can you help me with this assignment. Instructor is very picky, can not be any longer than 3-4 pages...or marks reduced. I am at 4 pages, I would like some help condensing this more.

paragraphs need intro, body and conclusion - can you review to help me with this.

can you be sure that what I am saying is clear and consice. I have never had a problem in any other course while at mcmaster, but this teacher has me with a B, when my overall GPA is 11.5 - almost a perfect score. I am struggling with this class and the intimidation from the teacher.

the questions relate to a link we were to review for and apply these to personal selling for an Oral care sales rep - selling manual and electric toothbrushes.

The fundamental roles and responsibilities of a sales representative.

"Sales representatives present and sell products or services to organizations, businesses or government agencies. They contact potential buyers, present products and services, answer questions and discuss pricing."(BetterTeam, 2021). The roles and responsibilities of a sales representative in the oral care team would be to understand the product they are selling, not just from a technical standpoint, but also because they love the product(s) themselves. The sales rep would also want to be familiar with clients business as a whole. One of the fundamental roles that the Oral Care sales rep would have is generating and following up on leads. Obtaining leads can be done through word of mouth, cold calling, or questions and comments that come through their website or email. They would also be responsible for generating reports and sales data for their book of business to provide the company insight in how their territory is doing. The sales rep is also responsible for working with marketing to provide them insight into how the product is received. In Conclusion, sales reps have many roles, they are the eyes and ears for the larger business and must ensure that they bring the company these insights.

5 steps of the personal selling process and how they relate to the Oral Care Team Scenario provided.

As per module 11, personal selling - there are 5 steps to personal selling and below I will outline how each step relates to the Oral Care Team.

The first step in personal selling is the "approach, where they would generate and qualify leads". In the oral care team scenario, the prospect could ask to "speak or schedule a tech and learn with the rep".(from website) . This could help the sales rep get into the office they want to approach, by tracking and monitoring and following up with a lead.

The second step is "identifying needs by building relationships and discovering needs". In the oral care team scenario, this is where the rep would "listen" to what the client needs. The sales rep would make sure to follow through by researching the office by answering questions like; how long has the office been in business?; where are they located?; what are the clients demographics (age, sex, gender, income, and education level)?. By doing the background research it will help the Oral Care team provide the client with insight into services they might not have been aware of that. Leads would be generated through information that clients have submitted through email, calling into their help desk and asking for a sales tech call or meeting.They would then be able to setup a formal presentation or meeting to address the questions.

The third step is "presenting, where the sales rep presents solutions and resolves concerns". In the oral care team scenario, the sales rep would present information on the manual and electric toothbrushes. They sales rep would handle the presentation by " familiarizing the listener with the brand; give them details of the offer; provide an example and test their interest."(where did I get this from?) They would resolve any concerns through acknowledgement of their objection; transition into providing more information; benefit of the product and why they need to act now; close if enough information has been provided".(where did I get this from?)

The fourth step is "closing the sale".In the oral care team scenario, they would use an assumptive close, which is assuming the dental care provider has made a decision. When the dental office reached out to the Oral Care team, they were interested in a specific product; manual and electric toothbrushes, and so the rep can assume that at least one would be purchased because they did their background research and drove the presentation to their clients specific business. The sales rep would be sure that they didn't generalize, and that they provided their client with information to make a well rounded decision.

The fifth and final step is "following-up". In the oral care team scenario the sales person would be following up with their client and marketing department to provide them with insight into their client experience. Client follow-up would be done to build and maintain relationship but also to gather details on their experience with the product they purchased. Relationship building will help them to sell other products and services that they can offer.

All 5 steps in the selling process are important and if followed by sales reps, it can provide the seller with confidence which comes across to the client during their meeting. This confidence and knowledge helps build trust with the potential client by making them feel top of mind as the research was done to ensure the presentation and meeting was customized to their needs.

Advanced research and planning prior to the dental office presentation.

The advanced research and planning that I would complete prior to scheduling a meeting would be to understand the dental office. This helps a sales representative understand what the clients' smart objectives might be, to show them a solution to their problem. First, I would gather area demographics for potential clients (education, age, income level, race, gender), understand their business; how long have they been in business, turnover rate of staff, number of staff, number of clients they presently have; including the ratio of new patient's vs repeat. I would research what types of services they offer, what are the most common procedures they schedule and what products their office presently provides to clients. From an electric and manual toothbrush, I would make sure that I have relevant material to back up statistics for use in their client demographics. All of this information will help with a successful outcome during the sales call as doing my research will help the client feel that I am working with them. It will also provide the sales rep with insight into how this customer might want other services and products.

Questions to ask to determine the dental office needs

The questions that I would ask myself would be based off how other client sales calls have gone and making sure that I have the research done to show them that I am confident and knowledgeable. The first question that I would want to ask myself is, who is the main person that I can speak to in the office that would get me the sale or at least through the door? Is it the office admin, dental assistance, dental hygienist or maybe the dentist? This is an extremely important question as making it through the gatekeeper is beneficial to a successful outcome; they hold the key. Another question would be to understand the dental office clients and staff demographics. Gathering insight into their age, gender, race, income level, education, will help streamline and drive the presentation to their needs. It would also be gathering insight into the office location demographics and who they might be missing or could see as potential clients. Another question would be around what products, if any, does the office currently sell. How do they do with these products, do they they have the support from the brand, or are they just left to manage the process themselves. Understanding this level of detail will help me compare and show successful outcomes that are targeted to what they need. This will provide insight into how they are selling the products they presently have and is the return on investment what they would hope to acquire. Maybe their present products don't offer coaching and scripting services to ensure that they have the tools to sell. The last type of questions that I would want to answer before meeting with the client is how well do they adapt to their changing environment. I could find out what software the office presently uses. Do they communicate through social media, text, email or are they old school and use basic software and calling techniques. This will help me understand how fast the client moves their business to the changing environment around them. It helps me understand what price of products might suit them, what level of coaching and scripting do I need to make sure I point out or provide to them on. This also helps me gain knowledge into future sales with this dental office, how can I drive this lead further than just a sale on manual and electric toothbrushes.

Benefits to emphasize during the Oral Care sales presentation.

The benefits that I would provide through my presentation would be based off my research and analysis of the dental office. Benefits that I would want to emphasize are the product features, how these products can help their business be top of mind and how the Oral Care company has their back by providing a customer service component for the actual product. The first benefit would be providing the dental office statistics on how the manual and electric toothbrushes are the market. I would outline the benefits of the products that they are interested in, and how it relates to their client demographic.

The second benefit that I would want to emphasize during my presentionat would be how these products can help their business stand out. I would outline how the products is unique and only sold in dental offices. I would include a competitor analysis of our brand and with a few other big box competitors like Walmart and Costco. Providing the customer with sales data and promotional efforts that the Oral Care company has will provide them with insight into how their office will stand out amongst the competition. The last benefit that I would outline is the customer service component that the Oral Care company can offer for the products they purchase. The Oral Care company would handle any product related questions, ie. complaints, defective products, and customer care in general. This is beneficial to the client as it shows that the company is invested in making sure that the products that they offer have back-end support, which moves this burden away from their staff. All 3 benefits will help the client make an informed decision because they will have the background information on the products, a competitive comparison and the customer service component will not need to be managed.

Objections that might be raised by the dental office staff

The objections that I foresee being raised by the dentist and staff would be around price, guarantee that they would sell the products, and customer service on the product. In any objection, the sales rep needs to listen and be sure the client knows that they are being heard. For the objection around price, the sales rep could go back to their presentation to bring up the comparison with different brands. For the objection around guarantee of selling products, the sales rep can provide them insight into sales from other offices based off their customer demographics. For the objection around customer service on the product, the sales rep would be sure to reinforce that they offer a customer service line that can take that burden away from their office staff.

How marking and personal selling strategies need to adapt to a changing business environment

Personal selling strategies must adapt to the changing business environment. The salesperson has to have a "firm conviction that your product or service solves a meaningful problem for your customers" (Robinson, R., 2019). Also, selling strategies have moved from a "seller-centric to a buyer-centric orientation and shifting from analog sales processes to hyper-automated, digital-first engagements with customers."(Dickerson, M., 2021). We are moving to a digital world, and so the salesperson would need to adapt to this, ensuring that they have the right training and resources to manage their role virtually as well as in person. "Gartner's Future of Sales 2025 report predicts that by 2025, 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers will occur in digital channels". Sales and marketing will be more integrated than they may have been in the past as they need to work together more to understand behaviour and tools that are effective for their clientele. Overall, the salesperson will adapt to changing business environments if they take the time to listen to their customer, know their environment and truly believe in the product(s) they are selling.

An example of having to adapt quickly can be heard and seen through the pandemic that we have experienced over the last 2 years. Being forced to lock down, shifted the business environment to look at ways to stay open, despite not being able to have face to face contact. Restaurants found ways to reduce menus and provide what they can through take out. Small and large businesses were forced to have employees work from home, where they needed to integrate virtual meeting rooms and structure in a short period of time. From a personal selling standpoint, they needed to adapt, and had to ask themselves; how can I still sell and develop relationships without meeting in person. Going digital was the answer, and companies adapted quickly to that environment, because they had to and built and maintained relationships virtually.

References

BetterTeam, 2021. Sales Representative job description. https://www.betterteam.com/sales-representative-job-description

Dickerson, M., 2021. The Future Of The B2B Sales Profession: Adapt, Integrate And Collaborate.https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/01/14/the-future-of-the-b2b-sales-profession-adapt-integrate-and-collaborate/?sh=2c3ef9163018

Robinson, R., 2019. Five Ways Sales Has Changed In Recent Years (And How To Adapt).https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanrobinson/2019/03/13/how-sales-has-changed/?sh=5155c1d23985

Module 11: Personal Selling.