Question

QUESTION 2

You have just been recruited as a corporate sales representative for AN Bank Ghana Limited and you have been charged with the responsibility of handling Universities and Churches

accounts. Describe with relevant illustrations the personal selling process that you would undertake to ensure that you are able to close a deal at the end of every month.

Answer 1

Personal iselling iis ione iof ithe iforms iof ipromotion ior imarketing icommunications iused iby iorganizations ito icommunicate iwith ithe imarketplace iand idrive ipurchases iof itheir iproducts. iAlong iwith iadvertising, ipublic irelations, iand isales ipromotion i i ipersonal iselling imakes iup ithe ipromotions imix ior imarketing icommunications imix iof ia icompany. i

Personal iselling ican ibe idefined ias: idirect iperson-to-person icommunication ibetween isellers iand ipotential icustomers, iwith ithe iaim iof ipersuading ipotential icustomers ito ipurchase iproducts.

Personal iselling ioften ioccurs iface-to-face, ihowever iit ican ialso itake iplace ithrough itelephone iconversations, ionline ivideo iconferencing ior ionline itext icommunication.

Personal iselling iis ian ieffective iway ito ipromote iand isell ihigh ipriced iand/or icomplex iproducts. iThis iis ibecause ithe iperson-to-person iapproach iallows ifor idetailed iexplanation iof iproducts iand iany iindividual iquestions ior iconcerns ithe icustomer ihas ican ibe iimmediately iaddressed.

Main iSteps iin ithe iPersonal iSelling iProcess

There iare imany isteps iinvolved iin ithe iprocess iof ipersonal iselling: iprospecting, ipre-approach, iapproach, isales ipresentation, ihandling iobjectives, iand ifollow iup.

1. PROSPECTING

The ifirst istep iof ithe ipersonal iselling iprocess iis icalled i‘prospecting’. iProspecting irefers ito ilocating ipotential icustomers. iThere iare imany isources ifrom iwhich ipotential icustomers ican ibe ifound: iobservation, isocial icontacts, itrade ishows, icommercially-available idatabases, icommercially-available imail ilist iand icold icalling.

2. PRE-APPROACH

The inest istep iin ithe ipersonal iselling iprocess iis icalled ithe i‘pre-approach’. iThe ipre-approach iinvolves ipreparation ifor ithe isales ipresentation. iThis ipreparation iinvolves iresearch iabout ithe ipotential icustomers, isuch ias imarket iresearch. iResearch iis iuseful iin iplanning ithe iright isales ipresentation. iDuring ithe ipre-approach ithe isalesperson imay ialso iplan iand ipractice itheir isales ipresentation.

3. THE iAPPROACH

The inext istep iin ithe ipersonal iselling iprocess iis icalled ithe i‘approach’. iThe iapproach irefers ito ithe iinitial icontact ibetween ithe isalesperson iand ithe iprospective icustomer. iDuring ithis istage ithe isales iperson itakes ia ifew iminutes ifor i“small italk” iand igets ito iknow ithe ipotential icustomer. iThe igoal iof ithe iapproach iis ito idetermine ithe ispecific ineeds iand iwants iof ithe iindividual icustomer, ias iwell ias iallowing ithe ipotential icustomer ito irelax iand iopen iup.

4. SALES iPRESENTATION

The inext istep iin ithe ipersonal iselling iprocess iis icalled ithe i‘sales ipresentation’. iThe isales ipresentation iinvolves ithe isalesperson ipresenting ithe iproduct ior iservice, idescribing iits iqualities iand ipossibly idemonstrating ifeatures iof ithe iproduct. iIdeally ithe isales ipresentation iwill ibe iindividualized ito imatch ithe ineeds iand idesires iof ithe ipotential icustomer.

5. HANDLING iOBJECTIVES

In isome icases, iafter ireceiving ithe isales ipresentation, ithe ipotential icustomer iwill ihave isome iquestions ior iconcerns. iIn iorder ito isecure ia isale, ithe isalesperson imust iaddress ithese iquestions ior iconcerns; ithis istep iis ireferred ito ias i‘handling iobjectives.’

6. CLOSING iTHE iSALE

The inext istep iin ithe ipersonal iselling iprocess iis ireferred ito ias i‘closing ithe isale’. i‘Closing ithe isale’ irefers ito ifinalizing ithe isale iand ipersuading ithe ipotential icustomer ito imake ithe ipurchase. iDuring ithe i‘closing ithe isale’ istep, iprices iand ipayment ioptions imay ibe inegotiated.

7. FOLLOW iUP

The ifinal istep iin ithe ipersonal iselling iprocess iis ireferred ito ias ithe i‘follow iup.’ iThe ifollow iup iinvolves ithe isalesperson icontacting ithe icustomer iafter ithe isale ito iensure ithat ithe icustomer iis isatisfied. iIf ithe icustomer ihas iany iexisting iissues iwith ithe iproduct, ithe isalesperson iwill iaddress ithem. iA isuccessful ifollow iup istage iof ipersonal iselling ican ibe ivery ieffective iin iensuring irepeat isales, ievaluating ithe ieffectiveness iof ithe isalesperson, iand iobtaining iadditional ireferrals ifrom ithe isatisfied icustomer.