Definition: Personal selling is also known as face-to-face selling in which one person who is the salesman tries to convince the customer in buying a product. It is a promotional method by which the salesperson uses his or her skills and abilities in an attempt to make a sale.
Description: Personal selling is a face-to-face selling technique by which a salesperson uses his or her interpersonal skills to persuade a customer in buying a particular product. The salesperson tries to highlight various features of the product to convince the customer that it will only add value. However, getting a customer to buy a product is not the motive behind personal selling every time. Often companies try to follow this approach with customers to make them aware of a new product.
The company wants to spread awareness about the product for which it adopts a person-to-person approach. This is because selling involves personal touch, a salesperson knows better how to pitch a product to the potential customer. Personal selling can take place through two different channels – through retail and through direct-to-consumer channel. Under the retail channel, a sales person interacts with potential customers who come on their own to enquire about a product. The job of the salesperson is to make sure that he understands the need of the customers and accordingly shows various products that he keeps under that category. Under the direct channel, a salesperson visits potential customers in an attempt to make them aware about a new product that the company is launching or it may have a new offer which the customers may not get from the open market.
When engaging with prospects and customers on social platforms, it’s important to avoid being too salesy. If your brand is new to a social network, don’t dive into social selling right away. To build trust and provide real value, you’ll first want to establish your position as an expert in your industry.
One way to do this is by sharing interesting, valuable content. If you’re a B2B brand or business tastemaker, you can utilize LinkedIn by sharing content written by others that aligns with your brand. Or write and share your own relevant content that others might find useful to help establish your brand as an industry thought-leader. The goal is to show prospects that you’re providing something for them, rather than just out to get something for your business.
Welcome to the LinkedIn sales glossary, where we've created a quick reference guide to all the sales terminology you've been wondering about. Chock full of sales terms and selling words, consider it your go-to sales dictionary as you move through learning about the world of sales.
Whether you're new to the field or have already set off on your journey, we understand that sales acronyms and terminology can get confusing. To the uninitiated, all of this talk about prospecting and pipelines can end up sounding like an old west oil baron talking about the California gold rush. That's ok! We're here to help you separate the gold from the sand. Below, we've collected the most common sales terms and their definitions in an easy-to-read format, so you can come back to it whenever you need a refresher.
Because of the word “call,” many people might think a sales call is the same thing as a cold call, which is very much the opposite.
What is a sales call?
A sales call is a pre-arranged face-to-face meeting between a salesperson and prospect with the goal of making a sale. These meetings are crucial, as they are the only chance of leaving a good impression on a prospect and sharing the information about the product or service being sold.
Sales call tips: how to make a sales call
How to prepare for a sales call
Given the fact that sales calls are pre-arranged, a salesperson must know as much as possible about the prospect and their company. Before you get to make the sales call, ask yourself:
- Did I research enough about the lead and their business prior to the call?
- Did I send an outline of the agenda to the client before the meeting?
- Did I bring all materials, brochures, contracts, etc.?
- What is the goal of the call?
- What information do I need to learn during the call?
- What is my next step after the call?
As you can see, going into a sales call prepared requires a lot of work if you want to succeed. Prospects expect you to be well-prepared, so be thorough when planning and writing your sales pitch.
How to make a positive impression
You have one chance at a good first impression, so set yourself up to make one. Remember to:
- Find out about the lead’s interests, hobbies, awards, family
- Make a smooth transition to the business topic
- Listen more than you speak
- Ask the client about their business goals
- Ask the prospect what challenges their company is facing
How to qualify the prospect
By asking the right questions, you’ll be able to determine whether the business relationship should continue, and if so, what next steps are. Some things to find out from the prospect:
- Who the decision-makers are
- What process they usually go through when meeting a new salesperson
- How and why they decided to use their current product or service [in case they are replacing a product or service]
- What their time frame is
- How many funds have been allocated
- What their specific needs are
- What would they change about their product or service if they could
How to survey to know more about the company
You need to know what you’re getting into with the prospect and their business, just as much as they need to know about you and your company, so don’t be afraid to ask the client the questions [especially the open-ended ones that start with what, how, who, where, when, etc.]:
- Ask about the prospect’s role and the corporate structure of their business
- Ask what’s important to them personally
- Ask how you can help solve their problems
- Ask what they think about your company
- Ask what support they want to see from a salesperson after the sale
- Ask their short-term and long-term goals
- Ask what the next step is and establish a specific follow-up schedule
How to present your solution
How you present yourself, your product or service, and your company is extremely important in a sales call. You must be mindful of all three and ask yourself:
- Did you prioritize the prospect’s needs?
- Did you talk about benefits to the customer [make sure they are linked to the client’s needs]?
- Did you use easy-to-understand terms?
- Did you give a general overview of your solution?
- Did you focus on the prospect’s needs during the presentation?
- Did you involve the client in the presentation?
- Did you sum up the prospect’s needs and how your product or service will meet those needs?
How to end the call
You have to nail your closing. Make sure all questions have been answered and the pros and cons of your product have been explained thoroughly, which can help lead to the deal closed:
- Did the customer identify all possible problems that might be solved with the help of your solution?
- Did the client identify the value of solving the identified problems?
- Did the prospect agree that the proposed product or service is the solution to their problems?
- Did you ask for the order [“Why don’t we go ahead with this?”]
Once your sales call is wrapped up [hopefully with a sale], you need to maintain communication with the customer. What can you do? You can write a thank-you letter, ask for referrals or reference letters, schedule follow-up calls or customer visits, etc.
Phone sales calls
Not all sales calls are face-to-face; for whatever reason, an in-person call can be not doable. Still, plan and prepare for each call. Mostly all the rules apply, especially sales call scripts; it’s important to bring the same level of enthusiasm and professional demeanor to phone meetings. Just because it’s a phone call doesn’t mean it’s less professional or that there are lower stakes. Often, salespeople also use video chats to conduct such meetings.
Wrapping it up
Yes, sales calls – in person or over the phone – can be daunting! There’s a whole lot of information to take in for both the salesperson and the prospect. Writing a good script and remembering all of it at the moment is hard and requires a lot of focus, but the more you do it, the more it becomes second nature. Practice makes perfect!