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.
Advantage of Personal Selling:
High customer attention
Massage is customised
Interactivity
Persuasive impact
Potential for development of relationship
Adaptable
Opportunity to close the sal

Personal Selling consists of the following steps.

1.
Pre-sale preparation: The first step in personal selling is the selection,
training and motivation of salespersons. The salespersons must be fully familiar
with the product, the firm, the market and the selling techniques. They should
be well-informed about the competitor's products and the degree of competition.
They should also be acquainted with the motives and behaviour of prospective
buyers.
2.
Prospecting: It refers to locating or searching out prospective buyers who
have the need for the product and the ability to buy it. Potential customers may
be spotted through observation, enquiry and analysis of records of existing
customers. Social contacts, business associations and dealers can be helpful in
the identification of potential buyers.

3.
Approaching: Before calling on the prospects, the salesperson should
fully learn their number, needs, habits, spending capacity, motives, etc. Such
knowledge helps in selecting the right sales appeal. After such learning, the
salesperson should approach the customer in a polite and dignified way. He
should introduce himself and his product to the customer. He should greet the
customer with a smile and make him feel at home. He should introduce himself
and his product to the customer. In case he is busy with some other customer, he
should assure the new customer that he would be attended very soon. The
salesperson has to be very careful in his approach as the first impression is the
last impression.

4.
Presentation: For this purpose, the salesperson has to present the product
and describe its features in brief. The presentation should be matched with the
attitude of the prospect so that the salesman can continuously hold his attention
and create interest in the product.
5.
Demonstration: In order to maintain customer's interest and to arouse his
desire, the sales-person must display and demonstrate the product. He has to
explain the utility and distinctive qualities of the product so that the prospect
realizes the need for the product to satisfy his wants. He should not be in a hurry
to impress the customer and should avoid controversy. He may suggest uses of
the product and may create an impulsive urge to possess the article by appealing
to human instincts.
6.
Handling objections: A sale cannot be achieved simply by creating
interest and desire. Every customer wants to make the best bargain for the
money he is spending. Presentation and demonstration of the product are likely
to create doubts and questions in his mind. The salesman should clear all doubts
and objections without entering into a controversy and without losing his
temper. Testimonials, money-back guarantee, tact and patience are popular
means of winning over s hesitant buyers. The salesman should convince the
customer that he is making the best use of his money by purchasing the product.
For this purpose, the salesman should prove the superiority of his product over
the competitive products. He should not lose patience if the customer puts too
many queries and takes time in arriving at any decision. If the customer does
not buy even after meeting rejections, the salesman should let him go without

showing temper. He must believe in the universal rule that the customer is
always right.
7.
Closing the sale: This is the climax or critical point in the personal selling
process. Completing the sale seems to be an easy task but inappropriate
handling of the customer can result in loss of sale. The salesman should not
force the deal but let the customer feel that he has made the final decision. He
should guide the customer in making the choice without imposing his own view.
Some adjustment in price or other concession may sometimes be necessary for a
successful closing. The salesman should show the same interest in the customer
which he exhibited during approach stage. Sales should be closed in a cordial
manner so that the customer feels inclined to visit the shop again. In closing the
sale, the article should be packed properly and handed over to the customer with
speed and accuracy. Once the customer has purchased the article, the salesman
should show and suggest an allied product. For instance, he may suggest socks,
ties, handkerchiefs, vests, etc., to a customer purchasing a shirt. This is known
as additional sales and requires great skill and tact.
8.
Post-sale follow-up : It refers to the activities undertaken to ensure that
the customer is satisfied with the article and the firm. These activities include
installation of the products, checking and ensuring its smooth performance,
maintenance and after-sale service. It helps to secure repeat sales identify
additional prospects and to evaluate salesman's effectiveness.

Marketing Strategies for Personal Selling Personal selling is the action of

verbally corresponding with a probable buyer with the objective of finishing a
transaction. Contrasting to Internet selling, you need to grow a good special
liaison with the customer or client for thriving. Marketing strategies for
Personal selling necessitates an out of the ordinary talent that not all inhabitants
have: magnetism.

Marketing Strategies for Personal Selling

Personal selling is the action of verbally corresponding with a probable buyer
with the objective of finishing a transaction. Contrasting to Internet selling, you
need to grow a good special liaison with the customer or client for thriving.

Marketing strategies for Personal selling necessitates an out of the ordinary

talent that not all inhabitants have: magnetism. You ought to have a tone and
features that people can have faith on, or else they will be suspicious as regards
doing business with you.
1.

Classify and recognize Your Customer

Decide what section of individuals is mainly prone to react well to your

merchandise. Bring the group down as far as achievable. Keep in mind that
consumers want the response to this query: What is in it for me? A buyer wont
purchase from you immediately as he is fond of you or because of your
beautiful smile (although these are significant aspects). You have to recognize
precisely what the consumer requires and wants in the course of your
interactions with him. Display precisely how your merchandise or service will
assist him.
Be acquainted with your good and tell Your Story

Numerous personal selling hard works fall short as the seller does not actually
be acquainted with much as regards the goods. How can you be able to
advertise anything to a new individual person to person if you by no means even
used or practiced the products yourself? Check the merchandise to verify its
effect prior to trying to advertise it to a new individual. Your experience will be
a lot more authentic and dependable.
Start Close to Home
The superlative method to become skilled at personal selling techniques is to
begin small and near to home. Apply your Marketing Strategies for Personal
Selling on your family and close friends. Inquire your dear ones for honest
reviews regarding your transaction pitch and what they sincerely feel of the
goods. Listen. Do not be irritating and importunate with your family or close
friends---you don't want tm to keep away from you. Just take this approach as
more of a learning curve to coach you what works and what doesnt work whilst
selling.

Importance of personal Selling

Personal selling is an important element of promotion mix and an effective
promotional tool. Personal Selling offers the following compensation.
(i)
It is a flexible tool: Personal selling involves individual and personal
communication as compared to the mass and impersonal communication of
advertising and sales promotion. Therefore, personal selling is most flexible in
operation. A salesman can tailor his sales presentation to fit the needs, motives
and attitudes of individual customers can observe the customer's reaction to a
particular sales approach and thus make necessary adjustments right on the spot.
Face-to-face contact with customers is the most effective means of
communication and persuasion.
(ii) It involves minimum wasted effort: In personal selling, a salesman can
select the target market and concentrate on the prospective customers. He need
not communicate with the people who are not the real prospects. Therefore,
personal selling involves minimum wastage of effort.
(iii) It results in actual sale : Advertising and sales promotion techniques can
only attract attention and arouse desire. By themselves they cannot create actual
sale. Personal selling in most cases leads to actual sale. A salesman can find
prospective buyers, demonstrate the product, explain its operation, and convince
customers to buy it, install it at the customer's place and provide after-sale
service. No other method of promotion can perform all these functions.
Therefore, personal selling does the entire job of selling. Personal Selling is a
complete promotional technique of keeping customers satisfied.

(iv) It provides feedback: Personal selling involves two-way flow of

communication between the buyer and the seller. It is a useful method of
understanding the needs and behavior customers. It provides knowledge about
the tastes, habits and attitudes of the prospective customers.

(v) It complements advertising : In most situations, there is a need for

explaining the quality uses and price of the product. Salesmen can persuade the
prospective customers to buy a product. Advertising attracts customers but their
doubts and questions about the product are answered by salesmen. In this way
personal selling supports advertising. Salesmen educational the consumers
about new products and about new uses of existing products.
(vi) It educates customers : Salesmanship is not simply a tool of convincing
people to buy certain products. It assists customers in satisfying their wants. A
salesman provides: information, education and guidance to customers. He
handles their complaints and assists them in getting value for their money. He
can clear their doubts on the spot.
(vii) It assists the society: Salesmen help to increase aggregate sales and
production in the country thereby increasing employment opportunities. They
help to maintain equilibrium between demand and supply.
Despite the above advantages, personal selling suffers from several
disadvantages. Firstly personal selling is the costliest method of promotion.
Secondly, it can cover only limited number customers at a time. Thirdly, it is not
very effective for creating consumer awareness about a product or service.
Fourthly, many consumers are suspicious of personal selling at the retail level
and they criticize salesmen for lack of honesty, poor knowledge, strong
pressure, etc. Lastly, it is difficult to recruit, train and motivate competent
salespersons.
This lesson introduces you to the concept of personal selling. You will learn
about the steps in the personal selling process, including how to close a deal.
Personal Selling
Our farmer needs to increase his revenue. The town bank has just informed him
that he is falling behind in his mortgage payments. He needs $4,000 a month to
be able to save his farm!
The entire Farmer family had an emergency meeting and has decided that the
best chance of saving the farm is to add flowers as one of their products.
They've always had luck with their family soil growing beautiful flowers, and
this might be the solution! He has decided to go town to town and try to sell his
flowers at the local floral shops.

Personal selling is part of the overall promotional mix, which also contains
advertising, sales promotion and public relations. Personal selling is when a
personal paid-for communication occurs between two people in an attempt to
influence each other.
Benefits of Personal Selling
The farmer knows that in order to save his family's farm he will need to choose
the correct path to sell his flowers. Personal selling is the farmer's best choice in
marketing because he can demonstrate his products. He can talk to the floral
owners and even leave samples of his twigs and flowers with the shop to
demonstrate his high-quality assortment.
Another reason is that the farmer can tailor his sales pitch to each floral shop
depending on their needs. For example, one shop might just want roses and
expensive flowers, while another might just want twigs to create centerpieces.
Personal selling also allows him to determine if the floral shop would fit the
description of his ideal customer. Perhaps one shop is going out of business or
another already grows their flowers out back. He can adjust his customer list
and not waste any time in the future calling on them.
The general rule is that personal selling should be used when the target market
is small in size and when the product is complicated and/or costly. The farmer
will be selling in a small market and due to the variations in the products that he
sells and the variations in customers' needs, personal selling is the ideal
marketing approach for him.
Personal Selling Steps
The steps of personal selling are also knows as the sales process or cycle. The
steps are what a salesperson has to go through to sell a particular product or
service. Some sales are very quick, such as when the farmer has to sell his
tomatoes from his road side cart. Other sales can take long to complete due to
the expense or technical nature of the product. The personal selling steps are:
generating leads, qualifying leads, approaching the customer and probing needs,
developing proposing solutions, handling objections, closing the sale and
following up.

Generating Leads
Let's take a look at the first step our farmer must learn. Lead generating (or
prospecting) is when the farmer identifies the people in the geographic area who
are most likely to buy his product. He can't waste his time calling on every store
or floral shop. He needs to either send out a postcard, make phone calls or even
sales calls. The farmer can also network by going to town meetings or
chambers. The farmer may also find customers through referrals. Referrals are
when friends recommend your business to their friends. This word of mouth is
usually the best way of gaining customers.
Qualifying Leads
The second step in the personal selling process is qualifying a lead. Not every
person that shows interest in potentially buying the farmer's flowers will be a
good lead. Lead qualification occurs when a person has a recognized need, a
willingness to see a salesperson and buying power. If the potential customer is
lacking in any of the three items, then they would not be a good investment of
time for the farmer.
Approaching the Customer and Probing Needs
Now that the farmer has developed an excellent set of leads, he needs to do his
homework. The farmer should research or conduct a preapproach where
homework is completed on the customer. Some examples would be the type of
flowers they offer their financial situation, if possible; and perhaps, gather
information that is available publicly. The farmer should try to create a needs
assessment of the customer by creating a customer profile. This can be done by
a quick phone call or even a short postcard survey. The ultimate goal of the
farmer is to figure out what issues the floral shops may have and how he can
solve them with his homegrown products.
Developing and Proposing Solutions
Our farmer has conducted a ton of research and now has a list of places to make
appointments for sales calls. The farmer has created a short presentation in
which he will make a sales proposal to a prospective florist. He should have a
list of his recommendations and how he can help them solve a current issue. The
issue could be as simple as stocking fresher flowers or making more money by
offering his product at a lower cost. Our farmer has created a stunning

presentation that is short and vividly impactful. He has offered great prices and
left a bouquet of sample products for free. Unfortunately, not every sales call
ends with a sale. The farmer needs to handle any objections from the potential
customer next and not give up!
Explain the role of the seven steps of the selling process.
You may have been surprised if someone told you that movie scripts, regardless
of the genre, all follow the same basic formulathe same sequence of events
almost down to the minute: after three minutes, the central question of the
movie is introduced; after twenty-seven more minutes, the main character will
set off on a new path; fifteen minutes more, and something symbolic will
happen; and so on.[433] Its hard to believe that The Fast and the Furious would
follow the same formula as The Notebook, but once you know what to look for,
youll see that the structure holds up. Clearly, Hollywood has come to learn that
this particular structure is the secret to keeping the audiences attention, earning
positive reviews, and selling movies.
In the same way, almost all sellingregardless of the product thats being sold
follows a particular sequence of steps. Its a simple but logical framework
that has been the accepted model for almost a hundred years.[434] Salespeople
have adapted the specifics of the process as culture and technology have
changed, but the fact that theyve followed the same basic model has for so long
testifies to its effectiveness. The selling process is generally divided into seven
steps that, once you understand them, will empower you to sell virtually
anything you want and satisfy your customers:
Prospect and qualify
Preapproach
Approach
Presentation
Overcome objections

Close the sale

Follow-up
Each step of the seven-step process is covered thoroughly in this and the next
six chapters so that you can learn the details of each step and how to apply them
in various selling situations.
Figure 7.1. Seven-Step Selling Process[435]
Seven-Step Selling ProcessSource: Adapted from Solomon, Marshall, Stuart,
Marketing: Real People, Real Choices, 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008), 450.

When the Seven-Step Selling Process Is Used

As you learned in Chapter 3, The Power of Building Relationships: Putting
Adaptive Selling to Work, the sales process is adaptive, which means that each
situation may be different and salespeople have to adapt and understand what is
important to each customer and where each is in the buying process. But in
order for a salesperson to use adaptive selling, he or she must thoroughly
understand the steps in the selling process and how each works to can use them
effectively.
The Evolving Role of Technology in the Selling Process
While the basics of the selling process have remained the same over the years,
the methods of communication and the way people interact are quickly evolving
with the use of the interactive capabilities on the Internet by customers and
salespeople alike. Each step now includes much more collaboration between
customers and salespeople (and even between customers) with the use of social
networking, consumer reviews, wikis, and other community-based tools. This
technology allows salespeople to learn more about their customers at each step,
and therefore provide more relevant and powerful solutions to customers at each
stage of the buying process (covered in Chapter 6, Why and How People Buy:
The Power of Understanding the Customer).[436]

Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Sales

Lets say you want to buy a gym membership. Maybe you received a
promotional offer in the mail, your friends on Facebook have had good things to
say about a particular gym, or you picked this club because its close to home.
Whatever the reason, you wander in and ask to speak to the membership
director who seems to know a lot about the club and what you might be looking
for. After some small talk about the fact that you both live in the same apartment
complex, he tells you about the gyms amenities and gives you a tour of the
facility. Then, you sit down to discuss pricing options and payment plans. If you
have any questions or concerns (i.e., I noticed there are only three tennis
courts. Is there usually a long wait to use one? or Why arent there any
kickboxing classes on your class schedule?), the membership director will
attempt to address those. Maybe he will tell you there is occasionally a wait to
use the tennis courts at peak times, but you can reserve a spot up to a week in
advance, in which case you can get right in. Or maybe hell say that while they
dont have kickboxing classes, they offer Zumba, which is a fun aerobic
alternative.
If youre satisfied with his responses, and the price and product meet your
needs, you will probably decide to sign a contract. Once youve signed,
someone from the club will probably follow up with a call in a few weeks to see
if youre satisfied with your experience at their gym, or you may get an e-mail
from them with a membership satisfaction survey or a text message about an
upcoming event.
The example above is an actual selling situation. Although you may not have
realized it while you were reading it, the situation follows the seven-step selling
process.
Whether youre buying a gym membership or a car, cell phone service or a new
computer, the situation may be different, but the steps in the selling process will
follow the same pattern.
Business-to-Business (B2B) Sales

The process isnt only limited to business-to-consumer sales; its also the
process that IBM will use to sell servers to a corporation, that Accenture will
use to sell consulting services to a technology company, or that the Coffee
Brewers Company will use to sell espresso machines to coffee shops. Imagine
you run a chic new restaurant. You get a call from a salesperson who
compliments you on the roasted chicken she had at your restaurant last
weekend. After some conversation, she asks if youre satisfied with your
commercial ovens. You have been having some problems with them and have
been doing some casual research online. You know that her company is rated as
one of the best oven manufacturers, so you tell her: the ovens are over ten years
old, they take a long time to heat up, and they sometimes cook things unevenly.
Many older ovens have this problem, she says. Would you be interested in
learning about the state-of-the-art commercial ovens our company sells?
Since you need a solution for your current ovens, you agree to set up an
appointment with the salesperson. When the she arrives, you are impressed that
she knows so much about your business. She visited your restaurant, reviewed
your menu, spoke with some of the wait staff, read reviews on the city magazine
Web site, and even had some conversations with some of your patrons on
Chefs Blog. She explains that the ovens she sells heat up quickly and use
energy more efficiently. She gives you an estimate of your annual savings on
energy costs if you switched over to her product line.
Youre interested, but youre concerned that the ovens might not cook food
evenly. Ovens are a big expensewhat happens if you arent satisfied with the
product? The salesperson says you can lease an oven for a trial period at no
obligation, and she shows you reviews from other customers on her companys
Web site and on some restaurant industry blogs. You feel like this might help
you solve your problem, so you agree to lease the machine for four months.
After two months, the salesperson calls to ask if youve been satisfied with the
product so far, and she offers you a discount if you sign a contract to purchase
two ovens in the next ten days. Since you have been happy with the leased oven
and checked out the companys service record online from other current
customers, you make the purchase.

As in the gym membership example above, this B2B selling situation follows
the seven-step framework. Now, take a minute to review this selling situation in
the box below to see exactly how the steps are implemented.
The Seven Steps of Selling
Compare the B2B and B2C examples you just read about. Do you notice a
pattern? Although the products and customers were quite different, both
salespeople adapted to the situation and the customers needs, but followed the
same seven steps to successfully complete their sales. In fact, youve probably
used a version of these seven steps yourself before without even realizing it.
Take a look at some real-world selling examples below and how of each of the
steps is used.
Step 1: Prospecting and Qualifying
Before planning a sale, a salesperson conducts research to identify the people or
companies that might be interested in her product. In the B2B example, before
the salesperson called the company, she had to find the companys information
somewhereprobably in a local business directory. This step is called
prospecting, and its the foundational step for the rest of the sales process. A
lead is a potential buyer. A prospect is a lead that is qualified or determined to
be ready, willing, and able to buy. The prospecting and qualifying step relates to
the needs awareness step in the buying process described in Chapter 6, Why and
How People Buy: The Power of Understanding the Customer. In other words, in
a perfect world, you are identifying customers who are in the process of or have
already identified a need.
Undoubtedly, when the salesperson called the target customer to discuss his
ovens (in the example, you were the customer), she asked some questions to
qualify him as a prospect, or determine whether he has the desire and ability to
buy the product or service. This is the other component to step one. What
happens if the customer is not interested in the salespersons product, or hes
interested but his business is struggling financially and doesnt have the
resources for a big purchase? Perhaps he is only an employee, not the manager,
and he doesnt have the authority to make the purchasing decision. In this case,
he is no longer a prospect, and the salesperson will move on to another lead.

Salespeople qualify their prospects so they can focus their sales efforts on the
people who are most likely to buy. After all, spending an hour discussing the
capabilities of your companys ovens with a lead that is about to go out of
business would be a waste of time. Its much more fruitful to invest your time
with a qualified prospect, one who has the desire or ability to buy the product or
service.
Step 2: Preapproach
The preapproach is the doing your homework part of the process. A good
salesperson researches his prospect, familiarizing himself with the customers
needs and learning all the relevant background info he can about the individual
or business.[437] Remember that in the B2B example, the salesperson knew
important information about the restaurant beforehand. She came prepared with
a specific idea as to how her service could help the prospect and gave a tailored
presentation.
Step 3: Approach
First impressions (e.g., the first few minutes of a sales call) are crucial to
building the clients trust.[438] If youve ever asked someone on a first date
(yes, this is a selling situation), chances are you didnt call the person and start
the conversation off with the question, Hey, do you want to go out on Saturday
night? Such an abrupt method would turn most people away, and you probably
would not score the date you were hoping for. Similarly, as a professional
salesperson, you would almost never make a pitch right away; instead, youd
work to establish a rapport with the customer first. This usually involves
introductions, making some small talk, asking a few warm-up questions, and
generally explaining who you are and whom you represent.[439],[440] This is
called the approach.
Figure 7.2.

The approach may be on the phone, in person, or via e-mail or other online
method such as a social network.

Step 4: Presentation
Theres a good deal of preparation involved before a salesperson ever makes her
pitch or presentation, but the presentation is where the research pays off and her
idea for the prospect comes alive. By the time she presents her product, she will
understand her customers needs well enough to be sure shes offering a solution
the customer could use. If youre a real estate agent selling a house and your
customers are an older, retired couple, you wont take them to see a house with
many bedrooms, several flights of stairs to climb, and a huge yard to keep up
nor will you show them around a trendy loft in a busy part of town. The
presentation should be tailored to the customer, explaining how the product
meets that person or companys needs. It might involve a tour (as in this real
estate example), a product demonstration, videos, PowerPoint presentations, or
letting the customer actually look at or interact with the product. At this point,
the customer is using the information that is being shared as part of his
evaluation of possible solutions.
Step 5: Handling Objections
After youve made your sales presentation, its natural for your customer to
have some hesitations or concerns called objections. Good salespeople look at
objections as opportunities to further understand and respond to customers
needs.[441] For instance, maybe youre trying to convince a friend to come
camping with you.
Id like to go your friend says, but Ive got a big project I need to finish at
work, and I was planning to spend some time at the office this weekend.
Thats no problem, you tell him. Im free next weekend, too. Why dont we
plan to go then, once your projects out of the way?
Step 6: Closing the Sale
Eventually, if your customer is convinced your product will meet her needs, you
close by agreeing on the terms of the sale and finishing up the transaction.[442]
This is the point where the potential gym member signs her membership

agreement, the restaurant owner decides to purchase the ovens, or your friend
says, Sure, lets go camping next weekend! Sometimes a salesperson has to
make several trial closes during a sales call, addressing further objections before
the customer is ready to buy.[443] It may turn out, even at this stage in the
process, that the product doesnt actually meet the customers needs. The
importantand sometimes challengingpart of closing is that the seller has to
actually ask if the potential customer is willing to make the purchase.[444]
When the close is successful, this step clearly aligns with the purchase step in
the buying process.
Step 7: Following Up
OK, so youve completed a landscaping job for your customer or sold him a car
or installed the software that meets his needs. While it might seem like youve
accomplished your goal, the customer relationship has only begun. The followup is an important part of assuring customer satisfaction, retaining customers
and prospecting for new customers. This might mean sending a thank-you note,
calling the customer to make sure a product was received in satisfactory
condition, or checking in to make sure a service is meeting the customers
expectations. This is the follow-up e-mail you get from Netflix every time you
return a movie by mail. Its Amazons invitation to rate your transaction after
you receive your Amazon order. Follow-up also includes logistical details like
signing contracts, setting up delivery or installation dates, and drawing up a
timeline. From the buyers perspective, the follow-up is the implementation step
in the buying process. Good follow-up helps ensure additional sales, customer
referrals, and positive reviews[445] and actually leads you back to the first step
in the selling process because it provides the opportunity to learn about new
needs for this customer or new customers through referrals.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The seven-step selling process refers to the sequence of steps salespeople follow
each time they make a sale. The process gives you the power to successfully sell
almost anything.
The first step of the selling process, prospecting and qualifying, involves
searching for potential customers and deciding whether they have the ability

and desire to make a purchase. The people and organizations that meet these
criteria are qualified prospects.
Before making a sales call, it is important to do your homework by
researching your customer and planning what you are going to say; this is the
preapproach.
The approach is your chance to make a first impression by introducing yourself,
explaining the purpose of your call or visit, and establishing a rapport with your
prospect.
Your research and preparation pays off during the presentation, when you
propose your sales solution to your prospect.
Your prospect will naturally have objections, which you should look at as
opportunities to better understand and respond to his or her needs.
Once you overcome objections, you close the sale by agreeing on the terms and
finalizing the transaction.
The sales process doesnt end with the close; follow-up (i.e., ensuring customer
satisfaction and working out the logistics of delivery, installation, and timelines)
is essential to retaining existing customers and finding new ones.
Mid December I got an email from a man named Serge Lavange who works for
a company called Jooble. He asked if I would link to Jooble on my blog in
exchange for him promoting my blog with a banner ad for a month on Jooble. I
agreed, technically making this my second Consulting For Swag article that I'm
posting, the first being FaceGuard. I know, I know, this is not exactly a
consulting job, but it's close enough because I'm using the opportunity to
discuss the Personal Selling Process. Similar to the 4 Ps of Marketing, this is an
academic marketing model that is very practical when it comes to real-world
application.
Personal Selling

This is arguably the most expensive way of promoting a product, but depending
on what you're selling it can be the most effective promotional tool. It is
estimated that on average a sales call costs a company upwards of $300, but
having a salesman explain the benefits of your product or service in person
allows the salesman to customize the message to the customer's needs. This is
especially useful for selling large products or large amounts of small products to
large customers. You probably wouldn't use personal selling, for example, in a
grocery store:

it probably wouldn't be worth going through the personal selling process for
smaller sales, like a banana.
"...you may also appreciate that the banana is completely impervious
to the mighty blast of the laser pointer..."

So without further ado, let's look at the 7 steps of the Personal Selling Process:
1. Prospecting
Personal selling begins with developing a list of potential customers. When Al
Gore invented the Internet, this task became immeasurably easier than before.
Lists of business customers can be compiled through website registrations,
Internet searches, trade shows, or purchasing commercially available databases
of contacts. It is important that your prospecting develop lists of likely
customers. Purchasing a large database of small businesses can be inefficient if
you have a product that targets specific customers. If you're selling diapers
wholesale, home electronics retailers won't be interested.
The sales staff from Jooble are looking to increase their web presence by having
bloggers link to them. Jooble is looking for job seekers, which isn't exactly a
segmented demographic. By having links to their site from a variety of blogs,
they probably hope to reach a wide market. Blogs are an excellent way of
getting that sort of exposure, and it's easy to find lists of blogs through standard
search techniques.
2. Pre-Approach
The work that goes in before a sales call can be quite extensive. Personal selling
is often used for business customers who are able to make larger purchases than

wholesale customers, and this means it is worth the time to find out what the
clients' needs are and what their specific needs and concerns will be. Personal
selling is a promotional method that gives the greatest flexibility in tailoring the
message and addressing concerns, so it's important that you arrive armed with
the information you need. In addition, there is an old adage, "friends sell to
friends." Finding out who you're going to be selling to, and a few of their
interests can help you have something to talk about to form a working
relationship.
Serge, the man who contacted me from Jooble, started by reading my blog and
noting a few articles he could comment on in his email to me. I was much more
disposed to respond to him knowing that he had read what I had to say.
3. Approach
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and most people
make their minds up about another person within just a few seconds. The
approach is an important part of the sales call because you have a chance to
establish trust with your client. Asking questions to get the prospective client
talking, being warm and friendly with a firm handshake can help.
Companies can use personal selling techniques at a slightly reduced cost by
making the approach and the presentation through call centers or through the
Internet. This changes the dynamics of making a first impression. When I was
approached by Jooble, it was through e-mail. Serge told me that he had read my
blog and found it interesting, and made a few general comments on it. This
stopped me from dismissing the email out of hand, though I was still suspicious
that he had actually read the articles. It seemed likely that he had just scanned
the article headlines and wrote that they were "interesting and well written"
though it was still enough of a warm introduction to get me to respond.
4. Presentation
This is the part of the personal selling that people intuitively focus on. The
salesman tells the story of the benefits and value of their product to the
prospective client. It can be tempting to deliver the presentation as a
monologue, but don't forget that the strength of personal selling is adaptability.
By adapting the presentation to specifically address the prospect's needs and
concerns the prospect will know that you care about what they need.

The presentation I received was through email, which is slightly different to

tailor. Serge told me of the trouble he was having finding blogs willing to link
to Jooble, and asked if I thought a link would fit with my blog. This personal
question and invitation to respond was enough to get me engaged in a
conversation. I was able to articulate what I would like in exchange and my
concerns about how to make it fit thematically into the blog instead of just
shoehorning an unrelated link into my content. It worked out, which is why I'm
writing this.
5. Overcoming Objections
This is where the personal selling process has a great advantage over other sales
methods. Uncovering objections and overcoming them is the test of a good
salesman. Common techniques for overcoming objections include:
Acknowledge objection and convert: "Yes our prices are higher because of our
amazing quality."
Postpone: "We'll look at the price in just a bit but first let me ask about your
needs in this area..."
Agreeing and Neutralize: "I see how you feel, others have felt the same until
they realized our competitor actually burns rain forests for fun."
Accept the objection: Sometimes you have no choice.
Denial: "Actually that's not quite accurate. In fact, our product...."
Ignore the objection: "Your question about how soon we can deliver reminds me
of a story..."
The important thing is to try and treat objections as inquiries for more
information. The last thing you want is to start arguing with a client.
6. Closing the Sale
A prospect is just a prospect unless you close the sale, and it's best not to let it
drag on too long. It can be as simple as "Now that we've gone through the
presentation, shall I bring out the paperwork?" or "If you have no further
concerns, how many should I put you down for?" The important thing is to
close, making sure everyone is clear on what has been agreed upon.
With Serge from Jooble, having the terms and expectations of what each of us
were to deliver in writing was important to ensuring that our expectations were
met.
7. Follow-up
An often overlooked aspect of sales, but very important, especially with
business customers or big-ticket items. Follow-up means ensuring that the

product arrived on time, was installed correctly, and that there were no problems
with it. This is key to having satisfied customers, and can pave the way to
future sales and referrals.

And that, my friends, is an overview of the personal selling process and how it
relates to Serge at Jooble. I hope you all find it useful. So now that I've gone
through this nice presentation, click here to find out how you could get an
article featured here, yourself!
The 8 Step Personal Selling Process
Personal selling is the most expensive form of advertising and to be effective
one should use a step by step process to gain the most benefit. Personal selling
can adjust the manner in which facts are communicated and can consider factors
such as culture and behaviour in the approach. They can ask questions to
discover the specific need of the customer and can get feedback and adjust the
presentation as it progresses.
The Personal Selling Process
The personal selling process is a consecutive series of activities conducted by
the salesperson, the lead to a prospect taking the desired action of buying a
product or service and finish with a follow-up contact to ensure purchase
satisfaction.
Step One
Prospecting - the first step in the personal selling process
The process of looking for and checking leads is called prospecting or
determining which firms or individuals could become customers.
Up to 20% of a firm's customer base can be lost for reasons such as transfer,
death, retirement, takeovers, dissatisfaction with the company and competition.
A steadily growing list of qualified prospects is important for reaching the sales
targets.
Qualifying a prospect: A lead is a name on a list. It only becomes a prospect if it
is determined that the person or company can benefit from the service or
product offered. A qualified prospect has a need, can benefit from the product
and has the authority to make the decision.

Step Two
The Pre-approach
This stage involves the collecting of as much relevant information as possible
prior to the sales presentation. The pre-approach investigation is carried out on
new customers but also on regular customers. Systematic collection of
information requires a decision about applicability, usefulness and how to
organise the information for easy access and effective use.
Step Three
The Approach
The salesperson should always focus on the benefits for the customer. This is
done by using the product's features and advantages. This is known as the FAB
technique (Features, Advantages and Benefits).
* Features : Refers to the physical characteristics such as size, taste etc.
* Advantages : Refers to the performance provided by the physical
characteristics eg it does not stain.
* Benefits : Refers to the benefits for the prospect. Eg. Saves you 20% on
replacement cost.
Step Four
The Sales Presentation
After the prospects interest has been grasped, the sales presentation is delivered.
This involves a "persuasive vocal and visual explanation of a business
proposition". It should be done in a relaxed atmosphere to encourage the
prospect to share information in order to establish requirements. Some small
talk may be necessary to reduce tension but the purpose always remains
business.
Step Five
The Trial Close
The trial close is a part of the presentation and is an important step in the selling
process. Known as a temperature question - technique to establish the attitude of
the prospect towards the presentation and the product.
Step Six
Handling Objections

Objections are often indications of interest by the prospect and should not be
viewed with misgiving by salespeople. The prospect is in fact requesting
additional information to help him to justify a decision to buy. The prospect
may not be fully convinced and the issues raised are thus very important. It also
assists the salesperson to establish exactly what is on the prospect's mind.
Step Seven
Closing the Sale
This is the last part of the presentation. Many salespeople fear the closing of a
sale. Closing a sale is only the confirmation of an understanding. Fear will
disappear if the salesperson truly believes that the prospect will enjoy benefits
after the purchase of the product.
Step Eight
The Follow-up
The sale does not complete the selling process. Follow-up activities are very
important and are useful for the establishment of long-term business
relationships. It is important to check if the products have been received in good
condition, to establish the customer is satisfied etc.