Salesmanship

Definition:

According to W.G Carter, “Salesmanship is in attempt to induce people to buy goods.” According to the National Association of Marketing Teachers of America, “It is the ability to persuade people to buy goods or services at a profit to the seller and benefit to the buyer.”

Duties of a Salesman:

1. The principal duty is to make sales of products or services.

2. He has to do the assigned duty (travelling).

3. He has to make collection of bills relating to sale.

4. He has to make report-Sales made, Calls made, Services rendered, customers lost, competition and any other matters, relating to firm.

5. All complainants must be satisfied peacefully.

6. He has to attend sales meetings.

7. A salesman with his experience must supply information in order to solve problems relating to product or the firm.

8. He must maintain a good relation with the customers.

9. He must assist the customers to make good selection.

10. He must develop goodwill for the firm and the products.

11. He must have cooperative habits.

12 He takes periodic inventories of the stocks.

Characteristics or the Qualities of a Successful Salesman:

1. Establishing good relationship with a variety of people.

2. Learning quickly and adapting smoothly.

3. Planning ahead and efficiently managing his time and efforts.

4. Working hard to achieve his goals, dedicating himself to provide long-term service, rather than having a get-rich-quick attitude.

5. Communicating clearly both in speech and in writing.

6. Thinking analytically and learning to break problems down to their basic components.

7. Producing constantly both in quality and quantity rather than performing erratically.

8. Persisting steadily his goal and not giving up easily.

9. Possessing and living up to high moral characteristics that enable people to admire, respect and trust him.

Types of Sales man

(1)  Manufacturer’s salesman

(2)  Wholesaler’s salesman,

(3)  Retail salesman,

(4)  Specialty salesman,

(5)  Industrial salesman, and

(6)  The exporter’s salesman

 

(1) Manufacturer’s Salesman:

He is employed to sell goods directly to the consumers, wholesalers or retailers.

He deals in limited number of products and possesses specialised knowledge about the same. A manufacturer salesman can be of three types.

(a) Pioneer Salesman:

He is primarily concerned with the sale of the new product. He is very competent and creative in his job.

(b) Dealer Serving Salesman:

He supplies goods of his manufacturer to various dealers. He also imparts training to the salesmen of the dealers.

(c) Specialty Salesman:

He sells the manufacturer’s products directly to the consumers. He usually undertakes costly items like washing machines, televisions and calculators etc. He tells the consumers about the use of the product by giving practical demonstration. He should be expert and well trained in his job.

(2) Wholesaler’s Salesman:

He is appointed by the wholesaler and deals with the retailers. He informs the retailers about the availability of various products with the wholesaler and helps them in selecting the articles. A wholesaler’s salesman is of two type’s viz., indoor and outdoor salesman.

Indoor salesman serves the retailers at the wholesaler’s premises and supplies them goods, whereas outdoor salesman goes to various retailers in order to collect their orders.

(3) Retailer’s Salesman:

He is appointed by the retailer and deals directly with the consumers. He caters to the needs of the consumers both at the retailer’s business place and attending the consumers at their place. He also distributes free samples of the goods to the consumers and also gives them practical demonstration of the products.

A retailer’s salesman can be either creative or service salesman. A creative salesman is concerned with introducing a new product in the market whereas the service salesman is concerned with maintaining the demand of the existing products in the market.

(4) Specialty Salesman

A salesman required to sell specialty goods must have great imagination and perseverance as the salesmanship involved is highly creative. A specialty article is generally of high price, is irregular from the point of view of time of purchase, and involves personal selection on the part of the purchaser.

(5) The Industrial Salesman

The industrial salesman sells to industries or manufacturers or business houses. Technical service is generally required in case of the sale of technical products. It is often the salesman’s job to communicate technical innovations.

(6) The Importer’s Salesman and Indent Business

The responsibility of the exporter’s salesman, that is, a salesman who specialises in the export of goods of his company, is very complex. He has to supply the needs of foreign markets and has, therefore, to select very carefully the distributors for the goods.

The distributor must be given adequate and complete information about the product and should be even assisted in analysing the market.