Marketing Communications

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Marketing Communications
Personified Promotion

THE UNIQUENESS OF PERSONAL SELLING

Personals selling jobs are usually unique for these reasons.

1. Salespersons represent their company to the outside world, consequently, opinions of a
   company and its product are often formed from the impression left by the sales force.


2. Other employees usually work under close supervisory controls, whereas a sales force
   typically operates with little or no direct supervision. For sales persons to be successful,
   they must work hard physically and mentally. They must be creative, persistent, show high
   initiative and must be highly motivated.


3. Salespersons need more tact, diplomacy and social poise than other employees in an
   organization. Many sales jobs require the salesperson to mix socially with customers, who
   frequently are high-level executives. He must exhibit considerable social intelligence in
   dealing with buyers.


4. Salespersons are among the few employees authorized to spend company funds. They spend
   such funds for entertainment, transportation and other business expenses.


5. Personal selling jobs frequently require a considerable amount of travelling and much time
   spent away from home and family. Being in the field puts salespersons in solitary situations,
   where they deal with endless members of customers, who seem determined not to buy the
   sellers product. These mental stress, coupled with the physical demands of long working
   hours, extensive travels and poor eating habits, combine to require a degree of mental
   toughness and physical stamina rarely demanded in other types of job. Personal selling
   demands hard work.

BASIC TRAITS OF A GOOD SALESPERSON

Outstanding and successful salespersons have been identified to possess these traits:

1. A high level of energy.


2. Abounding self-confidence.


3. A chronic hunger for money, status and good things in life.


4. A well-established habit of industry.


5. The habit of perseverance – each objection or resistance is a challenge.


6. A natural tendency to be competitive.


7. Empathy – the ability to identify with customers and their feelings.


8. Ego – drive, the personal need to make a sale, as a measure of self-fulfillment and not just
   for the money.