UNIT – 1

Selling concept
 The selling concept holds that if businesses and consumers are left isolated,
then the consumers are not going to buy ample products manufactured by
the company.
 The concept can be applied belligerently, in the case of goods are not
sought, i.e. the goods which the customer don’t think of purchasing and
also when the firm is operating at more than 100% capacity, the firm aims
at selling what they produce, but not what the market demands.

Marketing Concept
 The marketing concept is a business idea, which states that the company’s
success lies in becoming more effective than the rivals, in producing,
delivering and communicating greater customer value to the target market.
 It relies on four elements, i.e. target market, integrated marketing, customer
needs and profitability. The concept begins with the specific market,
stresses on customer needs, coordinates activities that influence customers
and reaps profit by satisfying customers.
Comparison between selling and Marketing concept
Basis for Selling Concept Marketing concept
comparison
Meaning Selling concept is a business Marketing concept is a
notion, which states that if business orientation which
consumers and businesses remain talks about accomplishing
unattended, then there will not be organizational goals by
ample sale of organization's becoming better than others
product. in providing customer
satisfaction.
Associated Compelling consumer's mind Directing goods and services
with towards goods and services. towards consumer's mind.
Starting Factory Target market
point
Focuses on Product Customer needs

Perspective Inside-out Outside-in

Essence Transfer of title and possession Satisfaction of consumers

Business Short term Long term

Planning
Orientation Volume oriented Profit oriented

Means Heavy selling and promotion Integrated marketing

Price Cost of production Market determined

Marketing concept is relatively wider term than selling concept. This is because
selling concept itself is a part of the marketing concept, that is related to
promotion and transfer of ownership and possession of the commodity from one
person to another.
Marketing concept incorporates a number of activities like identifying the needs
of customers, designing and developing the product as per their wants, fixing
prices, persuading the buyers to buy the same.
Theories of selling
The process of influencing others to buy may be viewed from four different
angles on the basis of different theories: thus there are four theories of selling.

 AIDAS theory of personal selling

 Right Set of Circumstances theory of selling
 Buying Formula theory of selling
 Behavioural Equation theory
The first two of the four above-mentioned theories, are seller oriented and the
third one is buyers oriented. The fourth one emphasizes the buyer’s decision
process but also takes the sales-person’s influence process into account.

AIDAS Theory
The AIDAS theory of selling is one of the widest known theories and is the basis
for training materials across numerous organizations.
AIDAS stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action, Satisfaction.
The AIDAS theory simply states that a prospect goes through five different stages
before finally responding satisfactorily to product.
Attention
Gaining attention is a skill and just like any skill, gaining attention can be
improved upon with practice.
A common phrase applicable over here is “First impression is last impression”.
The initial attempt of the sales person must be to put the customer completely at
ease. Casual conversation is one of the best openers after which the sales person
can gain customer attention by leading him onto the sale.
Interest
The second task of salesperson is to turn the prospect attention in to a strong
interest. To achieve this the salesperson has to be enthusiastic about the product.
Desire
The third task is to convert interest in desire to a ready to buy point. Objection
from the prospect will have to be carefully handled at this stage.
Action
Although there may be desire for the product, the customer might not act on it.
He might want to buy the product but he might NOT buy it. In such cases the
customer needs to be induced. There are various ways to induce the customer
such that he buys the product.
Satisfaction
Last task is satisfying.
What would you do after the customer has given the order? Will you stand up,
Point at him and shout “Fooled ya”. I don’t think so. The customer has just parted
with his money. Just like you part your money and expect good service, he
expects the same too. So even after he has bought the product, you need to
reassure the customer that he has made the right decision. The product is good
for the customer and you only presented the product. It was his decision and he
is right about it. These small cues post the sales process really give confidence to
the customer and he then looks forward to your product rather than thinking
whether or not he has made the right decision.
Right set of Circumstance theory
It is also called the “situation-response” theory. It has its psychological origin in
experiments with animals. The major emphasis of the theory is that a particular
circumstance prevailing in a given selling situation will cause the prospect to
respond in a predictable way. The set of circumstances can be both internal and
external to the prospect. This is essentially a seller-oriented theory and it stresses
that the salesman must control the situation in such a way as to produce a sale
ultimately

Behaviour Equation Theory of Selling:

This theory is a sophisticated version of the “right set of circumstances” and this
theory was proposed by Howard, using a stimulus response model and using large
number of findings from behavioural research. This theory explains buying
behaviour in terms of purchasing decision process, viewed as a phase of the
learning process, four essential elements of learning processes included in the
stimulus response model are drive, cues, response and reinforcement, which are
given below, in brief:
1. Drive is a strong internal stimuli that impel buyers’ response. Innate drives
stem from psychological needs and learned drives such as striving for status or
social approval.
2. Cues are weak stimuli that determine when the buyer will respond. Triggering
cues activate the decision process whereas new triggering cues influence the
decision process.
3. Response is what the buyer does.
4. A reinforcement is any event that strengthens the buyers’ tendency to make a
particular response.

Buying Formula Theory of selling

The buyers needs or problems receive major attention, and the salespersons role
is to help the buyer to find solutions. This theory purports to answer the question:
What thinking process goes on in the prospects’s mind that causes the decision to
buy or not to buy? The name “buying formula” was given to this theory by strong.
Classification of sales people
Order Takers
Order takers are not expected to persuade customers to buy the company’s
products or increase their quantity of purchase. They are supposed to book
customer orders and pass on the information to relevant people in the company.
They are expected to be accurate. They are also expected to have information
about when the order that has been booked will be delivered to customers.
Customers will often enquire about the delivery date from them and they should
have answers. Order takers are also being prompted to at least prod customers to
buy certain other products of the company besides the ones that they are already
are buying or increase their quantities of purchase.

Inside Order Takers

Retail sales assistants are typical inside order takers. The customer has full
freedom to choose products without the presence or influence of a salesperson.
The salesperson’s task is transactional. He receives payments and passes over the
goods to the customers.

Delivery Salespeople
Delivery salespeople are primarily concerned with delivering the product. There
is little attempt to persuade customers to increase the order. Changes in order size
are customer driven. Though delivery salespeople do not try to influence demand,
winning and losing an order is heavily dependent on reliability of delivery.

Outside Order Takers

Salespersons visits the customer, but they primarily respond to customer
requests rather than actively seek to persuade them. They are being replaced by
the more cost-efficient telemarketing teams who call customers and book their
orders.

Order Creators
The prime objective of order getters is to convince customers to buy the
company’s products. At some stage in the order-getting process the salesperson
should understand customer requirements and convince him that his company’s
products serve his requirements best. Some salespersons get too excited about
persuading the customers to buy the company’s products.
Customers feel embarrassed and angry when a salesperson becomes very
insistent though the customer has made it clear that he does not want the
product. A salesperson should avoid such situations and should gracefully back
off when the customer does not seem interested in the product. If salespersons
do not take this precaution, the tribe of salespersons would be collectively
shunned by customers.
Missionary Salespeople
In some industries/ notably pharmaceuticals and building industry, the sales task
is not to close the sale but to persuade the customer to specify the seller’s
products. Medical representatives calling on doctors cannot make a direct sale
since the doctor does not buy drugs but prescribes them for patients. Architects
also act as specifies rather than buyers. In these situations, the selling task is to
educate and build goodwill for the company.
Order Getters
Order getters are in typical selling jobs where the major objective is to persuade
the customer to make a direct purchase.

Characteristics of salespeople

Ability to Listen
A good salesperson needs to satisfy a client’s needs. The only way to find out
what those are is by listening to what each prospect is saying. The best
salespeople aren’t always talking.
Empathy
A good salesperson knows how to feel what their customers feel. By getting
inside a prospect’s skin, they know just how to sell a product or service.
Empathy is a great way to anticipate what a customer wants.
Hunger
These folks also have a need to sell that goes beyond the money. They have
personal needs only a sale can help them with. In short, their egos need to be fed
with good sales numbers.
Competitiveness
Salespeople who succeed enjoy measuring their skills against their peers. In a
word, they’re competitive. They don’t just want to get better at what they do.
They want to be better than everyone else.
Networking Ability
Good salespeople love to network. They get involved in their community and
have many different business relationships. Networking is not so much a part of
the job to them but the way they like to spend their time.
Confidence
Believing in the product or service they are selling is essential. That comes
across as a confidence that’s infectious and makes customers want to buy more.
Enthusiasm
A successful salesperson is always motivated. They are always ready to make a
sale at any given moment and continually looking for possibilities.
Resiliency
Top earners know how to bounce back from a dry spell. They don’t get
discouraged when the sales numbers are down. Rather, they look for innovative
ways to turn things around.
Multitasking Skills
An outstanding salesperson knows how to juggle deals they are trying to close
with promising leads. They can even respond to queries through emails and on
the phone at the same time. Great multi taskers make excellent additions to any
sales team.
Personal selling
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
product knowledge. 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 advice on how to apply the product
and can try different products. Products with relatively high prices, or with
complex features, are often sold using personal selling. Great examples include
cars, office equipment (e.g. photocopiers) and many products that are sold by
businesses to other industrial customers.

Main Steps in the Personal Selling Process

There are many steps involved in the process of personal selling: prospecting,
pre-approach, approach, sales presentation, handling objectives, and follow up.

PROSPECTING
The first step of the personal selling process is called ‘prospecting’. Prospecting
refers to locating potential customers. There are many sources from which
potential customers can be found: observation, social contacts, trade shows,
commercially-available databases, commercially-available mail list and cold
calling.
PRE-APPROACH
The next step in the personal selling process is called the ‘pre-approach’. The pre-
approach involves preparation for the sales presentation. This preparation
involves research about the potential customers, such as market research.
Research is useful in planning the right sales presentation. During the pre-
approach the salesperson may also plan and practice their sales presentation.
pre-approach objectives
The main objective of the pre-approach is to help the salesman get further
insight into the customer’s needs and attitudes so that he can select the best
approach for the individual prospect. It will also help the salesman prevent
making serious mistakes during his sales presentation. The selling points
appropriate for a prospect must alone be used.

THE APPROACH
The next step in the personal selling process is called the ‘approach’. The
approach refers to the initial contact between the salesperson and the prospective
customer. During this stage the sales person takes a few minutes for “small talk”
and get to know the potential customer. The goal of the approach is to determine
the specific needs and wants of the individual customer, as well as allowing the
potential customer to relax and open up.
SALES PRESENTATION
The next step in the personal selling process is called the ‘sales presentation’. The
sales presentation involves the salesperson presenting the product or service,
describing its qualities and possibly demonstrating features of the product. Ideally
the sales presentation will be individualized to match the needs and desires of the
potential customer.
HANDLING OBJECTIVES
In some cases, after receiving the sales presentation, the potential customer will
have some questions or concerns. In order to secure a sale, the salesperson must
address these questions or concerns; this step is referred to as ‘handling
objectives.’
(Types of objections)
1. Product objection
2. Source objection
3. Price objection
4. Money objection
5. “I’m already satisfied” objection
6. “I have to think about it” objection

CLOSING THE SALE

The next step in the personal selling process is referred to as ‘closing the sale’.
‘Closing the sale’ refers to finalizing the sale and persuading the potential
customer to make the purchase. During the ‘closing the sale’ step, prices and
payment options may be negotiated.
FOLLOW UP
The final step in the personal selling process is referred to as the ‘follow up.’ The
follow up involves the salesperson contacting the customer after the sale to ensure
that the customer is satisfied. If the customer has any existing issues with the
product, the salesperson will address them. A successful follow up stage of
personal selling can be very effective in ensuring repeat sales, evaluating the
effectiveness of the salesperson, and obtaining additional referrals from the
satisfied customer.