Concept And Meaning Of Personal Selling
Personal selling is widely practiced and old method included in promotion mix. Here the sellers meet perspective customers, talk with them face to face and give information about goods or services. Sellers should be skilled in such activities. They should give information; describe the quality, features, utility, price, durability etc. of the goods and services and make them confident about the goods. Such activities of the sellers arouse interest, desire for the goods and persuade them to buy the goods.
In personal selling, a seller directly communicates information to customers. Compared to other functions of marketing, personal selling is related with the management of human resources. The success of the entire marketing program depends on how effectively the sales-force has been managed.
Roles and importance of personal selling
In the present competitive environment of business, effective selling of goods or services has become very difficult and challenging task for any business firm.
Personal selling plays a dynamic role as well as decisive role in selling. It occupies an important place in promotion mix. Personal selling may be very effective means in selling goods or services by giving good impression to the perspective customers.
Personal selling has various benefits and attributes of its own compared to the non-personal methods of promotion such as advertisement, sales promotion, publicity, public relation etc. Its role and importance in marketing can be discussed as follows:
1. Dynamic role
As the salespersons meet and have direct conversation with perspective customers, they know about their needs, wants, interests, attitude etc. Salespersons can present their sales according to the needs and wants of the customers. The salespersons change their presentation with the changes taken place in the attitude and behavior of individual customers. Dynamic and flexible behavior of the sellers help to increase sales.
2. Focus on prospective customers
Personal selling method focuses on prospective customers. In advertisement , more cost needs to communicate message and information to non-prospective customers. But in personal selling, prospective customers are identified then efforts to sell goods or services to them. In this method sales can be made at minimum cost, less efforts and less time.
3. Actual sale
Personal selling is a such technique of demand creation from which actual sales become possible. Other techniques are only directed towards prospective customers.
4. Channel of communication
Seller pays two-way roles in communication process. He communicates information about features, quality, utility, price etc. of the products to customers. In the same way, he identifies the needs, wants, interest, change in fashion etc. of customers and communicates to producer. So, a seller is a medium of communication.
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5. Social relations
Sellers establish social and living relationship with customers. As a result, this helps to develop positive attitude of customers towards the firm. Sellers plays supplementary roles to achieve the goal of continuous existence by maintaining close relationship with the customers.
The above points make clear the roles of personal selling. It helps to increase the volume of sales.
