Contemporary Selling: Building Relationships, Creating Value

Contemporary Selling is the only book that combines full coverage of up-to-date personal selling processes with a straightforward look at sales management practices, delivered in a way that students want to learn and instructors want to teach.

The overarching theme of the book is enabling salespeople to build relationships successfully and to create value with customers. It is a comprehensive, holistic source of information about the selling function in modern organizations that links the process of selling (what salespeople do) with the process of managing salespeople (what sales managers do). A strong focus on the modern tools of selling, such as customer relationship management (CRM), social media and technology-enabled selling, and sales analytics, means the book continues to set the standard for the most up-to-date and student-friendly selling book on the market today. The book has been fully updated with new content throughout, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of remote working and virtual selling, advances in sales technology and tools, such as the use of AI and automation, value-based sales, and social selling.

Pedagogical features include:

• Mini-cases to engage students and reinforce learning objectives
• Ethical Dilemma and Global Connection boxes that simulate real-world challenges
• New Cultural Sales Challenges that engage, inform, and develop students’ cultural intelligence in sales scenarios
• New Application Exercises at the conclusion of each chapter with specific applications for ’in the classroom’ and ’in the field’.
• Role Play exercises that enable students to learn by doing
• Discussion Questions to drive classroom discussion and help students connect important concepts

This 7th edition is an invaluable resource for students of personal selling at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Supplementary resources include an instructor’s manual and PowerPoint slides.

Mark W. Johnston is the Alan and Sandra Gerry Professor of Marketing and Ethics (Emeritus) at Rollins College in Florida, USA, and is a consultant for firms in the personal health care, chemical, transportation, service, and telecommunications industries.

Greg W. Marshall is the Charles Harwood Professor of Marketing and Strategy at Rollins College in Florida, USA, and is a Professor of Marketing and Sales at the Aston Business School in Birmingham, UK.

Jessica L. Ogilvie is the Edward A. Brennan Chair in Marketing and Executive Director of the Center for Professional Selling at Marquette University in Wisconsin, USA.