALES FORCE, INTERNET, AND 
              DIRECT MARKETING STRATEGIES
                Sales Force Strategy
                Internet Strategy
                Direct Marketing Strategies
         McGraw-Hill/Irwin                                         Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, 
                                           Inc. All rights reserved.
                 SALES FORCE STRATEGY
                 SALES FORCE STRATEGY
     A company’s sales force strategy 
     determines how the organization will use 
     the personal selling function to maintain 
     contact with customers and develop the 
     relationships that management wants in 
     order to achieve marketing and promotion 
     objectives.
                                                          13-3
     RELATIONSHIP
      FEATURE:                    The Vital Role of Selling at the 
                                  Boeing Co.
     During the 2000s Boeing experienced an intense competitive battle 
     against Airbus for control of the commercial jetliner market.  Airbus 
     was winning the battle until 2005 when Boeing’s Asia-Pacific jet sales 
     were $26 billion compared to Airbus’ $9 billion.
     Under a new CEO management gave salespeople much more control 
     over selling strategy compared to previous tight and rigid control by 
     top management.  Boeing lost many sales to Airbus because of top 
     management’s unwillingness to give competent professionals 
     flexibility in negotiating sales.  Salespeople like Larry Dickenson, 
     Boeing’s top salesman who covers the Asia-Pacific market, builds on 
     over 18 years of relationships with airlines like Cathay Pacific, Quantas 
     Airways Ltd., and Singapore Airlines, Ltd., to negotiate winning 
     contracts.
     Importantly, Dickenson carefully plans and executes each sales 
     campaign, overseeing every detail in the process that may span 
     several years.  The strategy is a combination of attractive pricing, 
         Source:  Stanley Holmes, “Boeing’s Jet Propellant,” BusinessWeek, December 26, 2005, 40.
     financing, and leasing arrangements in combinations with training and  13-4
     service packages.
     Determine the role of         Sales Force Strategy
                                   Sales Force Strategy
     the sales force in 
     promotion strategy
             Define the selling process 
             (how selling will be 
             accomplished)
                  Decide if and how alternative sales 
                  channels will be utilized
                            Design the sales organization
                                Recruit, train, and manage 
                                salespeople
                                        Evaluate performance and make 
                                        adjustments where necessary
                                                                          13-5
           Challenges in Selling and Sales Management
           Challenges in Selling and Sales Management
     Two sets of ethical dilemmas are of particular concern to sales 
     managers.  The first set is embedded in the manager’s dealings with the 
     salespeople.  Ethical issues involved in relationships between a sales 
     manager and the sales force include such things as fairness and equal 
     treatment of all social groups in hiring and promotion, respect for the 
     individual in supervisory practices and training programs, and fairness 
     and integrity in the design of sales territories, assignment of quotas, 
     and determination of compensation and incentive rewards.  Ethical 
     issues pervade nearly all aspects of sales force management.
     The second set of ethical issues arises from the interactions between 
     salespeople and their customers.  These issues only indirectly involve 
     the sales manager because the manager cannot always directly observe 
     or control the actions of every member of the sales force.  But 
     managers have a responsibility to establish standards of ethical 
     behavior for their subordinates, communicate them clearly, and enforce 
     them vigorously.
                                                                                      th
          Source:  Mark W. Johnston and Greg W. Marshall, Sales Force Management, 7  ed., Burr Ridge, IL:  McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2003, 
          21.                                                                                                                            13-6