personal selling - within 1000 words

8/17/2019 Personal Selling - Within 1000 Words

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Personal selling is where businesses use people (the "sales force") to sell the product after

meeting face-to-face with the customer.

The sellers promote the product through their attitude, appearance and specialist productknowledge. They aim to inform and encourage the customer to buy, or at least trial the

product.

A good example of personal selling is found in department stores on the perfume and

cosmetic counters. A customer can get adice on how to apply the product and can try

different products. Products with relatiely high prices, or with complex features, are often

sold using personal selling. !reat examples include cars, office euipment (e.g. photocopiers)

and many products that are sold by businesses to other industrial customers.

Adantage of Personal #elling$

%igh customer attention

&assage is customised

'nteractiity

Persuasie impact

Potential for deelopment of relationship

Adaptable

pportunity to close the sal

Personal #elling consists of the following steps.

. Pre*sale preparation$ The first step in personal selling is the selection,

training and motiation of salespersons. The salespersons must be fully familiar

with the product, the firm, the market and the selling techniues. They should

be well*informed about the competitor+s products and the degree of competition.

They should also be acuainted with the moties and behaiour of prospectie buyers.

. Prospecting$ 't refers to locating or searching out prospectie buyers who

hae the need for the product and the ability to buy it. Potential customers may

be spotted through obseration, enuiry and analysis of records of existing

customers. #ocial contacts, business associations and dealers can be helpful in

the identification of potential buyers.


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-. Approaching$ efore calling on the prospects, the salesperson should

fully learn their number, needs, habits, spending capacity, moties, etc. #uch

knowledge helps in selecting the right sales appeal. After such learning, the

salesperson should approach the customer in a polite and dignified way. %e

should introduce himself and his product to the customer. %e should greet the

customer with a smile and make him feel at home. %e should introduce himself

and his product to the customer. 'n case he is busy with some other customer, he

should assure the new customer that he would be attended ery soon. The

salesperson has to be ery careful in his approach as the first impression is the

last impression.

/. Presentation$ 0or this purpose, the salesperson has to present the product

and describe its features in brief. The presentation should be matched with the

attitude of the prospect so that the salesman can continuously hold his attention

and create interest in the product.

1. 2emonstration$ 'n order to maintain customer+s interest and to arouse his

desire, the sales*person must display and demonstrate the product. %e has to

explain the utility and distinctie ualities of the product so that the prospectreali3es the need for the product to satisfy his wants. %e should not be in a hurry

to impress the customer and should aoid controersy. %e may suggest uses of

the product and may create an impulsie urge to possess the article by appealing

to human instincts.

4. %andling ob5ections$ A sale cannot be achieed simply by creating

interest and desire. 6ery customer wants to make the best bargain for the

money he is spending. Presentation and demonstration of the product are likelyto create doubts and uestions in his mind. The salesman should clear all doubts

and ob5ections without entering into a controersy and without losing his

temper. Testimonials, money*back guarantee, tact and patience are popular

means of winning oer s hesitant buyers. The salesman should conince the

customer that he is making the best use of his money by purchasing the product.

0or this purpose, the salesman should proe the superiority of his product oer

the competitie products. %e should not lose patience if the customer puts too

many ueries and takes time in arriing at any decision. 'f the customer doesnot buy een after meeting re5ections, the salesman should let him go without


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showing temper. %e must beliee in the uniersal rule that the customer is

always right.

7. 8losing the sale$ This is the climax or critical point in the personal selling

process. 8ompleting the sale seems to be an easy task but inappropriate

handling of the customer can result in loss of sale. The salesman should not

force the deal but let the customer feel that he has made the final decision. %e

should guide the customer in making the choice without imposing his own iew.

#ome ad5ustment in price or other concession may sometimes be necessary for a

successful closing. The salesman should show the same interest in the customer

which he exhibited during approach stage. #ales should be closed in a cordial

manner so that the customer feels inclined to isit the shop again. 'n closing the

sale, the article should be packed properly and handed oer to the customer with

speed and accuracy. nce the customer has purchased the article, the salesman

should show and suggest an allied product. 0or instance, he may suggest socks,

ties, handkerchiefs, ests, etc., to a customer purchasing a shirt. This is known

as additional sales and reuires great skill and tact.

9. Post*sale follow*up $ 't refers to the actiities undertaken to ensure that

the customer is satisfied with the article and the firm. These actiities include

installation of the products, checking and ensuring its smooth performance,

maintenance and after*sale serice. 't helps to secure repeat sales identify

additional prospects and to ealuate salesman+s effectieness.

&arketing #trategies for Personal #elling Personal selling is the action of

erbally corresponding with a probable buyer with the ob5ectie of finishing a

transaction. 8ontrasting to 'nternet selling, you need to grow a good special

liaison with the customer or client for thriing. &arketing strategies forPersonal selling necessitates an out of the ordinary talent that not all inhabitants

hae$ magnetism.

&arketing #trategies for Personal #elling

Personal selling is the action of erbally corresponding with a probable buyer

with the ob5ectie of finishing a transaction. 8ontrasting to 'nternet selling, youneed to grow a good special liaison with the customer or client for thriing.


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&arketing strategies for Personal selling necessitates an out of the ordinary

talent that not all inhabitants hae$ magnetism. :ou ought to hae a tone and

features that people can hae faith on, or else they will be suspicious as regards

doing business with you.

. 8lassify and recogni3e :our 8ustomer

2ecide what section of indiiduals is mainly prone to react well to your

merchandise. ring the group down as far as achieable. ;eep in mind that

consumers want the response to this uery$ t

purchase from you immediately as he is fond of you or because of your

beautiful smile (although these are significant aspects). :ou hae to recogni3e

precisely what the consumer reuires and wants in the course of your

interactions with him. 2isplay precisely how your merchandise or serice will

assist him.

e acuainted with your good and tell :our #tory

?umerous personal selling hard works fall short as the seller does not actually be acuainted with much as regards the goods. %ow can you be able to

adertise anything to a new indiidual person to person if you by no means een

used or practiced the products yourself= 8heck the merchandise to erify its

effect prior to trying to adertise it to a new indiidual. :our experience will be

a lot more authentic and dependable.

#tart 8lose to %ome

The superlatie method to become skilled at personal selling techniues is to

begin small and near to home. Apply your &arketing #trategies for Personal

#elling on your family and close friends. 'nuire your dear ones for honest

reiews regarding your transaction pitch and what they sincerely feel of the

goods. @isten. 2o not be irritating and importunate with your family or close

friends***you don+t want tm to keep away from you. ust take this approach as

more of a learning cure to coach you what works and what doesn>t work whilst

selling.


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'mportance of personal #elling

Personal selling is an important element of promotion mix and an effectie

promotional tool. Personal #elling offers the following compensation.

(i) 't is a flexible tool$ Personal selling inoles indiidual and personal

communication as compared to the mass and impersonal communication of

adertising and sales promotion. Therefore, personal selling is most flexible in

operation. A salesman can tailor his sales presentation to fit the needs, moties

and attitudes of indiidual customers can obsere the customer+s reaction to a particular sales approach and thus make necessary ad5ustments right on the spot.

0ace*to*face contact with customers is the most effectie means of

communication and persuasion.

(ii) 't inoles minimum wasted effort$ 'n personal selling, a salesman can

select the target market and concentrate on the prospectie customers. %e need

not communicate with the people who are not the real prospects. Therefore,

personal selling inoles minimum wastage of effort.

(iii) 't results in actual sale $ Adertising and sales promotion techniues can

only attract attention and arouse desire. y themseles they cannot create actual

sale. Personal selling in most cases leads to actual sale. A salesman can find

prospectie buyers, demonstrate the product, explain its operation, and conince

customers to buy it, install it at the customer+s place and proide after*sale

serice. ?o other method of promotion can perform all these functions.

Therefore, personal selling does the entire 5ob of selling. Personal #elling is acomplete promotional techniue of keeping customers satisfied.

(i) 't proides feedback$ Personal selling inoles two*way flow of

communication between the buyer and the seller. 't is a useful method of

understanding the needs and behaior customers. 't proides knowledge about

the tastes, habits and attitudes of the prospectie customers.


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() 't complements adertising $ 'n most situations, there is a need for

explaining the uality uses and price of the product. #alesmen can persuade the

prospectie customers to buy a product. Adertising attracts customers but their

doubts and uestions about the product are answered by salesmen. 'n this way

personal selling supports adertising. #alesmen educational the consumers

about new products and about new uses of existing products.

(i) 't educates customers $ #alesmanship is not simply a tool of conincing

people to buy certain products. 't assists customers in satisfying their wants. A

salesman proides$ information, education and guidance to customers. %e

handles their complaints and assists them in getting alue for their money. %e

can clear their doubts on the spot.

(ii) 't assists the society$ #alesmen help to increase aggregate sales and

production in the country thereby increasing employment opportunities. They

help to maintain euilibrium between demand and supply.

2espite the aboe adantages, personal selling suffers from seeral

disadantages. 0irstly personal selling is the costliest method of promotion.

#econdly, it can coer only limited number customers at a time. Thirdly, it is not

ery effectie for creating consumer awareness about a product or serice.

0ourthly, many consumers are suspicious of personal selling at the retail leel

and they critici3e salesmen for lack of honesty, poor knowledge, strong

pressure, etc. @astly, it is difficult to recruit, train and motiate competent

salespersons.

This lesson introduces you to the concept of personal selling. :ou will learn

about the steps in the personal selling process, including how to close a deal.

Personal #elling

ur farmer needs to increase his reenue. The town bank has 5ust informed him

that he is falling behind in his mortgage payments. %e needs B/,CCC a month to

be able to sae his farmD

The entire 0armer family had an emergency meeting and has decided that the

best chance of saing the farm is to add flowers as one of their products.

They+e always had luck with their family soil growing beautiful flowers, and

this might be the solutionD %e has decided to go town to town and try to sell his

flowers at the local floral shops.


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Personal selling is part of the oerall promotional mix, which also contains

adertising, sales promotion and public relations. Personal selling is when a

personal paid*for communication occurs between two people in an attempt to

influence each other.

enefits of Personal #elling

The farmer knows that in order to sae his family+s farm he will need to choose

the correct path to sell his flowers. Personal selling is the farmer+s best choice in

marketing because he can demonstrate his products. %e can talk to the floral

owners and een leae samples of his twigs and flowers with the shop to

demonstrate his high*uality assortment.

Another reason is that the farmer can tailor his sales pitch to each floral shop

depending on their needs. 0or example, one shop might 5ust want roses and

expensie flowers, while another might 5ust want twigs to create centerpieces.

Personal selling also allows him to determine if the floral shop would fit the

description of his ideal customer. Perhaps one shop is going out of business or

another already grows their flowers out back. %e can ad5ust his customer list

and not waste any time in the future calling on them.

The general rule is that personal selling should be used when the target market

is small in si3e and when the product is complicated andEor costly. The farmer

will be selling in a small market and due to the ariations in the products that he

sells and the ariations in customers+ needs, personal selling is the ideal

marketing approach for him.

Personal #elling #teps

The steps of personal selling are also knows as the sales process or cycle. The

steps are what a salesperson has to go through to sell a particular product or

serice. #ome sales are ery uick, such as when the farmer has to sell his

tomatoes from his road side cart. ther sales can take long to complete due to

the expense or technical nature of the product. The personal selling steps are$

generating leads, ualifying leads, approaching the customer and probing needs,

deeloping proposing solutions, handling ob5ections, closing the sale and

following up.


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!enerating @eads

@et+s take a look at the first step our farmer must learn. @ead generating (or

prospecting) is when the farmer identifies the people in the geographic area who

are most likely to buy his product. %e can+t waste his time calling on eery store

or floral shop. %e needs to either send out a postcard, make phone calls or een

sales calls. The farmer can also network by going to town meetings or

chambers. The farmer may also find customers through referrals. Feferrals are

when friends recommend your business to their friends. This word of mouth is

usually the best way of gaining customers.

Gualifying @eads

The second step in the personal selling process is ualifying a lead. ?ot eery

person that shows interest in potentially buying the farmer+s flowers will be a

good lead. @ead ualification occurs when a person has a recogni3ed need, a

willingness to see a salesperson and buying power. 'f the potential customer is

lacking in any of the three items, then they would not be a good inestment of

time for the farmer.

Approaching the 8ustomer and Probing ?eeds

?ow that the farmer has deeloped an excellent set of leads, he needs to do his

homework. The farmer should research or conduct a preapproach where

homework is completed on the customer. #ome examples would be the type of

flowers they offer their financial situation, if possibleH and perhaps, gather

information that is aailable publicly. The farmer should try to create a needs

assessment of the customer by creating a customer profile. This can be done by

a uick phone call or een a short postcard surey. The ultimate goal of the

farmer is to figure out what issues the floral shops may hae and how he can

sole them with his homegrown products.

2eeloping and Proposing #olutions

ur farmer has conducted a ton of research and now has a list of places to make

appointments for sales calls. The farmer has created a short presentation in

which he will make a sales proposal to a prospectie florist. %e should hae a

list of his recommendations and how he can help them sole a current issue. The

issue could be as simple as stocking fresher flowers or making more money by

offering his product at a lower cost. ur farmer has created a stunning


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presentation that is short and iidly impactful. %e has offered great prices and

left a bouuet of sample products for free. Infortunately, not eery sales call

ends with a sale. The farmer needs to handle any ob5ections from the potential

customer next and not gie upD

6xplain the role of the seen steps of the selling process.

:ou may hae been surprised if someone told you that moie scripts, regardless

of the genre, all follow the same basic formulaJthe same seuence of eentsJ

almost down to the minute$ after three minutes, the central uestion of the

moie is introducedH after twenty*seen more minutes, the main character will

set off on a new pathH fifteen minutes more, and something symbolic will

happenH and so on.K/--L 't>s hard to beliee that The 0ast and the 0urious would

follow the same formula as The ?otebook, but once you know what to look for,

you>ll see that the structure holds up. 8learly, %ollywood has come to learn that

this particular structure is the secret to keeping the audience>s attention, earning

positie reiews, and selling moies.

'n the same way, almost all sellingJregardless of the product that>s being sold

Jfollows a particular seuence of steps. 't>s a simple but logical framework

that has been the accepted model for almost a hundred years.K/-/L #alespeople

hae adapted the specifics of the process as culture and technology hae

changed, but the fact that they>e followed the same basic model has for so long

testifies to its effectieness. The selling process is generally diided into seen

steps that, once you understand them, will empower you to sell irtually

anything you want and satisfy your customers$

Prospect and ualify

Preapproach

Approach

Presentation

ercome ob5ections


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8lose the sale

0ollow*up

6ach step of the seen*step process is coered thoroughly in this and the next

six chapters so that you can learn the details of each step and how to apply them

in arious selling situations.

0igure 7.. #een*#tep #elling ProcessK/-1L

#een*#tep #elling Process#ource$ Adapted from #olomon, &arshall, #tuart,

&arketing$ Feal People, Feal 8hoices, 1th ed. (Ipper #addle Fier, ?$

Pearson Prentice %all, CC9), /1C.


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usiness*to*8onsumer (8) #ales

@et>s say you want to buy a gym membership. &aybe you receied a

promotional offer in the mail, your friends on 0acebook hae had good things to

say about a particular gym, or you picked this club because it>s close to home.

s amenities and gies you a tour of the

facility. Then, you sit down to discuss pricing options and payment plans. 'f you

hae any uestions or concerns (i.e., M' noticed there are only three tennis

courts. 's there usually a long wait to use one=N or Mt there any

kickboxing classes on your class schedule=N), the membership director will

attempt to address those. &aybe he will tell you there is occasionally a wait to

use the tennis courts at peak times, but you can resere a spot up to a week in

adance, in which case you can get right in. r maybe he>ll say that while they

don>t hae kickboxing classes, they offer Oumba, which is a fun aerobic

alternatie.

'f you>re satisfied with his responses, and the price and product meet your

needs, you will probably decide to sign a contract. nce you>e signed,

someone from the club will probably follow up with a call in a few weeks to see

if you>re satisfied with your experience at their gym, or you may get an e*mail

from them with a membership satisfaction surey or a text message about an

upcoming eent.

The example aboe is an actual selling situation. Although you may not hae

reali3ed it while you were reading it, the situation follows the seen*step selling

process.

re buying a gym membership or a car, cell phone serice or a new

computer, the situation may be different, but the steps in the selling process will

follow the same pattern.

usiness*to*usiness () #ales


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The process isn>t only limited to business*to*consumer salesH it>s also the

process that '& will use to sell serers to a corporation, that Accenture will

use to sell consulting serices to a technology company, or that the 8offee

rewers 8ompany will use to sell espresso machines to coffee shops. 'magine

you run a chic new restaurant. :ou get a call from a salesperson who

compliments you on the roasted chicken she had at your restaurant last

weekend. After some conersation, she asks if you>re satisfied with your

commercial oens. :ou hae been haing some problems with them and hae

been doing some casual research online. :ou know that her company is rated as

one of the best oen manufacturers, so you tell her$ the oens are oer ten years

old, they take a long time to heat up, and they sometimes cook things uneenly.

M&any older oens hae this problem,N she says. Mre concerned that the oens might not cook food

eenly. ens are a big expenseJwhat happens if you aren>t satisfied with the

product= The salesperson says you can lease an oen for a trial period at no

obligation, and she shows you reiews from other customers on her company>s

e been satisfied with the

product so far, and she offers you a discount if you sign a contract to purchase

two oens in the next ten days. #ince you hae been happy with the leased oen

and checked out the company>s serice record online from other current

customers, you make the purchase.


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As in the gym membership example aboe, this selling situation follows

the seen*step framework. ?ow, take a minute to reiew this selling situation in

the box below to see exactly how the steps are implemented.

The #een #teps of #elling

8ompare the and 8 examples you 5ust read about. 2o you notice a

pattern= Although the products and customers were uite different, both

salespeople adapted to the situation and the customer>s needs, but followed the

same seen steps to successfully complete their sales. 'n fact, you>e probably

used a ersion of these seen steps yourself before without een reali3ing it.

Take a look at some real*world selling examples below and how of each of the

steps is used.

#tep $ Prospecting and Gualifying

efore planning a sale, a salesperson conducts research to identify the people or

companies that might be interested in her product. 'n the example, before

the salesperson called the company, she had to find the company>s information

somewhereJprobably in a local business directory. This step is called

prospecting, and it>s the foundational step for the rest of the sales process. A

lead is a potential buyer. A prospect is a lead that is ualified or determined to

be ready, willing, and able to buy. The prospecting and ualifying step relates to

the needs awareness step in the buying process described in 8hapter 4,


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#alespeople ualify their prospects so they can focus their sales efforts on the

people who are most likely to buy. After all, spending an hour discussing the

capabilities of your company>s oens with a lead that is about to go out of

business would be a waste of time. 't>s much more fruitful to inest your time

with a ualified prospect, one who has the desire or ability to buy the product or

serice.

#tep $ Preapproach

The preapproach is the Mdoing your homeworkN part of the process. A good

salesperson researches his prospect, familiari3ing himself with the customer>s

needs and learning all the releant background info he can about the indiidual

or business.K/-7L Femember that in the example, the salesperson knew

important information about the restaurant beforehand. #he came prepared with

a specific idea as to how her serice could help the prospect and gae a tailored

presentation.

#tep -$ Approach

0irst impressions (e.g., the first few minutes of a sales call) are crucial to

building the client>s trust.K/-9L 'f you>e eer asked someone on a first date

(yes, this is a selling situation), chances are you didn>t call the person and start

the conersation off with the uestion, M%ey, do you want to go out on #aturday

night=N #uch an abrupt method would turn most people away, and you probably

would not score the date you were hoping for. #imilarly, as a professional

salesperson, you would almost neer make a pitch right awayH instead, you>d

work to establish a rapport with the customer first. This usually inoles

introductions, making some small talk, asking a few warm*up uestions, and

generally explaining who you are and whom you represent.K/-L,K//CL This is

called the approach.

0igure 7..

The approach may be on the phone, in person, or ia e*mail or other online

method such as a social network.


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#tep /$ Presentation

There>s a good deal of preparation inoled before a salesperson eer makes her

pitch or presentation, but the presentation is where the research pays off and her

idea for the prospect comes alie. y the time she presents her product, she will

understand her customer>s needs well enough to be sure she>s offering a solution

the customer could use. 'f you>re a real estate agent selling a house and your

customers are an older, retired couple, you won>t take them to see a house with

many bedrooms, seeral flights of stairs to climb, and a huge yard to keep upJ

nor will you show them around a trendy loft in a busy part of town. The

presentation should be tailored to the customer, explaining how the product

meets that person or company>s needs. 't might inole a tour (as in this real

estate example), a product demonstration, ideos, PowerPoint presentations, or

letting the customer actually look at or interact with the product. At this point,

the customer is using the information that is being shared as part of his

ealuation of possible solutions.

#tep 1$ %andling b5ections

After you>e made your sales presentation, it>s natural for your customer to

hae some hesitations or concerns called ob5ections. !ood salespeople look at

ob5ections as opportunities to further understand and respond to customers>

needs.K//L 0or instance, maybe you>re trying to conince a friend to come

camping with you.

M'>d like to goN your friend says, Mbut '>e got a big pro5ect ' need to finish at

work, and ' was planning to spend some time at the office this weekend.N

MThat>s no problem,N you tell him. M'>m free next weekend, too. t we

plan to go then, once your pro5ect>s out of the way=N

#tep 4$ 8losing the #ale

6entually, if your customer is coninced your product will meet her needs, you

close by agreeing on the terms of the sale and finishing up the transaction.K//L

This is the point where the potential gym member signs her membership


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agreement, the restaurant owner decides to purchase the oens, or your friend

says, M#ure, let>s go camping next weekendDN #ometimes a salesperson has to

make seeral trial closes during a sales call, addressing further ob5ections before

the customer is ready to buy.K//-L 't may turn out, een at this stage in the

process, that the product doesn>t actually meet the customer>s needs. The

importantJand sometimes challengingJpart of closing is that the seller has to

actually ask if the potential customer is willing to make the purchase.K///L

e completed a landscaping 5ob for your customer or sold him a car

or installed the software that meets his needs. e

accomplished your goal, the customer relationship has only begun. The follow*

up is an important part of assuring customer satisfaction, retaining customers

and prospecting for new customers. This might mean sending a thank*you note,

calling the customer to make sure a product was receied in satisfactory

condition, or checking in to make sure a serice is meeting the customer>s

expectations. This is the follow*up e*mail you get from ?etflix eery time you

return a moie by mail. 't>s Ama3on>s initation to Mrate your transactionN after

you receie your Ama3on order. 0ollow*up also includes logistical details like

signing contracts, setting up deliery or installation dates, and drawing up a

timeline. 0rom the buyer>s perspectie, the follow*up is the implementation step

in the buying process. !ood follow*up helps ensure additional sales, customer

referrals, and positie reiewsK//1L and actually leads you back to the first step

in the selling process because it proides the opportunity to learn about new

needs for this customer or new customers through referrals.

;6: TA;6A


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and desire to make a purchase. The people and organi3ations that meet these

criteria are ualified prospects.

efore making a sales call, it is important to Mdo your homeworkN by

researching your customer and planning what you are going to sayH this is the

preapproach.

The approach is your chance to make a first impression by introducing yourself,

explaining the purpose of your call or isit, and establishing a rapport with your

prospect.

:our research and preparation pays off during the presentation, when you

propose your sales solution to your prospect.

:our prospect will naturally hae ob5ections, which you should look at as

opportunities to better understand and respond to his or her needs.

nce you oercome ob5ections, you close the sale by agreeing on the terms and

finali3ing the transaction.

The sales process doesn>t end with the closeH follow*up (i.e., ensuring customer

satisfaction and working out the logistics of deliery, installation, and timelines)

is essential to retaining existing customers and finding new ones.

&id 2ecember ' got an email from a man named #erge @aange who works for

a company called ooble. %e asked if ' would link to ooble on my blog in

exchange for him promoting my blog with a banner ad for a month on ooble. '

agreed, technically making this my second 8onsulting 0or #wag article that '+m

posting, the first being 0ace!uard. ' know, ' know, this is not exactly a

consulting 5ob, but it+s close enough because '+m using the opportunity to

discuss the Personal #elling Process. #imilar to the / Ps of &arketing, this is an

academic marketing model that is ery practical when it comes to real*world

application.

Personal #elling


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This is arguably the most expensie way of promoting a product, but depending

on what you+re selling it can be the most effectie promotional tool. 't is

estimated that on aerage a sales call costs a company upwards of B-CC, but

haing a salesman explain the benefits of your product or serice in person

allows the salesman to customi3e the message to the customer+s needs. This is

especially useful for selling large products or large amounts of small products to

large customers. :ou probably wouldn+t use personal selling, for example, in a

grocery store$

it probably wouldn+t be worth going through the personal selling process for

smaller sales, like a banana.

"...you may also appreciate that the banana is completely imperious

to the mighty blast of the laser pointer..."

#o without further ado, let+s look at the 7 steps of the Personal #elling Process$

. Prospecting

Personal selling begins with deeloping a list of potential customers.


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wholesale customers, and this means it is worth the time to find out what the

clients+ needs are and what their specific needs and concerns will be. Personal

selling is a promotional method that gies the greatest flexibility in tailoring the

message and addressing concerns, so it+s important that you arrie armed with

the information you need. 'n addition, there is an old adage, "friends sell to

friends." 0inding out who you+re going to be selling to, and a few of their

interests can help you hae something to talk about to form a working

relationship.

#erge, the man who contacted me from ooble, started by reading my blog and

noting a few articles he could comment on in his email to me. ' was much more

disposed to respond to him knowing that he had read what ' had to say.

-. Approach

:ou neer get a second chance to make a first impression, and most people

make their minds up about another person within 5ust a few seconds. The

approach is an important part of the sales call because you hae a chance to

establish trust with your client. Asking uestions to get the prospectie client

talking, being warm and friendly with a firm handshake can help.

8ompanies can use personal selling techniues at a slightly reduced cost by

making the approach and the presentation through call centers or through the

'nternet. This changes the dynamics of making a first impression.


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The presentation ' receied was through email, which is slightly different to

tailor. #erge told me of the trouble he was haing finding blogs willing to link

to ooble, and asked if ' thought a link would fit with my blog. This personal

uestion and initation to respond was enough to get me engaged in a

conersation. ' was able to articulate what ' would like in exchange and my

concerns about how to make it fit thematically into the blog instead of 5ust

shoehorning an unrelated link into my content. 't worked out, which is why '+m

writing this.

1. ercoming b5ections

This is where the personal selling process has a great adantage oer other sales

methods. Incoering ob5ections and oercoming them is the test of a good

salesman. 8ommon techniues for oercoming ob5ections include$

Acknowledge ob5ection and conert$ ":es our prices are higher because of our

ama3ing uality."

Postpone$ "


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product arried on time, was installed correctly, and that there were no problems

with it. This is key to haing satisfied customers, and can pae the way to

future sales and referrals.

And that, my friends, is an oeriew of the personal selling process and how it

relates to #erge at ooble. ' hope you all find it useful. #o now that '+e gone

through this nice presentation, click here to find out how you could get an

article featured here, yourselfD

The 9 #tep Personal #elling Process

Personal selling is the most expensie form of adertising and to be effectie

one should use a step by step process to gain the most benefit. Personal selling

can ad5ust the manner in which facts are communicated and can consider factors

such as culture and behaiour in the approach. They can ask uestions to

discoer the specific need of the customer and can get feedback and ad5ust the

presentation as it progresses.

The Personal #elling Process

The personal selling process is a consecutie series of actiities conducted by

the salesperson, the lead to a prospect taking the desired action of buying a

product or serice and finish with a follow*up contact to ensure purchase

satisfaction.

#tep ne

Prospecting * the first step in the personal selling process

The process of looking for and checking leads is called prospecting or

determining which firms or indiiduals could become customers.

Ip to CQ of a firm+s customer base can be lost for reasons such as transfer,

death, retirement, takeoers, dissatisfaction with the company and competition.

A steadily growing list of ualified prospects is important for reaching the sales

targets.

Gualifying a prospect$ A lead is a name on a list. 't only becomes a prospect if it

is determined that the person or company can benefit from the serice or

product offered. A ualified prospect has a need, can benefit from the product

and has the authority to make the decision.


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#tep Two

The Pre*approach

This stage inoles the collecting of as much releant information as possible

prior to the sales presentation. The pre*approach inestigation is carried out on

new customers but also on regular customers. #ystematic collection of

information reuires a decision about applicability, usefulness and how to

organise the information for easy access and effectie use.

#tep Three

The Approach

The salesperson should always focus on the benefits for the customer. This is

done by using the product+s features and adantages. This is known as the 0A

techniue (0eatures, Adantages and enefits).

R 0eatures $ Fefers to the physical characteristics such as si3e, taste etc.

R Adantages $ Fefers to the performance proided by the physical

characteristics eg it does not stain.

R enefits $ Fefers to the benefits for the prospect. 6g. #aes you CQ on

replacement cost.

#tep 0our

The #ales Presentation

After the prospects interest has been grasped, the sales presentation is deliered.

This inoles a "persuasie ocal and isual explanation of a business

proposition". 't should be done in a relaxed atmosphere to encourage the

prospect to share information in order to establish reuirements. #ome small

talk may be necessary to reduce tension but the purpose always remains

business.

#tep 0ie

The Trial 8lose

The trial close is a part of the presentation and is an important step in the selling

process. ;nown as a temperature uestion * techniue to establish the attitude of

the prospect towards the presentation and the product.

#tep #ix

%andling b5ections


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b5ections are often indications of interest by the prospect and should not be

iewed with misgiing by salespeople. The prospect is in fact reuesting

additional information to help him to 5ustify a decision to buy. The prospect

may not be fully coninced and the issues raised are thus ery important. 't also

assists the salesperson to establish exactly what is on the prospect+s mind.

#tep #een

8losing the #ale

This is the last part of the presentation. &any salespeople fear the closing of a

sale. 8losing a sale is only the confirmation of an understanding. 0ear will

disappear if the salesperson truly beliees that the prospect will en5oy benefits

after the purchase of the product.

#tep 6ight

The 0ollow*up

The sale does not complete the selling process. 0ollow*up actiities are ery

important and are useful for the establishment of long*term business

relationships. 't is important to check if the products hae been receied in goodcondition, to establish the customer is satisfied etc.

personal selling - within 1000 words

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