Role of Personal Selling Process in Marketing
In contrast to advertising and publicity, which use impersonal methods of communication, personal selling makes use of direct personal communications to influence the target customers. Personal selling is a highly distinctive method of promotion, and makes use of oral presentation in conversation with existing and potential customers, to make a sale.
It is one of the oldest methods of business promotion. The contributions made by personal selling in making the promotion function more effective have earned it the distinction of being the most reliable promotion method.
Though it is the most expensive method of promotion, we see an increasing number of firms making use of it, and a good number of them realize that they cannot, perhaps, live without it.
Increasing competition and the growing sophistication of the buyer and his/her buying process are making personal selling more or less indispensable. Sales promotion is the only method that makes use of incentives to complete the push-pull promotional strategy of motivating the sales force, the dealer, and the consumer in transacting a sale.
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Role of Personal Selling
Personal selling is defined as an ‘Oral presentation in a conversation with or more prospective purchasers to make sales.
Personal selling, as the name implies, is individual selling. It, therefore, carries the distinctive advantage of flexibility in terms of tailoring the sales presentation to the needs of the buyer.
Another unique advantage comes from its two-way communication and human interaction, thereby providing instant feedback. These two unique advantages make personal selling the most result-oriented promotion method.
Generally speaking, the nature of goods marketed, as well as the distribution system adopted; determine the role of personal selling in a firm.
Therefore, personal selling is used extensively in the case of industrial goods, where the salesperson performs functions such as assisting the customer in designing the product specifications, product installation, product commissioning, solving technical problems through providing service after sales, and helping the customer to have optimal utilization of the product.
In the case of consumer goods, on the other hand, the role of personal selling gets usually restricted to the dealer level. The scope of the tasks performed includes obtaining periodic orders, ensuring supplies, offering tips to dealers on product display, and attaining desired levels of stock movement.
Similarly, the role played by personal selling is more in a firm, which uses the door-to-door selling method through its sale force than in a firm, which sells through large stockists, distributors, or sole-selling agents.
Notwithstanding the varying role of personal selling in the strategies followed by different companies, the nature of the selling function requires that the following tasks be performed:
- Sales generation
- Feedback and market information collection
- Provision of customer service covering aspects such as the delivery of goods, warranty administration, timely availability of repair and spares, etc.
- Performance of sales support activities such as monitoring the distribution function, credit collection, improving manufacturer-dealer relations, implementing promotional programs, etc.
In practice, the complexity of the selling task performed varies from company to company even under the above four categories.
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