Sales strategy: charting a new course in turbulent markets

Article Abstract:

Business and marketing strategies must be altered to deal with the dynamic changes transforming the marketplace in order to enhance a firm's competitiveness. Management must focus on the links between customers and the sales force in a strategic sense since selling strategy is the primary linkage between a firm and its customers. The sales force is often the first to notice changes in the market, and management needs to respond to changes with strategic rather than tactical changes. A new business strategy may require a firm to change its size, change its marketing scope or products, or implement new relationships with other organizations. The dynamics a new selling strategy should focus on include the selling process, deployment of the sales force, and organization of the sales force.

author: Cravens, David W., Ingram, Thomas N., LaForge, Raymond W.
Customer relations, Sales management

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Services marketing - who's the customer and what's the competition?

Article Abstract:

Marketing in services industries can present challenges because customers are not able to evaluate services the way products can be evaluated. Service industries have achieved marketing success by using service quality, decision support systems, and customer targeting to develop significant strategic benefits and to expand market shares. A specific planning approach with four steps can be utilized to enable managers to learn about what decisions issues are involved in promoting services including: developing a corporate game plan; forming business units and creating strategies; examining service markets, competition, and internal situations; and developing target decisions.

author: Cravens, David W., Lamb, Charles W., Jr.
Marketing, Services industry, Service industries, Strategic planning (Business)

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Improving judgment-based salesforce decision model applications

Article Abstract:

Judgment-based salesforce decision models are potentially useful analytical tools for salesforce deployment analysis. However, limitations in existing models restrict the value of current model applications. A synthesis of previous research identifies several problems in obtaining accurate response estimates using existing approaches. Specific model usage situations and model development procedures are recommended to improve applications of existing judgment-based salesforce decisions models. A research agenda is discussed to improve future model applications. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

author: Cravens, David W., LaForge, Raymond W., Lamb, Charles W., Jr., Moncrief, William C., III
Research, Decision-making, Decision making, Sales personnel, Salespeople

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subjects list: Methods, Management
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