CHAPTER THREE
Personal Selling
PURPOSES OF SELLING
Introducing Innovation to Markets
 Conveying Information
 Acting as Intelligence Agent
 Solving Customer Problems

ATTITUDES ABOUT
SELLING
“Sales people are born and not made.”
 “Sales people must be good talkers.”
 “Selling is a matter of knowing the right
techniques or tricks.”
 “A good salesperson can sell ice to an
Eskimo.”
 “People generally do not want to buy.”

TRAITS OF “WINNING
SALES PEOPLE”
Desire to succeed
 Continually seek self-improvement
 Accept responsibility
 Have mental toughness

PERSONAL SELLING AND
THE MARKETING MIX

Price, Product, Place, and Promotion
– Advertising, Sales Promotion, Public
Relations, and Personal Selling
PERSONAL SELLING IS
CUSTOMER ORIENTED
SELLING
“Consultative Selling”
“Adaptive Selling”
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS
PRETRANSACTIONAL PHASE
(Prospecting, Qualifying, Precall
Planning)
 TRANSACTIONAL PHASE (Approach,
Needs Discovery, Presentation, Handling
Objections, Closing)
 POSTTRANSACTIONAL PHASE
(Service and Follow-up)

PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Prospecting
– External Sources
» Direct Inquiries
» Referrals
» Directories
» Cold Canvassing
– Internal Sources
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Qualifying
– Qualified candidates have a need, have the
authority to buy, and can afford to buy
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Precall Planning
–
–
–
–
What do I want to accomplish?
What do I know about the prospect?
Where can I find information?
What am I going to say?
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Precall Planning--”What do I want to
accomplish?”
– determine information on historical
inventory levels.
– determine who is involved in the purchasing
decision.
– arrange for a follow-up meeting
– agreement to a trial-run purchase
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Precall Planning--”What do I know about
the prospect?”
– Size of business/products sold/markets
served
– Key personnel
– Buying routines/purchasing process
– Present supplier(s)/volumes purchased
– Future plans
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Precall Planning--”Where can I find
information?”
–
–
–
–
–
Ask prospect directly
Observe business facilities
Ask other company salespeople
Ask current customers
Ask competitors
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Precall Planning--”What am I going to
say?”
– The Sales Mix Model
» Presentation Pace
» Presentation Scope
» Depth of Inquiry
» Two-way Communication
» Visual Aids
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Precall Planning--”What am I going to
say?”
– Implications for managers
» how to structure the presentation
» product, competitive, industry information
» increase rep confidence
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

The Approach
– Securing Appointments
– Establishing Rapport
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

“Why is the approach important?”
– It can help capture the buyer’s attention
– It can help to establish a harmonious
atmosphere
– It serves as a good transition to the
presentation
– It can help in need determination
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

The Approach
– Types of Approaches
» Introductory Approach
» Assessment Approach
» Product Approach
» Consumer Benefit Approach
» Referral Approach
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Need Discovery
– Ascertain buyer benefits
– Types of questions: permission, fact finding,
feeling finding, checking
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Presentation Types
– Canned
– Organized
– Tailored
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

The Presentation
–
–
–
–
–
–
Focus on Benefits, not just Features
Keep it Simple
Talk the Prospect’s Language
Stress Application
Get the Prospect Emotionally Involved
Seek Credibility
FROM THE INTERNET
Psycho Selling Skills--Getting Inside Your
Prospect’s Head
 <http://www.pentech.net/psycho.htm>

PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS
Overcoming Objections
 LSCPA Approach to Overcoming
Objections:
– Listen to the buyer’s feelings
– Share the concerns without judgment
– Clarify the real issue with questions
– Problem solve by presenting

options/solutions
– Ask for action to determine commitment
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Closing
– Alternative Choice
– Summary Close
PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS

Service and Follow-up
–
–
–
–
Entering Orders
Installation of Product
Training
Handling Billing Problems
FROM THE INTERNET
“Basic Selling Skills Questionnaire”
 <http://www.sales.org/quizes/BSQ.html>

PERSONAL SELLING
APPROACHES
Stimulus-Response Selling
 Need Satisfaction Selling
 Problem Solving Selling

PERSONAL SELLING
APPROACHES

STIMULUS RESPONSE SELLING
– Manipulate customer to elicit desired
responses
PERSONAL SELLING
APPROACHES

NEED SATISFACTION SELLING
– Presentation is tailored to fit needs of buyer
PERSONAL SELLING
APPROACHES

PROBLEM SOLVING (PROBLEMSOLUTION) SELLING
– The salesperson defines a customer problem
that may be solved by various alternatives.
PERSONAL SELLING
POSITIONS
Sales Support Personnel (Missionaries)
 New Business (Pioneers and Order
Getters)
 Existing Business (Order Takers)
 Direct to Consumer Sales
 Combination Sales Positions

FROM THE TEXT...

Read pages 96 to 127.