M M -403

CHAPTERT -2
(SALES AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT)

Personal selling

 Types of selling situations :-

- Delivery Sales person (Soft drink, bread, milk),

- Inside order taker (Retail sales person standing behind a counter is called inside order
taker),
- Outside order taker (The soap or spices sales person calling on retailer is an outside order
taker),
- Missionary Sales people (They build goodwill or educate actual or potential user or provide
services for the customers, medical representatives),
- Creative Sales person of tangible product (Need innovative sales approach like vacuum
cleaner, Automobiles, airplanes,),
- Creative sales person of intangible product (Also need innovative sales approach like
insurance, advertising services, consulting services, communication system or educational
programs),
- Consultive Sales (Sales are characterized by the product or service that is sold at the higher
level of an organization – Computer system or Management Consultancy Service),
- Technical Sales (Technical Sales products knowledge is required by Sales persons)
- Commercial Sales (Need or include non technical sales to business, industry, government
and non-profit organization – office equipment, whole sale goods, building products,
business services and others.),
- Direct Sales (Sales to ultimate consumers – restaurants, door to door, insurance, magazines
etc, emotional type of appeal in selling).

 Buyer – Seller dyad -

- The effectiveness of communication between the sales persons and the customer during the
sales process decides the success of a sales call.
- Proper communication between buyer and seller make it effective.
- Whenever a seller and potential buyer interact, they constitute a dyad and it is called “buyer
seller dyad”. Research conducted by H. Lee Mathews, found that relationship on
expectations and communication skills. The study was among 300 college students.
- In study individual were not told about similar or dissimilarity.
- They displayed greater cooperation than individuals belonging to the group.
- Sales person make a sale to a customer is higher if he shares some characteristics with the
customer.
 - The characteristics may be in the form of demographic aspects, physical features.
 Theories of selling -

The theories of personal selling are –

^ AIDAS Theory,
^ Buying formula theory of selling,
^ Behavioral Equation Theory,
^ Right set of circumstances theory.

# AID AS Theory - It indicates attention, Interest, Desires, Action and satisfaction.

 It says that prospective customer’s mind passes through the above said
fine stages. Customers go through these stage either consciously or sub-
consciously.

# Buying formula theory of selling -

- It discusses mental state of a purchaser.

- It leads to psychological sequences of events that take place in prospects mind.
- The sequence includes need recognition – solution – purchase.

# Behavioral Equation Theory -

- It is based on a stimulus response model and involves four elements of the learning process

 Drive,
 Cue,
 Response,
 Reinforcement.

- Here customer decision making companies at different stages of the learning process and
consists of the elements.

DRIVE - Strong internal forces the include a response in the buyer

Innate drives Learnt drives.

It arise from inmate psychological Arise from a erasing for fulfillment of social
needs such as hunger, thirst, pain. needs such as status or recognition.
CUE - Form of weak stimuli decides the response patterns of the buyer.

Triggering Cues Non-Triggering Cues

 Cues limit active the customer It suggests do not trigger or active the decision
decision process are known as process and keep impact on it.
Triggering cues.

RESPONSE - The behaviour exhibited by the buyer.

REINFORCEMENT - It helps the buyer’s response patterns to be stronger.

Right set of circumstances Theory -

- This theory is based on the assumptions that create the right set of circumstances which will
make the buyer respond positively and buy a product.
- This theory depends on the skill and experience of the sales person. A mighty skilled and
experienced sales person knows to create right set of circumstances for positive decision.
- Creation of right circumstances depends on internal and external factors.

// Personal selling process -` The process of personal selling is stated on seven steps:-

 Prospecting,
 Pre-approach,
 Approach,
 Sales presentation,
 Handling objects/Sales resistance,
 Close,
 Post sales follow up.

// Prospecting - Search and identification of potential customers.

- Information about the prospect and making cold call.

- Information collection from : -

> external sources (Community Contact),

> Internal sources (examining Company Sales Records),
> Personal contact (Personal observation cold call0,
> Miscellaneous sources (from junior sales persons).

// PREAPPROACH - Detailed information about tastes and preferences of prospective

. customers
- Knowledge to prepare sales presentations.
- Avoid of serious mistakes.
- Interview telephone approach is used by sales persons in pre-
approach stage to gather additional information about the prospect.
// APPROACH - First official contact takes place between the sales person and the
prospective customer.
- Catch the prospect’s attention and instill an interest in time about the
product.

- Approach may be of four types -

a) Non-product Related Approach - The referral approach,

The introductory approach,
The premium approach,
Showman ship.

b) Peaking Interest Approach - Arousing Curiosity.

c) Consumer Directed Approach - Question Approach,

Survey Approach,
Compliment Approach.

d) Producer Related Approach.

SALES PRESENTATION: - It include -

i) Visual display technique - * Visualizing,

* Demonstrating.

ii) Presentation Technique - * Customized Sales presentation,

* Partially standardized,
* Standardized Sales presentation.

iii) Non-visual Clarification * Questioning,

Technique. * Comparisons,
* Showman Ship.

Handling objections/Sales Resistance :-

- It include

a) Create strife techniques * Coming to that method,

* Comparative item method,

* Indirect Denial method,

 * It’s in your hands method,

* Pass up method.

b) Offset objection techniques * Yes but method,

 Compensation Method,
 Comparison or contrast method,
 Case history method).

c) Clarify objection techniques * Demonstration method,

 Boomerang method,
 Purpose trial-use method

d) Miscellaneous techniques.

CLOSE : - To close the sales need -

# Clarification close (It makes comparison close, a demonstration close, a report

close, a choice close, an assumption close).

# Psychologically oriented close (Silence, Minor decision close, buy-now close,

emotional close).

# Straight forward close technique (A direct close, a summary close, single

obstacle close).

# Concession close (Price discount).

POST SALES FOLLOW UP :

o Final step in personal selling process,

o Focus to reduce the negative feelings,
o Stressing that the customer has taken right decision,
o Follow up action lead to customer satisfaction and results in customer loyalty,
o Customer satisfaction oriented activities,
o Building long term relationship.