Selling is the way that you help customer to buy product and services from your business.The selling process creates a realationship with customer*, identifying the customer needs* and wants.

Direct Selling : Sales people directly deal with customer face to face

Retail selling : Product are offered through a shop that customers can visit (eg wall mart , superstores etc)

Agency Selling :an agent sells product and services on behalf

of the suppliers e.g. insurance agent Telesales: product and services are directly sold on telephone

(eg call centres), also known as inside sales. Door to Door selling :sales people visit potential customer in

their homes and sell them directly. Business to business selling : business sales directly to

other business. Mail order and online selling : Product and services are

directly sold on internet. Eg amazon , staples ,ebay , bbsm.

Selling keeps our economy moving Businesses buy resources (natural, human,

capital) to be used in the production of goods and services and sell to the market that wants them Manufacturers Wholesalers Retailers Individuals and households

Selling promotes competition◦ All businesses compete for scarce customer

dollars◦ Sell the most products + satisfy customer needs

+ best prices = success◦ Develop new or improved products to make more

sales than their competitors

Selling affects employment◦ Jobs depend on making sales◦ Businesses grow, more salespeople are hired to

keep up with the demand of products Example: Starbucks

Selling adds utility.◦ Products can be “in the right place at the right

time”◦ Creating customer desire◦ Suggest accessories to go with an outfit

Selling helps customers determine needs◦ Enables customers to receive help with their

buying problems◦ Customers can determine their needs and select

products that are right for them

Selling creates desire for products◦ Create desire for new or established products

Determine customers’ needs, wants, and buying motives

Explaining product features and benefits to customers

Heightening their desire through the use of demonstrations

Education and Training Self-Motivation Self-Confidence Product Knowledge Customer Knowledge Ethics Determination and Patience Selling Skills Belief in selling as a service Communication Skills Creativity Personal Appearance

The simplest way to think of the nature and role of selling (traditionally called sales-manship) is that its function is to make a sale.

Companies spend large sums of money training their sales personnel in the art of selling.

The reason for this attention to personal selling is simple: in most companies the sales personnel are the single most important link with the customer.

The best designed and planned marketing efforts may fail because the sales force is ineffective.

This front-line role of the salesperson means that for many customers the salesperson is the company.

As there are large costs associated with recruiting, training and maintaining the sales force, there are influential reasons for stressing the importance of the selling task and for justifying attempts to improve effectiveness in this area.

The term selling encompasses a variety of sales situations and activities. For example, there are those sales positions where the sales representative is required primarily to deliver the product to the customer on a regular or periodic basis.

The emphasis in this type of sales activity is very different from the sales position where the sales representative is dealing with sales of capital equipment to industrial purchasers.

In addition, some sales representatives deal only in export markets whilst others sell direct to customers in their homes.

One of the most striking aspects of selling is the wide diversity of selling roles.

Mention of the word selling will prompt a variety of response.

It will remind a high proportion of negative, including immoral', dishonest, ”unpleasant”, degrading”, ”wasteful”

Is such an unfavorable view justified? In fact the underlying attitudes to selling

derive from widely held misconceptions about selling, some of which are outlined below;

Selling is not a worthwhile career. Good product will sell themselves and thus

the selling process adds unnecessarily to costs.

There is something immoral about selling, and one should be suspicious about those who earn their living from this activity.

Some of the elements in the sales task that acts as a demotivators;

1. Rejection and ego punishment2. Keep the salesperson waiting3. Psychological risk /loneliness

1.Rejection and ego punishment

Because of their perceived low status, salespersons are constantly exposed to the possibility of rejection and often have to suffer ”ego punishment” such as

Being kept waiting Appointments cancelled at short notice “Put downs” from customers to which they cannot

adequately respond as buyers have the power in such circumstances.

2.Keep the salesperson waiting

In B2B situations in particular, salespersons visit buyers in their offices, so they are effectively working in "foreign territory and might sometimes feel uneasy when entering the premises.

The customer might keep the salesperson waiting, thus increase discomfort.

3.Psychological risko The salesperson tends to work alone, often staying

away from home for periods. o attraction is independence, but it can be a lonely

existence.o Thus, there is a certain amount of psychological risk

attached to such situations.

Selling is therefore not an easy task, and those who are concerned to improve its image must be more determined.

There are always corrupt individuals and companies ready to trade on the ignorance and innocence of unsuspecting customers.

These individuals are not salespeople: at best they are misguided traders and at worst criminals.

Selling then is not entirely blameless, but salespeople are becoming more professionals in their approach to customers.

Some of the worst excess in selling have been restricted; some legally, but increasing voluntarily.

To overcome some of these misconceptions, selling needs to sell itself and the following facts about selling should be more universally manner:

1. There is nothing immoral or dishonest about selling or about those involved in this activity.

2. Selling is a worthwhile career3. Good products do not sell themselves

1.There is nothing immoral or dishonest about selling or about those involved

in this activity.

As we all know that selling provides a mechanism for exchange and through this process customers 'needs and wants are satisfied.

Furthermore, most people, at some stage, are involved in selling-even if only selling their skills and personalities in an attempt to obtain a job.

2.Selling is a worthwhile career

Many of those who have spent a lifetime in selling have found it to be a challenging, responsible and rewarding occupation.

certainly a career in selling means meeting people and working with them, and a selling job often offers large carefulness in being able to plan one’s own work schedule.

3.Good products do not sell themselves

An excellent product may pass unnoticed unless its benefits and features are explained to customers.

What appears to be a superior product may be totally unsuited to a particular customer.

Selling is unique in that it deals with the special needs of each individual customer and the salesperson, with specialist product knowledge, is in a position to assess these circumstances and advise each customer accordingly.

Selling has become more professional, so too has the nature and role of sales management. The emphasis is on the word management.

Increasingly those involved in management are being called upon to exercise in a professional way the key duties of all managers, namely planning, organizing and controlling.

The emphasis has changed from the idea that to be a good sales manager you had to have the right personality and that the main feature of the job was ensuring that the sales force were out selling sufficient volume.

Although such qualities may be admirable, the duties of the sales manager in the modern company have both broadened and changed in emphasis.

Nowadays the sales manager is expected to play a much more strategic role in the company and is required to make a key input into the formulation of company plans.

There is need to be familiar with the techniques associated with planning, including sales forecasting and budgeting.

The sales manager also needs to be familiar with the concept of marketing to ensure that sales and marketing activities are integrated.

In many companies the emphasis is less on sales volume and more on profits.

The sales manager need to be able to analyze and direct the activities of sales force towards more profitable business.

In dealing with a sale force, the sales manager must be aware of modern development in human resource management.

The role of sales manager may seem difficult, that person must be accountant, a planner, a personnel manager and a marketer.

However, the prime responsibility is to ensure that the sales function makes the most effective contribution to the achievement of company’s objectives and goals.

In order to fulfill this role, sales managers will undertake specific duties and responsibilities.

The determination of sales force objectives and goals.

Forecasting and budgeting Sales force organization,salesforce size,

territory design and planning. Sales force selection, recruitment and

training. Motivating the sales force Sales force evaluation and control.

Businesses use marketing in order to increase sales in the long-term.

While marketing and sales are related in business, they are not the same thing.

They both play a crucial role in the success of most businesses and as a business owner it is important to understand how they work together.

Marketing is all about bringing people into your store, to your website or getting them on the phone.

This discipline involves grabbing the attention of your customers and getting them to act.

Marketing is about reaching a target audience and promoting your brand or products.

Marketing does not actually sell any products but it does get the process started.

This process involves getting your business message out to the public.

The sales process involves closing the transaction after marketing begins the process. With many companies, this part of the process involves a highly-trained sales staff.

The sales staff may work with customers who come in the door or who call over the phone. This process could also be programmed if you are dealing with an online business.

The process of sales involves getting the customer to actually part with their money in exchange for a product or service.

Even though many advertising agencies calculate many statistics on the direct relationship between marketing and sales, it can vary greatly.

Just because you spend more money on an advertising campaign, that does not necessarily mean that you will make more sales.

You might end up spending a lot of money on a marketing campaign that does not work.

It is important to target only the customers who you have a better chance of closing the sale with.

Marketing and sales always have been a close relationship, so close in fact that many have confused the two as being the same.

Marketing is the method of bringing customers to your business as well as making others aware of your business, product, and brand.

The sales staff needs to know what the marketing department is telling the public.

The marketing department needs to know which ads work the best at bringing traffic.

The marketing department people are seen serious and analytical, always busy with statistics and campaigns and meetings.

The sales people are breathless, always on the go, always on the phone or going to meet customers, always on the process of some huge deal, some magic sale that would throw the company's turnover way over the annual target.