Q.Who is a pioneer salesman? How does he differ from a dealer-servicing salesman?

Both are manufacturer's salesmen, but they do opposite jobs — one opens new ground while the other maintains ground already won.

Pioneer (creative) salesman. A pioneer salesman is a manufacturer's salesman whose task is to introduce new products or new ideas and create fresh demand where none existed before. Because new goods are unfamiliar and often resisted, this is the most demanding kind of selling — it needs creativity, imagination, persuasive power and great persistence to overcome buyer hesitation and open up a new market.

Dealer-servicing salesman. A dealer-servicing salesman is a manufacturer's salesman who calls regularly on existing dealers to take repeat orders, help arrange displays and stock, solve dealers' problems and maintain a good relationship. His task is to keep and service demand that already exists, rather than create brand-new demand.

Differences.

• Objective: the pioneer creates new demand; the servicing salesman maintains existing demand.
• Customers: the pioneer approaches new prospects; the servicing salesman deals with established dealers. …

Do not treat the two as the same because both are manufacturer's salesmen — their objectives are opposite (create demand vs. maintain demand). Also avoid saying the servicing salesman does …