The Ultimate Guide to Personal Selling [Types, Steps, Benefits]

Sales is a relay race.

Billboards, promotional videos, content, and brochures – strong marketing tactics take you to the 300m mark.

The last thing you want is to hand a hot lead to a robotic sales pitch…

… when you'd rather be handing the baton to Usain Bolt, who'll take your team into first place and close the deal.

And in this metaphor, personal selling = Usain Bolt.

Through personal selling techniques, your sales reps can create meaningful human interactions with prospects, build solid relationships, and close deals.

So give us a couple of minutes of your time, and we'll:

• Explain what personal selling is
• Cover its three most important advantages
• Walk you through the five-step personal selling process
• Give you three personal selling tips and two examples

Let's get to it.

What Is Personal Selling?

Personal selling is a sales strategy that humanizes the selling process. It makes the interaction between the prospect and the sales rep warmer and more authentic, which tends to improve close rates.

Traditionally, personal selling was only implemented in face-to-face meetings, but companies can now leverage these techniques in remote selling processes thanks to modern technology.

The purpose of personal selling is to build trust with the prospect, then persuade them to buy the product.

Within the small-talk, storytelling, and personalized interactions, prospects feel more comfortable that the person they're dealing with is genuine and trustworthy.

And during these conversations, the sales reps can influence the prospects to increase the likelihood of a purchase.

The 3 Types of Personal Selling Reps

As you probably guessed from this section's heading, there are three types of sales representatives that benefit from personal selling:

Let's take a closer look.

Order Takers

Order takers, as the name suggests, take orders. Or, in other words, the customers approach them.

They come in two different categories:

• Inside order takers
• Outside order takers

The most common example of an inside order taker is a retail assistant. Customers come to the store with an idea of what they want. An order taker helps determine their needs and points them in the right direction.

For example, a retail assistant in a shoe store might suggest a type of shoe based on the customer's needs, or they might help find the correct size.

On the other hand, an outside order taker is a salesperson who visits customers. They are not, however, responsible for persuading the customer to purchase – they simply drop by to take orders.

Order Getters

These are salespeople that reach out to prospective customers and sell to them.

Order getters make cold calls, send cold emails, research potential prospects, and visit clients on-site. Their job is to bring new customers to the business.

This group benefits the most from personal selling – regardless of whether or not they meet with prospects in person.

Personal selling strategies, like personalizing emails and automating as many admin tasks as possible to free up more time for sales conversations, help order getters humanize the sales interactions while still juggling a large number of prospects.

And these tactics work for any type of order getters, including:

• Account managers: They oversee a company's relationship with a specific customer. They keep them updated on all developments, whether it's new products or special discounts.
• Business development managers: These salespeople research new industries and markets in search of possible expansions. They are constantly looking for new growth opportunities and business relationships.
• Telemarketers: Telemarketers reach out to a list of prospective leads to qualify prospects and nurture them towards a sale.

Order Creators

This type of sales rep doesn't sell directly to the end consumer.

They create orders for the companies, and it's a common method in B2B selling.

An example of an order creator is a salesperson employed by a publisher. They contact college professors, for example, and persuade them to recommend specific books in their courses.

If they succeed, the professors recommend the books, and then the students become the company's customers.

The Personal Selling Process

The personal selling process can be broken down into several key stages, each of which plays a crucial role in successful sales outcomes.

1. Prospecting: Identifying Potential Customers

The first step involves identifying individuals or businesses who might be interested in what you're selling. This could involve attending industry events, networking, or utilizing lead generation tools to find potential customers, also known as prospects.

2. Pre-Approach: Researching and Planning Before Making Contact

Once you have a list of prospects, take time to research their needs, challenges, and buying habits. This research equips you to tailor your approach and presentation to resonate with each prospect's specific situation.

3. Approach: Making the Initial Contact

The approach stage is your chance to make a positive first impression. This could be a cold call, an introductory email, or a face-to-face meeting at a networking event. The key is to establish rapport, pique the prospect's interest, and schedule a more in-depth conversation.

4. Presentation: Presenting the Product or Service

This is your moment to showcase the value proposition of your product or service. Focus on how your offering addresses the prospect's specific needs and pain points. Use clear, concise language, highlight key features and benefits, and leverage storytelling to connect with the prospect on an emotional level.

5. Handling Objections: Addressing Concerns and Questions

It's natural for potential customers to have questions and concerns. This is your chance to actively listen, address objections head-on, and provide clear, confident answers that demonstrate the value of your product or service.

6. Closing the Sale: Finalizing the Transaction

Once you've addressed objections and the prospect seems interested, guide them towards a buying decision. Present clear calls to action, offer incentives if applicable, and ultimately ask for the sale with confidence.

7. Follow-Up: Ensuring Customer Satisfaction and Building Relationships

The sale doesn't end after the deal is closed. Following up with customers ensures satisfaction, builds trust, and opens doors for future sales. Express gratitude for their business, address any questions or concerns, and offer ongoing support.

The 6 Advantages of Personal Selling

So how does personal selling help these three different types of reps?

In six distinct ways:

1. Fosters better two-way communication

With most forms of advertising and selling, companies choose the tone and language of their advertisements in advance and hope for the best.

They only find out how well the customers responded to their messaging after the process has finished and they start analyzing the campaign's results.

Basically, they're sending messages into deep space, hoping someone will respond.

But with personal selling, sales reps don't have that problem. The prospect is on the other end of the line, and sales reps can quickly see if they're responding to the pitch.

If they are – great. If not, the sales reps can adjust.

They can ask questions, make the prospect laugh, and try every sales tactic they know to close the deal. Sales reps can also listen to what the customer says and what they don't say.

That allows sales reps to tailor each interaction to the prospect and their stage in the buyer journey.

2. Builds higher levels of trust

Did you know that 40% of US sales professionals rank trust as the #1 factor in closing deals?

Well, if the prospect can have a conversation with the seller – if they can ask questions and have a frank conversation – it's bound to be more effective than one-way campaigns that often don't answer all their questions or treat them like an individual.

Personal selling establishes trust between the seller and the prospect, and that trust guides the prospect's decision to buy.

3. Offers an opportunity for honest feedback

Over the course of a conversation with a prospective buyer, a salesperson can gather a lot of actionable information. With the help of software, they can even track every aspect of their sales performance.

Part of the feedback is for the salesperson themselves – how to craft their pitches, which approach they should use, their tone, and their language.

But part of the feedback is about the product or service – the most common objections.

Maybe the prospects have a problem with the price. Or maybe the advertising campaign failed to properly communicate the product or service's benefits.

In many ways, personal selling can be a form of detailed customer research. It's a direct point of contact between the company and the customers, providing companies with an invaluable opportunity to gather customer feedback and make decisions based on their opinions.

Higher Conversion Rates

Direct interaction with prospects allows salespeople to tailor their approach to each individual's needs and preferences, addressing any concerns or objections in real-time. This personalized engagement significantly increases the likelihood of converting prospects into customers.

In fact, McKinsey and Company research found that effective personalization can increase revenues by up to 15% and improve marketing ROI by up to 30%.

Personalized Interaction

Unlike mass marketing techniques, personal selling allows for a one-on-one interaction between salesperson and customer. This personalized approach fosters a deeper understanding of the customer's situation and needs. Salespeople can customize their pitches, answer specific questions, and build rapport, all of which contribute to a more positive buying experience.

Enhanced Customer Understanding

Personal selling goes beyond just making a sale. Through conversations with prospective buyers, salespeople can gather valuable insights. This information can be used to:

• Fosters Better Two-Way Communication: Personal selling facilitates enhanced customer understanding through better two-way communication. Unlike other marketing methods that often involve one-way communication, personal selling allows for a dialogue between the salesperson and the prospect. This exchange of information helps salespeople gain deeper insights into the customer's needs, preferences, and pain points.
• Builds Higher Levels of Trust: Effective personal selling builds higher levels of trust between the salesperson and the customer. When salespeople take the time to listen to their prospects, address their concerns, and provide honest, valuable information, it fosters a sense of trust and credibility. Trust is a crucial factor in influencing buying decisions, and personal selling excels at establishing and nurturing this trust.

Customer Retention and Loyalty

Throughout a conversation with a prospective buyer, a salesperson can gather a lot of actionable information. With the help of software, they can even track every aspect of their sales performance. Part of the feedback is for the salesperson themselves – how to craft their pitches, which approach they should use, their tone, and their language. But part of the feedback is about the product or service – the most common objections.

For instance, maybe the prospects have a problem with the price. Or maybe the advertising campaign failed to properly communicate the product or service's benefits. By addressing these issues directly, salespeople can improve customer satisfaction and build loyalty. Additionally, the personalized attention and follow-up provided in personal selling contribute to a stronger, long-term relationship with the customer, encouraging repeat business and referrals.

Competitive Advantage

In markets where products or services are similar, the ability to differentiate through personalized interaction and superior customer service can be a decisive factor. Salespeople who excel at personal selling can create a unique value proposition for their customers, setting their business apart from competitors. This competitive edge can be crucial in gaining and maintaining market share.

Flexibility and Adaptability

The beauty of personal selling lies in its adaptability. Unlike static marketing materials, personal selling allows salespeople to do the following:

• Salespeople can modify their sales pitches based on the customer's responses and interests during the conversation.
• Personal selling allows businesses to quickly adapt to changes in market conditions and customer preferences.

The 5-Step Personal Selling Process

You need to implement the five-step personal selling process:

Need a few more details than that?

Here you go – all the juicy details:

1. Identify the prospective buyer

During the first step of the personal selling process, salespeople must identify the industries and companies that could benefit from their product or service.

After they have identified the company, they need to go into research mode – they have to find the company decision-makers and dig up information about them that might help them craft their sales strategy.

And since the success of the rest of the sales process depends on the research the sales reps conduct, it's no wonder that:

• 40% of sales reps agree that prospecting is the hardest part of the sales process
• Top sellers spend an average of 6 hours per week researching their prospects.

But despite the difficulties, there are strategies sales reps can adopt.

Scouring the prospect's social media pages for useful information is a good start. Finding if they've earned any accolades for their work could be helpful – people love a compliment – and unearthing their perspectives by reading any articles they've written or contributed to is another smart personal selling strategy.

Last of all, conferences and trade shows can be a good place to get some face-to-face time with the prospect and learn more about them.

2. Contact

After they've identified the decision-maker, the salesperson has to contact them.

They can do this in a number of different ways – their approach is usually determined by what they've learned during the research stage.

They can approach the prospect in person. Conferences and trade shows often represent the optimum avenues for this tactic.

But this isn't a tactic that can be scaled easily. Sales reps don't have the time to personally chase down every prospect.

It's a good thing they don't have to.

Sales reps can opt for cold calling or cold emailing instead. By using a CRM, they can track their communications with the prospects and personalize their outreach campaigns to stay on top of every lead without making it seem like a robot wrote their emails.

3. Present

After the sales rep has made first contact and earned the prospect's attention, it's time to present their product or service.

Sales reps may demonstrate the product in action and offer the option of live demos to the prospect, but the main focus should be communicating the product's or service's benefits to the prospect.

The prospects are often more interested in why they should buy than what they are buying.

Will it improve their bottom line? Increase efficiency? Make it easier to scale their business?

The sales reps have to find the benefit the prospect will respond to and highlight it repeatedly.

Then they also have to add an emotional element to the pitch. What happens if the prospect doesn't buy the product? Sales reps can easily create urgency.

They can also create a fear of missing out (FOMO) by revealing that the prospect's competitors are already in the process of buying the same product or service.

These tactics all come into play during presentations.

4. Overcome objections

It doesn't matter how revolutionary the product or service the sales rep is offering – every prospect will have at least some doubts and objections.

Sales reps have to prepare answers and strategies to overcome these objections if they want to close the deal.

Sometimes it's not only the content of the sales reps' answers that can help determine their success. For example, a study found that top performers, when handling objections, utter 176 words per minute. Average performers utter 188 words per minute.

That might tell us that top performers remain calm and at ease. But they also implement other tactics in their objection handling.

For one, the top performers practice active listening. They try to understand the prospect's concern and often repeat back what they heard to ensure they understood the objection correctly.

When they know the exact nature of the objection, they move to overcome it. Let's say the prospect is worried about the price of the product. This is the point where the sales rep might go into further detail to explain the ROI of the product or point out how much money the company will save in expenses if they acquire it.

Sales objections are an inevitable part of the sales process. Every sales rep should expect them and prepare.

5. Close the deal

63% of all sales interactions end without the sales reps asking for the sale.

In some cases, that's probably because the sales rep knows the deal won't happen. But sometimes, they wait too long.

So if the sales rep has presented the product or service and overcome all objections, they have to pull the trigger.

But how does that look in practice? Just ask for the sale and hope for the best?

Not exactly. There are tactics salespeople can use.

They can create a sense of urgency. Offering a one-time-only discount that expires at the end of the day is one way to convince the prospect to close the deal.

Then there's the tailor-made option. If the prospect is complaining about the cost, remove a feature and lower the price.

Then there's the closing tactic that comes in the form of a question. After you've ticked off all the boxes, addressed all the concerns, and explained all the features, you merely ask them if they need anything else before they can buy the product.

3 Personal Selling Tips

1. Use personal selling only when necessary

Personal selling requires time and effort from your employees. This translates into higher expenses for your company.

For this reason, every company should examine its products and services to decide if they're suited for personal selling.

Here are the scenarios in which a company should adopt personal selling:

1. They offer highly technical products that require substantial investment and learning
2. Their products require a live demonstration
3. They serve a small number of high-value customers

2. Optimize your lead qualification

As we mentioned above, sales prospecting and researching potential customers is considered by many to be the hardest part of their job.

That's why companies must invest in practices that make it easier.

Creating Ideal Customer Profiles is a good starting point. They can help sales reps in their search for companies and decision-makers that fit their products or services.

3. Tell stories

Here's a statistic worth remembering – after a presentation, 63% of people remember a story, but only 5% remember a statistic.

Stories are a great way to take your product or service and place it in a broader context.

That's why sales reps should tell stories about their products or services that reveal the benefits they offer to companies and show what they look like in action.

Final Thoughts on Personal Selling

Personal selling has gone through a bit of a transformation. Salespeople don't knock on people's doors as much as they used to, but that doesn't mean that the principles traditional salespeople established can't be adjusted to the modern era.

With CRM software like Ringy, you can ensure that your sales reps stay on top of every customer communication and deliver a tailored buying experience to all your customers.

So contact Ringy today to request a demo or visit our website to learn more about our CRM!