personal selling strategy
Personal Selling
I.
Personal Selling Basics
A.
What is Personal Selling?
We all know, or at least have an impression, of what personal selling entails. As a general rule, college students tend to be somewhat negatively predisposed toward personal selling, particularly as a career. As such, in addition to explaining a variety of personal selling concepts and explaining personal selling’s role in the promotion mix, a goal for these notes is to dispel some of these negative impressions by emphasizing that reputable employers hire and train reputable salespeople. Much of personal selling’s sometimes unsavory reputation originates in the cultures of unsavory businesses rather than in personal selling itself.
I define personal selling as “the face-to-face process of a company representative (or small group of representatives) and a customer identifying customer problems and solving them through the purchase and application of the representative’s products.”
This definition suggests several comments about personal selling. First, it is dyadic in nature. Dyadic simply means of or relating to two people. Thus, personal selling revolves around a marketing relationship developed between two people. Frequently, personal salespeople enlist the help of others in their organizations to sell to and service customers. And just as frequently, personal salespeople find themselves making presentations to small groups of people or working with multiple individuals within customers’ firms. However, ultimately a successful marketing relationship is built by two people – one person selling and person buying. Successful salespeople identify that person early on and work to win their trust and confidence.
Second, personal selling is a process, not a single activity. And done correctly, the process continues indefinitely. Salespeople, sales managers, and others inside the seller’s organization frequently see the selling process as culminating or ending with a
I.
Personal Selling Basics
A.
What is Personal Selling?
We all know, or at least have an impression, of what personal selling entails. As a general rule, college students tend to be somewhat negatively predisposed toward personal selling, particularly as a career. As such, in addition to explaining a variety of personal selling concepts and explaining personal selling’s role in the promotion mix, a goal for these notes is to dispel some of these negative impressions by emphasizing that reputable employers hire and train reputable salespeople. Much of personal selling’s sometimes unsavory reputation originates in the cultures of unsavory businesses rather than in personal selling itself.
I define personal selling as “the face-to-face process of a company representative (or small group of representatives) and a customer identifying customer problems and solving them through the purchase and application of the representative’s products.”
This definition suggests several comments about personal selling. First, it is dyadic in nature. Dyadic simply means of or relating to two people. Thus, personal selling revolves around a marketing relationship developed between two people. Frequently, personal salespeople enlist the help of others in their organizations to sell to and service customers. And just as frequently, personal salespeople find themselves making presentations to small groups of people or working with multiple individuals within customers’ firms. However, ultimately a successful marketing relationship is built by two people – one person selling and person buying. Successful salespeople identify that person early on and work to win their trust and confidence.
Second, personal selling is a process, not a single activity. And done correctly, the process continues indefinitely. Salespeople, sales managers, and others inside the seller’s organization frequently see the selling process as culminating or ending with a