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8.4.1 Personal Selling

Introduction

Personal selling is a direct interaction with one or more prospective buyers with the purpose of making presentations, answering questions, and procuring orders. Unlike marketing, which starts with the consumer, personal selling begins with the manufacturer, retailer, or marketer. It's an essential tool in driving sales and generating revenue. Personal selling is considered a promotion tool because it allows companies to engage directly with customers, address their concerns, and help them make informed purchasing decisions.

While most promotional tools are mass media, personal selling is individualized, offering the opportunity for customized, personalized engagement. This makes personal selling especially valuable when dealing with complex, technical, or high-value products.

Characteristics of Personal Selling

  • Customization: Personal selling is highly personalized and customized, allowing for tailored interactions and offers.
  • Relationship-Oriented: It emphasizes building strong, trusting relationships with customers, which is crucial for long-term success.
  • Response-Oriented: Personal selling involves direct communication where the salesperson can respond to queries, objections, and concerns in real-time.
  • Cost-Effective for High-Value Products: Personal selling works best with high-value, technical, or complex products where individual attention is required. For products like soap or shampoo, it wouldn't be cost-effective due to the manpower and travel expenses involved.

Example: Aquaguard and Eureka Forbes

Aquaguard and Eureka Forbes are some of the first companies that successfully used personal selling in a commercial space. They used direct, face-to-face selling methods to explain their complex water purification products, which required personalized explanations for customers.

Steps in Personal Selling

Personal selling involves a series of steps, each contributing to the development of a relationship with the customer and the eventual sale. These steps are as follows:

  1. Prospecting:
  2. This is the first step in personal selling where salespeople identify potential customers who are likely to buy the product or service.

  3. Example: A builder selling apartments will look for customers in different price ranges (e.g., 50 lakhs to 80 lakhs, 80 lakhs to 1 crore, etc.) based on the apartments they offer.

  4. Pre-Approach:

  5. Before meeting the potential customer, the salesperson conducts research on their needs, preferences, and purchasing behavior.

  6. The goal is to understand who the customer is, what they want, and how best to approach them.

  7. Presentation and Demonstration:

  8. In this step, the salesperson makes a formal presentation, often demonstrating the product’s features, benefits, and how it meets the customer's needs.

  9. Example: For an apartment sale, this could include showing a model apartment and explaining the amenities.

  10. Persuasion:

  11. This step involves addressing customer objections, answering questions, and persuading the customer to make a purchase.
  12. Customers may have logical resistance (e.g., price, features) or psychological resistance (e.g., personal preferences, fears).

  13. A successful salesperson will address both types of resistance and help the customer see the value in the product.

  14. Closing:

  15. Once the customer is convinced, the salesperson closes the sale, which involves finalizing the payment and delivering the product or service.

  16. The closing could involve signing contracts, making payments, or agreeing on terms and delivery schedules.

  17. Post-Sale Services:

  18. The sale doesn’t end after the transaction. Post-sale services like follow-up calls, customer support, and addressing any remaining concerns are crucial for maintaining a long-term relationship with the customer.
  19. Example: After purchasing an apartment, the builder may follow up on payment schedules, construction progress, and any additional services the customer may need.

Example of Selling an Apartment

  1. Prospecting: The salesperson identifies potential buyers based on their budget (e.g., 50 lakh to 1 crore range) and targets them through various means such as phone calls, advertisements, and promotions.
  2. Pre-Approach: The salesperson studies the customer's preferences, location, and other factors that might influence the purchase decision.
  3. Presentation and Demonstration: The salesperson takes the customer to the model apartment, explaining features such as the layout, facilities (swimming pool, gym, etc.), and the overall value proposition.
  4. Persuasion: The customer may raise objections such as price or location. The salesperson addresses these concerns by explaining the long-term benefits, affordability, and how the location is convenient with available transportation options.
  5. Closing: The customer agrees to the deal, signs the contract, and makes a down payment.
  6. Post-Sale Services: The salesperson follows up with updates about the construction progress and ensures that any further queries or concerns are addressed promptly.

BANT Approach in Personal Selling

Some salespeople use the BANT method to qualify leads during the prospecting phase:

  • Budget: Does the customer have the financial capacity to purchase the product?
  • Authority: Is the customer the decision-maker who can authorize the purchase?
  • Need: Does the customer have a genuine need for the product or service?
  • Timeline: What is the customer’s timeline for making a purchase or receiving the product?

By applying the BANT approach, salespeople can efficiently identify the most promising leads and focus their efforts on customers who are ready to buy.

FABV Approach for Presentation

When making a presentation, salespeople often use the FABV approach to emphasize the key selling points:

  • Features: What are the key features of the product?
  • Advantages: How do these features provide an advantage over competitors?
  • Benefits: How do these advantages benefit the customer specifically?
  • Value: How does the product’s value align with the customer’s needs and expectations?

This approach helps salespeople structure their presentations in a way that resonates with the customer’s desires and needs.

SPIN Selling Approach

Another useful approach in personal selling is the SPIN method:

  • Situation Questions: Gather information about the customer’s current situation.
  • Problem Questions: Understand the problems the customer is facing.
  • Implication Questions: Explore the implications of these problems if they remain unresolved.
  • Need-Payoff Questions: Highlight the value of solving these problems with the product or service being offered.

SPIN selling helps in building a deep understanding of the customer's challenges and framing the solution (your product) as the best way to address those challenges.

Conclusion

Personal selling is a powerful tool in marketing that provides personalized attention, addresses customer concerns directly, and helps build long-term relationships. By following the systematic steps of prospecting, pre-approach, presentation, persuasion, closing, and post-sale services, a salesperson can effectively convert prospects into loyal customers. Understanding frameworks like BANT, FABV, and SPIN can further refine the sales process, ensuring that each interaction is more strategic and customer-focused.

Whether in B2B or B2C, personal selling remains a critical element for products that require detailed explanation, high customer involvement, and long-term commitment.

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