INTRODUCTION TO PERSONAL SELLING.

Selling always comes before negotiation. The simple difference between them is timing. With selling you inform people what youve got, what its going to for them and how much it costs. Negotiation follows when prospective customers like what they see, but want to bargain about the prices. So negotiation begins when the prospect wants to buy and you want to sell, but you still have a few details to share regarding terms and conditions. Negotiation is playing an ever increasing role in the commercial world. So, its becoming increasingly important now for sales people, to be both skillful salespeople and negotiators. They also need to match confidence and self esteem, for there are various reasons why a sales person might be anxious to sell.

THE PROCESS: The sales process if we examine is a typical interview with seller and buyer interacting with one another, we get an insight into both parties needs. The sales needs of the person will be revealed by their opening statement, presentation of product features and benefits and close of the sale.

Marketing vs. sales... As we study the two portions of the Revenue generation part of any organization, we could listen to different types of responses from people belonging to each department. Marketing people may say Sales people are just quick talking, quota driven, snake oil dealers. Sales guys say Sales draw the picture and Marketing fill the colors in it. In fact - Every successful person sells himself/herself. Selling what he stands for, his value system, his beliefs, his time, efforts, skills, abilities, knowledge, his beliefs and Goals. In a way, he does selling better than salesmen. Thus selling, as Peter Stevenson remarks, is everyones profession. As students of Marketing Management, It is very important to know very well, that each is interdependent and needs equal amount of study and practice. Like many opposing forces, however, their true interdependencies are understated and sometimes unclear.

MARKETING MANAGEMENT

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

PRICE MANAGEMENT

PLACE MANAGEMENT

PROMOTION MANAGEMENT

PERSONAL SELLING

ADVERTISING

SALES PROMOTION

PUBLICITY AND P.R

Selling is a part of the total promotional activity of a firm, which along with product, price, and place management, goes a long way in meeting the Marketing objectives of an organization. It is a very broader concept and salesmanship is just a part of it. Salesmanship can be defined as The art of persuasion which motivates the customers to buy products which provide them suitable benefits. The emphasis initially was on the word persuasion, but now has shifted to the benefit part. Salesmanship is initiated by the seller and provides information to the prospective buyers about the products and their benefits, so as to persuade and motivate them to opt for them.

PERSONAL SELLING. The ultimate objective of a Marketing function is to increase the sales volume of want satisfying products and service, thus creating a healthy bottom line and thereby the profits. About 8 to 15% of the net sales of a company are spent on personal selling as against 1 to 3 % on advertising expenses. Salesmanship can be defined as 1. The art of persuasion which motivates the customers to buy products which provide them suitable benefits. 2. It happens on a one on basis. 3. It is tailored to the needs of the prospect. 4. Immediate feedback. 5. On the spot modifications. Personal selling happens on a one on one basis. The beneficial features of personal selling are: Since it happens on a one on one basis, immediate feedback from the customer is received and the communication can be altered on the spot. It is tailored to the needs of the prospects, and deals with the specifics, as against in advertising, which is mostly a generalized way of communicating value. It amounts to the least amount of wastage, as other means of promotions, E.g Advertisements, journals, newspapers, may be received by non-targeted audience as well. It leads to the actual sale, the actual buying, which is not taken care of by other means of communication. Other data, like credit worthiness, likes and dislikes, preferences of the prospect can be captured. It helps ion relation building with the prospect which is vital in repeat purchase and minimizes brand switching.

SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A SALESPERSON.

A salesman is a Brand ambassador of the company to the prospect and the external world. He leaves a lasting impression on the people whom he interacts with, and forms an opinion about the company from his behavior. Salesmen are out in the field, and field job is never a bed of roses, as it involves hard physical activities, creativity, doggedness and initiative. Salesmen need human relation skills, tact, intelligence, and innovativeness, more than others, as she needs to interact with people with diverse background. Salesmen enjoy a substantial amount of perks (travelling, Food, incentives, lodging, vehicle allowances), as compared to people from other walks of life. Sales people have a direct impact on 1. The success of new products. 2. Keeping existing products on the retailers shelf. 3. Constructing Manufacturing facilities.

4. Opening businesses and keeping them open. 5. Generating sales orders that result in the loading of trucks, ships, airplanes, and pipelines that carry goods to customers all over the world.

Six major reasons to choose a sales career

Variety of sales jobs Freedom Service to others. Challenge Advancement Rewards.

VARIOUS CALLINGS OF SALES PEOPLE.

Account executive. Associate Financial service Manager. Account Representative. Sales Account Manager. District Representative. Territory Manager. Insurance advisor. Sales Consultant. Sales associate/Executive. Field Associate/Executive. Medical representative.

TYPES OF SELLING JOBS. We can see a wide variety of selling tasks ranging from mere order taking as in the case of a soft drink salesman to a technological presentation in the case of a sales Engineer selling complex products like industrial machinery, aircrafts and computers. They can be classified on the basis of the creative inout needed to perform them.
1. Order takers Their task is to help the walk-in customers to help sort out their preferred brand or product from the variety available in the store. They take the orders as needed by the customers.Eg. - The salesman behind the counter of a grocery store listens to the requirements of the customer and serves them with the right product. 2. Just Delivery Just fill in the orders by giving the delivery of the products. E.g. courier services.

3. Missionaries These people build an image for the organization and generate goodwill for it. E.g. Medical Representatives. 4. Sales Engineers These are the people who posses good technical knowledge of the product. E.g. Hardware engineers. 5. Creative Selling These are the people who make people alive to their needs or impress upon them, how an innovation can work in their favor. Vacumizers, computers, aircrafts are few examples.

THE SALES SKILLS: The following are few sales skills which are required to excel in this field.

Ability to Listen Along with speaking, a great salesperson knows when to stop talking and listen. They never cut someone off while they are talking, because in doing so they would fail to hear a key element in identifying what that person's needs might be. Asks Great Questions Salespeople are naturally inquisitive and know that in order to isolate what the real need or desire is in the buyer, they need to ask questions that will lead them to the answer. They naturally ask questions because they have a desire to help solve their problem. Problem Solver Another natural skill is the desire and ability to solve problems. Great salespeople are always solving problems. The ability to hone in on what the buyer's problem is and offering suggestions that will effectively solve the problem with respect to what products or services you sell, generally results with a sale. Well Organized I am not necessarily speaking of your personal surroundings, but more with your thoughts and methods of planning. Sales people have a keen ability to break things down into smaller steps and organize a plan of action. They know how to analyze what their goal is and in what order the steps need to be in in order to reach that goal. Self-Starter and Self-Finisher

A successful sales person moves forward on their own. They never need anyone to tell them when it is time to go to work because they know that if they do not work they will not earn. They are also very persistent to finish what they start. They achieve their goals, even if they are small ones. Positive Self Image Having the attitude that they can do just about anything that they put their mind to is usually very common among sales people. They do not cower from meeting or talking to people or trying something new. They rarely allow negatives that are either spoken to them or about them to effect what they are trying to accomplish because they know who they are and what they are capable of doing. Well Mannered and Courteous The best sales people are very well mannered. You may not realize it, but good manners is a way of showing respect for others. People are attracted to those that respect them and mutual respect is fundamental in building lasting relationships with people..including buyers. Naturally Persuasive Another very common inherent skill with great salespeople is that they are very persuasive or know how to get what they want. They focus on what they want and they are persistent to keep chipping away until they get what they want. They almost never give up or give in. Person of Integrity A salesperson without integrity will have many struggles which will often include hopping from job to job. Honesty in sales is so important and it is almost impossible for this skill to be taught. You or the person you are looking to hire is either a person of integrity or are not. Be as analytical as possible on the evaluation of this skill.

7 Sales Skills to Improve On

Sales Skill #1: Qualifying Fast to Avoid Wasting Sales Time Do you chase after your prospects until they tell you yes or no? Do you ever tell your prospects "No", as in "No, I am not going to sell to you"? There are many things in selling that you do not and will not be able to control. The one thing that you do have control over is your time and how you choose to use it. To qualify fast you must have a set of criteria describing who you will and will not sell to. You want to sell to the prospects likely to buy your products, and drop the prospects unlikely to buy

(so that you can find more good prospects). Sounds simple, but too many salespeople let sludge buildup in their pipeline, constricting the total revenue that flows out. KEY TIP: Develop a list of sales qualifying criteria that prospect's must meet in order for you to invest your sales time with them. Sales Skill #2: Motivating Prospects Qualifying goes beyond budget, authority, and need. You want to sell to prospects who *want* to buy from you. Finding prospects that need our products usually is not difficult. Finding those who really want our products though can be very hard if we wait for them to come to us. Products sold by professional salespeople are more complex and offer more value than commodity products offered through stores, catalogs and brokers. Prospects generally do not know they need such products, until they first discover that they have a problem. This process can take seconds or years depending on the nature of the problem (and the prospect!). Prospects get motivated to work with you when you help them to discover that you solve their problem better than anyone does else. KEY TIP: Determine which problems that you eliminate or solve for your prospects. Plan and ask questions to uncover and agitate those problems. Sales Skill #3: Selling to People outside Your Comfort Zone Most sales people, who are "people persons", already think that they are good at this. Let me ask you a question. When you last lost a sale, how was your rapport with the key person who decided against you? You can't afford to look away and ignore people that you don't have natural rapport with. The good news is that people like people like themselves. All you have to do to gain rapport is stretch your behavior outside or your comfort zone until you become like another person. KEY TIP: Match speech patterns with people to gain rapport outside of your typical sports or weather conversation. Sales Skill #4: Reaching Decision-Makers Through Voicemail There's two ways to make more sales. One is to close more of the prospects you do contact. The other is to get more prospects into the pipeline. When prospecting, you can look at voicemail as

either your friend or your enemy. With 70% of your prospecting calls going to voicemail, it is time to make friends with it. Although you will never get even close to getting every voicemail returned, you can get a significant number of your messages returned when treat them as a one-on-one commercials. KEY TIP: Prepare 3-5 separate benefit-focused voicemail messages that you can leave over a period of days or weeks for a single decision-maker before you give up on her. Each message should focus on a single unique customer-focused benefit. Sales Skill #5: Delivering "I Got to Have That" Presentations Let's face it, a lot of business presentations are really boring. Salespeople talk about why their product is great, why their company is great, and the history of their company. Prospects don't relate to this. That's why they look so bored. Great presentations get the prospect's imagination involved. The best way to involve the imagination is through storytelling. Stories rich in descriptive detail get the prospect picturing them using your product and evoke that "I Gotta Have That" reaction. KEY TIP: Study 1-3 of your best customers and develop detailed customer success stories that will put emotional power into your presentations. Sales Skill #6: Gaining Commitments Instead of Closing Eliminate "Closing Cheese" from Your Vocabulary. You know what I am talking about: "Would you like that in gray or in black?" or "If I can show you how this will help you will you buy today?". Lines like these are why salespeople are down on the bottom of society's respect list somewhere near lawyers. Learn the power of asking for incremental commitments from the beginning of your sales cycle. It is not an easy shift to make. First you got to get the prospect to show you what they most want (Hint: See Skill #2 above). Then you can negotiate incremental commitments in return for more of your time, information or resources. KEY TIP: Practice asking for simple commitments once someone has expressed a clear want, pain, or desire. Sales Skill #7: Have More Fun Sales is fun when you are in control and closing deals. Selling is miserable when you are under pressure to close business.

Take the pressure off yourself to close and instead focus on qualifying and motivating your prospects. KEY TIP: Shift the responsibility back to the prospect to solve his own problems, and the reassure to make the sale will be gone. Focus on selling at your best only to qualified prospects and you'll close more and have fun doing it. Bonus Sales Tip When you are giving a presentation, selling on the telephone or one-on-one in your prospect's office, picture your prospect as having the words SO WHAT stamped on his forehead. Imagine that for everything you say, the prospect is asking "so what, why should I care?". Remember, prospects only care about how what you are selling can eliminate a problem that they have or help make their business or life better. The answer to this question is always what your product does for them (benefits), not what your product is (features). COLD CALLS Cold Calling Pressure ReductionWho likes cold calling? Most salespeople don't like cold calling, and do as little of it as possible. There are a number of reasons why most of us don't like it. One reason is the way we view cold calling. People who don't like cold calling view each call as do or die. They think of cold calling as a war in which they have to win most of the battles in order to win the war. A sales rep good at cold calling is considered a sales god. A sales rep who is poor at cold calling is a sniveling wimp. The reality about cold calling is much different. You don't have to win all nor even most of the battles to win the war. Cold calling is the reconnaissance before any battle begins. Cold calling is not where the sale happens. Cold calling is simply advertising done by sales reps. Yes, I said that you are doing advertising when you are cold calling. Cold calling is a means of identifying potential prospects for your sales efforts. And the purpose of advertising is to identify or attract potential prospects - in other words to generate leads. Think of cold calling this way. Every time you make a cold call, it is as if you grabbed your prospect by the shirt, shoved a billboard ad for your product in their face, and said "Do you want to buy this?"

Obviously, real cold calling is more involved than pressing their nose up to your ad. Specifically, cold calling should be mostly about asking questions rather than a sales pitch monologue. Just like a newspaper ad or a billboard, all you are trying to do when cold calling is to get someone's attention. And if they don't want or need what you are offering right now, that's OK. With your new view of cold calling as advertising in mind, you should focus your cold calling goals a little differently. One of the surest ways to get frustrated in sales (and an ulcer) is to take responsibility for things that are beyond your control as a sales rep. You really cannot control whether the person you are cold calling needs or wants your product. What you can control is how many cold calls you make, and the quality of your techniques while cold calling. Set your cold calling targets and define your success criteria around the number of calls or dials that you will make. Judge the quality of your calls by how well you stick to a cold calling formula that you have defined in advance. If your cold calling goal is set as "To Make $300,000 in Sales Next Month", you are just setting yourself up. This kind of cold calling goal might be useful if you are a tele*sales* person responsible for actually closing business by phone. But in professional business-to-business selling, cold calling is too far removed from the actual close to directly influence such a goal. Instead, you can backwards plan how many cold calling "advertisements" you need to run in order to make $300,000 in sales next month. Use your own or other sales reps activity numbers to figure out how many sales will result *on average* if you make 1000 dials when cold calling. Then you can determine the time period needed to make 1000 dials worth of cold calling advertisements in order to make your sales goals. Look at cold calling as one-to-one advertising and focus on the number of dials you have to make and you'll find cold calling a lot easier to do.