Anda di halaman 1dari 39

A Seminar Report On

PERSONAL SELLING
(The report on Seminar on Contemporary Management Issues, submitting towards the partial fulfilment for the award of MBA degree)

Submitted By: -

Submitted To: -

SAURABH SHRIMAL
MBA Semester II

ST. WILFREDS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT


2010-2012

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At the dusk of this project, it gives me immense pleasure to thank for providing me this opportunity to do this project on the personal selling. I am highly indebted to Anubha madam for her continuous support , supervision, motivation and guidance throughout the tenure of my project inspite of her hectic schedule who truly remained driving spirit in my project & enabled me to complete this project successfully which otherwise would not have been possible without her constant encouragement and motivation. I am deeply indebted to my Faculty members from the Department of MBA whose help, sulating suggestions and encouragement helped me in all the time of research for and writing of this seminar report. Especially, I would like to give my special thanks to my family members whose patient love enabled me to complete this work.

Saurabh shrimal

INTRODUCTION:
PERSONAL SELLING

CONCEPT :

Personal selling is a promotional method in which one party (e.g., salesperson) uses skills and techniques for building personal relationships with another party (e.g., those involved in a purchase decision) that results in both parties obtaining value. In most cases the "value" for the salesperson is realized through the financial rewards of the sale while the customers "value" is realized from the benefits obtained by consuming the product. However, getting a customer to purchase a product is not always the objective of personal selling. For instance, selling may be used for the purpose of simply delivering information. Because selling involves personal contact, this promotional method often occurs through face-to-face meetings or via a telephone conversation, though newer technologies allow contact to take place over the Internet including using video conferencing or text messaging (e.g., online chat). One key advantage personal selling has over other promotional methods is that it is a two-way form of communication. In selling situations the message sender (e.g., salesperson) can adjust the message as they gain feedback from message receivers (e.g., customer). So if a customer does not understand the initial message (e.g., doesnt fully understand how the product works) the salesperson can make adjustments to address questions or concerns. Many non-personal forms of promotion, such as a radio advertisement, are inflexible, at least in the short-term, and cannot be easily adjusted to address audience questions.

HISTORY :
The economic realities of Nigeria over the years have exposed the marketers to serious problems. It is an open fact that industrial products represent the origin of other products, most especially the consumer products. It is also indisputable that although advertising, sales promotions and publicity play an important role in the industrial promotional mix, personal selling serves as the main selling instrument. It is no gainsaying therefore, that the level of success of an industrial market depends largely on how effective the selling efforts are. This prominent position occupied by personal selling can be easily understood since while the other marketing communication elements such as advertising, sales promotion, and publicity create awareness and knowledge for a companys product, the onus is on personal selling to convince the potential consumer through person to person interaction to develop a lone for its product in preference to other competing ones and see to it that the consumer parts with his money for the companys product. We have chosen Chemical and Allied Product Plc (CAP) among other manufacturers of industrial products due to our being impressed by their use of sales force for effective personal selling especially now that the Nigerian consumers are becoming more sophisticated and selective in their demand for the consumption of industrial products. These and some other related issues will be considerably analysed in this study. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 1. The bulk of the selling activities of any industrial products rest comparatively on the companys sales force much more than is the case with consumer products. This is so because with the latter the consumer has already realized the need for such a product and all the needs for the product may not have been known to him. It may therefore required skilled sales personnel as well as sophisticated equipment for visual displays and practical demonstration to convince the potential customers the need for the product. For this reason, it I necessary to ponder on the following: How effective and comprehensive are the recruitment staffing and training procedure of the industrys sales force? How appropriately equipped are the industrys salesmen for effective personal selling efforts? 2. How adequate are the supervision, levels of control, remuneration and

other incentives as means of motivating the industrys sales force. THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purposes of this study among others are centers on the following: 1. To examine the extent of effectiveness of the industrial products personal selling. 2. To under study the efficacy of the management of the industrys sales forces. 3. To examine how realistic and attainable the sales target and objective of the industry are. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY It is expressed that at the conclusion of this study, its significance would have proved itself. It is hoped that it will prove to be of immense benefit to the sales management of the industrial products in general and especially the industrial paints, which normally should be interested in the suggestions towards improved efficiency of its sale force and consequently greater sales results. THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS OF THE STUDY The research questions for this research work are outline as follows: 1. What are the reasons why personal selling is the most appropriate marketing technique for industrial products? 2. Is personal selling also appropriate for consumers goods? 3. What are the likely hindrances to effective personal selling of industrial products? 4. Do effective recruitment, Selection and training of the sales force enhance effective personal selling?

THE RESEARCH HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY The study shall test on the following hypotheses: 1. Personal selling is the most appropriate channel for selling industrial products 2. Effective recruitment, Selection and training of the sales force enhance effective personal selling.

THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY More than ever before, industrial products manufacturers like other products are facing great challenges to their survival in the present day economic realities. The emphasis now is for the sales management to explore the virgin avenues to persuade its present and potential customers to prefer their own product with greater patronage. The study shall examine how, particularly CAP is weathering this storm. To do this, administration of questionnaire, personal interview and practical observation of operational procedures shall be employed. THE LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY As it would be expected with studies of this nature, this research is constrained by some factors: The list of the constraints includes the generally non-cooperative attitude of members of staff of the company to the management cadre when it comes to offering information about their organization. Another constraint was the time available. Because of the nature of our respondents, salesmen for industrial paint, it was pretty difficult to get up to ten salesmen in a single company as desired. The alternative would be to travel to some other towns and time made this virtually impracticable. Finance is another constraint; cost of traveling to places to obtain desired and required information vital to this study could not be absolutely afforded.

IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL SELLING


Personal Selling is extremely important as it helps in increasing sales. But there are other features as well which make it important. Let us discuss the importance of personal selling from the point of view of manufactures as well as consumers. From manufacturers point of view i. It creates demand for products both new as well as existing ones. ii. It creates new customers and, thus help in expanding the market for the product. iii. It leads to product improvement. While selling personally the seller gets acquainted with the choice and demands of customers and makes suggestions accordingly to the manufacturer. From customers point of view i. Personal selling provides an opportunity to the consumers to know about new products introduced in the market. Thus, it informs and educates the consumers about new products. ii. It is because of personal selling that customers come to know about the use of new products Business Studies 102 in the market. The sellers demonstrate the product before the prospective buyers and explain the use and utility of the products. iii. Personal selling also guides customers in selecting goods best suited to their requirements and tastes as it involves face-to-face communication. iv. Personal selling gives an opportunity to the customers to put forward their complaints and difficulties in using the product and get the solution immediately. Intext Questions Which of the following statements are true and which are false? i. Personal selling helps manufacturers to improve their products based on suggestions made by sellers. ii. Customers do not have immediate solution of their problems regarding a product from the salesman.

iii. Personal selling leads to creation of new customers only for the existing products. iv. Better use of product is not the result of personal selling. v. Customers can not make complaint to the salesman about a product. Qualities of salesperson engaged in Personal Selling It is very difficult to enlist the qualities of people engaged in personal selling. The quality will vary from time to time and from situation to situation. It also depends upon the customers demand and nature of the product. Again a salesman may be effective in one situation but may fail in another situation. So in real life certain qualities may be suitable for a particular line of product and may be irrelevant in any other case. However, there are certain common qualities, which every salesman should possess in order to become successful in their life. These qualities are listed below. i. Physical Quality ii. Mental Quality iii. Integrity of character iv. Knowledge of the product and the company v. Good behaviour vi. Ability to persuade Now let us discuss the above qualities in detail. i. Physical quality: A salesman should have a good appearance and an impressive personality. He should also have a sound health. Personal Selling ii. Mental quality: A good salesman should posses certain mental qualities like imagination, initiative, self-confidence, sharp memory, alertness etc. He should be able to understand the needs and preferences of customers. iii. Integrity of character: A good salesman should posses the qualities of honesty and integrity. He is to gain the confidence of the customers. He should be able to understand their needs

and guide them how to satisfy those needs. His employer too should have faith in him. A salesman should be loyal both to the employer and to the customers. iv. Knowledge of the product and the company: A salesman should have full knowledge of the product and the company he is representing. He should be able to explain each and every aspect of the product i.e. its qualities, how to use it, what precautions to be taken, etc. He should be able to explain the business and service record of the company. He should also have knowledge of products of rival companies. So that he can put across the superiority of his own products. v. Good behaviour : A salesman should be co-operative and courteous. Good behaviour enables one to win the confidence of the customers. He should not feel irritated if the buyer puts up many questions even if the questions are irrelevant. It is also not necessary that the person he is trying to convince buys the product. The salesman has to remain and courteous in every case. vi. Ability to persuade: A good salesman should be good in conversation so that he can engage the person he is attending in conversation. He should be able to convince him and create the desire in his mind to posses the commodity.

STAGES OF PERSONAL SELLING


There are exceptions of course, but most personal selling takes place in this way. Personal selling involves a selling process that is summarised in the following Five Stage Personal Selling Process. The five stages are: 1. Prospecting. 2. Making first contact. 3. The sales call. 4. Objection handling. 5. Closing the sale. A Five Stage Personal Selling Process.

Stage One Prospecting-: Prospecting is all about finding prospects, or potential new customers. Prospects should be 'qualified,' which means that they need to be assessed to see if there is business potential, otherwise you could be wasting your time. In order to qualify your prospects, one needs to: Plan a sales approach focused upon the needs of the customer. Determine which products or services best meet their needs. In order to save time, rank the prospects and leave out those that are least likely to buy. Stage Two - Making First Contact-: This is the preparation that a salesperson goes through before they meet with the client, for example via e-mail, telephone or letter. Preparation will make a call more focused. Make sure that you are on time. Before meeting with the client, set some objectives for the sales call. What is the purpose of the call? What outcome is desirable before you leave?

Make sure that you've done some homework before meeting your prospect. This will show that you are committed in the eyes of your customer. To save time, send some information before you visit. This will wet the prospect's appetite. Keep a set of samples at hand, and make sure that they are in very good condition. Within the first minute or two, state the purpose of your call so that time with the client is maximised, and also to demonstrate to the client that your are not wasting his or her time. Humour is fine, but try to be sincere and friendly. Stage Three - The Sales Call (or Sales Presentation)-: It is best to be enthusiastic about your product or service. If you are not excited about it, don't expect your prospect to be excited. Focus on the real benefits of the product or service to the specific needs of your client, rather than listing endless lists of features. Try to be relaxed during the call, and put your client at ease. Let the client do at least 80% of the talking. This will give you invaluable information on your client's needs. Remember to ask plenty of questions. Use open questions, e.g. TED's, and closed questions i.e. questions that will only give the answer 'yes' or the answer 'no.' This way you can dictate the direction of the conversation. Never be too afraid to ask for the business straight off. Stage Four - Objection Handling-: Objection handling is the way in which salespeople tackle obstacles put in their way by clients. Some objections may prove too difficult to handle, and sometimes the client may just take a dislike to you (aka the hidden objection). Here are some approaches for overcoming objections: Firstly, try to anticipate them before they arise. 'Yes but' technique allows you to accept the objection and then to divert it. For example, a client may say that they do not like a particular colour, to which the salesperson counters 'Yes but X is also available in many other colours.'

Ask 'why' the client feels the way that they do. 'Restate' the objection, and put it back into the client's lap. For example, the client may say, 'I don't like the taste of X,' to which the salesperson responds, 'You don't like the taste of X,' generating the response 'since I do not like garlic' from the client. The salesperson could suggest that X is no longer made with garlic to meet the client's needs. The sales person could also tactfully and respectfully contradict the client. Stage Five - Closing the Sale-: This is a very important stage. Often salespeople will leave without ever successfully closing a deal. Therefore it is vital to learn the skills of closing. Just ask for the business! - 'Please may I take an order?' This really works well. Look for buying signals (i.e. body language or comments made by the client that they want to place an order). For example, asking about availability, asking for details such as discounts, or asking for you to go over something again to clarify. Just stop talking, and let the client say 'yes.' Again, this really works. The 'summary close' allows the salesperson to summarise everything that the client needs, based upon the discussions during the call. For example, 'You need product X in blue, by Friday, packaged accordingly, and delivered to your wife's office.' Then ask for the order. The 'alternative close' does not give the client the opportunity to say no, but forces them towards a yes. For example 'Do you want product X in blue or red?' Cheeky, but effective. So this is the Five Stage Personal Selling Process. Now have a go at it yourself by completing the lesson. Advantages of Personal Selling

One key advantage personal selling has over other promotional methods is that it is a two-way form of communication. In selling situations the message sender (e.g., salesperson) can adjust the message as they gain feedback from message receivers (e.g., customer). So if a customer does not understand the initial message (e.g., doesnt fully understand how the

product works) the salesperson can make adjustments to address questions or concerns. Many non-personal forms of promotion, such as a radio advertisement, are inflexible, at least in the short-term, and cannot be easily adjusted to address audience questions. The interactive nature of personal selling also makes it the most effective promotional method for building relationships with customers, particularly in the business-to-business market. This is especially important for companies that either sell expensive products or sell lower cost but high volume products (i.e., buyer must purchase in large quantities) that rely heavily on customers making repeat purchases. Because such purchases may take a considerable amount of time to complete and may involve the input of many people at the purchasing company (i.e., buying center), sales success often requires the marketer develop and maintain strong relationships with members of the purchasing company. Finally, personal selling is the most practical promotional option for reaching customers who are not easily reached through other methods. The best example is in selling to the business market where, compared to the consumer market, advertising, public relations and sales promotions are often not well received.

Disadvantages of Personal Selling

Possibly the biggest disadvantage of selling is the degree to which this promotional method is misunderstood. Most people have had some bad experiences with salespeople who they perceived were overly aggressive or even downright annoying. While there are certainly many salespeople who fall into this category, the truth is salespeople are most successful

when they focus their efforts on satisfying customers over the long term and not focusing own their own selfish interests. A second disadvantage of personal selling is the high cost in maintaining this type of promotional effort. Costs incurred in personal selling include: High cost-per-action (CPA) As noted in the Promotion Decisions tutorial, CPA can be an important measure of the success of promotion spending. Since personal selling involves person-to-person contact, the money spent to support a sales staff (i.e., sales force) can be steep. For instance, in some industries it costs well over (US) $300 each time a salesperson contacts a potential customer. This cost is incurred whether a sale is made or not! These costs include compensation (e.g., salary, commission, bonus), providing sales support materials, allowances for entertainment spending, office supplies, telecommunication and much more. With such high cost for maintaining a sales force, selling is often not a practical option for selling products that do not generate a large amount of revenue. Training Costs Most forms of personal selling require the sales staff be extensively trained on product knowledge, industry information and selling skills. For companies that require their salespeople attend formal training programs, the cost of training can be quite high and include such expenses as travel, hotel, meals, and training equipment while also paying the trainees salaries while they attend.

A third disadvantage is that personal selling is not for everyone. Job turnover in sales is often much higher than other marketing positions. For companies that assign salespeople to handle certain customer groups (e.g., geographic territory), turnover may leave a company without representation in a customer group for an extended period of time while the company recruits and trains a replacement. Objectives of Personal Selling Personal selling is used to meet the five objectives of promotion in the following ways :

Building Product Awareness A common task of salespeople, especially when selling in business markets, is to educate customers on new product offerings. In fact, salespeople serve a major role at industry trades shows (see the Sales Promotion tutorial) where they discuss products with show attendees. But building awareness using personal selling is also important in consumer markets. As we will discuss, the

advent of controlled word-of-mouth marketing is leading to personal selling becoming a useful mechanism for introducing consumers to new products.

Creating Interest The fact that personal selling involves person-toperson communication makes it a natural method for getting customers to experience a product for the first time. In fact, creating interest goes handin-hand with building product awareness as sales professionals can often accomplish both objectives during the first encounter with a potential customer. Providing Information When salespeople engage customers a large part of the conversation focuses on product information. Marketing organizations provide their sales staff with large amounts of sales support including brochures, research reports, computer programs and many other forms of informational material. Stimulating Demand By far, the most important objective of personal selling is to convince customers to make a purchase. In The Selling Process tutorial we will see how salespeople accomplish this when we offer detailed coverage of the selling process used to gain customer orders. Reinforcing the Brand Most personal selling is intended to build longterm relationships with customers. A strong relationship can only be built over time and requires regular communication with a customer. Meeting with customers on a regular basis allows salespeople to repeatedly discuss their companys products and by doing so helps strengthen customers knowledge of what the company has to offer. EFFECTIVENESS OF PERSONAL SELLING IN BUSINESS TO BUSINESS {B2B} Effectiveness of Personal Selling in Business to Business (B2B) Contents

Significance of the study Review of existing literature Conceptualization - Industry profile

- Company profile Focus of the problem Objective of the study Research methodology Findings of the study Limitation of the study Significance of Study

To study the effectiveness of personal selling in business to business marketing. To study the importance of personal selling as compared to other channel. To know the customer view point regarding various personal selling techniques. Review of Literature Dr.Matin Khan:- The oral presentation of a company products, or services to one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making a sale. David L.Kurtz:- Personal selling is a promotional method in which one party (e.g., salesperson) uses skills and techniques for building personal relationships with another party. Industry Profile In 1912, an English metallurgist, Harry Brearly, accidentally discovered Stainless Steel. From undergrounds pipes to space, dairy equipment to pharama equipment, coins to automobiles. Stainless Steel is everywhere. Like we like to say, "Tomorrow definitely belongs to Stainless Steel". Company Profile - Jindal Stainless Ltd. Jindal group was founded by late Sh. O.P. Jindal in1952. Jindal steel is one of the largest steel producers in India with 12 plants in India and 2 in USA. He started by trading in steel pipes in Nalwa, a village in the present-day Haryana. Focus of the Problem Focus of problem is common task of salespeople, especially when selling in business markets, is to educate customers on new product offerings The

fact that personal selling involves person-to-person communication makes it a natural method for getting customers to experience a product for the first time.. Objectives of the Project The main objective of this study is to know Effectiveness of personal selling in b2b selling. The available information through scientific procedures. Research Methodology : MARKET RESEARCH DESIGN : Descriptive cum exploratory DATA SOURCE : Primary & secondary RESEARCH APPROACH : Survey method RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS : Questionnaire TYPES OF QUESTIONS : Close as well open ended SAMPLE SIZE : 100 samples MODE OF COLLECTION DATA : Respondents to be chosen randomly. Random Sampling) Analysis of Project Report - Effectiveness of Personal Selling in b2b Selling 1. Which steel company you most prefer?

2. Which method of contact is used by between you and your company? Direct - 16, Telephone - 84, Email - None, Fax - None

3. Which mode of purchasing you prefer? Director - 0, Indirect - 100

Findings of the Project According to my survey about 80% of the respondents agree on the fact that company name influence the buying decisions. Company name, which have positive image like jindal, surya parkas, ravindra, rst, jodia etc., differently influence the buying behavior of the customer. Jindal Company provides better personal selling in b2b selling techniques. So, Jindal Company is better than the other company in personal selling in b2b selling. Limitations of Project Report Time Constraint Financial Constraint Lack of knowledge

Types of Selling Roles

As we noted above, worldwide millions of people have careers that fit in the personal selling category. However, the actual functions carried out by someone in sales may be quite different. In general there are four major types of selling roles: Order Getters Order Takers Order Influencers Sales Support The objectives of each role are often very different and within each role there are serveral sub-classifications. A detailed discussion of each role can be found in the Types of Selling Roles tutorial.

Trends in Selling

While the basic premise of personal selling, building relationships, has not changed much in the last 50 years, there are a number of developments that are impacting this method of promotion including: Controlled Word of Mouth Customer Information Sharing Mobile and Web Computing Electronic Sales Presentations Electronic Sales Training Use of Customer Teams

Selling Trends: Controlled Word of Mouth

One of the most influential forms of promotion occurs when one person speaks highly of a product to someone else, particularly if the message sender is considered an unbiased source of information. Until recently, marketers have had little control over person-to-person promotion that did not involve salespeople (i.e., biased source). However, marketers are beginning to experiment with new methods of promotion that strategically takes advantage of the benefits offered by word-of-mouth promotion. Unlike salespeople who attempt to obtain an order from customers, controlled word-of-mouth promotion uses real people to help spread information about a product but do not directly elicit customer orders.

Selling Trends: Customer Information Sharing

Possibly the most dramatic change to occur in how salespeople function on a day-to-day basis involves the integration of customer relationship management (CRM) systems into the selling arena. CRM is the name given to both the technology and the philosophy that drives companies to gain a better understanding of their customers with the goal of building stronger long-term relationships. The essential requirement for an effective CRM system is the need for all customer contact points (e.g., salespeople, customer service, websites) to gather information so that this can be shared with others in the company.

Selling Trends: Mobile and Web Computing

The move to an information sharing approach is most effective when salespeople have access to information sharing features when they need it most. Mobile technologies, such as wireless internet (WiFi) and cellular Internet access, allow salespeople to retrieve needed information at any time. For example, if a salesperson takes a customer to lunch, the salesperson can quickly access company material to respond to questions such as how long it may take to receive product if an order is placed.

Additionally, there is a growing trend to make key business applications available through a browser rather than having programs loaded on a salespersons computer. This allows for the application to be accessed from anywhere at anytime. For example, many companies have moved to web-based CRM systems where simply having Internet access allows salespeople to enter and retrieve information. Also, many new office productivity applications, such as word processing and spreadsheets, are now becoming web-accessible.

Selling Trends: Electronic Sales Presentations

Technology is also playing a major role in how sales professionals reach prospects and existing customers. While audio/video conferencing has been available for many years using high-end telecommunication hookups, it has only been within the last few years that improvements in Internet access speeds, computing power and meeting software have made this method for reaching customers a practical alternative to face-to-face sales meetings. These options include: Online video conferencing Web/Phone conferencing Online text chat

Selling Trends: Electronic Sales Training

Developing the skills and techniques needed to be successful at selling requires an extensive commitment by the individual seller and the seller's company to sales training. Sales training is the hallmark of professional selling. If there is one thing that separates the truly successful salesperson from those who are not, it is the amount of training and preparation they engage in. Most organizations that employ a sales force offer new salespeople an extensive formal training program often held at dedicated training facilities. These training programs can range from a few days to many months depending on the industry. But once a salesperson has made the move to the field, training does not stop.

Those involved in selling must continue to stay abreast of their products, customers, markets and competitors. While many companies may continue to employ the same methods used when they first trained their salespeople, a large number of firms are finding that ongoing training can be just as effective using electronic options such as delivering training over the Internet, through downloadable computer programs or through interactive CDs or DVDs. Selling Trends: Use of Customer Teams

As we noted in our discussion of technical specialists, salespeople may require the assistance of others in their organization to effectively deal with prospects. In fact, many companies are moving away from the traditional sale force arrangement, where a single salesperson handles nearly all communication with an account, in favor of a team approach where multiple people are involved. Teams consist of individuals from several functional areas such as marketing, manufacturing, distribution, and customer service. In some configurations all members share bonuses if the team meets sales goals. Clearly to be effective a team approach requires the implementation of customer relationship management systems that we discussed earlier.

SALES MANAGEMENT

Sales management is attainment of an organization's sales goals in an effective & efficient manner through planning, staffing, training, leading & controlling organizational resources. Revenue, sales, and sources of funds fuel organizations and the management of that process is the most important function.

CONTENTS OF SALES MANAGEMENT Sales Planning Sales Reporting

See also Refrences and Notes

Sales Planning

An essential sales leadership role is to establish a sense of purpose or vision and clear direction to get there. A key element of a business strategic 12-month plan is to answer the question: Where will all the sales come from? The sales plan is not a guesstimate. It takes its direction from the marketing strategy and is based on thorough research and a considered positioning of the company within the market place. Sales planning involves predicting demand for the product and demand on the sales assets (machines, people, or a combination of both). Failure to plan always means lost sales. Planning insures that when a consumer wishes to purchase the product, the product is available, but it also means opportunities for additional sales are presented and the sales assets are available to exploit these opportunities. Planning should allow for meeting increasing customer demand for more products, services and/or customization as the business is growing, but also react quickly when demand decreases. Sales planning improves efficiency and decreases unfocused and uncoordinated activity within the sales process.

Sales Reporting

The sales reporting includes the key performance indicators of the sales force. The Key Performance Indicators indicate whether or not the sales process is being operated effectively and achieves the results as set forth in sales planning. It should enable the sales managers to take timely corrective action deviate from projected values. It also allows senior management to evaluate the sales manager.

More "results related" than "process related" are information regarding the sales funnel and the hit rate. Sales reporting can provide metrics for sales management compensation. Rewarding the best managers without accurate and reliable sales reports is not objective. Also, sales reports are made for internal use for top management. If other divisions compensation plan depends on final results, it is needed to present results of sales departments work to other departments. Finally, sales reports are required for investors, partners and government, so the sales management system should have advanced reporting capabilities to satisfy the needs of different stakeholders.

See All

Sales operations Sales quota Marketing Business Advertisements Merchandise Product (business) Economy Good (economics) Forecast

Numerous tasks are involved in managing personal selling including: setting objectives;

organizing the sales force; recruiting, selecting, training, and compensating salespeople; and evaluating the performance of individual salespeople.

Pervasiveness of Personal Selling

16 million people are employed in sales positions in the U.S. Virtually every occupation that involves customer contact has an element of personal selling. About 20% of the CEOs in the 1,000 largest U.S. firms have significant sales and marketing experience in their work history. Selling often serves as a stepping-stone to top management.

How Salespeople Create Value for Customers

A How Salespeople Create Value for Customers Identify Creative Solutions To Customer Problems + Ease The Customer Buying Process

+ Follow+ -up After The Sale Is Made = Customer Value Relationship Selling

Relationship selling is the practice of building ties to customers based on a salesspersons ateention and commitment to customer needs over time.

Partnership Selling

With partnership selling, buyers and sellers combine their expertise and resources to create customized solutions; commit to joint planning ; and Share customer , competitive and company information for their mutual benefits and ultimately the customer.

Sales Management Process

Sales management consists of three interrelated functions: 1. Sales plan formulation 2. Sales plan implementation 3. Evaluation and control of the sales force.

EXAMPLES OF PERSONAL SELLING

Mary Kay Cosmetics, unlike most other consumer product companies, relies primarily on personal selling which takes place in independent interactions or at Mary Kay parties where sellers and buyers meet. While Mary Kay products are available online for purchase, customers buy products through thousands of independent consultants nationwide because Mary Kay products are not available in retail stores. Advertisements such as this personal Mary Kay beauty consultant ad communicate the product to customers. This example introduces customers to new beauty products and the concept of a personal seller who is in direct contact with the customers (and goes through the the sales process, beginning with prospecting and ending by closing and doing a follow-up). These beauty consultants represent the company to consumers, acting as salespeople to share information with consumers about various products and also listening to their opinions to find the best fit for the consumers needs and wants. Personal selling is discussed by Kotler in Chapter 13 during which he describes the purpose of it as not only making sales but building customer relationships. The role of the sales force is crucial because it provides a direct, interpersonal link of marketing communication. Aside from representing the company to the customers, personal sales representatives also represent the customers to the company, bringing back insightful information to management in order to improve the products and services. As Kotler indicates, in order to be successful a companys marketing and sales departments should work together to effectively reach consumers and accomplish objectives just as Mary Kay has done in the beauty industry.

PERSONAL SELLING STRATEGIES Personal selling strategies should be derived from the marketing strategy and should be consistent with other elements of marketing mix. The following variables should be considered while formulating sales strategy. Call rates: If the intensity of competitive rivalry is high in the industry, salespersons should be calling on their customers more frequently. If the rate of technological changes in the industry is high, the customer is more likely to change equipments frequently and may require the services of the sales team more often to evaluate options. Also when the buyer is expanding his facilities or is venturing into new business, salespersons should be calling on the buyer more often. Percentage of calls on existing and potential accounts: a salesperson has to divide his time between existing and potential customers in a way that maximizes sales. Some salespeople fix some formula for themselves so that they do not spend excess time with either type of the customers, i.e. he will spend 40 pc of his time with existing customers and rest with prospective customers. But this may not be a good strategy all the time. Division of time between the existing and potential accounts should depend upon the type of industry and the state of business in the industry. Discount policy: Salespeople are prone to announcing discounts at every hurdle in the selling process. It is important to provide flexibility in prices that salesperson can offer to customers because many deals can be clinched by offering small discounts. Many a time discounts have to given to demonstrate to customers that they are important. But there should be guidelines prescribing the amount of discounts that can be offered to customers under exceptional circumstances. When discounts become pervasive, customers start expecting discounts as routine part of their buying process and the list price loses its sanctity. The company should reduce its list price under such circumstances to restore the sanctity of its list price. The company will be a better position to know the realized price. Salespeople should be able to sell on the merits of the product and on the strength of the relationship that they have with the customers. Discounts should be provided in exceptional circumstances.

How to Remain Ethical in Personal Selling

Businesses are under considerable pressure to remain competitive while decreasing expenses, which can challenge the ability of sales associates to remain ethical in their marketing and pitches. This problem is of particular concern in personal selling. Personal selling refers to direct selling --- that is, one-on-one sales through face-to-face or other personal correspondence. Personal selling is easy to modify based on the situation, which differentiates it from other methods of advertising and sales. Remaining ethical in personal selling is possible, provided you create opportunities to evaluate your actions, and apply a principle of strict consistency.

Instructions :-

1. Read industry or company data on your product. The more information

you have, the easier it will be to provide truthful answers to client inquiries, and be consistent in the data you provide. Tell clients you will find the data they need if you don't have the answer at hand. Don't make things up as you go in order to speed the sale.

2. Write a list of pros and cons for the item you want to sell. Do not try to withhold the disadvantages of your product when making a sales presentation. Instead, acknowledge them, and explain the solutions you and your company can offer.

3. Make a list of values you want to incorporate in your personal selling, such as giving the client opportunities to ask questions. Formulate methods to get those values across in every pitch, such as simply asking each customer, "Do you have any questions?" or saying, "We believe in our products, so I'd like to talk to you about our risk-free return policy."

4. Go through the seven steps of selling --- prospecting, pre-approach, approach, sales presentation, handling objections and sales resistance, closing, and post-sale follow-up --- for every personal sale you undertake.

If you routinely skip steps, you're more likely to forget to provide the same information to all customers.

5. Design a customer feedback form, or have a coworker tag along and evaluate your selling approach after you close. This will give you a fresh perspective on how you are coming across to your customers.

6. Take leadership style tests. This may make you more aware of your strengths and weaknesses during the sales process.

7. Watch the body language of your customers. Do not ignore physical and verbal feedback that indicates your clients are feeling uncomfortable or confused.

8. Take five minutes after each sale to evaluate how you completed the personal selling process. Ask yourself whether you maintained your values throughout the sale, and identify any points at which clients may have questioned your tactics.

Coca-Cola Company Sales Promotion and Personal Selling.

Coca- Cola was one of the first companies to recognize the power of coupons for sales promotion purposes. In 1887, one of the companys Partners, Asa Griggs Candler, helped to launch the company into the public eye using innovative and never-tried-before advertising techniques, one of which was a coupon, hand written by the man himself. Soon, Candler was creating coupons offering complimentary Coca-Cola to people who he believed might ultimately be interested in buying the product. These coupons were mailed out to potential customers and were also placed inside magazines for readers to discover. The advertising worked. More than eight billion free Coca-Cola drinks were given out to people and within eight years Coca-Cola was being served in every single state that was part of the United States at that time. The tradition continues. In May and June of this year, Coca-Cola Great Britain (CCGB) carried out a mobile coupon campaign in the UK, powered by digital voucher company,i-movo. Using the PayPoint network, hundreds of thousands of bottles of Fanta, Sprite and Dr. Pepper were distributed free, using secure digital vouchers delivered to mobile phones. Selected PayPoint stores were given eye-catching point-of-sale material, including door posters, shelf blazers and fridge-top stands, which made clear the simple step required of customers to get their free drink. All they had to do was send a text message with the word YES, followed by their date of birth. Valid voucher requests received a text message reply within a few seconds that included a unique voucher code that was validated by the retailer using the PayPoint terminal. Because voucher redemption was performed in real-time using the PayPoint

terminal, vouchers could not be used twice, eliminating the risk of fraud. Another immediate benefit was that brand managers could monitor the campaigns progress store-by-store, bottle-by-bottle, eliminating the risk of over-subscription. Retailers were reimbursed automatically, within six days, via PayPoint. We are very focused towards driving additional footfall and profits for our retailers, and this activity has done both on a significant scale by making customers the compelling offer of free products, says PayPoint Retail Strategy Director Mike Igoe. The real-time redemption solution offered by i-movo and PayPoint makes this type of activity attractive, because it mitigates the financial risks for all parties. By the conclusion of the eight-week campaign, over 200,000 drinks had been given away to nearly 100,000 consumers across the UK, with the campaign delivering a redemption rate of 87%, according to i-movo, leading the company to describe it as: the most popular and effective mobile coupon campaign the UK has ever seen. Coca-Cola Head of Communication, Ed Knight, says: We always strive to engage our consumers in an appropriate and exciting manner and this campaign has achieved exactly that. PayPoint and i-movo have created a national marketing network that allows us to activate promotions for specific products in specific stores. In addition, this system allows us to run sampling campaigns across thousands of retailers simultaneously, without any additional staffing costs or impact on the supply chain. The feedback we have received from retailers and consumers alike has been relentlessly positive and the campaign itself has been both a commercial and technical success."

Difference between advertising and personal selling?

THE PROCESS THROUGH WHICH A SELLER PERSUADES THE CUSTOMERS TO BUY THE PODUCTS OR SERVICES Personal selling is a promotional method in which one party (e.g., salesperson) uses skills and techniques for building personal relationships with another party (e.g., those involved in a purchase decision) that results in both parties obtaining value. In most cases the value for the salesperson is realized through the financial rewards of the sale while the customers value is realized from the benefits obtained by consuming the product. However, getting a customer to purchase a product is not always the objective of personal selling. For instance, selling may be used for the purpose of simply delivering information. Because selling involves personal contact, this promotional method often occurs through face-to-face meetings or via a telephone conversation, though newer technologies allow contact to take place over the Internet including using video conferencing or text messaging (e.g., online chat). Among marketing jobs, more are employed in sales positions than any other marketing-related occupation. In the U.S. alone, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that over 14 million or about 11% of the overall labor force are directly involved in selling and sales-related positions. Worldwide this figure may be closer to100 million. Yet these figures vastly under-estimate the number of people who are actively engaged in some aspect of selling as part of their normal job responsibilities. While millions of people can easily be seen as holding sales jobs, the promotional techniques used in selling are also part of the day-to-day activities of many who are usually not directly associated with selling. For instance, top corporate executives whose job title is CEO or COO are continually selling their company to major customers, stock investors, government officials and many other stakeholders. The techniques they employ to gain benefits for their company are the same used by the front-line salesperson to sell to a small customer. Consequently, our discussion of the promotional value of personal selling has implications beyond marketing and sales departments.

Advertising:

Advertising is defined in Webster's dictionary "as the the action of calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid announcements, to call public attention by emphasizing desirable qualities so as to arouse a desire to buy or patronize: promote." Advertising is a mass-mediated communication. For communication to be classified as advertising it must be: 1) paid for, 2) delivered to an audience via mass media, and 3) be attempting to persuade. In order to persuade, or be effective the advertisement must communicate to the audience the message it wants to relay. If for example, the advertisement is trying to sell a particular product than it must persuade the audience that for whatever functional or emotional reason they need to purchase the product. Not only must the advertisement effectively communication the desired message, butthe individual audience must be willing to "buy into" the desired message. In other words, for the advertisement to be effective, the communication must be sent and received. Advertising is a two way communication process. The individual recipient is capable of interpreting the advertisement any way he/she wants. The individual should realize that they have the ability and the power to interpret the advertisement any way they so choose. They can either accept the message, ignore the message or rally against the message. As a matter of fact, the consumer has more power than they often realize to dictate what is communicated and what is not. For example, a group of Boston-area women decided to do more than just complain about the glossy magazine advertisements that display women as anorexic. These women formed BAM - Boycott Anorexic Marketing . BAM boycotts products which feature women who are starving themselves . BAM has been successful in convincing advertisers to depict true characterizations of girls in everyday life situations. For example, Kellogg Inc.

has begun a new ad campaign which substitutes healthy, sports-minded models for their thin counterparts . Due to BAM's protests, Coca-Cola, which manufactures Diet Sprite no longer features a model nicknamed `Skeleton'. The few advertisements which do portray women in sporting activities - like Nike, Playtex, and Chapstick - are attempts to hit at the true essence of individual female strength and potential. Cultural stereotyping and representations of beauty are often the result of media gatekeepers such as advertisers. A call for action from organized women's groups such as BAM has forced many media gatekeepers to be accountable for and to rethink their "what" their advertising strategies produces. The "what" of advertising is the effective transmission of a message which stimulates the desired action i.e. purchase of a product, service, or idea. The "what" of advertising is the determination of what is the intent of the advertising? "What" is the purpose of our advertising, "what" is it that we want to communicate to the public? BAM has been successful in convincing advertisers to not communicate a stereotypical thin beauty myth. BAM has successfully realigned the "what" are we trying to communicate to "what should we not" communicate? As consumers become more aware of and use their vast power, advertisers will have to increasingly ask the consumer "what". No longer will consumers be passively dictated to by an often out of touch, patriarchal, traditionally maledominated corporate America. The "what" of advertising is the what is our intent or purpose for this communication? But more importantly, as future advertisers we should never tire of asking ourselves "what effects do our advertisements have on society?"

WHAT IS SHORT SELLING?

First, let's describe what short selling means when you purchase shares of stock. In purchasing stocks, you buy a piece of ownership in the company. The buying

and selling of stocks can occur with a stock broker or directly from the company. Brokers are most commonly used. They serve as an intermediary between the investor and the seller and often charge a fee for their services. When using a broker, you will need to set up an account. The account that's set up is either a cash account or amargin account. A cash account requires that you pay for your stock when you make the purchase, but with a margin account the broker lends you a portion of the funds at the time of purchase and the security acts as collateral. When an investor goes long on an investment, it means that he or she has bought a stock believing its price will rise in the future. Conversely, when an investor goes short, he or she is anticipating a decrease in share price. Short selling is the selling of a stock that the seller doesn't own. More specifically, a short sale is the sale of a security that isn't owned by the seller, but that is promised to be delivered. That may sound confusing, but it's actually a simple concept. (To learn more, read Benefit From Borrowed Securities.) Still with us? Here's the skinny: when you short sell a stock, your broker will lend it to you. The stock will come from the brokerage's own inventory, from another one of the firm's customers, or from another brokerage firm. The shares are sold and the proceeds are credited to your account. Sooner or later, you must "close" the short by buying back the same number of shares (called covering) and returning them to your broker. If the price drops, you can buy back the stock at the lower price and make a profit on the difference. If the price of the stock rises, you have to buy it back at the higher price, and you lose money.

CONCLUSION :-

Short selling is another technique you can add to your trading toolbox. That is, if it fits with your risk tolerance and investing style. Short selling provides a sizable

opportunity with a hefty dose of risk. We hope this tutorial has enabled you to understand whether it's something you would like to pursue. Let's recap:

In a short sale, an investor borrows shares, sells them and must eventually return the same shares (cover). Profit (or loss) is made on the difference between the price at which the shares are borrowed compared to when they are returned. An investor makes money only when a shorted security falls in value. Short selling is done on margin, and so is subject to the rules of margin trading. The shorter must pay the lender any dividends or rights declared during the course of the loan. The two reasons for shorting are to speculate and to hedge. There are restrictions as to what stocks can be shorted and when a short can be carried out (uptick rule). Short interest tells us the number of shares that have already been sold short in a security. Short selling is very risky. You can lose more money than you invest but are limited to 100% profit on the upside. A short squeeze is when a large number of short sellers try to cover their positions at the same time, driving up the price of a stock. Even though a company is overvalued, it may take a long time for it to come back down. Fighting the trend almost always leads to trouble. Critics of short selling see it as unethical and bad for the market. Short selling contributes to the market by providing liquidity, efficiency and acting as a voice of reason in bull markets. Some unethical traders spread false information in an attempt to drive the price of a stock down and make a profit by selling short.

Reference:

Journal- Marketing Mastermind, March 2011 edition, edited at Icfai University Press, Andhra Pradesh, India.

BIBLIOGRAPHIY:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/personalselling www.marketingteacher.com n.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Personal_selling

PREFACE

The research provides an opportunity to a student to demonstrate application of his/her knowledge, skill and competencies required during the technical session.

Research also helps the student to devote his/her skill to analyze the problem to suggest alternative solutions, to evaluate them and to provide feasible recommendations on the provided data. The research is on the topic of PERSONAL SELLING and gives an understanding of improving corporate performance and help worthy on sales nd personal selling having vital impact on college students.This provides an idea about the decision making process that is being inculcated by college students during the sales of products that are being supported by a cause. Although I have tried my level best to prepare this report an error free report every effort has been made to offer the most authenticate position with accuracy.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai