Personal Selling

Objectives
❧ Building Product Awareness

❧ Creating Interest

❧ Providing Information

❧ Stimulating Demand

❧ Reinforcing the Brand

Examples of Personal Selling
Retail selling

Field selling

Telemarketing

Inside selling
❧ 12 million people are engaged in personal
selling in the United States
❧ Represents about 10% of the work force
 Relative Importance of
Advertising and Personal Selling
Pre-transaction:
Pre-transaction:
❧ Create
❧ Create recognition
recognition and
and Post-transaction:
Post-transaction:
info
info understanding
understanding ❧ Reminder and
❧ Reminder and
reassurance
reassurance
Personal
Personal
selling
Transaction:
Transaction: selling
Advertising ❂
❂ Persuasion
Persuasion Advertising
Personal
selling Advertising
 Characteristics of Personal Selling
Pro
Con
Flexibility
❧ Can not reach mass
❧ Adapt to situations
audience
❧ Engage in dialog
❧ Expensive per contact
Builds Relationships ❧ Numerous calls
❧ Long term needed to generate
❧ Assure buyers receive sale
appropriate services ❧ Labor intensive
❧ Solves customer’s
problems
 Types of Salespersons
ORDER ORDER SUPPORT
GETTERS TAKERS PERSONNEL

Current Inside Order Takers Missionary

customers (via mail, telephone, Salespersons
internet)
Outside Field Sales Trade
New Salespersons
customers
Technical
Salespersons
 Personal Selling Tasks
Order getting Order taking
❧ Seeking out customers ❧ Routine
❧ Creative selling ● writing up orders
❧ Pioneering ● checking invoices
❧ Account management ● assuring prompt order
processing
❧ Suggestive selling
 Personal Selling Tasks
❧ Missionary
● Detailer
● Goodwill
● “Closers”

❧ Cross-functional
❧ Account service rep
You are part of the total product
 FOLLOWING UP

CLOSING THE SALE

HANDLING OBJECTIONS

MAKING THE SALES PRESENTATION

APPROACHING THE PROSPECT

Pre approach: QUALIFYING

PROSPECTS

PROSPECTING: IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL

CUSTOMERS
The Personal Selling Process
Creative Selling Process
Prospecting:
Prospecting: Identifying
Identifying
likely
likely new
new customers
customers
●● Leads
Leads
●● Developing
Developing lists
lists of
of Potential
Potential
Customers
Customers

Pre-approach (Qualifying)
✔Finding and analyzing
information about prospects
✔Evaluating a prospect’s
potential
Approaching The Prospect
HOW DO WE MAKE THE
INITIAL CONTACT & BUILD
RAPPORT

There is only one

time to make a first
impression
Creative Selling Process

Making The Sales Presentation

❧ Using Persuasive
communication
❧ Hold Attention
❧ Stimulate Interest
❧ Desire
❧ “Tell the product’s story”
Creative Selling Process

Handling Objections
● Questions
● Reservations
❧ Understand Concern
❧ Counterarguments
❧ Acknowledge concern
❧ Clues to process
 Iceberg Effect

10% Simple (S – R)
is visible

Consumer Competition/deals
Preferences 90%
Personal emotions
is
Technology
invisible
Complex Interactions
Overcoming Objections

IF HE HADN’T TOLD
ME WHAT HIS
OBJECTION
WAS, I NEVER WOULD
HAVE BEEN
ABLE TO HELP!
Creative Selling Process
Closing the Sale
❧ Closing signals
❧ Trial close
❧ Asking the
prospect to buy
Creative Selling Process

Following Up
❧ Commitments met
● Shipment
● Performance
❧ Reinforce L-R relationship
❧ Satisfied customers rebuy
& recommend
❧ Job quality: do it right the first time Servic
e
❧ Prompt warranty work Awa rd

After-sales Service Ratings

Service
Speed Reputation Cost Quality
.37 3.38 4.39 7.87
10
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Low High
(SCALE: Degree of Importance) (JMR/Vol. 78)
 A Key to Success

Stay Close to
Your
Customer
and
LISTEN!