PERSONAL SELLING 

Overview 

Personal selling is a part of communication mix (other elements of which are 

advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct mail and exhibitions). It is concerned with 
persuasive communication. A sales person in personal selling tries to persuade the prospect
so  that he can take a decision to acquire the product/service which the sales person is talking 
about. It is a major factor in creating sales volume. It brings human element into marketing 
transactions and increases the customer's confidence in the supplier. 

Learning Objectives 
After studying this module, you will be able to:  

● Define Personal Selling; 

● Discuss the advantages of personal selling; 
● State the diversity of selling situations; 
● Describe the new approaches in selling. 

Discussion 
"The oral presentation of a company's products, or services to one or more 
prospective purchasers for the purpose of making a sale". It is the art of successfully 
persuading prospects or customers to buy products or services from which they can 
derive suitable benefit thereby increasing their total satisfaction, i.e., delight. 
The terms personal selling and salesmanship have different meanings. Salesmanship
is  a seller initiated effort that provides prospective buyers with information and
motivates  them to make favourable decisions concerning the seller's product or
services. Personal  selling on the other hand is a two-way communication involving
individual and social  behaviour. It aims at bringing the right product to the right
customer. It is used for  creating product awareness, stimulating interest, developing
brand preference,  negotiating price, etc. 
Personal selling is used extensively in complex and highly technical products
like  computers, electronic typewriters, digital phones, microwaves, remote controlled 
appliances, etc. It is used for selling to industrial consumers who may be having 
technical queries and want to purchase in bulk. The increase in competition from
foreign  and domestic sources has increased the importance of personal selling. 
The salesman acts as a catalyst and consultant to the customer by providing
information  and benefits of the products. He also works out the details, manner and
timing of giving  physical possession to the customer. Personal selling is basically used
during the  product launching stage when a firm cannot afford a large expenditure for
advertising. 
Thus, personal selling is an integral part of communication mix. It becomes important 
because it educates the consumer and makes him understand the special functions
and  attributes of the product. 
Personal selling is a tool for building up buyer's preference, conviction and 
action. The reason is that personal selling when compared with advertising, has three 
distinct benefits. 

Personal Confrontation 

Personal selling involves an alive, immediate and interactive relationship building 

between two or more persons. Each party is able to observe the other's needs and 
characteristics at close hand and make immediate adjustment. 

Cultivation 

Personal selling permits plenty of relationships to spring up, ranging from a matter-of
fact selling relationship to deep personal friendship. Effective sales representatives will 
normally keep their customers best interest at heart if they want to maintain long term 
relationship. 

Response 

Personal selling puts the buyer under some obligation for having listened to the sales 
talk. The buyer has the greater need to attend and respond, even if the response is a 
polite "thank you". 
These distinctive qualities come at a cost. A sales force represents a greater long term
cost commitment than advertising. Advertising can be turned on and off, but the size of 
sales force is much difficult to alter. 

Advantages 

Following are the advantages of personal selling because of which it is the most 
commonly used promotion tool: 
1. Ability to close sales. 
2. Ability to hold customer attention. 
3. Immediate feedback and two-way communication. 
4. Presentation is tailored to individual needs. 
5. Ability to target customer precisely. 
6. Ability to cultivate relationship. 
7. Ability to get immediate action. 

Disadvantages 

Despite all these advantages of personal selling, it is not without disadvantages

because  of which sometimes companies may hesitate to adopt personal selling as a
promotion  tool. 
1. High cost per contact. 
2. Inability to reach some customers effectively. 
  Example: A good example of personal selling is found in department stores on the 
perfume and cosmetic counters. A customer can get advice on how to apply the
product 
and can try different products. Products with relatively high prices, or with complex 
features, are often sold using personal selling. Great examples include cars, office 
equipment (e.g. photocopiers) and many products that are sold by businesses to other 
industrial customers. 

2.2 Situations Conducive to Personal Selling 

Product Situation 

1. When a product is of high unit value, e.g., refrigerator, TV, etc. 2.

When a product is in the introductory stage of its PLC. 
3. When a product has to match specific consumer needs. 
4. When product requires demonstration, e.g., industrial products. 5.
When product requires after sales service. 
6. When product has no brand loyalty or poor brand loyalty. 

Marketing Situation 

1. When a company is selling to a small number of buyers who are buying a  product of
high value. 
2. When a company sells in small local markets or government or institutional 
markets. 
3. When desired middlemen or agents are not available. 
4. When an indirect channel of distribution is used for selling to merchant  middleman. 

Company Situation 

Personal selling is more effective and economical when: 

1. The company is not in a position to identify and make use of any communication 
media. 
2. A company does not have a large advertising budget. 

Consumer Behaviour Situation 

Personal selling is more effective when: 

1. Goods purchased are of high value and less frequently purchased. 2.
Consumer needs instant answers to his questions. 
3. Persuasion and follow up is required in the case of competition. 2.3 Strategies

used by Salesman 

With the increasing importance of personal selling in recent times the strategies of
sales  person have changed considerably - from being a fast talker to a consultant. 

Caution Most forms of personal selling require the sales staff be extensively trained on 
product knowledge, industry information and selling skills. For companies that require 
their salespeople attend formal training programs, the cost of training can be quite high 
and include such expenses as travel, hotel, meals, and training equipment while also 
paying the trainees' salaries while they attend.
Communication Strategies 

It is the lowest level of personal selling. Sales representatives communicate about the 
product or service offered. Strategy is walking more and talking more. This has little
use  as communication can be done by press, radio, television, etc. 

Persuasion Strategies 

Here the sales representative understands the needs of the customer and goes
beyond  the role of a communicator . The salesman tries to fill the customer about the
existing  product or service mix and skill fully overcomes objections. 

Negotiation Strategies 

Product and commercial terms are adjusted to meet customer's needs. At this stage
the  customer's needs are analysed and understood and how these needs can be met
is  worked out. At this point consultative selling begins. 

Client Profit Planning Strategies 

It is applicable in industrial product selling. The sales person is put to work with the
client  team to understand the profit planning system, product finance, marketing, R&D
so that  a product meeting the needs of the consumer could be developed. 

2.4 Business Management Strategies 

At this stage the sales person manages the territory as a strategic business unit.
Territory representative along with sales manager and accounts manager develop 
business strategies to meet the objectives of the organisation. The salesman becomes
a  consultant and looks to the long term needs of the customer. 

Relationship strategy: Besides selling goods to the consumer a relationship is built 

with the consumer over a period of time. A builder for instance may develop a 
relationship with the customer for mutual gain. The builder of flats may offer a new 
apartment to the customer in a desired area and also help the customer in disposing
off  his earlier assets to that the customer finds it easy to transact with the buyer. This
may  go on for years and the relationship lasts when both the seller and the buyer are 
satisfied. This then turns into a win strategy when both are gainers at the deal. 
Instant service strategy: In this strategy the needs of the customers are satisfied 
instantly. E.g. fast food centers, service of cars, providing transportation till the car is 
under repair. Sending service engineers for immediate repairs. Reaching fast food 
(pizza) within a few minutes to your house for a party. Supplying custom made
products  instantly. 
Creating customer: To create a customer a sales person must adopt an attitude 
towards the concern of the customer. He should listen more and talk less. He should 
present benefits of the product and provide buying opportunities. He should allow 
questions for discussions and remove objections if any. This helps in creating a 
customer. 

2.5 Diversity of Selling Situations 

There are a variety of selling situations. Different selling jobs require different tasks
and  activities. For example, Job of selling a soft drink is different from selling a
computer. 

Delivery Sales Person 

The primary job of a delivery sales person is to deliver the goods to the customers.
The  selling responsibilities are secondary. Good service, pleasant personality and
good  behaviour adds to the service, e.g., Milkman, paper vendor. 

Inside Order Taker 

The person behind the counter is the inside order taker. The customer comes to him
and  is taken care of, e.g., the sales clerk behind the neckwear counter in a men's
store. 

Outside Order Taker 

The seller of consumable products calling on the retailer is an outside order taker. He 
books the orders and gets them supplied to the shop. 

Missionary Sales Person 

They are not expected to take an order but build goodwill for the company. They
educate  the users as in the case of medical representatives. 

Creative Sales Person of Tangible Products 

In creative selling for tangible vacuum cleaners, automobiles, encyclopedias,

consumer  durables products and the like the job of sales person is different. He has to
create an  awareness about the product how can it serve the user's needs in a better
manner.  When the product is of a technical nature it may become technical selling. 

Creative Sales Person of Intangible Products 

Sales of insurance, advertising services, consultancy services, educational 

programmes, requires creativity of the sales person. It is more difficult to sell as the 
benefit's can't be seen tangibly. 

Changing Role of a Salesman 

To facilitate the various roles of sales persons, they can be categorised
as: 1. Consultative sales 
2. Technical sales 
3. Commercial sales 
4. Direct sales.
Consultative Sales 

This occurs at higher levels of organisation e.g., computer consultancy, etc.,

high  capital is involves. The salesman adopts a low key, low pressure approach. He
has  strong knowledge of the product. Patience to discuss the product with several
people in  the organisation is required along with creative effort in slack times without
appearing to  exert pressure on the prospect. 

Notes Technical Sales 

The technical sales compulsorily requires a good knowledge of the product by 
the sales person. It requires the approval of TECHNICAL people in the organisation. In 
the end it is one or two people with technical knowledge in the organisation who 
influence the decision. The sales persons have to identify and satisfy them with
product  characteristics, application, installation processes, etc. The sales person are
trained to  use traditional approach and know the utility and features of the product. 

Commercial Sales 

It includes non-technical sales to business industry, government and non-profit 

organisations, e.g., office equipments, wholesale goods, building products, etc. 
Commercial sales person makes the sales on first or second call. 

Direct Sales 

Sales of product to ultimate consumer, e.g., restaurants, door to door sales, 

insurance, encyclopedia, magazines, etc. There is emotional appeal in such type of 
selling. The sales persons must have persuasive ability. They are trained to close the 
sale on first visit. If given time they may buy from competitors or cool off and postpone 
buying. 

2.6 Buyer Seller Dyads 

Dyad is a situation where two people interact. The sales person and the
prospect  interacting with each other constitute a buyer-seller dyad. The seller seeks to
motivate  the buyer to behave favourably towards the seller. This interaction has a
great impact  over the buyer. This is even much greater when the salesman has
product knowledge,  honesty, follow up, good and proper presentation. 

Franklin Evans researched buyer-seller dyads in the life insurance business.

He  found out that the prospects who bought insurance knew more about sales persons
and their companies and felt more positively towards them. The more alike sales
persons  and their prospects were the greater was the probability that the sale would
result. Evans' findings have significance for sales management. He concluded that: 
 1. Prospects who know the sales persons and their companies  were
more positive about buying than those who did not know  
them.
2. If the sales person and buyer were alike in their physical  appearance,
objective factors (income, education, religion, etc.)  
and other personality factors, there were more chances that a  
sale would result. 

Then Henri Tosi studied whole sale drugs sales people and retail pharmacists 
and concluded that besides the factors given by Evans, the behaviour of sales people 
was also an influencing factor in buyer-seller dyad relationship. Studies conducted on 
the attitude of buyers reveal that sales person's lack of product knowledge, failure to 
follow up, uninfluential presentations, flattery, bad manners, dishonesty are the major 
causes of failure of sales. According to Henry Tosi, behavioural factors of sales people 
are most influencing factors in buyer-seller dyad relationship. A conceptual model has 
been made in this regard. 

2.6.1 Choice of Basic Selling Style 

All sales people in some situations seek orders aggressively but in others they 
need only take orders coming their way, the relative emphasis on order taking and
order  getting varying in different selling environments. The driver sales person for a
soft drink  bottling company is primarily an order taker because the product has been
strongly pre 
sold to consumers and the orders come forth automatically. This depends on whether 
the manufacturer relies heavily on advertising and channels of distribution because
then the role of the sales person is passive as he acts as an order taker and only
incidentally  as an order getter. On the other hand if advertising is used mainly to back
up personal  selling there are a minimum number of channels and the sales person's
main job is to get orders and he has to be very active. 
In industrial goods marketing, the "sales engineer" plays two major roles: 1. Advisor to
middlemen and customers on technical product features and applications. 
2. Design consultant to middlemen and industrial users on  installations or
processes incorporating the manufacturer's 
products. 
Differences in marketing factors cause each company to have individualised 
requirements as to the kind of sales person it employs. However, sales job roles can
be  grouped into four basic styles that cut, to a large degree, across industry and
company  boundaries: trade selling, missionary selling, technical selling and new-
business selling. 

2.6.2 Trade Selling 

The trade sales person develops and maintains long term relations with a
stable  group of customers. For the most part, this is low-key selling, with little or no
pressure, and the job is dull and routine. This selling style applies primarily to products
that have  well established markets. Advertising and other forms of promotion are vital
to overall marketing strategy than is personal selling. 

Missionary Selling 
 The missionary sales person's main job objective is to increase the company's 
sales volume by assisting customers with their selling efforts. The missionary sales 
person is concerned only incidentally with securing orders, since orders result from his 
primary public relations and promotional efforts with customers of the customers
(indirect  customers). Missionary selling, like trade selling, is low-key and does not
require high  level technical training or ability. 

Technical Selling 

The technical sales person deals primarily with the company's established 
accounts and the main objective is to increase their volume of purchase by providing
technical advice and assistance. The technical sales person performs advisory
functions  similar to those of the missionary sales person but, in addition, sells directly
to industrial  users and other buyers. In this selling style, the ability to identify, analyse
and solve customers' problems is important. 

New Business Selling 

The new business salesman's job is to find and obtain new customers, i.e., to 
convert prospects into customers. These sales persons should be unusually creative 
and ingenious and possess a high degree of resourcefulness. 

2.7 New Approaches in Selling 

Changes are taking place rapidly in selling and sales management. In order to 
bring down the cost of personal selling, companies are tying to tele marketing and
other  direct selling methods. 
The Sales person just doing the talking and smiling is out of date. Therefore, the 
emphasis is on developmental roles, team selling, selling through computer and
Market  Information System (MIS) as well as on tele marketing. Today the demand is
for those  sales persons who are qualified, trained, capable to sell and can make long
term  problem solving relationship with the prospects. It requires the recognition of their 
service and rewarding them adequately for their efforts. 

Team Selling 

It is done for large customers and in multinational firms because the intricacies 
involved in selling are so extensive that no individual sales person can satisfy them. To
serve these customers known as national a/c or key accounts, companies train a team 
of service personnel, each of them has special experience and skills needed for
specific  account. The team is coordinated and supervised by a senior person known as
national  account manager. 

2.8 Market Information System 

The field sales force is a valuable source of information. Sales people acquire 
data regarding the likes and dislikes of customers and their inventory levels. They also 
give advice on promotional activities, future purchasing plans of customers and 
company's image. The information is also sought regarding the competitors and their
plans. This is also done by maintaining good relations with competitors' sales force.
And  in this context the sales manager becomes an essential link in a chain of
communication that passes to and from the top management. 

2.8.1 Direct Marketing 

Direct marketing is an emerging form of distribution and promotion that  

combines elements of personal selling and advertising. It is an interactive
communication. It is done by mail, telephone or by electronic media to establish direct 
relationship with customers. It can be done for specific and immediate action when 
desired. Currently communication and computer technology have come together to
give  birth to telemarketing – a very powerful cost effective tool for business to reach
target  customers and business markets. The rapid growth of telemarketing is the result
of its  cost advantage. It delivers individual selling message to specific prospects at an 
affordable cost. 
Direct marketing is targeted marketing. There is a measurable response and a 
feedback is built into every direct marketing activity. 

Direct Mail 

The oldest form of direct marketing known as "mail order". It came into existence  when
rail, road and postal system developed. Of late, mail order has considerably improved
and is appealing to more shoppers who are dissatisfied with traffic congestion, long
lines and impersonal service. The direct mail is used extensively through  catalogues,
magazines and newspapers. The organisations using this method are  insurance
companies, credit cards, charitable agencies, book publishers, etc. Recently  traditional
department store chains have turned to direct mail to stimulate sales. 

Telemarketing 

It emerged during the 1980's as the second major direct marketing technique. 
Marketers encouraged consumers to use toll free telephone numbers to purchase
products in the comfort of their homes. Catalogue marketers, departmental and 
specialist stores, airlines, hotels, rental car companies and other travel agencies urged 
the consumers to call toll free numbers. These applications are known as inbound
telemarketing. 
Outbound telemarketing is the second approach in telemarketing. This involves 
contacting buyers directly on phone for selling merchandise. Many banks use this 
approach to sell retirement accounts and financial products. Other major users of 
outbound tele marketing are colleges, medical research organisations and other non 
profit groups for soliciting contributions.