Chapter 22

Personal Selling

©McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom.  No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
 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.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 The Scope of Personal Selling
Personal Selling
• Selling through a person-to-person communications process.
• Affected by increased emphasis on customer relationship
management (CRM).
• Impacted by changing marketplace.
• Importance varies depending on:
• Nature of product or service being marketed.
• Size of the organization.
• Type of industry.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 1
Dyadic Communication
• Direct and interpersonal communication.
• Allows sender to immediately receive and evaluate feedback
from receiver.
• Messages can change to address receiver’s specific needs and
wants.

In dyadic communication, the

message can be changed to
address the receiver’s specific
needs and wants. NuVasive
provides their personal sales reps
with in-depth product knowledge,
as shown in this guide for selling
one of their products.
©McGraw-Hill Education. Source: NuVasive, Inc.
 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 2
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.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Figure 22-1 When the Sales Force Is a Major
Part of the IMC Mix 1
Product or Service Channels
Complex products requiring customer Channel system relatively short and direct to
application assistance (computers, end users
pollution control system, steam
turbines)
Major purchase decisions, such as Product and service training and assistance
food items purchased by supermarket needed by channel intermediaries
chains
Features and performance of the Personal selling needed to push product
product requiring personal through channel
demonstration and trial by the
customer (private aircraft)
Channel intermediaries available to perform
personal-selling function for supplier with
limited resources and experience (brokers or
manufacturer’s agents)

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Figure 22-1 When the Sales Force Is a Major
Part of the IMC Mix 2
Price Advertising
Final price is negotiated between Advertising media do not provide effective link
buyer and seller (appliances, cars, with market targets
real estate)
Selling price or quality purchased Information needed by buyer cannot be
enables an adequate margin to provided entirely through advertising and
support selling expenses (traditional sales promotion (life insurance)
department store compared to
discount house)
Number and dispersion of customers will not
enable acceptable advertising economies

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Figure 22-2 The Stages in the Evolution of Selling
1. Relationship Selling:
• A high level of trust is enjoyed by the parties.
• Relationship stress is kept at a minimum.
• Adaptability is present among both parties.
2. Needs-Analysis Selling:
• Information gathering is the cornerstone.
• The customer's agenda is ever-present.
• Constant monitoring for pertinent changes.
3. Symbiotic Selling:
• Allegiance is present in the relationship.
• Eagerness to work together toward common goals.
• Collaboration grows from the symbiotic competencies developed.

©McGraw-Hill Education. Source: Don Hutson, “The Evolution of Selling,” March 26,
 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 3
The Nature of Personal Selling
• The new role of personal selling.
• Salespeople retain traditional roles and now engage in:
• Surveying.
• Mapmaking.
• Guiding.
• Fire starting.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Figure 22-3 The Most Influential
Marketing Activities

Sources: Eliot Burdett, “B2B Sales: 7 Ways It’s Changing Fast,” www. peaksalesrecruiting.com, October 15, 2018; Rebekah Carter, “The 15 Key Factors That
Influence Customer Satisfaction,” September 12, 2017, www.guidedselling.com.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 4
The Nature of Personal Selling continued
• Relationship marketing:
• Organization’s effort to develop long-term, cost-effective link with
individual customers for mutual benefit.
• CRM refers to the tools used to carry out relationship marketing.

©McGraw-Hill Education. Source: Wint and Kidd Outsourcing Professionals

 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 5
The Nature of Personal Selling continued
• The costs of personal selling.
• Accounts for most of the promotional budget.
• Used often due to its advantages over other methods.
• Expensive form of communication.
• Evaluated by considering:
• Nature of the call.
• Objectives sought.
• Effective delivery of message by other program elements.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Figure 22-4 Examples of Sales Jobs
Sales development rep (SDR)
Account executive (AE)
Outside salesperson
Account manager
Regional sales manager
Sales engineer
Director of sales
VP of sales
Source: Aja Frost, “What type of Sales Job is Best
for You?” www.hubspot.com, April 16, 2019
©McGraw-Hill Education.
 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 6
The Nature of Personal Selling continued
• Personal-selling responsibilities:
• Locating prospective customers.
• Often referred to as prospecting.
• Leads may become prospects and then qualified prospects: those who
make buying decisions and pay for products.

Salesgenie.com helps marketers locate

prospective customers. This online tool
helps salespeople generate leads and
find new prospects through access to a
wide range of business and consumer
databases.

©McGraw-Hill Education. Source: Salesgenie

 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 7
The Nature of Personal Selling continued
• Personal-selling responsibilities: continued
• Determining customers’ needs and wants.
• Recommending a way to satisfy customers’ needs and wants.
• Demonstrating the capabilities of the firm and its products.
• Closing the sale.
• Following up and servicing the account.
• Cross sell: Sell additional products and services to same customer.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 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
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.
7. Closing the sale—consummating the deal.
8. Follow-up—ensuring everything goes as planned; addressing additional
concerns or issues that may arise.
Source: Adapted from Reds Communications, “The 8 Step Personal Selling Process—Let Us Help You,” www. redscommunications.co.za.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 The Role of Personal Selling in the IMC Program 8
The Nature of Personal Selling continued
• Personal-selling responsibilities: continued
• Creates direct feedback network.
• Opportunity to assess situation firsthand and adapt sales message
accordingly.
• Personal sales can uncover the many motivations for purchasing and
address them.
• Many purchase decisions made on nonrational criteria (beyond costs or
product benefits).

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Figure 22-6 Cost per Qualified Lead

Source: “Cost per Lead (CPL) Benchmarks, by Industry,” 2017, www. MarketingCharts.com.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Figure 22-7 Effectiveness of Lead Generation Sources

Source: Howard, Schulze “How Effective Are the B to B Lead Generation Trends 2013?” www.slideshare.net, 2015

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 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. • Relationship-oriented.
• Professional. • Customer-focused.
• Thorough. • Responsive.
• Results-oriented. • Good communicators.
• Problem solving. • Reliable.

Source: “Redefining the Traditional Roles of Your Sales Force,” April 20, 2016, www.mercatopartners.com.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 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 decision • Poor reach.
process. • Potential ethical problems.
• Source of research
information.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Combining Personal Selling with Other
Promotional Tools 1
Combining Personal Selling and Advertising
• Advertising effective at early stages, personal selling at later
stages.
• Improve reach, reduce costs, and increase probability of sale.
• Many salespeople do not understand role advertising plays
and its contribution to sales efforts.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Exhibit 22-5

Dell uses an IMC campaign

including advertising, direct
marketing, sales promotion,
and the Internet to create
awareness that Dell is
interested in companies’
business. The campaign is
designed to position the
company as a solutions
provider and to assist and
enhance the sales force’s
efforts.

©McGraw-Hill Education. Source: Dell

 Combining Personal Selling with Other
Promotional Tools 2
Combining Personal Selling and Public Relations
• Personal-selling agents represent a firm and its products.
• Efforts result in goodwill toward company and its products
and benefit society.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Combining Personal Selling with Other
Promotional Tools 3
Combining Personal Selling and Direct Marketing
• Telemarketing screens leads and passes on to sales force.
• Higher percentage of sales closings, less time wasted, and lower
average cost per sale.
• E-mail and lead cards used to screen prospective customers.
• Database building and mining to list and manage customers.
• Web-related activities for lead generation and social media
growth.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Combining Personal Selling with Other
Promotional Tools 4
Combining Personal Selling and Sales Promotion
• Designed to assist salespeople.
• Help presentations, serve as reminders, and create goodwill.

• Targeted at sales force.

• Incentives used to stimulate sales efforts.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Combining Personal Selling with Other
Promotional Tools 5
Combining Personal Selling with the Internet
• Fulfill mundane tasks of order fulfillment and providing
information.
• Allows salespeople to be more effective at closing orders, prospecting,
problem solving, and cross selling.
• Allows salespeople to focus more attention on high-value and/or new
customers.
• Online sales meetings save time and money.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Exhibit 22-9

A rapidly popular use of the

Internet is conducting online
meetings in which the sales force
and/or clients and potential clients
participate. Some companies have
found that they can save both time
and money by conducting their
sales meetings online, by using
software like GoToMeeting, rather
than at a central location.

©McGraw-Hill Education. Source: LogMeIn, Inc.

 Evaluating the Personal-Selling Effort 1
Evaluation Considerations
• Typically based on sales criteria.
• Characteristics of effective performance:
• Strength of 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.

• Need to evaluate as one program element contributing to

overall promotion program.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 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
organizations.
• Ability to apply this market knowledge.
• Development of a favorable attitude as it pertains to that
knowledge and those applied skills.
• Ability to make required course corrections.
Source: Steve Deist and Rich Johnson, “Developing an Effective Sales Force,” Industrial Distribution, April 2005, p. 75.

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Figure 22-12 Criteria Used to Evaluate Sales Forces
Measures Sales Results Sales Efforts
Quantitative Orders (number of orders Sales calls (number made on
Measures obtained, average order size) current customers, average time
Sales volume (dollar sales spent per call)
volume) Selling expenses (as percentage of
Margins (gross margin, net sales volume, direct-selling
profit) expense ratios)
Customer accounts (number of Customer service (number of
new accounts, dollar amount service calls, delivery cost per
of accounts receivable) unit sold)
Qualitative Selling skills (understanding of Sales-related activities (marketing
Measures selling techniques, product intelligence, follow-ups)
knowledge)

©McGraw-Hill Education.
 Evaluating the Personal-Selling Effort 2
Criteria for Evaluating Personal Selling
• Provision of marketing intelligence.
• Follow-up activities.
• Program implementations.
• Attainment of communications objectives.

©McGraw-Hill Education.