PERSONAL SELLING

Personal selling, sometimes called professional selling or
professional personal selling, is the person-to-person
interaction between the representatives of a sales organization
and the representatives of a buying organization
resulting in the sale of a good, such as a product, service,
or idea. Selling can take place through a retail transaction,
a business-to-business transaction, or through telemarketing.
Business-to-business professional selling is a process
beginning with the sales representative identifying potential
customers and potentially culminating in a long-term,
mutually beneficial relationship between the seller and
buyer. This process, called the sales process, can be separated
into seven specific steps: prospecting, preparation,
the approach, the presentation, handling objections, closing
the sale, and the follow-up.
PROSPECTING
Prospecting involves identifying and qualifying potential
customers. Several techniques are available to sales representatives
to help them identify potential customers, such
as the endless chain, center of influence, and cold calling
methods. The endless chain prospecting method is where
the sales representative, at the end of a call, asks the buyer
for names of other buyers who might be interested in the
product. When the sales representative gains additional
contacts by getting to know the most influential buyers in
the sales territory, this is known as the center of influence
prospecting technique. In the cold calling method, the
sales representative goes through the territory knocking
on doors to identify potential customers.
When qualifying a prospect, a sales representative
needs to determine if there is a want or a need for a product,
if the company is financially able to buy, if the company
is eligible to buy, and if the person interacting with
the sales representative has the authority to buy.
PREPARATION
The second step of the sales process is the preparation
step. In this step, the sales representative prepares for the
sales call in two ways. First, the sales representative gathers
general knowledge that is needed to make any call,
such as product information, prices, delivery information,
and competitive information. Second, the sales representative
prepares a plan for calling on each individual customer.
The precall plan is often called a sales call plan,
essentially an outline of how the sales representative
would like the sales presentation to flow. During a sales
representative’s early tenure with a company, the sales call
plan is often a written process; as a sales representative
gains experience, however, planning the call becomes a
mental process. The better prepared sales representatives
are for each call, the greater their success.
APPROACH
The third step of the sales process is the approach step.
The approach is the sales representative’s first face-to-face
interaction with the customer. There are several techniques
available for effectively approaching customers,
such as the premium approach, the question approach,
and the product approach. The premium approach, sometimes
called the free gift approach, involves the sales representative
giving the buyer something of value at the
beginning of a call. The question approach is when the
sales representative’s presentation begins with a question
to get the buyer involved. In the product approach, the
sales representative hands a sample of the product to the
buyer at the beginning of the presentation, once again
involving the buyer right away.
An important aspect of the approach step is the concept
of personal space. Sales representatives need to be
aware of cultural differences and not make the buyer feel
uncomfortable during the sales call. In some countries, it
may be natural for the buyer and seller to communicate
almost nose to nose, while this is completely unacceptable
in other countries.
PRESENTATION
The fourth step of the sales process is the presentation.
Sales representatives need to realize the importance of pre-
Appliance sales is one area where person-to-person selling plays
an important role. © DON MASON/CORBIS

594 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSINESS AND FINANCE, SECOND EDITION
Personal Selling
senting the sales information in a professional manner. In
the presentation step, the sales representative should relate
customer benefits for each product feature presented. The
sales representative should also ask questions to assess
needs and involve the buyer, and use active listening,
which is listening carefully to the buyer and using what
the buyer says to help guide the direction of the sales presentation.
HANDLING OBJECTIONS
The fifth stage of the sales process is handling objections.
In this stage, sales representatives anticipate objections
that can be encountered during a sales call, such as those
relating to price, product, source (company), and service.
Sales representatives should learn to welcome objections
because it shows that the buyer is involved in the presentation
and because objections help focus the presentation
on the buyer’s concerns. If sales representatives successfully
overcome a buyer’s concerns, they are that much
closer to a sale. There are no magical techniques for overcoming
objections. Sales representatives overcome objections
by being prepared and knowing the appropriate
information about the company, products, and related
services.
THE CLOSE
The close is the sixth, though not final, step of the sales
process. When trying to close the sale, sales representatives
need to observe the customer and use active listening to
recognize buyers’ closing signals. Closing signals can be
verbal or nonverbal. Once sales representatives identify a
closing signal, they use one of a variety of closing techniques
to try to close the sale, such as the alternative
choice, extra-inducement, or standing room only close.
The alternative choice close is when the sales representative
closes by offering the buyer choices, such as “Will that
be MasterCard or Visa?” With the extra-inducement
close, the sales representative attempts to close the sale by
offering to give the buyer something extra of value if the
buyer agrees to buy; while in the standing room only
close, the sales representative informs the buyer that some
future event will change the terms of the product offering,
for example, an upcoming price increase.
FOLLOW-UP
The final step of the sales process is the follow-up. The
follow-up step is essential for building a long-lasting relationship
with the customer. A sales representative can
build a good relationship with the buyer in many ways. A
sales representative can send the buyer a thank-you note
for a purchase or make sure that a purchase is delivered
when expected. Follow-ups can be e-mails, telephone
calls, letters, or personal interactions. A sales representative
can contact the buyer to see if there are any questions
or concerns about a purchase, to make sure the buyer
received the delivery, to make sure the product was properly
installed and in good working condition, or to give
the buyer additional requested information.
Follow-ups do not always have to be business related.
For example, if a sales representative discovers that the
buyer is an avid golfer, the sales representative can mail the
buyer an article about an upcoming golf event in the
buyer’s area. The idea of the follow-up is to satisfy the customer’s
needs and to build a strong business relationship.
SALES INTERACTIONS
Sales representatives have three basic types of sales interactions
with buyers: transactional, consultative, and relationship
selling situations. Transactional selling is where
the sales representative does not have an established relationship
with the buyer. Transactional selling tends to
happen when sales representatives are first calling on buyers
or when buyers intentionally avoid developing a relationship
with the sales representative.
Consultative selling occurs when the sale representative
is beginning to build a stronger working relationship
with the buyer. The buyer begins to trust the sales representative,
but still tends to use the sales representative as
just an adviser.
With relationship selling, the sales representative has
developed a strong trusting relationship with the buyer.
The sales representative becomes almost like a partner
with the buyer, working side by side with the buyer to
help solve the buyer’s problems. In return, the sales representative
gains long-run sales from the relationship. As a
sales representative progresses from transactional selling to
relationship selling, the number of competitive sales representatives seen by the buyer tends to decrease