Sales Presentation of Sports Club - Research Proposal Example

Sales Presentation Table of Contents Table of Contents 0 My Service 1 Introduction 1 Objectives of the Presentation 1 Sales Process 2 Pre-approach 2 Proposal 3 Negotiation 5 Closing, anticipating and handling objections 8 Follow up 10 Sales Presentation My Service The service that I am interest to offer is a sports club. This sports club will be a very good opportunity for all the young and upcoming talented people of my country to flourish. Introduction Sales is often associated with the revenue-producing element of a marketing effort in how a sport organization finds consumers, increases consumer awareness and interest, and eventually influences consumers to act on their interests or needs. While quality, quantity, timing, and cost all play a role in the success of a product or service, the unique emotional attachment that exists within sport management and sport marketing can be an advantage to any sales promotion involving sport. Objectives of the Presentation The objective of this presentation is to tell the audience about different aspects related to my sports club. Here, the scenario is that I will be visiting different high schools and Universities and try to convince people to be a part of my sports club. Sales Process My Sales Process will be as follows: Pre-approach Here, I would mentally prepare my self for Up-selling, because a sports organization like mine involves a range of services. Up-selling is the process by which a salesperson convinces the purchaser to buy a more expensive item, or additional items on top of the agreed-upon initial item. It can occur as part of the process of making the initial sale with a new customer, or as part of an ongoing relationship with an existing one. The purpose of up-selling is to make each transaction more profitable for the seller. Examples in the sport management context abound. Up-selling is similar to the concept of cross-selling, and the two are often discussed together in the sales literature. The difference is that up-selling involves an upgrade within the same product category, while cross-selling involves offering the customer other products or services in a different product category. For example, if after agreeing to purchase a car from a car dealer, the dealer offers to also finance the purchase, the dealer is attempting a cross-sell. Sport organizations typically have a great deal of inventory that needs to be sold. Some of the inventory is purchased by fans during the game or event (such as individual tickets, souvenirs, and concessions items), and some is sold mainly during the offseason to clients (such as season tickets and mini-plans, group outings, promotional sponsorships, and advertising opportunities). If all of the sport organization's salespeople attempt to up-sell when appropriate, the positive impact on the organization's profitability can be significant (Maynard,Davis,1957). Proposal Here, I would inform the students about the stadium ownership and operations and also raise awareness about the different costs related to my offering. Stadiums operate to serve both the teams that play in them and the communities in which they are located. Since a modern and well-appointed stadium can be a source of great civic pride, as well as a lucrative source of income, many communities have been willing to publicly finance construction of these facilities. Ownership of stadiums generally consists of one of three forms: public entities, private individuals or corporations, or sports authorities. Public ownership of stadiums occurs when a local government, sometimes with the cooperation of other government entities, owns and operates a stadium. Examples of publicly owned stadiums include Soldier Field in Chicago and Miller Park in Milwaukee. Municipalities and other governmental entities are willing to build or operate stadiums because of benefits regarding public perceptions of their community and to build civic pride. Publicly financed stadiums are sometimes necessary to keep a sports team in a community or constructed in an effort to lure a team from another market to relocate. The management of publicly owned stadiums is generally left in the hands of governmental agencies, which provide a service to the public while aiming to generate enough revenue to cover expenses. All revenues generated beyond expenses are used to operate, renovate, and improve the stadium (Forsyth,2002). Privately owned stadiums come into being when an individual, partnership, or corporation determines it is appropriate to own a venue outright. This occurs either because a governmental entity is unwilling to become involved in the financing of a new facility or because that assistance is unwanted. Examples of privately-owned stadiums include Wrigley Field in Chicago, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. Privately owned stadiums must deliver a profit, and their owners have made the determination that the potential for this is viable. As a result, private stadiums often are involved in very sophisticated schemes to generate revenue to assure that the venue returns a maximum return on investment. Sports authorities are non-profit organizations that are operated by a commission or board of directors who are generally appointed by local or regional governmental bodies. A sports authority may control a single stadium or a group of venues where sporting events are held. Examples of sports authorities include the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission, which comprises the State of California, Los Angeles County, and the City of Los Angeles and operates the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena; and the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority, which is appointed by the County Board of Jackson County, Missouri, and operates both Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium. Although similar in many ways to stadiums run by government entities, venues run by sports authorities tend to have more independence from governmental interference and often have more resources to maintain and renovate facilities (Jobber,Lancaster,2006). Whether public monies or private resources are used to finance a stadium depends upon a variety of factors. If a region is keenly interested in attracting a Major League Sports franchise, for instance, local governments may be willing to build a stadium in order to entice an existing franchise to move to that location or to persuade a league to grant an expansion franchise to that area. Team owners who are dissatisfied with an aging facility may also determine that it is in their best interests to build their own stadium, guaranteeing them a constant stream of revenue from ancillary sources. Between 1960 and 1985, approximately 90 percent of the combined costs for stadiums and arenas constructed in major markets were borne by public entities. Between 1986 and 1995, however, an increasing number of public and private partnerships resulted in private funding on such projects increasing to nearly 36 percent, and public and private funding sources reached parity between 1996 and 2005. Stadium and arena projects, either realized or planned, between 2006 and 2015 anticipate private funding accounting for two-thirds of all expenditures. There are, however, notable exceptions to these generalizations. Negotiation Here, I would like to discuss the price aspect of my services. The following are some of the kinds of prices that I would charge: As a result of close interconnection between the two variables and given the temporary nature of promotional pricing, it has been offered in several forms across different businesses. Of these leaders, special-event pricing, cash rebates (cash back), and complementary offers (i.e., two items for the price of one) have been used frequently by a range of businesses. Loss leaders occur when a firm prices some products below the usual mark-up, near cost, or below cost in order to create more customer traffic. Management hopes that sales of regularly priced products will more than offset the reduced revenues from the price leaders. Examples of loss leaders include half-price tickets for inauguration ceremonies of major sports events, or discounted membership fees for a health and fitness club. Many organizations coordinate special-event pricing with advertising or sales promotions of seasonal or special situations so as to increase sale volume. Special-event pricing involves advertised sales or price cutting linked to a holiday, season, or event. If the pricing objective is survival, then special sales events may be designed to generate the necessary operating capital and increase sales volume. For example, holiday packages for World Cup soccer matches generally include air travel, accommodation, entertainment, transportation, all meals, entry ticket, and the services of a tour guide, all one price (Forsyth,2002). Customers are sometimes offered cash rebates (cash back) to encourage sales, such as a refund of part of the purchase price of a ticket. Some stores attract repeat business with rebates and coupons. Complementary offers (i.e., two items for the price of one) refer to a situation in which customers buy one product and get a related product free. For example, it is common to buy one ballgame ticket and get a second ticket free. In addition to these common promotional pricing strategies, a seller may simply offer a discount from normal prices to increase sales and reduce inventories. Several products of different types could be sold together at one total price, such as package deals (e.g., four ballgame tickets, drinks, and hot dogs sold together at a special price). This is referred to as bundling. Finally, multiple-unit sales where several units of the same product are sold at one total price, such as a price for a group of tickets (which is cheaper than buying individual tickets for each member of the group), are also a common promotional pricing strategy. Other applications of promotional pricing include to encourage switching from competitors' products; to encourage customers to buy new products that are being introduced to the market; or to stimulate demand for products or services with lagging demand. Given such applications, promotional pricing has a range of different advantages, namely, to help stimulate sales and to help understand whether customers like new products—much like sport teams/sport products in the introductory phase. Promotional pricing gains more importance if the direct competitors are also using them aggressively. However, it also has several disadvantages. If it is used too frequently and copied by competitors, price promotions can create deal-prone customers who wait until brands go on sale before buying them, and customers may anticipate the price lowering and refuse to buy goods at the normal price. Also, constantly reduced prices can erode a brand's value in the eyes of customers. It is also not uncommon to see organizations use price promotions as a quick-fix strategy instead of working through the difficult process of developing effective longer-term strategies for building their brands. The frequent use of promotional pricing can also lead to industry price wars. Such price wars usually play into the hands of only one or a few competitors—those with the most efficient operations. In addition, promotional pricing is likely to attract some customers who are more concerned about the price than the product or service per se. As the product or service is needed again, these people are not likely to be motivated by past experiences. Instead, they may buy any similar goods that are cheaper (Dalrymple,1985). Closing, anticipating and handling objections Here, I would tell my clients about the prices of my sports organization. Like other organizations, a sport organization determines what it will charge in exchange for its products and service based on manufacturing costs, competition, economic conditions, and the perceived quality of the product and service. A sport organization's consumer needs can only be converted into demand if the consumer is willing and able to buy the product or service. Simply stated, if a sport organization's product or service is in high demand, then the sport organization is often urged charge a higher price. Sport organizations often use automated computer pricing systems that require more maintenance but may prevent pricing errors. The price a sport organization charges will often vary for different clients. This obviously happens in spectator sports based on the level of service (a luxury seat versus a seat in the upper echelons of an arena) and what type of a package may be purchased (a single game versus a season ticket). Prices may change based on level of risk, liability to the sport organization, and facility upgrades. With the popularity of professional spectators sports, much of price determination discussion centers on the fan cost index (FCI) for attending an event. FCI is determined by the total amount of money estimated for a family of four to attend a sporting event measured by the cost of, for example, four hot dogs, two average adult admissions, two youth admissions (if available), four sodas, two beers, two game programs, two souvenir caps, and parking. One of the criticisms of the FCI measurement is that it employs measures of central tendency, in particular the use of “average-priced tickets” as a benchmark. By using the price paid by season ticket holders for a particular seat, it negates that many families may attend an event after a spur of the moment decision. Secondly, it fails to account for the fact that tickets for teams in high demand may be purchased from scalpers or brokers. As a result, when a family attends a sporting event on a per-game basis, the FCI understates the average cost of tickets. Conversely, a season ticket holder is not likely to buy a cap or game program every time they attend. Whether the price is underestimated or overestimated, the marketer of a sport organization is often looking for ways to provide added value to attending a sporting event. Once a price has been set and the value of the product has been accounted for, the sales promotion can involve a variety of themes, not always involving the popular tactic of a price reduction (Dalrymple et.al,2004). Follow up With constantly changing and improving technology, a business cannot rely solely on offering a service or a product to its customers. Furthermore, with globalization, and increasing competition leading to more choices for the customers, it is very difficult to catch the attention of new customers or hold on to the existing ones. In order for a business to sustain itself in today's ever-changing marketplace, it is imperative to build a long-term relationship with its customers. In his seminal article on CRM, Russell Winer theorized that increasing the customer retention every year even by just a small percentage can result in an exponential increase in revenue for an organization. This is where Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) comes in. CRM refers to a comprehensive strategy that integrates sales, marketing, and service. Its success depends on the coordination of such actions. Overall, CRM is a tool used to gain a clear understanding of customer needs and behaviors in order to develop and establish long-term relationships with them. In simplistic terms, CRM strives to provide an organization with customer focus. In a journal article, Carolyn Strong defined customer focus as the assurance of an organization to recognize the concerns of a customer regarding the value of the requirements, and to satisfy the requirements in a timely manner. In other words, customer focus allows an organization to recognize and anticipate the demands for new products and services and attempt to meet them. More specifically, the goals of CRM are to employ integrated information systems so as to further improve the services offered. While doing this, CRM simultaneously puts into practice a more practical solution strategy and uses the current relationships to increase the returns. In summation, CRM's ultimate goal is to instill loyalty among customers. With an increase in sports popularity resulting in an increasing fan base, sports has become a multi-billion-dollar industry. And like any other industry, organization within the sports industry also needs to find a way to sustain and grow their customer base that is, the fan base, so as to earn profit. Thus, like any traditional organization, professional sporting organizations are now focusing on CRM. This focus has generally helped in marketing sports, and specifically has aided in increasing revenues by pulling more supporters and selling tickets and sports-related products. Overall, CRM bestows a sports organization with the ability to synchronize its customer data collection activity from multiple sources, to develop a database that will allow it to understand and anticipate customer needs and wants, thus establishing intimate ties with customers. CRM ensures that all the information is shared between the front and the back offices and hence throughout the entire organization. Krasnikov, Jayachandran, and Kumar have stated that CRM includes front-office applications that support sales, marketing, service, and the back office. Furthermore, Krasnikov and his colleagues state that CRM assists in optimal and appropriate information flow between an organization and its consumers through reciprocal communications processes. Also, they suggest that CRM enables the routing of information to appropriate employees in sales, marketing, and service components. All the customer information collected from different places (sales, marketing, or service) is stored in a centralized database in the back office. The front-office components of CRM applications assist in integrating and analyzing the data. Overall, CRM allows an organization ways to track the varying needs of customers in an efficient way and, in turn, enhance the organization's decision-making process (Calvin, 2001). Work Cited Calvin, R. J. (2001). Sales management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Dalrymple, D. J. (1985). Sales management: concepts and cases (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley. Dalrymple, D. J., Cron, W. L., & DeCarlo, T. E. (2004). Sales management (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Forsyth, P. (2002). Sales management. Oxford, U.K.: Capstone Pub.. Jobber, D., & Lancaster, G. (2006). Selling and sales management (7th ed.). Harlow, England: Financial Times/Prentice Hall. Maynard, H. H., & Davis, J. H. (1957). Sales management, (3d ed.). New York: Ronald Press Co.. Read More