Sales and Promotion Report: Ethical Issues and Public Relations

This report examines the multifaceted aspects of sales and promotion within a marketing context. It begins by dissecting the traditional seven steps of the selling process, highlighting the ways social media can be integrated at each stage to enhance engagement and reach. The report then delves into ethical considerations, identifying potential pitfalls such as misleading practices and the importance of transparency to maintain consumer trust and brand reputation. Furthermore, the role of public relations (PR) in assisting the selling process is thoroughly analyzed, evaluating its balance with traditional marketing and the range of tools it employs. The report also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of PR as a promotional tool, offering insights into how it can be leveraged to drive sales, build credibility, and foster long-term customer relationships. The report emphasizes the importance of ethical practices and effective use of PR in achieving successful sales outcomes and sustainable business growth.

Running head: SALES AND PROMOTION
Sales and Promotion (Assignment 3)
Name of the University:
Name of the Student:
Authors Note:

SALES AND PROMOTION 1
Executive Summary
As a promotional tool, public relations offer numerous advantages that are not offered by any
other promotional tools. The report considered discussion regarding the effective manners in
which social media can be employed within the selling process along with the steps that can be
taken by the salesperson in dealing with the ethical issues faced by them will be conducted. It
was gathered from the completion of the report that in dealing with such unethical produces the
companies must consider analyzing the negative impact of such practices in the form of damaged
brand reputation, decreased sales margin and loss of existing loyal consumer base. In ensuring a
successful selling process the companies must follow ethical selling techniques through
following transparent pricing, honesty and factual comparisons of a brand’s offerings with a
competitor product. It is also revealed that primary responsibility of PR selling is to drive
conversations between consumers and the brand. Moreover coinciding content marketing with
PR promotion can leverage sales efforts.

SALES AND PROMOTION 2
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. Seven Major Steps of Selling Process.........................................................................................3
3. Use of Social Media in the Selling Process.................................................................................5
4. Ethical Issues in the Selling Process............................................................................................7
5. Role of Public Relations in the Selling Process...........................................................................8
6. Range of Public Relation Tools Used..........................................................................................9
7. Advantages and Disadvantages of Public Relations..................................................................10
8. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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1. Introduction
Public relations in companies’ communications seek to build good relationships with the
stakeholders of the company including stockholders, consumers along ith legislators. In
comparison to the personal selling, advertising along with sales promotions and the public
relations expenditures is low in several organizations (Austin & Pinkleton, 2015). The objective
of the report is to analyze the role of public relations, sales, and emerging promotional
techniques along with ethical considerations within the marketing process in maintaining smooth
selling process of the companies. In analyzing the same, discussion regarding the effective
manners in which social media can be employed within the selling process along with the steps
that can be taken by the salesperson in dealing with the ethical issues faced by them will be
conducted. The balance between the public relations and the traditional marketing function will
be evaluated through analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of public relations as a
promotional tool.
2. Seven Major Steps of Selling Process
Cardwell, Williams and Pyle, (2017) explained that the selling process is divided into
seven steps and understanding them can facilitate the salesperson in selling everything and
satisfy needs of the consumers. The seven step process of selling is indicated below:
 Prospect and qualify: Prior to planning a sale, a salesperson carries out a research for
recognizing individuals or organizations that might be interested in company’s product
offerings. Such step is referred as prospecting that is the initial step in the sales process.
The salesperson asks questions to the target consumers regarding their product

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preferences in analyzing whether they are qualified as a prospect and has the desire and
ability to purchase protects offered by the company (Felix, Rauschnabel & Hinsch,
2017).
 Pre-approach: This step involves a good research from the behalf of a salesperson on is
prospective consumers that can facilitate the marketers get familiarized with the needs
of the consumers along with gathering all the important background information he can
attain regarding the business or individual.
 Approach: In this step a professional salesperson does not consider making a pitch and
instead they work to establish a rapport with the consumers. This step involves
introductions with the consumers through asking warm questions along with generally
explaining who they are and what they represent (Hitchcock & Willard, 2017).
 Presentation: The salesperson makes a better presentation or business pitch where the
research and sales promotional ideas for the prospective consumers are implemented. The
presentation might be tailored to consumers through explaining the ways in which
products meet consumer needs.
 Dealing with objectives: After making sales presentation, it is common for consumers to
face certain hesitations or concerns regarding the products. In such state the salesperson
consider objectless as opportunities in further understanding and responding to needs of
consumers (Miller, 2017).
 Closing the sale: If the salesperson has convinced consumers to purchase products, they
tend to close the sale through agreeing on the terms of sales and completing the
transaction. A salesperson has to make trail closes in the sales calls through successfully
addressing their objectives before the consumers are already to purchase.

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 Follow-up: This is an important step in ensuring consumer satisfaction, retaining
consumers along with addressing consumer satisfaction, retention along with prospecting
new consumers (Sweetser, Ahn, Golan & Hochman, 2016). For instance, Amazon offers
invitation to its consumers through e-mail “to rate their transaction” after they receive
their Amazon order.
3. Use of Social Media in the Selling Process
Social selling is a process where the salesperson employs social media to find along with
engage with new prospective consumers. Sales person employs social media to offer value to the
prospective consumers through answering relevant questions, responding to consumer comments
and by means of sharing content throughout the process of buying process that is from the selling
process step of awareness to the step consideration, till the prospective consumer is ready for the
purchase (Theaker & Yaxley, 2017). For instance, social media sites such as Facebook Twitter
and LinkedIn having several active users globally, several renowned companies such as Amazon
and Zappos has successfully employed social media platforms to reach the targeted audiences
and creating awareness regarding the company as well as the offerings of the business.
In the pre-approach and approach stage of the selling process, use of social media
promotional tools can be beneficial in finding out the prospective consumers and making them
aware reading the product offerings of the company (Van Ruler, 2015). The competitive benefits
attained by the companies in their selling process through employing the social media tools are
indicated below:
 Based on the selected medium of social media selected by the salesperson, the companies
can be able to increase their website visitors along with subscribers

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 In the follow-up stage of the selling process, the salesperson will be able to build online
sales relationships as it is observed that buyers tend to purchase from people they trust. In
order to build this trust in the follow-up state of selling the salesperson can employ social
media to share relevant information
 The salespeople are also observed to employ social media tools as a substitute of cold
calling with social selling
An example of an organization that has made effective use of social media tools in their
selling process is Zappos through which the company attained high brad awareness and sales
margin over years (Theaker & Yaxley, 2017). From observing the example of this company,
certain effective ways in which social media tools are being used in the selling process are
indicated below:
 Creating an online brand: Generating online presence within LinkedIn, Facebook,
Twitter and Google+ a brand can appeal a big pool of buyers and can also represent
quality and trust related ith its product offerings.
 Sharing content: Engaging content related to product offerings in shot formats such as
podcast, info-graphics, slideshow, video and a webinar posted in different social media
channels can be informational for the buyers that can further boost sales (Theaker &
Yaxley, 2017).
 Sharing videos: A huge base of prospective consumers tend to watch online videos on
product offerings from various brands and in such situations sharing vides in social media
platform can serve as a great marketing platform for influencing and targeting the
consumers.

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4. Ethical Issues in the Selling Process
The ethical considerations in the selling process considers building a reputation for fair
and professional conduct, fostering repeat business along with increased sales over time,
developing a loyal consumer base and to attain respect from peers, consumers and competitors
(Parsons, 2016). There exists certain unethical sales practice that is observed to damage
relationships between consumers and organizations and can also risk reputation of the brand.
Such unethical practices that can take place within the selling process are indicated below:
 Salesperson making promises that they cannot address in fulfilling the needs of the
prospective consumers
 Not totally disclosing information associated with the sales process and the offerings of
the brand
 Selling process involved in misrepresentation of the products and services offered by the
brand
 Another unethical practice followed in the selling process involves excessive fine print,
where certain brands like Procter and Gamble was involved in burying warranty
limitations, performance guarantees along with otter information which might negatively
affect consumer confidence within the fine print (Theaker & Yaxley, 2017). Consumers
discover such information when they feel things to go wrong with their purchased
product. Such deliberate obfuscation might result in short-term sales but this can damage
the company’s reputation in the long run.
In dealing with such unethical practices the companies must consider analyzing the negative
impact of such practices in the form of damaged brand reputation, decreased sales margin and
loss of existing loyal consumer base. In ensuring a successful selling process the companies must

SALES AND PROMOTION 8
follow ethical selling techniques through following transparent pricing, honesty and factual
comparisons of a brand’s offerings with a competitor product (Theaker & Yaxley, 2017).
5. Role of Public Relations in the Selling Process
There are several effective ways in which Public Relations (PR) strategies can facilitate
in supporting the selling process and jumpstart sales of a brand (Hitchcock & Willard, 2017).
The effective manners in which PR can facilitate the marketers in improving the sales process
are explained below:
 Gathering attention: PR selling involves taking an increased effort in order to act as an
equalizer that can facilitate in building a new brand and can also create massive brand
awareness.
 Generating interest: PR can generate consumer interest because of the medium of
developing news stories that is highly credible in nature. Reports excel in developing
headlines and news that they feel to be interesting. Successful media pitching is primarily
driven by interesting idea of brand product offering story (Hitchcock & Willard, 2017).
 Stimulating desire: PR involves communicating engaging stories in the press that can be
through using case studies or testimonials which can create desire among consumers to
watch them.
 Convincing the readers to tae relevant action: Primary responsibility of PR selling is
to drive conversations between consumers and the brand. Moreover coinciding content
marketing with PR promotion can leverage sales efforts of a company and improve sales
margin along with lead generation (Hitchcock & Willard, 2017).

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 Improving credibility: PR can be an effective manner in improving credibility in the
eyes of the target consumers and once such credibility is attained it is difficult for the
company’s competitors to offer tough competition.
 Providing reassurances: Consistent PR strategies can swing purchase decisions of the
consumers in the favor of the brand (Hitchcock & Willard, 2017).
 Offers evergreen promotional content: Paid online ads stops showing where the
company’s budget is exhausted, whereas the news article remains for a long time in the
form of info graphics that makes sure promotional topic is timely, educational and
relevant.
6. Range of Public Relation Tools Used
PR tools used by the companies can be highly cost-effective and can offer an increased
degree of control in comparison to targeted advertising campaigns (Felix, Rauschnabel &
Hinsch, 2017). The below mentioned PR tools can be employed in building reputation of the
companies:
 Media Relations: Media channels are used in releasing media statements and fact sheets,
offering on-site media tours and journalists are encouraged to report positive messages on
the businesses that can promote the brand positively (Hitchcock & Willard, 2017).
 Advertorials: These are advertisements in the form of news stories and newspaper
reviews that can act as a form of advertisement on a product.
 Social Media: Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are used by brans in
driving wen traffic and for responding to consumer concerns (Hitchcock & Willard,
2017).

SALES AND PROMOTION 10
 Newsletters: E-mail and print newsletters are effective means of promoting business,
communicating with prospective consumers and keeping them informed about new
business offerings (Austin & Pinkleton, 2015).
 Brochures and catalogues: Mail-out brochures or catalogues can drive consumer traffic
to the company’s website and information contained in them can be modified for
company websites.
 Employee Relations: Employing staff as ambassadors for the brand or business is an
effective employee relations strategy through building team culture and relationships by
which they are motivated to represent business consistently (Austin & Pinkleton, 2015).
 Business events: Trade shows can be a business opportunity to successfully compete and
research potential consumer market and competitors where company offerings can be
promoted through exhibitions.
 Sponsorships and partnerships: Supporting a non-profit cause facilitates in developing
goodwill and loyalty of consumers towards the brand. For instance, KFC actively
participates in charitable efforts through local food donation programs for promoting
business reputation and developing brand identity (Austin & Pinkleton, 2015).
7. Advantages and Disadvantages of Public Relations
As a promotional tool, public relations offer numerous advantages that are not offered by
any other promotional tools. Such advantages of employing public relations as promotional tools
are indicated below:
 Considered as a credible promotional tool: A major aspect of PR promotion is to attain
mentions of the company in the independent media outlets such as online and television.

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This is for the reason that the target market generally considers mentioning to be highly
credible as it is not relied on the payment such as advertisement (Austin & Pinkleton,
2015).
 Can offer extensive details: A properly structured public relations campaign can offer
the target market with detailed data than they receive with certain other marketing
promotion forms such as in the form of offering details on a special event.
 Information might spread in a rapid manner: PR promotional campaign elaborates a
story mentioning a company might be rapidly picked up by a huge number of media
outlets. For instance, promotional messages in a PR campaign can be spread rapidly by
the social media and bloggers (Felix, Rauschnabel & Hinsch, 2017).
 Lower costs in comparison to other methods: In comparison to direct costs related
with other promotional tools such as advertising, the return on the promotional costs for a
well-developed PR can be quite high.
With having several advantages for the salesperson, here is also certain concerns associated
ith implementation of public relations promotional strategy. Such disadvantages associated with
public relations promotional tool are indicated below:
 Absence of control over message release: PR promotions employs same print,
broadcast and digital media outlets for advertising but it also significantly differs from
advertising in areas where the marketers do not have direct control over the message
(Felix, Rauschnabel & Hinsch, 2017).
 Absence of control over the message content: When the PR promotion conveys
information to a member associated with the media, the message might be re-created in

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the final media content that makes the final message delivered different from the aspects
previously planned by the marketer.
 Higher cost in comparison to other methods: While any PR campaign has the ability to
attain increased return on the promotional expenses, it might also have a different effect.
For instance, very few people might attend a presentation given by a spokesperson hired
by companies (Felix, Rauschnabel & Hinsch, 2017).
 Need of special skills to perform effective PR: Marketers might also feel that they
require to be highly accustomed to handle several own promotional tasks and might also
observe that PR needs distinct skills sets than other type of promotional strategies or
tools. This requires the marketer to spend on a PR professional (Felix, Rauschnabel &
Hinsch, 2017).
8. Conclusion
The objective of the report was to analyze the role of public relations, sales, and
emerging promotional techniques along with ethical considerations within the marketing process
in maintaining smooth selling process of the companies. The report revealed that use of social
media promotional tools can be beneficial in finding out the prospective consumers and making
them aware reading the product offerings of the company. It also explained that there exists
certain unethical sales practice that are observed to damage relationships between consumers and
organizations and can also risk reputation of the brand. Considering same, it has been gathered
that PR tools used by the companies can be highly cost-effective and can offer an increased
degree of control in comparison to targeted advertising campaigns. Several effective ways are
also explained in which Public Relations (PR) strategies can facilitate in supporting the selling
process and jumpstart sales of a brand.

SALES AND PROMOTION 13
References
Austin, E. W., & Pinkleton, B. E. (2015). Strategic public relations management: Planning and
managing effective communication campaigns. Routledge.
Cardwell, L. A., Williams, S., & Pyle, A. (2017). Corporate public relations dynamics: Internal
vs. external stakeholders and the role of the practitioner. Public Relations Review, 43(1),
152-162.
Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., & Hinsch, C. (2017). Elements of strategic social media
marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research, 70, 118-126.
Hitchcock, D., & Willard, M. (2017). Selling the message: enlisting support for implementing
sustainability in your organisation. Teaching Business Sustainability Vol. 2: Cases,
Simulations and Experiential Approaches.
Miller, G. R. (2017). Persuasion and public relations: Two “Ps” in a pod. In Public relations
theory (pp. 45-66). Routledge.
Parsons, P. J. (2016). Ethics in public relations: A guide to best practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Smith, R. D. (2017). Strategic planning for public relations. Routledge.
Sweetser, K. D., Ahn, S. J., Golan, G. J., & Hochman, A. (2016). Native advertising as a new
public relations tactic. American behavioral scientist, 60(12), 1442-1457.
Theaker, A., & Yaxley, H. (2017). The Public Relations Strategic Toolkit: An essential guide to
successful public relations practice. Routledge.

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Van Ruler, B. (2015). Agile public relations planning: The reflective communication
scrum. Public Relations Review, 41(2), 187-194.