Personal Selling

Module- III
Reference- Any Marketing Book

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 What is Personal Selling ?
AMA defines personal selling as
“ Personal Selling is the oral presentation in a
conversation with one or more prospective
purchasers for the purpose of making sales; it is the
ability to persuade the people to buy goods and
services at profit to the seller and benefits to the
buyer.”
OR
“Personal selling is a promotional method in which one
party (e.g., salesperson) uses skills and techniques
for building personal relationships with another
party (e.g., those involved in a purchase decision)
that results in both parties obtaining value.  ”
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Personal Selling…

It allows marketers the greatest freedom to

adjust a message to satisfy customers'
information needs.
It allows the marketer or seller to
communicate directly with the prospect or
customer and listen to his or her concerns,
answer specific questions, provide
additional information, inform, persuade,
and possibly even recommend other
products or services.
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 Types of Salespersons
 Order Takers
Inside order takers
Field order takers
 Order Getters
 Current customer sales
 New business sales
 Support Personnel

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 Personal Selling Process

Prospecting
Preapproach
& Qualifying

Presentation
&
Demonstration

Follow- up Overcoming
Closing
Objections

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PS Process…
Prospecting and Qualifying
A prospect is a person/organization that indicates a need for a
product.
Generating sales leads
Identifying prospects (making cold calls/visiting potential
customer)
Qualifying prospects (cold, warm & hot lead )

Pre-approach
Creation of prospect’s profile
Deciding on approach
Establish objectives of sales call
Preparing for the presentation

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Contd…
Presentation & Demonstration
The salesperson tells the “product story” to the
buyer, highlighting features, advantages & value
approach.

Overcoming Objections
The salesperson seeks out, clarifies, and
overcomes customer objections to buying.

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Contd…
Closing
The salesperson asks the customer for an
order.
Follow-Up
The salesperson follows up after the sale to
ensure customer satisfaction & repeat
business.

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Designing The Sales Force

Sales force Sales force

Objectives Strategy

Designing Sales force

the sales force Structure

Sales force Sales force

compensation Size

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 Objectives
Steps in Process – Sales volume and profitability
– Tasks to perform
Objectives and Prospecting
Targeting
strategy Communicating
Selling
Structure Servicing
Information gatherer
Sales force size Allocating
Strategy
Compensation – Account managers
Type of sales force
– Direct (company) or
contractual

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 Steps in Process
Types of sales force
Objectives and structures:
strategy
– Territorial
Structure
– Product
Sales force size
– Customer
Compensation
– Complex

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 Equalized Workload approach:
Steps in Process – Group customers by annual sales
volume
– Establish call frequencies each
year.
Objectives and – Calculate total yearly sales call
workload
strategy – Calculate average number of
Structure calls/year
– Calculate number of sales
Sales force size representatives
Ex- Company estimates 4000 of potential
Compensation and current customers in a state and each
customer needs to be called at least 10
times in a year. The company needs
sales force that can make 40,000 sales
call a year. Suppose the average no. of
calls a sales rep can make is 1000 a year,
company would need 40 full time sales
rep.
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 Steps in Process Four components of
compensation:
– Fixed amount
Objectives and – Variable amount
strategy – Expense allowances
– Benefits
Structure
Compensation plans
Sales force size – Straight salary
Compensation – Straight commission
– Combination

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Managing The Sales Force (Sales Force
management)

Managing sales force has five crucial steps-

Recruitment and Supervising
selection Motivating
Training Evaluating

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Managing the Sales Force….

1. Recruiting begins with the development of

selection criteria
– Customer desired traits
– Traits common to successful sales representatives
Selection criteria are publicized
Various selection procedures are used to
evaluate candidates

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Managing the Sales Force….

2. Training topics include:

1. Company background, products
2. Customer characteristics
3. Competitors’ products
4. Sales presentation techniques
5. Procedures and responsibilities
Training time needed and training
method used vary with task complexity

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Managing the Sales Force….

3. Successful firms have procedures to aid

in evaluating the sales force productivity :

– Norms for customer calls

– Norms for prospect calls
– Using sales time efficiently

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Managing the Sales Force….

4.Motivating the Sales Force

– Most valued rewards
Pay, promotion, personal growth, sense of
accomplishment
– Least valued rewards
Liking and respect, recognition
– Sales quotas as motivation tools

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Managing the Sales Force….

5. Evaluating the Sales Force

– Sources of information
Sales or call reports, personal observation,
customer letters and complaints, customer
surveys, other representatives
– Formal evaluation
Performance comparisons
Knowledge assessments

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