Sales in the industrial market have their own specifics, which are related to the characteristics of the industrial market. Among such features there is a limited number of clients with a high level of technical education, a long term of the transaction, and so on.
To establish industrial sales in a company, it is necessary to solve the following issues:
– Organization and management of the sales force. It is necessary to determine the organization of the sales department. It is important to give a detailed account of the duties involved in hiring and training, as well as the system in place for remuneration, assessment, and activity control.
– Precise of objectives. It may involve holding leadership positions inside a certain territory, or within a particular product category or consumer base.
– Making personal selling dominant in the marketing mix. Marketing mix is a plan of action aimed at interacting with the market. It could be a go-to-market plan, a market-building plan, or a plan to stay in the lead in the market. Personal selling is the primary marketing tool in industrial marketing, because there are small market and the frequently close-knit relationship between customers and service/product providers.
Let’s take a closer look at the last issue. In view of the foregoing, sales representatives acquire a special role in a company. The sales representative may become part of the company’s sales offer. The sales professional should determine how the product or service will help the customer accomplish their goals.
In industrial marketing, a sales representative could be in charge of installing and maintaining a product. This is where the idea of post-sale support, setup, advice, upkeep, and repairs, as well as inventory planning and control, comes into play. A set of competencies are required for an industrial sales representative. This involves a solid technological background.
The sales representative is crucial in generating and meeting demand in the industrial sector. In addition to serving demand, a salesperson can also actively participate in the marketing channel by stimulating demand (a passive role in the sales channel). The sales representative must, in any case, possess a specific set of personal traits, including a high degree of culture and empathy, given the role that personal selling plays in the overall sales strategy.
by Vianna Mitzy,
CoStrategrity