Chapter 22

Personal Selling

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 Learning Objectives
LO1 Describe the role of personal selling in the IMC
program.
LO2 Compare the advantages and disadvantages of
personal selling as a promotional tool.
LO3 Explain how to combine personal selling with
other elements in an IMC program.
LO4 Discuss how to measure the effectiveness of the
personal selling effort.

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 The Scope of Personal Selling
Personal Selling
– Selling through a person-to-person communications
process
– Affected by increased emphasis on customer relationship
management
– Importance varies for each firm depending on:
• Nature of the product or service being marketed
• Size of the organization
• Type of industry

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 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 1 of 7
Dyadic Communication
– Direct and interpersonal
communication
– Allows sender to
immediately receive and
evaluate feedback from
receiver

Source: DePuy Synthes Spine, Inc.

– Messages can be changed
to address the receiver’s
specific needs and wants

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 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 2 of 7
Determining the Role of Personal Selling
– Factors
• Determining the information to be exchanged
• Examining promotional-mix alternatives
• Evaluating the relative effectiveness of alternatives
• Determining cost-effectiveness

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 Figure 22-2 The Stages in the Evolution of Selling 1 of 2

Stages and Description Characteristics

1. Provider: accepts Customer needs: assumed to exist; not a concern
orders and delivers Type of market: sellers’
to buyer
Nature and intensity of competition: non
Examples: route salespeople/drivers; some retail salesclerks
2. Persuader: attempts Customer needs: created, awakened
to convince anyone Type of market: buyers’
to buy available
offerings Nature and intensity of competition: undifferentiated; slight intensity
Examples: telemarketers for photo studio; many new car dealers
3. Prospector: seeks Customer needs: considered but inferred
out prospects with Type of market: segmented
need for available
offering and Nature and intensity of competition: differentiated; growing
resources to buy Examples: car insurance salespeople calling on new car buyers; office
supplies sellers calling on small businesses

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 Figure 22-2 The Stages in the Evolution of Selling 2 of 2

Stages and Description Characteristics

4. Problem solver: Customer needs: diagnosed with attention to customer input
matches available Type of market: participative
offerings to solve
customer-stated Nature and intensity of competition: responsive and counteractive with
problems increasing resources
Examples: communication systems salespeople for a telephone company;
architectural services sellers calling on building contractors
5. Procreator: creates a Customer needs: mutually defined; matched with tailored offering
unique offering to Type of market: coactive
match the buyer’s
needs as mutually Nature and intensity of competition: focused, growing in breadth of
specified, involving market and service offerings
any or all aspects of Examples: materials handling equipment salespeople who design and sell a
the seller’s total system to fit a buyer’s manufacturing facility
marketing mix

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 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 3 of 7
The Nature of Personal Selling
– The New Role of Personal Selling
• In addition to being information providers, influencers through
proximity, and demonstrators, salespeople will engage in:
– Surveying
– Mapmaking
– Guiding
– Fire starting

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 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 4 of 7
The Nature of Personal Selling continued
– Relationship Marketing
• Organization’s effort to develop a long-
term, cost-effective link with individual
customers for mutual benefit
• Customer relationship management
(CRM): Support targeting, acquiring,
retaining, understanding, and collaborating
with customers

Source: SAS Institute Inc

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 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 5 of 7
The Nature of Personal Selling continued
– The Costs of Personal Selling
• Incurs high costs
– Gathers a lot of attention due to its advantages over other
methods
– Expensive form of communication
• Evaluated by considering:
– Nature of the call
– Objectives sought
– Delivery of the message by other program elements

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 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 6 of 7
The Nature of Personal Selling continued
– Types of Sales Jobs
• Order taking: Accomplished by:
– Inside order takers—Work inside the sales office and receive
orders by phone, mail, or the Internet
– Field order takers—Travel to customers to get their orders
• Creative selling: Getting an order by:
– Assessing a situation and determining the needs
– Presenting capabilities to satisfy the needs

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 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 7 of 7
The Nature of Personal Selling continued
– Types of Sales Jobs continued
• Missionary sales: Introduce new products, promotions, and/or
programs with the actual order to be taken
– Perform a support role
– Customer relationship management
– Most often employed in industries where the manufacturer
uses a middleperson to distribute the product

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 Figure 22-5 The Eight Step Personal-Selling Process
1. Prospecting—looking for and checking leads
2. Preapproach—collecting as much relevant information as possible prior
to the sales presentation
3. Approach—focusing on the features, advantages, and benefits of the

Source: From Reds Communications, “The 8 Step Personal Selling Process—Let Us Help You,”
product or service to the buyer
4. Sales presentation—presenting vocally and persuasively, and answering
questions
5. Trial close—establishing customers’ attitudes and attempting to lead to
sale
6. Handling objectives—addressing concerns and requests for more
information; determining exactly what is on the prospect’s mind

www.redscommunicatons.co.za.
7. Closing the sale—consummating the deal
8. Follow-up—ensuring everything goes as planned; addressing additional
concerns or issues that may arise

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 Figure 22-8 Traits of Successful Salespeople
More than 1,000 decision makers were asked to describe what it means to be
a great salesperson in one word or phrase. Here are the top 10 responses:
– Knowledgeable
– Professional
– Thorough
– Results-oriented

Source: “Redefining the Traditional Roles of Your Sales Force,” April 20, 2016,
www.mercatopartners.com; Tom Reilly, Value-Added Selling, 3rd ed. (New
– Problem solving
– Relationship-oriented
– Customer-focused
– Responsive

York: McGraw-Hill, 2010).

– Good communicators
– Reliable

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 Figure 22-9 Buyers’ Likes and Dislikes about Salespeople
Most Helpful to Customers Most Objectionable to
– Knowledge Customers
– Empathy – Unprepared

Billboard material used with permission of e5 Global Media, LLC. Adapted from “How to Sell Without Being a
Source: “Redefining the Traditional Roles of Your Sales Force,” April 20, 2016, www.mercatopartners.com;
– Well organized – Uninformed

– Promptness – Aggressive

– Follow-through – Undependability

– Solutions – Poor follow-through

– Presumptuousness

Salesperson,” November 2013, www.vendorseek.com.

– Punctuality
– Hard work – Calling without appointments

– Energetic – Compulsive talkers

– Honesty – Problem avoiders

– Lack of personal respect
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 Advantages and Disadvantages of Personal Selling
Advantages Disadvantages
– Allows for two-way – Inconsistent messages
interaction
– Sales force/management
– Tailors the message conflict
– Lack of distraction – High cost
– Involvement in the – Poor reach
decision process
– Potential ethical
– Source of research problems
information

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 Combining Personal Selling with Other
Promotional Tools 1 of 3
Combining Personal Selling and Advertising
– Advantages
• Improve reach
• Reduce costs
• Increase the probability of a sale (assuming the advertising is
effective)

– Disadvantages
• Many salespeople do not understand the role that advertising
plays and its contribution to their sales efforts. Many view it with
skepticism.

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 Combining Personal Selling with Other
Promotional Tools 2 of 3
Combining Personal Selling and Public Relations
– Personal-selling agents represent a firm and its products
– Result in goodwill toward the company and its products
and benefit society
Combining Personal Selling and Direct Marketing
– Telemarketing department screens leads and passes them
on to the sales force
• Higher percentage of sales closings
• Less time wasted
• Lower average cost per sale
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 Combining Personal Selling with Other
Promotional Tools 3 of 3
Combining Personal Selling and Sales Promotion
– Designed to assist salespeople
– Targeted at sales force
Combining Personal Selling with the Internet
– Allows salespeople to focus on selling products and
developing relationships
– Online meetings save time and money

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 Figure 22-11 Factors to Be Considered in the
Sales Review Process
• Review of all target accounts.
• Review of all cross-functional selling activities or the lack of
them.
• Review of specific territory objectives including sales to plan
and gross profit to plan, and assigned account objectives.
• Knowledge of products, customers, and customer

Source: Steve Deist and Rich Johnson, “Developing an Effective

organizations.
• Ability to apply this market knowledge.
• Development of a favorable attitude as it pertains to that

Sales Force,” Industrial Distribution.

knowledge and those applied skills.
• Ability to make required course corrections.

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 Figure 22-12 Criteria Used to Evaluate Sales Forces
Measures Sales Results Sales Efforts
Quantitative Orders (e.g., number of orders Sales calls (e.g., average time
measures obtained) spent per call)
Sales volume (e.g., dollar sales Selling expenses (e.g., as
volume) percentage of sales volume)
Margins (e.g., net profit) Customer service (e.g., number
Customer accounts (e.g., number of service calls)
of new accounts)
Qualitative Selling skills (e.g., product Sales-related activities (e.g.,
measures knowledge) marketing intelligence)

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 Evaluating the Personal Selling Effort 1 of 2
Characteristics that Improve Performance
Effectiveness
– Strength of the field manager
– Clear link between company culture and values to sales
strategies
– Rigorous management processes that drive performance
– Consistent training that leads to consistent execution
– Courage to change

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 Evaluating the Personal Selling Effort 2 of 2
Criteria for Evaluating Personal Selling
– Provision of marketing intelligence
– Follow-up activities
– Program implementations
– Attainment of communications objectives

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