Republic of the Philippines

TARLAC AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

College of Business and Management
Camiling, Tarlac

A comparative study of the selling techniques of sales agent and it's

effectiveness to customers in Tarlac

By

Bulaoro, Hannah Raybelle G.

Calaoagan, Ervin John G.

Jacalne, Angela Dawn B.

Rigor, Karen D.
 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

In this changing market preferences, selling approaches plays a vital role in marketing.
Selling techniques or approaches are ways to convince people to buy stuff. These methods can be
traditional, like talking to people face-to-face, or modern, such as using social media, and other
online platforms. Good selling involves understanding what customers want, connecting with
them, showing why they need a certain product, and dealing with any concerns they might have.
It's important for businesses to learn and use different selling techniques to stay ahead in the
market. Selling techniques or approaches allow sales representatives to have an opportunity to
know the needs of the people as well as creating good relationship with the customer, it also
gives them opportunity to create sales and demand.

Since the 1800s and early 1900s, when con artists advertised phony snake oil remedies for all
ailments, salesmanship has advanced significantly, benefiting both clients and sales teams.

Sales methodology underwent several changes between the 1920s and the 1950s. These changes
included relationship selling, which was popularized by Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends
and Influence People, psychological selling, which promoted the idea that the best salespeople
were those who understood how buyers “tick,” and barrier selling, which pushed practitioners to
con the customer into saying “yes.”

Even though a lot happened in the field of sales during these early decades, the 1960s was when
contemporary, sophisticated sales approaches really start to take off. In this decade, Xerox
Corporation spent millions developing the first of today’s sophisticated sales approaches, known
as “solution selling” or “Needs Satisfaction” approach. It was so
successful that Xerox packaged and marketed it as Professional Selling Skills to other companies
(Bronten, 2016).

There are lots of selling approaches existing in the market, but only a few of them are applicable
to selling unsought goods or life insurance specifically. Selling unsought goods is one of the
hardest jobs of a sales representative. Unsought goods are unlikely to be purchased since many
people tend to ignore it and think as if they don’t need it or they are unaware of its benefits. In
order to achieve longevity and to survive in the market, practicing selling techniques as a
marketing strategy is needed. It helps to create demand to a certain product, proper use of selling
techniques improves the profitability of a company offering unsought goods.

According to the customer marketing manager Edwards (2024), when a product is known to
satisfy people needs, it is purchased by the consumer. However, some things aren’t “sought
after” since the buyer doesn’t actively wish to purchase them or doesn’t recognize their value.
These are referred to as unsought products, and various approaches are needed for their
marketing. In the same article, she stated the challenges of marketing an unsought product. There
are three main challenges come up when selling unsought products, first is lack of motivation,
second is lack of awareness, and lastly are the hesitant buyers. In order to market unsought
products she provided lists of common strategies that marketers use to market unsought
products; product awareness, product demonstration, direct selling, and targeted marketing.

Although several marketing strategies are existing, however, it doesn’t mean that all of this are
working on all products. There specific marketing strategies for each kind of product. Some
products are tougher to create sales and demand that needs intensive marketing, there are also
some products that are easy to sell that does not require so much effort in marketing.

Unsought goods like life insurance policies are not just a product but also an investment. It is
known to be purchased for future events but some of the customers are unaware of its benefits.
Despite its unpopularity to others and lack of awareness, there are circumstances where unsought
products become in demand. Amidst pandemic, life insurance companies in Manila, Philippines
are said to increase its demand and sales by 5.9% to ₱ 247.7 Billion in 2020 according to
Insurance Commission (2021).
Death is inevitable, amidst pandemic thousands of lives are being taken. Due to the fear of
danger, it opens an opportunity for the life insurances to increase its sales and demand. During
pandemic, sales representative from life insurance companies somehow did not put so much
effort in practicing selling approaches. People ignoring the benefits of life insurance becomes the
prospect of the companies. Although this event helped the insurance companies, sales
representative must practice proper selling techniques to use in marketing their product offering.

Although there are present studies that talks about methods in selling life insurance policies,
there are still missing concepts that the researcher wants to address. Philippine base on the study
regarding the selling techniques (professional salesmanship) of life insurance used by the sales
agents are only few and does not provide enough information that the people needed. It is hard to
identify the most used and effective selling techniques to apply in promoting unsought goods.
Lack of information about the said study hinder the people to identify the best practice to apply.
Causing so much difficulty in selling this kind of product. This study will provide wide-range
information that will be beneficial for the sales representatives as well as the people interested in
this field.

Significance of the Study

This investigation of this study may beneficial to the followings:

To the researchers - this study helps and guide the researcher on how to persuade one another as they
will work on it in the future and at the end of the investigation the researcher will understand the
importance of selling techniques.

To the sales agents - at the end of the study it will provide help and knowledge to every sales agent of
methods on how to effectively persuade their customers.
To the customers - this research will open the eyes of the customers on how hard working the sales agent
is to get a quota and a customer/will help the customers how important a life insurance.

To the life insurance industry - this study will help the business to adapt to selling techniques to attract
more customers.

To the future researchers - this study can be used as reference to those who will conduct a study related
and expand more the study.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the different selling techniques of life insurance

agents and the most effective approach for sales agent and customers of life insurance

in Tarlac City.

Moreover, it seeks to answer the following question;

1. How the demographic profile of the respondent (sales agent) be described in terms of;
 1.1. name

1.2. sex

1.3. age

1.4. monthly income

1.5. employment status and;

1.6. length of service

2. How may the demographic of the respondent (customer) profile be described in terms

of;

2.1. name

2.2. sex

2.3. age

2.4. educational attainment

2.5. monthly income

3. What are the effective selling techniques of life insurance agents to persuade customers

in terms of;

3.1. know your potential customer

3.2. message the customer and make a connection

3.3. building customer relationship

3.4. determine and understand the needs of the customer

3.5. utilize of social media

3.6. make a financial analysis for the insurance coverage

3.7. encourage the customer through realization and other’s experience

3.8. describing the importance of life insurance

3.9. show consideration and value customer

 3.10. consistent customer assistance and;

3.11. credibility of the agent

4. What is the most influential selling approach based on the;

4.1. Sales Agent

4.2. Customer

Objectives of the Study

The study seeks to comprehensively examine the selling techniques employed by life insurance
agents in Tarlac City and their effectiveness in persuading customers. Initially, it aims to analyze the
demographic profile of respondents, including their names, gender, educational attainment, and roles as
either sales agents or customers. Additionally, the study intends to provide insights into the business
profile of life insurance companies in Tarlac City, encompassing aspects such as their longevity in the
industry, types of businesses, and the number of agents and clients they serve. Furthermore, the research
aims to identify and evaluate the effectiveness of various selling techniques utilized by life insurance
agents, such as understanding customer needs, asking pertinent questions, demonstrating confidence
about the product, creating a sense of urgency, explaining the value of insurance, and targeting specific
audiences. Finally, the study aims to determine the most influential selling approach based on the
perspectives of both sales agents and customers, thereby offering valuable insights for improving sales
strategies within the life insurance sector in Tarlac City.

Statement of the Hypothesis

HO1: There is a no significant relationship between the selling techniques of the sales agent to the sales
agents and customers of life insurance policy.