http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/480012985

Salesmen in marketing strategy

"This book may be of use to three classes of readers: college and university students, sales managers and salesmen, and economists. Economists, because of their increasing interest in realism may find in it some aid in an adequate explanation of how values are made and exchanges effected. They may safely be left to use the book as their needs or wishes suggest. Sales managers may find some plans and thoughts new to them, but I believe that its greatest value to such readers is in its analysis of the task of constructing and using a sales force and the relating of the use of this tool to a wider marketing strategy. Sales managers may wish to use it as a handbook or as a text for sales manager's classes. For teachers, a word more of explanation seems desirable. The volume was first planned and in part written while I was at the University of Chicago. It was reworked and practically completed during the two years that I was at Washington University, St. Louis. In both institutions I taught several types of marketing courses, in one of which a considerable section was devoted to salesmen. In dealing with salesmen, as in dealing with any of the administrative instruments of marketing, one major problem is the securing of a satisfactory combination of analysis, philosophy, description and "case" material. Examples alone may lack interpretation or they may need a more general statement of setting than always accompanies them. Theoretical statements with no concrete illustrations seem to the student somewhat vague and unreal. Even worse, such statements may appear to pose as final principles that can be applied with little variation. A second problem of teachers is to present the use of salesmen in its true setting in the larger task of marketing administration. Salesmen seldom work unaided by advertising, mail communication or other support. As a part of the effort to overcome these difficulties in actual classroom work this book has emerged. It is offered to teachers of marketing and sales management in the hope that they may find in it a useful text, and to sales managers and other readers for the uses earlier suggested"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).

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