PERSONAL SELLING:

An Introduction

Personal selling defined:

Personal selling is oral communication

with potential buyers of a product with
the intention of making a sale.

The personal selling may focus initially

on developing a relationship with the
potential buyer, but will always
ultimately end with an attempt to "close
the sale"

Definition:

Persuasive communication
between a representative of the
company and one or more
prospective customers, designed
to influence the person's or group's
purchase decision

Definition:

Personal selling is considered one of the

most effective promotional techniques
because it facilitates interaction
between consumer and seller.
With personal selling, a salesperson
can listen to and determine a
consumer's needs by asking questions
and receiving feedback from the
consumer. ...

What are the main roles of the sales

force?

Kotler describes six main activities of a

sales force:
(1) Prospecting - trying to find new
customers
(2) Communicating - with existing and
potential customers about the product
range
(3) Selling - contact with the customer,
answering questions and trying to close
the sale

..

(4) Servicing - providing support and

service to the customer in the period up to
delivery and also post-sale
(5) Information gathering - obtaining
information about the market to feedback
into the marketing planning process
(6) Allocating - in times of product
shortage, the sales force may have the
power to decide how available stocks are
allocated

Roles of Personal Selling

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Identifying decision makers, decision

processes, and qualified buyers
Promoting to corporate, travel trade, and
other groups
Generating increased sales at the point
of purchase
Providing detailed and up-to-date
information to the travel trade
Maintaining a personal relationship with
key clients
Gathering information on competitors
promotions

Major Personal Selling

Strategies
1.
2.
3.

Stimulus response
Need satisfaction
Problem solving

What are the advantages of using personal

selling as a means of promotion?

Personal selling is a face-to-face activity;

customers therefore obtain a relatively
high degree of personal attention
The sales message can be customized
to meet the needs of the customer
The two-way nature of the sales process
allows the sales team to respond directly
and promptly to customer questions and
concerns

..

Personal selling is a good way of

getting across large amounts of technical
or other complex product information
The face-to-face sales meeting gives
the sales force chance to demonstrate
the product
Frequent meetings between sales force
and customer provide an opportunity to
build good long-term relationships

Main disadvantages of using

personal selling

The main disadvantage of personal selling is the cost of

employing a sales force. Sales people are expensive.

In addition to the basic pay package, a business needs

to provide incentives to achieve sales (typically this is
based on commission and/or bonus arrangements) and
the equipment to make sales calls (car, travel and
subsistence costs, mobile phone etc).

In addition, a sales person can only call on one

customer at a time. This is not a cost-effective way of
reaching a large audience.

Scope and Importance of Personal

Selling

In the US, 14 million people are

employed in sales positions,
according to the department of
labor.

Nature of Personal
Selling

Gives marketers:
The greatest freedom to adjust a
message to satisfy customers
informational needs, dynamic.
Most precision, enabling marketers to
focus on most promising leads. vs.
advertising, publicity and sales
promotion

Give more information

Two way flow of information, interactivity.
Discover the strengths and weaknesses of
new products and pass this information on
to the marketing department.
Highest cost. Businesses spend more on
personal selling than on any other form of
promotional mix.

Types of Sales Persons

Order Takers
Inside Order Takers
Field Order Takers
Order Getters
Support Personnel

Order Takers

Seek repeat sales, make certain that

customers have sufficient product
quantities where and when they need
it.
Do not require extensive sales effort.
Arrange displays, restocks them,
answer phone calls. Low
compensation, little training required.

Inside Order Takers receive orders by

mail/phone, sales person in a retail
store.

Field Order Takers travel to customers.

Use laptop computers to improve
tracking of inventory and orders etc.

Order Getters

Sell to new customers and increase sales

to present customers, sometimes called
creative selling.
Generate customer leads, provide
information, persuading customers and
closing sales.
Required for high priced, complex and/or
new products. High pressure, requires
expensive, time consuming training.

Support Personnel

Facilitate the selling function. Primarily

business to business products.

Missionary Salespeople Distribute

information regarding new goods or
services,
describes attributes and leaves materials,
does not close sales.

..

Trade Salespeople May perform order taking

function as well. Spend much time helping
customers, especially retail stores, to promote
the product.

Restock the shelves, set up displays. Technical

Salespersons Offer technical assistance to
current customers.

Service Salespeople interacts with customers

after sale is complete.

Elements of the Personal Selling

Process

Prospecting and Evaluating

Pre approach (Preparing)
Approaching the Customer
Making the Presentation
Overcoming Objections
Closing
Following Up

Characteristics of the
Successful Salesperson
a.

b.

Sales aptitude: The extent of an

individuals ability to perform a
given sales job, consisting of
mental abilities and personality
traits.
Skill levels: Skills obtained in
personal communication and
knowledge of services, obtained
through sales training and previous
sales and operational experience.

Characteristics of the
Successful Salesperson
c.

d.
e.
f.

Personal Characteristics:
Demographic profile,
psychographic
and lifestyle characteristics,
physical appearance and
traits.

Contents of the Sales Plan

a.
b.
c.

Sales objectives.
Sales activities
Sales budget

Roles of the Sales Plan

a.
b.

c.

Preparing sales forecasts

Developing sales department
budgets
Assigning sales territories and
quotas

A sales plan