Personnel Selling

“Everybody lives by selling something.”

Robert Louis Stevenson

Careers in Sales
High demand but not a career for everybody,
but, good experience early in any career…
Negative perceptions
$…$…$
Personal selling

Personal presentation by the firm’s sales force for the purpose of making sales and
building customer relationships.

Personal selling is paid personal communication that attempts to inform customers

and persuade them to purchase products or services.

Personnel selling is a method in which one party uses skills & techniques to build
personnel relationship with another party that results in both parties obtaining
value.
 Personal Selling

Sales force activities

Cultivating new clients
Communication
Selling
Servicing
Information gathering
Allocating scarce resources
How Sales People Spend Their Time Each Week .

35 % Selling face to face.

20% Traveling.
15 % Admistrative Task.
20% Phone.
10% Service Call.
The personal selling process consists of the
following steps:
1) Prospecting: Prospecting refers to identifying and developing a
list of potential clients.

2) Pre-approach: Before engaging in the actual personal selling

process, first analyze all the information available about a prospect to
understand as much about the prospect as possible.
3) Approach: This is the point of the selling process where the sales
professional meets and greets the prospect, provides an introduction,
establishes rapport that sets the foundation of the relationship .
4) Making the Presentation: Start creating desire into product/ service.
5) Overcoming Objections:Seek out prospects' objections in order to try to
address and overcome them .
6) Closing the Sale; Here is where you are trying to get the order. The
salesperson asks the prospect to buy the product.

7) Follow-up: follows up and ensures that everything went well

The Sales Funnel : Advantage

Funnel is a great way to track and forecast sales, as well

as, gauge marketing activities .
Can visually /see how many leads are at each step, if there
are any "bottlenecks", or if there are an insufficient
number of leads at any stage.
He or she can then also work closely with the marketing
manager to ensure they are generating enough leads to hit
sales goals, whether the leads are of high enough quality,
or what further needs to be done to hit sales goals.
Funnel can clearly point out what adjustments need to be
made within the sales function to hit sales goals. That
might mean that marketing activities need to be adjusted,
that addition sales training is needed.
Personal Selling --Tasks

Order getting

Order taking

Support Personnel
Comparison----Order Taker & Order Getter

Basis of Comparison Order Taker Order Getter

1.Objective : Handle Positive Product Reorder Identify new C &

uncover C needs

2.Purchase Focus on straight rebuy. Focus on new buy

& modified situation :

rebuy purchase situation

3.Activity : Perform order processing function. Act as a creative problem

solver
How Sales People Create Value for Customers

Identify creative solutions to customer problems

+
Ease the customer buying process.

+
Follow up after the sale is made.
=

Customer Value.
Personal Selling Objectives

Selling objectives should be derived from overall

Marketing objectives
Qualitative objectives:
a) To do the entire selling job.
b) To service existing accounts.
c) To search out and obtain new customers.
d) To secure and maintain customers co-operation in stocking and
promoting the product line.
e) To keep customers informed on changes on the product line and
other aspects of marketing strategy. For example newsletter.
f) To assist customers in selling the product line.
g) To provide technical advice and assistance to customers.
h) To assists with the training and middlemen’s sales personnel.
i) To provide advice and assistance to middlemen on management
problems. To collect and report market information of interest and use
to company management
Personal selling objectives

Quantitative objectives:

1) To capture and retain a certain market share

2) To obtain sales volume in ways that contribute to profitability

3) To obtain some number of new accounts of given types

4) To keep personal selling expenses with in set limits

5) To secure targeted percentage of certain accounts business.

…… but these mostly conflict….

Personnel Selling Strategy
The buying process may be divided into four phases:
1)Consideration 2) Acceptance 3) Selection and
4) Evaluation
a) Different executives ---- exert influence on any of the
four phases.
b)The sales strategist work out a plan specifying which
salesperson should call upon various individuals in the
customer organization and when.
c) On occasion, a person other than the salesperson may be
asked to call on a customer.
d) Sometimes, as a matter of selling strategy, a team of
people may visit the customer.
Advantage & Disadvantage of Personnel Selling

Advantage:
1. 2 way from of communication can adjust message & gain
feedback. Other forms are inflexible.
2. Interactive nature builds relationship.( Trust & Confidence)
3. Most practical where other method can’t reach.

Disadvantage :
1. Perceived as overly aggressive & down right annoying.
2. High cost/call .
3. Trg.Cost.
4. Sales not for everyone. High turnover.