This document summarizes key aspects of the personal selling process. It discusses understanding buyer psychology and the buying process. It outlines the typical steps in the sales process, including prospecting, pre-approach planning, the sales presentation, overcoming objections, closing the sale, and follow-up. It also addresses developing sales knowledge, different presentation methods, using demonstrations, negotiation skills, and relationship building. The overall goal is to equip salespeople with the tools and understanding needed to successfully navigate interactions with prospects and customers.

1. Chapter
2
Personal Selling:
Preparation and Process
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2. Learning
Objectives
• To understand psychology in selling, buying
decision process and buying situations
• To learn communication skills, sales knowledge,
and sales related marketing policies
• To understand personal selling process
• To learn about negotiation
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3. Psychology in
Selling
Stimulus
(Sales Presentation)
Buyer’s decision
making process
Response
(buy or no buy)
• If a sales person makes a presentation, the
prospect may or may not buy
• The above “buyer behaviour model” does not tell
us the reasons of buying or not buying
• To understand the psychological aspects of
selling or buying, salespeople should study
consumer or buyer behaviour, including buying
process and situations
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4. Buying Process of Consumers and Business Buyers
Five – stage model for household
customers
Eight – stage model for business
buyers
1. Problem / need recognition
1. Problem / need recognition
2. Characteristics and quantity
determination
3. Specification development
2. Information search / collection
4. Supplier search and qualification
5. Obtain and analyse supplier
proposals
3. Evaluate alternatives
6. Evaluation and selection of
suppliers
4. Purchase decision
7. Selection of purchase order routine
5. Post – purchase behaviour
8. Performance feedback and postpurchase evaluation
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5. Buying Situations Faced By
Household customers
Business Buyers
• Routine decision-making
• New task / New purchase
• Limited decision-making
• Modified rebuy / change in
supplier
• Extensive decision-making
• Straight rebuy / Repeat purchase
• Buying process and situations differ for household
consumers and business buyers.
• Consumers / Buyers may skip or reverse some stages in
buying process. E.G. A consumer buying toothpaste
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6. Knowledge of Sales and Sales-related
Marketing Policies
Sales Knowledge
Marketing Policies
• Company knowledge
• Pricing and Payment policies
• Product knowledge
• Product policies
• Customer knowledge
• Distribution policies
• Competitor knowledge
• Promotional policies
Major reasons for giving above information / knowledge
through training programmes to salespeople are:
• increase their self-confidence
• Meet customers’ expectations
• Increase sales
• Overcome competition
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7. The Sales Process
As a part of selling activities, if salespeople follow the steps
or phases shown below, their chances of success are far
better.
Prospecting &
Qualifying
Preapproach /
Precall planning
Approach
Presentation &
Demonstration
Follow-up &
Service
Trail close /
Closing the sale
Overcoming
Objections
• The sequence of above steps may change to meet the
sales situation in hand.
• Some of the above steps may not be applicable for selling
to the trade
• We now discuss application of above steps to industrial
selling
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8. Prospecting
• It is identifying or finding prospects i.e. prospective or
potential customers.
• Methods of prospecting or sales lead generation are:
(1) referrals from existing customers, (2) company sources
(website, ads., tradeshow, teleprospecting), (3) external
sources (suppliers, intermediaries, trade associations), (4)
salespersons’ networking, (5) industrial directories, (6) cold
canvassing
Qualifying
• Companies qualify sales leads by contacting them by mail
or phone to find their interests (or needs) and financial
capacity.
• Leads are categorized as: Hot, Warm, and Cool
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9. Preapproac
h
• Information gathering about the prospect.
Sources of information: the Internet, industrial
directories,
government
publications,
intermediaries, etc.
• Precall planning
• Setting call objectives
• Tentative planning of sales strategy: which
products, features and benefits may meet the
customer needs
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10. Approac
h
• Make an appointment to meet the prospect
• Make favourable first impression
• Select an approach technique:
• Introductory
• Customer benefit
• Product
• Question
• Praise
• The approach takes a few minutes of a call,
but it can make or break a sale
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11. Presentation and
Demonstration
There are four components:
•
•
•
•
Understanding the buyer’s needs
Knowing sales presentation methods / strategies
Developing an effective presentation
Using demonstration as a tool for selling
We will examine each of the above points
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12. Understanding the buyer’s
needs
• Firms and consumers buy products / services to
satisfy needs
• To understand buyer’s needs, ask questions and
listen
• In business situations, problem identification and
impact questions are important
E.G.
• Have you experienced any problems on quality
and delivery from the existing supplies?
• What impact the quality and delivery problems
will have on your costs and customer satisfaction?
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13. Knowing Sales Presentation Methods/Strategies
Firms have developed different methods / styles / strategies of sales
presentation
• Stimulus response method / canned approach.
• It is a memorised sales talk or a prepared sales presentation.
• The sales person talks without knowing the prospect’s needs.
E.G. Used by tele-marketing people
• Formula method / formulated approach.
• It is also based on stimulus response thinking that all
prospects are similar.
• The salesperson uses a standard formula – AIDA (attention,
interest, desire, and action).
• It is used if time is short and prospects are similar.
• Shortcomings are: prospects’ needs are not uncovered and
uses same standard formula for different prospects.
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14. Sales Presentation Methods
(Continued)
• Need – satisfaction method
• Interactive sales presentation
• First find prospect’s needs, by asking questions and
listening
• Use FAB approach: Features, Advantages, Benefits
• Effective method, as it focuses on customers
• Consultative selling method / Problem-solving
approach
• Salespeople use cross-functional expertise
• Firms adopt team selling approach
• It is used by software / consulting firms
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15. Developing an Effective
Presentation
Some of the guidelines are:
•
•
•
•
Plan the sales call
Adopt presentation to the situation and person
Communicate the benefits of the purchase
Present relevant and limited information at a
time
• Use the prospect’s language
• Make the presentation convincing – give
evidence
• Use technology like multi-media presentation
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16. Using
Demonstration
• Sales presentation can be improved by
demonstration
• Demonstration is one of the important selling
tools EGs: Test drive of cars; demonstration of
industrial products in use
• Benefits of using demonstration for selling are:
•
•
•
•
Buyers’ objections are cleared
Improves the buyer’s purchasing interest
Helps to find specific benefits of the prospect
The prospect can experience the benefit
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17. Overcoming Sales Objections /
Resistances
• Objections take place during presentations /
when the order is asked
• Two types of sales objections:
• Psychological / hidden
• Logical (real or practical)
• Methods for handling and overcoming
objections: (a) ask questions, (b) turn an
objection into a benefit, (c) deny objections
tactfully,
(d)
third-party
certificate,
(e)
compensation
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18. Trial close and Closing the
sale
• Trial close checks the attitude or opinion of the
prospect, before closing the sale (or asking for
the order)
• If the response to trial close question is
favourable, then the salesperson should close
the sale
• Some of the techniques used for closing the
sale are: (a) alternative-choice, (b) minor points,
(c) assumptive, (d) summary-of-benefits, (e) Taccount, (f) special-offer, (g) probability, and (h)
negotiation
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19. Follow-up and
Service
• Necessary for customer satisfaction
• Successful salespeople follow-up in different
ways: For example,
•
•
•
•
•
Check order details
Follow through delivery schedule
Visit when the product is delivered
Build long-term relationship
Arrange warranty service
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20. Negotiatio
n
• Salespeople, particularly in business to business selling,
need negotiating skills
• When to negotiate?
(a) When the buyer puts certain conditions for buying to
the seller, (b) When agreement between the buyer and
the seller is needed on several factors, (c) When the
product is customised, (d) When the final price is to be
decided
• How to prepare for negotiation?
(a) planning, (b) building relationship, (c) purpose
• Styles of negotiation
(a) I win, you lose, (b) Both of us win (or win-win style),
(c) You win, I lose, and (d) Both of us lose
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21. Key Learnings
• For understanding psychology in selling, study
consumer or buyer behaviour, buying process and
situations
• Salespeople are given knowledge of sales and relevant
marketing policies in order to increase their selfconfidence and sales, and meet customers’
expectations
• Typical steps in the sales process include prospecting
and qualifying, preapproach, approach, presentation
and demonstration, overcoming objections, trial close /
closing the sale, follow-up and service
• Salespeople should know when to negotiate, how to
prepare for negotiation and which style of negotiation to
use
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