Today I’ll introduce the personal selling.

My presentation involved five parts.

First, What is personal selling. Personal selling is one of the oldest professions in the world.
The earliest forms of personal selling involved barter systems. The participants in a transaction
directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using money.
⾸先，什么是个⼈销售。个⼈销售是世界上最古⽼的职业之⼀。最早的个⼈销售形式包
括物物交换系统。交易的参与者不使⽤货币直接⽤商品或服务交换其他商品或服务。
Personal selling is the process of communicating with a potential buyer (or buyers)
face-to-face with the purpose of selling a product or service. The main thing that sets personal
selling apart from other methods of selling is that the salesperson conducts business with the
customer in person.
Though personal selling is more likely to be effective with certain types of products or
services, it has important applications for nearly all kinds of small businesses. In fact, most of
history's successful entrepreneurs have been skilled salespeople, and able to represent and promote
their companies and products in the marketplace.
个⼈销售是为了销售产品或服务⽽与潜在买家⾯对⾯交流的过程。将个⼈销售与其他销
售⽅式区别开来的主要原因是销售⼈员亲⾃与客户进⾏业务往来。
虽然个⼈销售对某些类型的产品或服务更有效，但它对⼏乎所有类型的⼩企业都有重要
的应⽤。事实上，历史上⼤多数成功的企业家都是熟练的销售⼈员，能够在市场上代表和推
⼴他们的公司和产品。

Personal selling is one part of a company's promotion mix, along with advertising, sales
promotion, and public relations.
与⼴告、促销和公共关系⼀样，个⼈销售是公司推⼴组合的⼀部分。
Personal selling offers entrepreneurs both advantages and disadvantages compared with the
other elements of the promotion mix. On the positive side, personal selling allows the salesperson
to target the message specifically to the audience and receive immediate feedback. In this way, it is
more precise than other forms of promotion and often has a greater persuasive impact. Another
advantage is that personal selling can be an important source of marketing information. For
example, salespeople may learn about competitors' products or about emerging customer needs that
may lead to the development of a new product. If the sales force is well trained-acting as problem
solvers and advisors for customers rather than using hard-sell tactics personal selling may help a
small business build loyal, long-term relationships with customers. Since sales force compensation
is largely based on actual sales, personal selling may require less money up front than other parts of
the promotion mix.
Conversely /ˈkɑːnvɜːrsli/, personal selling cannot reach as many potential customers as
advertising, and the cost of each contact is much higher.
个⼈销售给企业家提供了优点和缺点, 与其他促销组合要素相⽐。从积极的⽅⾯来说，
个⼈销售使销售⼈员能够将信息专⻔针对受众，并⽴即得到反馈。这样，它⽐其他形式的推
⼴更精确，往往具有更⼤的说服⼒。另⼀个好处是，个⼈销售可以成为营销信息的重要来源。
例如，销售⼈员可以了解竞争对⼿的产品，或者了解可能导致新产品开发的新客户需求。如
果销售⼈员训练有素——作为客户的问题解决者和顾问，⽽不是使⽤硬推销策略——个⼈销
售可能有助于⼩企业与客户建⽴忠诚、⻓期的关系。由于销售⼈员的报酬很⼤程度上是基于
实际销售额的，因此与其他促销组合⽅式相⽐，个⼈销售可能需要较少的预付款。
 相反，个⼈销售不能像⼴告那样接触到那么多潜在客户，⽽且每次接触的成本要⾼得多。

WHEN TO USE PERSONAL SELLING

In general, if a product has a high unit value and requires a demonstration of its benefits, it is
well suited for personal sales. Highly technical products, such as computers and copiers, are also
primarily sold through personal sales methods. Products that involve a trade-in, like automobiles,
are usually handled through personal selling to help facilitate the trade-in process. Finally, a
company that cannot afford a mass-advertising campaign might consider personal selling as an
alternative to advertising.
⼀般来说，如果⼀个产品有很⾼的单位价值，并且需要展示它的好处，那么它⾮常适合
个⼈销售。⾼科技产品，如电脑和复印机，也主要通过个⼈销售⽅式销售。涉及以旧换新的
产品，如汽⻋，通常通过个⼈销售来帮助促进以旧换新的过程。最后，⽆⼒进⾏⼤规模⼴告
活动的公司可能会考虑将个⼈销售作为⼴告的替代⽅案。

Second, sales force. In modern days, who do the selling go by many names, such as
salespeople, agents, sales consultants and so on. Sales force is a collective term for a group or
groups of salespeople. The sales force has different roles in marketing. It is the link between the
company and its customers. On the one hand, it represents the company to directly contact
customers. On the other hand, it represents the customers and their needs and interests to negotiate
with the company.
Sales people relay customer concerns about company products and actions back inside to
those who can handle them. In fact, to many customers, the salesperson is the only tangible
manife’station of the company that they see. When a customer becomes loyal to the salesperson, he
or she is more likely to be loyal to the company and the products the salesperson represents. It is
called as salesperson-owned loyalty. Ideally, the sales force and other marketing functions, like
marketing planners, brand managers, and researchers, should work together closely to create value
for customers. Unfortunately, however, some companies still treat sales and marketing as separate
functions. When this happens, the separate sales and marketing may not get along well. When
things go wrong, marketers blame the sales force for its poor execution /ˌeksɪˈkjuːʃ(ə)n/ of what
they see as an otherwise splendid strategy. In turn, the sales team blames the marketers for being
out of touch with what’s really going on with customers. Neither group fully values the other’s
contributions. Such disconnects between marketing and sales can damage customer relationships
and company performance.
第⼆，销售队伍。在现代，做销售的⼈有很多名字，⽐如销售⼈员、代理、销售顾问等
等。销售队伍是⼀组或多组销售⼈员的统称。销售⼈员在市场营销中扮演着不同的⻆⾊。它
是公司和客户之间的纽带。⼀⽅⾯，它代表公司直接接触客户。另⼀⽅⾯，它代表客户及其
需求和利益与公司进⾏谈判。
销售⼈员将客户对公司产品和⾏动的关注反馈给内部能够处理这些问题的⼈。事实上，
对许多顾客来说，销售⼈员是他们所看到的公司的唯⼀有形的表现。当顾客对销售⼈员变得
忠诚时，他或她就更有可能对销售⼈员所代表的公司和产品忠诚。它被称为销售⼈员拥有的
忠诚。理想情况下，销售⼈员和其他营销职能部⻔，如营销策划⼈员、品牌经理和研究⼈员，
应该紧密合作，为客户创造价值。然⽽，不幸的是，⼀些公司仍然将销售和营销视为独⽴的
职能。当这种情况发⽣时，单独的销售和营销可能⽆法很好地相处。当事情出现问题时，营
销⼈员会指责销售⼈员执⾏不⼒，因为他们认为这是⼀个出⾊的战略。反过来，销售团队指
责营销⼈员不了解客户的真实情况。双⽅都没有充分重视对⽅的贡献。市场营销和销售之间
的这种脱节会损害客户关系和公司业绩。

Third, designing and managing the sales force. And it depends on the chief marketing executives.
For chief marketing executives, they face several sales force strategy and design questions. One
fundamental question would be: how should salespeople and their tasks be structured? There are
three major types of structures.
First, Geographic sales structure. It depends on physical boundaries to organize sales force with
customer accounts. Each salesperson is assigned to an exclusive geographic area and sells the
company’s full line of products or services to all customer in that area. Take KFC as an example. In
China KFC has its own regional manager in each city to sell KFC’s full line of products. This
structure is relatively /ˈrelətɪvli/ easy to design. And there would be no overlapping of duties among
the different sales reps. However, assigning salespeople based on mere geographical distribution
also has defects. For instance, it works best only when product line is simple. Like P&G, it provides
multiple product lines and sub-brands even within the category of daily care products. It has
different sub-brands of shampoo, shower gel, toothpaste, and so on. It’s difficult for a salesperson
to be familiar with all the products of all the sub-brands and know how to promote them all.
第三，设计和管理销售队伍。这取决于⾸席营销执⾏官。对于⾸席营销执⾏官来说，他
们⾯临着⼏个销售团队战略和设计问题。⼀个基本问题是:销售⼈员和他们的任务应该如何
组织?有三种主要类型的结构。⾸先，我们有区域销售⼈员结构。它也被称为地理销售结构。
它取决于物理边界来组织销售队伍与客户帐户。每个销售⼈员都被分配到⼀个特定的地理区
域，向该区域的所有客户销售公司的全部产品或服务。以肯德基为例。在中国，肯德基在每
个城市都有⾃⼰的区域经理来销售肯德基的全系列产品。这种结构⽐较容易设计。不同的销
售代表之间也不会有职责的重叠。然⽽，仅仅根据地域分布来分配销售⼈员也有缺陷。例如，
只有当产品线简单时，它才能发挥最佳效果。像宝洁⼀样，它提供多种产品线和⼦品牌，甚
⾄在⽇常护理产品类别中。它有不同的⼦品牌洗发⽔，沐浴露，⽛膏，等等。对⼀个销售⼈
员来说，熟悉所有⼦品牌的所有产品并知道如何推⼴它们是很困难的。

Next, Product-Based. Sales activities can be organized around related product lines or
manufacturing divisions. So it is called product sales structure. The sales reps are able to interact
with buyers as specialists of a certain product. However, this structure also has limits. It can be
confusing for buyer when different sales forces are promoting different products of the same brand
to the same buyer. For example, Xerox has 3 separate sales forces for different products. Different
sales forces often serve same customers. And they have little knowledge of each other’s products.
Also, it confuses buyers who had genuine /ˈdʒenjuɪn/ need of Xerox products on which sales force
to contact.
其次,基于产品。销售活动可以围绕相关的产品线或制造部⻔进⾏组织。这种结构称为
产品销售结构。销售代表可以作为某种产品的专家与买家互动。然⽽，这种结构也有局限性。
当不同的销售⼈员向同⼀买家推销同⼀品牌的不同产品时，买家可能会感到困惑。例如，施
乐公司为不同的产品有三个独⽴的销售团队。不同的销售⼈员通常为相同的客户服务。⽽且
他们对彼此的产品知之甚少。此外，它还会混淆那些真正需要施乐产品的买家，让他们找不
到销售⼈员。

Last, Market-or Customer-Based. For this structure, the sales reps are assigned to customers
based on markets or how product is sold. Separate sales forces may be set up for different industries.
Organizing the sales force around the customers can help a company build closer relationships with
important customers. Many companies even have special sales forces to handle the needs of
individual large customers.
最后，以市场或客户为基础。对于这种结构，销售代表根据市场或产品销售⽅式分配给
客户。可以为不同的⾏业设⽴单独的销售队伍。围绕客户组织销售队伍可以帮助公司与重要
客户建⽴更紧密的关系。许多公司甚⾄有专⻔的销售⼈员来处理个别⼤客户的需求。
Market
For example, Nike is a sports goods company with market-oriented sales. They develop and
promote various sports goods and apparel /əˈpærəl/ according to different market needs and trends.
Nike uses a variety of marketing strategies to attract consumers, such as sports sponsorship
/ˈspɑːnsərʃɪp/, celebrity endorsement /ɪnˈdɔːrsmənt/, brand events, etc.
⽐如，耐克是⼀家以市场导向销售为主的体育⽤品公司，他们会根据不同的市场需求和
趋势，开发和推⼴各种体育⽤品和服装。耐克利⽤各种市场营销策略来吸引消费者，如体育
赞助、名⼈代⾔、品牌活动等。
Customer
For example, the Ritz-Carlton. It is a high-end hotel brand. They employ customer-oriented
sales strategy to attract and retain high-end customers by providing high quality service and
personalized customer experience. Ritz-Carlton will provide customized services according to
customer needs and preferences, such as room upgrades, catering services, etc., and enhance
customer loyalty through VIP membership system and private sales.
⽐如，Ritz-Carlton。它是⼀家⾼端酒店品牌，他们采⽤顾客导向销售策略，以提供⾼品
质的服务和个性化的客户体验来吸引和保留⾼端客户。Ritz-Carlton 会根据客户需求和偏好
提供定制服务，如房间升级、餐饮服务等，并通过 VIP 会员制度和私⼈销售等⽅式来增强客
户忠诚度。
the personal selling process. It is devided into seven steps.
The first step in the selling process is prospecting and qualifying, that is identifying qualified
potential customers. Approaching the right customers is crucial to selling success. Customer who
have potential to buy are called prospects. A salesperson must often approach many prospects to get
only a few deals. Salespeople also need to know how to qualify leads, that is, how to identify the
potential customers and screen out the poor ones. They can look at prospects’ financial ability,
volume of business, special needs, location and possibilities for growth.
销售过程的第⼀步是寻找和鉴定合格的潜在客户。接近合适的客户是销售成功的关键。
有购买潜⼒的顾客称为潜在顾客。销售⼈员往往必须接触许多潜在客户，才能得到⼏笔交易。
销售⼈员还需要知道如何确定潜在客户，即如何识别潜在客户并筛选出不合格的客户。他们
可以考察潜在客户的财务能⼒、业务量、特殊需求、地理位置和增⻓可能性。
After identifying a prospect, the salesperson should learn as much as possible. If it’s an
organization, you should know what it needs, and who is involved in the buying. If it is personal
buyers, you need to know their characteristics and buying styles. This step is known as
preapproach.
During the approach step, the salesperson will meet the customer for the first time offline or
online, in person or via digital conferencing or social media.
在确定了潜在客户之后，销售⼈员应该尽可能多地了解。如果它是⼀个组织，你应该知
道它需要什么，谁参与购买。如果是私⼈买家，你需要了解他们的特点和购买⻛格。这⼀步
被称为预接近。在接近步骤中，销售⼈员将在线下或在线上，亲⾃或通过数字会议或社交媒
体与客户进⾏第⼀次会⾯。
After successful approaching, the salesperson present the “value story” to the buyer, showing
how the product solves the customer’s problems. To gain bargain power, customers almost always
have objections during the presentation or when asked to place an order. In handling objections, the
salesperson should use a positive approach, ask the buyer to clarify any objections, take objections
as an opportunities to provide more information, and turn the objections into buying motivations.
After handling the prospect’s objections, the salesperson then tries to close the sale. Salespeople
can use any of several closing techniques. They can ask for the order, review points of agreement,
offer to help write up the order. Right after closing, the salesperson should complete any details on
delivery time, purchase terms, and other matters. It is necessary for salesperson to ensure customer
satisfaction and repeat business.
成功接近客户后，销售⼈员向买家呈现“价值故事”，展示产品如何解决客户的问题。为
了获得讨价还价的权⼒，客户在演示过程中或被要求下订单时⼏乎总是会提出反对意⻅。在
处理反对意⻅时，销售⼈员应采⽤积极的态度，要求买⽅澄清任何反对意⻅，将反对意⻅作
为提供更多信息的机会，并将反对意⻅转化为购买动机。在处理完潜在客户的反对意⻅后，
销售⼈员试图完成交易。销售⼈员可以使⽤⼏种收尾技巧中的任何⼀种。他们可以要求订单，
回顾协议的要点，提出帮助编写订单。成交后，销售⼈员应⽴即完成交货时间、购买条款和
其他事项的细节。这是销售过程的最后⼀步，被称为跟进。对于销售⼈员来说，确保客户满
意和回头客是必要的。

With the developament of the technology, the internet and social media are dramatically
changing the customer buying process. As the result, they are also changing the selling process. In
today’s digital world, many customers no longer relay on information and assistance provided by
salespeople. Instead, they use online and social media resources, to analyze their own problems and
search for solutions. Digital tools become an essential part of promoting products. By this way,
salesperson can identify prospects, spot trends, track social media exchanges and learn what
customers would like to buy and what it would take to make a sale. Rather than replacing
salespeople, however, technology is assisting them. Today, salespeople are using a new kit of
high-tech digital tools and applications to gather customer information and maintain social net
working.
随着科技的发展，互联⽹和社交媒体正在极⼤地改变顾客的购买过程。因此，他们也在
改变销售流程。在当今的数字世界中，许多客户不再依赖销售⼈员提供的信息和帮助。相反，
他们利⽤⽹络和社交媒体资源，分析⾃⼰的问题并寻找解决⽅案。数字⼯具成为推⼴产品的
重要组成部分。通过这种⽅式，销售⼈员可以识别前景，发现趋势，跟踪社交媒体交流，了
解客户想买什么，以及如何实现销售。然⽽，技术并没有取代销售⼈员，⽽是在帮助他们。
今天，销售⼈员正在使⽤⼀套新的⾼科技数字⼯具和应⽤程序来收集客户信息并维护社交⽹
络。
 For example, an encyclopedia is a high-priced item and most people do not feel they need one.
After a demonstration, however, most people agree it would be a useful item to have. Therefore,
encyclopedias /ɪnˌsaɪkləˈpiːdiə/ are well suited to a promotion mix that emphasizes personal
selling.
例如，百科全书是⼀种昂贵的物品，⼤多数⼈觉得他们不需要。然⽽，经过演示后，⼤
多数⼈认为这将是⼀个有⽤的项⽬。因此，百科全书⾮常适合强调个⼈销售的促销组合。