Personal Selling

The sales representatives or salesperson make up a company’s sales force. They interact directly with customers or prospects – potential customers – to make sales and build long-term relationships.

The sales force can include inside salespeople, who conduct business from their offices and field salespeople or travelling salespeople, who call on customers (visit them).

Sales forces are often organized with each salesperson having an exclusive territory – a geographical zone where they make their sales calls or visits. Salespeople normally receive incentives, such as financial bonuses or gifts, if they reach their target or sales quota – the amount of revenue they have to bring in during a given period.

Personal selling, or selling to a customer face-to-face, is different from impersonal selling such as advertising and sales promotion. Salespeople can inform customers and demonstrate technical products, at the same time customizing the sales message to what that specific customer needs to hear.

The sales process helps the sales force convert leads into signed deals (change prospective customers to actual customers).

1. Prospecting and qualifying. Salespeople prospect (or look for) new clients. New leads are generated by making cold calls, calling potential customers from a list, or by asking current customers for referrals. The best leads are then identified, or qualified.

2. Presenting. The sales presentation can focus on the product’s USP (unique selling products), or be customer-oriented – showing how the product will meet the customer’s needs. Testimonials from satisfied customers, sales literature and samples may support the presentation.

3. Closing deals. When salespeople spot, or detect, buying signals from their customers, they will try to close the deal by asking the customer to place an order. They may trade concession or negotiate.

4. Following up. Follow-up calls are part of the after-sales service which enables salespeople to check customer satisfaction with the service or product – how happy they are with it. Satisfied customers will purchase again, generating repeat business.

Marketing supports the sales force by providing product knowledge and market knowledge – information about what the sales force are selling and the environment they’re selling it in. Marketers can design materials, or marketing collateral, to help the sales force present their sales arguments. The sales kit contains sales aids such as:

• product samples (so customers get a better idea of what the product is)
• price lists (so they can see how much it costs)
• order forms (so they can place an order)
• sales literature – brochures, leaflets and product sheets or sales sheets, containing information about the product features (what it does) and product benefits (why the product is good), and its unique selling points or USPs (what it has that its competitors don’t).

Comprehension questions:

1. Who or what make up a company’s sales force?

2. What does the sales force include?

3. What is personal selling?

4. How does the sales process help the sales force?

5. How does marketing support the sales force?