Personal selling consists of contacting prospective buyers of the product personally. Personal selling involves an oral conversation between the seller and buyer ( when they come in contact with one another). The seller wants to convince the buyer of the goods and services which he wants to sell. When the buyer is convinced, he purchases these goods and services.
Types of Salesman for Selling Products
Following are the Types of Salesman in marketing:
1. Creative Salesman or Pioneer Salesman
As the name suggests, the creative salesman is a person who creates the demand for the product by using his Creative Thinking.
He is a ‘Pioneer Salesman‘ because he pioneers the market for the product.
He is also known as ‘missionary salesman‘ on account of the missionary nature of work. Creative salesman, thus, widens the market and develops customers and sales territories.
Bonus: How to Become a Successful Salesman? 33 Qualities (Complete List).
The following are the characteristics features of these types of salesman:
- The salesman should not emphasize on taking the order. He should emphasis on educating, training, demonstrating, and merchandising the benefit points of the product.
- It is applicable to all levels of distribution – wholesalers, retailers, and final consumers.
- It is a promotional investment in future sales because the object is to create demand rather than to take orders.
- It requires a highly educated and trained Salesforce with technical qualifications.
2. Service Salesman
Such salesman specializes in selling Intangible products or services like insurance, shares, advertising space or traveling arrangement, etc.
The people who need such services are of special class and they need special services.
The salesman also needs special training and abilities.
Related: Top 10 Benefits & Importance of Marketing Research (Update).
3. Details Salesman
The names ‘detail selling’ and detail salesman’ are the contributions of the drug industry.
The drug industry produces the products first and then creates a demand.
The job of the detail salesman is not to contact the consumers directly.
But they call on the physician who is the agency, instrumental in selling the product, because the customers do not purchase the goods at their own, but purchase only on the prescription of the physician.
The salesman has to convince the physician about the formula, uses, dosage, research, and testing results, etc. in detail. Most of the medical representatives come under this category.
Related: 18 Benefits and Objectives of Marketing Control (Explained).
4. Manufacturer’s Salesman
Manufacturer’s salesman is those salesmen who are appointed, controlled, and paid by the manufacturers.
They supplement the selling efforts of wholesalers and retailers and also to supply first-hand information to the manufacturer about the markets.
In fact, all the salesmen already discussed fall under this category.
These salesmen naturally must be imaginative and aggressive in selling the product.
On the basis of the nature of work, this salesman can be divided into:
- Pioneer Salesman (already discussed above)
- The salesman who really resell goods to the wholesalers, distributors, and dealers. This type of salesman requires a good deal of training and should be able to achieve high sales volume. They are not a creative salesman. Their main job is to see that the dealers are well satisfied with the flow of goods from the manufacturers.
Related: Top 12 Benefits of International Expansion of Business.
5. Wholesaler’s Salesman
Such a salesman is appointed, controlled, and paid by the wholesaler.
He supplies the goods of the wholesaler to the scattered retailers and thus makes contracts with retailers.
His job is comparatively easy as the retailers are more responsible for increasing sales.
Even then, he is to introduce new goods and assure a market for retailers.
Related: 29 Important Services of Wholesaler in Marketing (Explained).
Most of the services rendered by the wholesaler’s salesman are of routine nature such as regular meetings with the retailers, collecting and supplying information for the wholesaler, guiding the wholesaler for extending credit to retailers, establishing liaison between retailers and Consumers, and helping retailers to arrange displays and demonstrations.
6. Retailers Salesman
The salesman who works at the shop of the retailer is the retailer’s salesman.
His area of operation is limited within the four walls of the shop. He sells the goods only at the counter of the shop.
Therefore, he is sometimes called a counter salesman. He attends the customers who come to the shop. He requires no special skill and training.
He need not be a creative salesman. He is simply an order Tekken an order executor. He is also referred to as an order feeling salesman.
A counter salesman must possess the following Personal qualities, like, courtesy and good manners, prompt attention, guide in the selection of goods, not to indulge in unnecessary arguments, quick and smart.
Related: 13 Main Types of Retailers in Marketing (With Examples).
7. Outdoor Salesman
The counter salesman may also be known as an indoor salesman. A salesman may also be an outdoor salesman.
An outdoor salesman may be a person who moves out from place to place to sell the product. He is generally known as a travelling salesman.
His job is to create customers and demand, and also take orders. He converts a prospect into customers. He is a creative salesman.
He must also possess all the qualities of an indoor salesman.
8. Specialty Salesman
Specialty goods are high priced and durable goods. They are not purchased very often and need personal selection and attention from the buyers.
Examples of such goods are Sewing Machines, washing machines, television sets, refrigerators, etc.
This requires specialty salesman who has a considerable amount of initiative, drive, product knowledge, etc.
He should be given extensive training in the art of salesmanship. These salesmen are helped by proper advertising and marketing research.
9. Staple Salesman
Staple articles are those articles which are common in use such as food items, clothes, stationery, etc. staple salesman is those who are busy in selling staple goods.
These articles are sold in bulk. The salesman needs not to create the demand for such articles but they are already desired by the customers.
This kind of goods requires intensive distribution and a long chain of middlemen.
Related: 17 Powerful Consumer Sales Promotion Techniques (Explain).
The area of operation of the staple salesman is very limited. His job may be difficult if the market in that item is competitive.
10. Exporter’s Salesman
In foreign trade, a large number of problems on account of different nationalities, currency, etc., are present.
The problem of finding a market for the product where the manufacturer is new and has no roots in foreign countries is all the more difficult.
In this trade, special agencies known as ‘indent house’ or ‘trading house’ work as an agent as well as ‘middleman’ for the manufacturers. For the import of goods, these indent houses render valuable services.
Thus, different types of salesmen serve different types of Business and render valuable services in selling.
Thus, it is clear that personal selling is the most important of all the marketing efforts of an enterprise because, through personal selling, the consumers are encouraged to buy the product.
Therefore, you know all types of salesman for selling products in marketing.
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