Selling comprises all those personal and impersonal activities involved in finding, securing and developing a demand for a given product or service, and consuming the sale of it.
Selling is the heart of the business.
Also, it is informing and persuading a market about a product or service. It is a function of promotion.
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What are the Characteristics of Modern Selling?
Following are the key features of selling in a planned economy:
1. Core of Marketing
The main focus of marketing is on sales.
Marketing creates demand and customers and satisfies the wants of people through selling activities.
2. Basis of Exchange
Selling establishes a link between sellers and buyers in the marketing relationship.
It is a basis of exchange o goods and services in a business system.
3. Centers Around Salesmanship
There are various techniques in sales.
Salesmanship is one of them. Selling is a broad concept, whereas salesmanship is a means and art of personal and verbal presentation of the product. It encourages customers to buy goods.
4. Means of Promotion
Selling is a form of promotion. Personal selling, sales promotion, advertising, publicity, public relations, etc. are specific parts of selling.
Selling is persuasive communication.
5. Creative Function
The real nature of selling is to create new needs and new demands through awakening consumers’ desires and aspirations.
It explores new markets. It makes consumers feel with the salesmen.
6. Social Character
Selling is a form of social behavior and action.
It is a total sum of various social motives, activities, and desires.
Selling is the means of social cultivation and growth.
Related: 16 Increasing Impacts of Consumer Orientation in Advertising.
7. Ingredient of Marketing Programme
Marketing is a wide concept that includes the development of the product, pricing, distribution of goods and sales promotional activities.
Personal selling is only one part of the selling (promotion mix), which in turn is part of the marketing mix.
8. Continuous Function
Selling is a perpetual, regular and vital function of the business system.
It is the basis of all other functions of the business.
9. Productive Function
Selling is an income-generating activity.
It creates wealth and employment.
The operational and other expenses of an enterprise are met out from the income generated by selling.
10. Personal and Impersonal
Selling includes both personal and impersonal means of promoting sales.
It involves personal selling as well as mass selling (advertising, publicity, and sales promotion, etc.) techniques.
Related: How to Become a Successful Salesman? 33 Qualities (Complete List).
11. Dynamic Activity
Selling is often dynamic, challenging, and rewarding. The internet is changing the way we do business in the 21st century.
Hence, it is redefining the sales job.
Selling can also be frustrating and even disappointing. But it is never dull.
12. Relationship Selling
Today, selling has become a relationship-oriented.
It provides customers with value-added solutions to their problems.
It is not transactional selling whereby salesmen focus on the immediate one-time sales of the product.
13. Essential for Implementing Marketing Strategy
Selling is largely responsible for implementing a firm’s marketing strategies in the field.
14. Art and Science
Selling is both an art and science.
It requires more tact and social intelligence than other employees on the same level in the organization.
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