"Personal selling" is a highly popular selling method used by
companies to be able to target the right customers and promote
themselves/their products. The primary idea behind the seven-step
process of personal selling is to outline the sales journey that
any salesperson needs to go through to be able to convert a
client from a lead. This basic idea can also be
applied towards securing a new job from
prospecting it. In the draft mentioned below, I will be
outlining each of the seven steps with it's perceived meaning and
how it can apply to the process of securing a new job.
- Prospecting:
- Idea - this is the first step in the sales process where sales
representatives go out into the market to prospect new clients via
cold calling, meetings, etc.
- Application - in order to get a new job, the first step would
be to identify the vacancies in companies that match your
qualifications/interests, which will enable one to prospect the
right companies to send in the job applications.
- Pre-approach:
- Idea - this is the second step in the selling process in which
the sales representative spends time preparing him/herself for the
first interaction with a potential customer which includes research
about the prospect, market conditions, need for the products,
etc.
- Application - after narrowing down the list of companies and
sending the job applications, in this step, the applicant needs to
focus on gathering information about those prospective companies,
which includes understanding their requirements, their culture at
work, etc.
- Approach:
- Idea - this is one of the most important steps in the selling
process, as this is the first contact between the salesperson and
the prospective clients, through which the salesperson is able to
assess the buyer's needs, wants and also a chance to make a
positive first impression.
- Application - this step is one of the most crucial ones as the
job applicant gets to make the first impression on the interviewer
highlighting personal elements that would contribute towards making
a positive first impression.
- Making the presentation:
- Idea - in this stage, the salesperson demonstrates the product,
makes a presentation of its uses and focuses on drawing the
customer's interest in the product by communicating the necessary
details.
- Application - this is the primary step in the process to be
able to generate interest amongst the interviewers to hire the
applicant by demonstrating the needed skills, the mindset and
showcasing the ways the applicant is suitable for a position by
quoting problem-solving analysis based on the research conducted
earlier.
- Overcoming Objections:
- Idea - in this step, the salesperson needs to be able to
respond to the objections, questions and other concerns by the
customers to be able to convince them further to make the
purchase.
- Application - the interviewer might have questions about the
applicant's skills, fit in the company, etc. which the applicant
should be able to deal with in the best possible way to be able to
convince them further to entrust the opportunity in him/her.
- Closing:
- Idea - after showcasing all the objectives, this is the stage
where the final decisions will be made and it's required to be able
to address any last-minute issues before closing the sale, this
step also accounts for finalizing payment terms and negotiating
cost, etc.
- Application - in this step, the interviewer will end up making
the decision if they are interested in the applicant to take
forward the process, in return, the applicant should be able to
derive the appropriate value for his/her services and be able to
give required reasoning if/when asked.
- Follow up
- Idea - this is the final step in the process in which the
salesperson follows up with the customer after the purchase and the
products have been delivered to be able to take feedback and build
a relationship for the future.
- Application - this is the final step in the job application
process once the decision has been made by the interviewer, the
applicant should always end the interview with appropriate follow
up questions about the process further and ways to be in touch to
be able to establish a working relationship with the
organization.
These are the ways that I believe the seven steps of personal
selling can be utilized towards seeking, applying and securing a
new job!