218 CHAPTER 8 COMMUNICATINGTOMASSMARKETS
- Whenthebuyerindicatesaninterestintheproductbygivinga closingsignal,
suchasa nodofthehead.
Follow-up Toensurecustomersatisfactionandmaximizelong-termsalesvolume,
salespeopleoftenengageinsalesfollow-upactivitiesandtheprovisionforpost-saleserv-ice.Ifa saleisnotmade,a follow-upmayeventuallyleadtoa sale.
StrengthsandWeakness esof PersonalSelling
Personalsellinghasseveralimportantadvantagesanddisadvantagescomparedwiththeother
elementsofmarketingcommunicationmix(seeFigure8.5).Undoubtedly,themostsig-
nificantstrengthofpersonalsellingisitsflexibility.Salespeoplecantailortheirpresenta-
tionstofittheneeds,motives, andbehaviorofindividualcustomers.Assalespeoplesee
theprospect'sreactiontoa salesapproach, theycanimmediatelyadjustasneeded.
Personalsellingalsominimizeswasteeffort.Advertiserstypicallyexpendtimeand
moneytosenda massmessageabouta producttomanypeopleoutsidethetargetmarket.
Inpersonalselling,thesalesforcepinpointsthetargetmarket,makesa contact,andexpends
effortthathasa strongprobabilityofleadingtoa sale.
Consequently,anadditionalstrengthofpersonalsellingisthatmeasuringeffective-
nessanddeterminingthereturnoninvestmentarefarmorestraightforwardforpersonal
sellingthanforothermarketingcommunicationtools,whererecallorattitudechangeis
oftentheonlymeasurableeffect.
Anotherbenefitofpersonalsellingisthata salespersonisinanexcellentpositionto
encouragethecustomertoact.Theone-on-oneinteractionofpersonalsellingmeansthat
a salespersoncaneffectivelyrespondtoandovercomeobjections(customers'concernsor
reservationsabouttheproduct)sothatthecustomeris morelikelytobuy,Salespeoplecan
alsooffermanyspecificreasonstopersuadea customertobuy,incontrasttothegeneral
reasonsthatan admayurgecustomerstotakeimmediateaction.
Afinalstrengthofpersonalsellingis themultipletasksthesalesforcecanperform.
Forinstance,inadditiontoselling,a salespersoncancollectpaymentserviceorrepairprod-
ucts,returnproducts,andcollectproductandmarketinginformation.Infact,salespeople
areoftenbestatdisseminatingnegativeandpositiveword-of-mouthproductinformation.
Highcostistheprimarydisadvantageofpersonalselling.Withincreasedcompeti-
tion, highertravelandlodgingcosts,andhighersalaries,thecostpersalescontractcon-
tinues toincrease. Manycompaniestry tocontrolsalescosts by compensatingsales
representativesbasedoncommissiononly,therebyguaranteeingthatsalespeoplegetpaid
onlyiftheygeneratesales.However,commission-onlysalespeoplemaybecomerisk-averse
andonlycallonclientswhohavethehighestpotentialreturn.Thesesalespeople,then,may
missopportunitiestodevelopa broadbaseofpotentialcustomersthatcouldgeneratehigher
salesrevenuesinthelongrun.
Companiescanalsoreduc~salescostsbyusingcomplementarytechniques,suchas
telemarketing,directmail,toll-freenumbersforinterestedcustomers,andonlinecommu-
nicationwithqualifiedprospects.Telemarketingandonlinecommunicationcanfurtherreduce
costsbyservingasanactualsellingvehicle.Bothtechnologiescandeliversalesmessages,
respondtoquestions,takepayment,andfollowup.
Anotherdisadvantageofpersonalsellingis theproblemoffindingandretaininghigh-
qualitypeople.First,experiencedsalespeoplesometimesrealizethattheonlywaytheirincome
canoutpacetheircost-of-livingincreaseistochangejobs.Second,becauseofthepushfor
profitability,businessestrytohireexperiencedsalespeopleawayfromcompetitorsrather