Personal Selling

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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 presenting 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 over-coming 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.