Evolution of Personal Selling
EvolutionofSellingand
SalesManagement
by
Anoop Kumar Gupta
MAIT
1
Evolution of Personal Selling
 
Thesellingfunctionhasbeenapartof
humankindsincethebeginning,perhapswhen
onepersontradedmeatforwheat.
WiththearrivaloftheIndustrialRevolutionin
the1800s,companiesbegantomakemore
goodsmorecheaply.
Evenso,demandoutstrippedsupply,andfor
manycompanies,thekeyissueinsellingwasto
makepeopleawareoftheproductandwhatit
coulddo.
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Evolution of Personal Selling
ForwardthinkingcompaniessuchasNCRand
SingerSewingMachineshiredsalespeople,
calleddrummersorpeddlers,andsentthem
acrossthecountry(U.S.)tosell.
Thenthecompaniesbroughtthemosteffective
salespeoplebackintothecompanyofficeand
wrotedowntheirsalespitches.
Thesecannedsalespitchesweredistributedto
allsalespeople,whowereexpectedtofollowthe
scriptseverytimewithoutdeviation.
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 Evolution of Personal Selling Evolution of Personal Selling
 

Sincethattimethingshavechangedgreatly.The
natureofbusinessevolved,necessarilychanging
howpeoplesell.
Exhibitillustrateshowtheroleofthesalesperson
hasevolvedfromtakingordersthrough
persuadingcustomerstobuildingpartnerships.
AsExhibitshows,theorientationsofsalespeople
emergedindifferentperiods.However,allthese
sellingorientationsstillexistinbusinesstoday.
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Forexample,inboundtelephonesalespeopleworkingfora
retailerareproviderswithaproductionorientation.They
simplytakeordersoverthetelephoneandarrangeordered
itemsatyourdoorstep.
Manyoutboundtelephone,realestate,andinsurance
salespeoplearepersuaderswithasalesorientation.
Partneringorientedsellingisbecomingmorecommonas
companiesmakestrategicchoicesaboutthetypeofselling
bestsuitedtotheirsituation,butrecentresearchindicates
thatevenwithinpartnerships,therearetimeswhenthe
buyerneedstohearpersuasivemessagesthatmightbe
scripted.
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Trends in Personal Selling Relationship Selling

Toaddressalloftheseconcerns,companies Itisatechniqueforbuildingamutuallybeneficial
partnershipwithacustomerthroughregularcontactsover
relyonthreemajorpersonalselling anextendedperiod.
approaches: Suchbuyersellerbondsbecomeincreasinglyimportantas
1. RelationshipSelling companiescutbackonthenumberofsuppliersandlookfor
companiesthatprovidehighlevelsofcustomerserviceand
2. ConsultativeSelling satisfaction.Salespeoplemustalsofindwaystodistinguish
3. TeamSelling themselvesandtheirproductsfromcompetitors.
Tocreatestrong,longlastingrelationshipswithcustomers,
salespeoplemustmeetbuyersexpectations.Thesuccessof
tomorrowsmarketersdependsontherelationshipsthey
buildtodayinboththebusinesstoconsumerandbusiness
tobusinessmarkets.
 Buyers prefer to do business with salespeople
who:
Orchestrateeventsandbringtobearwhateverresources
arenecessary
tosatisfythecustomer
Providecounselingtothecustomerbasedonindepth
knowledgeoftheproduct,themarket,andthe
customersneeds
Solveproblemsextremelyproficientlytoensure
satisfactorycustomerserviceoverextendedtime
periods
Demonstratehighethicalstandardsandcommunicate
honestlyatalltimes
Willinglyadvocatethecustomerscausewithinthe
sellingorganization
Createimaginativearrangementstomeetbuyersneeds
Arrivewellpreparedforsalescalls 
Team Selling
Inteamsellingasalespersonjoinswithspecialistsfromother
functionalareasofthefirmtocompletethesellingprocess.
Teamscanbeformalandongoingorcreatedforaspecific,
shorttermsellingsituation.Althoughsomesalespeoplehave
hesitatedtoembracetheideaofteamselling,preferringto
workalone,agrowingnumberbelieveteamsellingbrings
betterresults.
Anotheradvantageofteamsellingistheformationof
relationshipsbetweencompaniesratherthanbetween
individuals.
Insalessituationsthatcallfordetailedknowledgeofnew,
complex,andeverchangingtechnologies,teamsellingoffers
adistinctcompetitiveedgeinmeetingcustomersneeds.
Consultative Selling
Consultativeselling,involvesmeetingcustomer
needsbylisteningtocustomers,understanding
andcaringabouttheirproblems,payingattention
todetails,andfollowingthroughafterthesale.
Itworkshandinhandwithrelationshipsellingin
buildingcustomerloyalty.
Crosssellingofferingmultiplegoodsorservicesto
thesamecustomerisanothertechniquethat
capitalizesonafirmsstrengths.
Team Selling
InmostcomputersoftwareB2Bdepartments,athird
ofthesalesforceismadeupoftechnicallytrained,
nonmarketingexpertssuchasengineersor
programmers.
Asalespersoncontinuestoplaytheleadroleinmost
salessituations,buttechnicalexpertsbringadded
valuetothesalesprocess.
Somecompaniesestablishpermanentsalesandtech
teamsthatconductallsalespresentationstogether;
othershaveapoolofengineersorotherprofessionals
whoareoncallfordifferentclientvisits.
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