Gathering feedback
Comments that customers give through the feedback, enables the business to know more about what can be done to make the customer satisfied as well as meeting customer’s needs. This way will make the business have a clear idea of how to improve the services or quality of products that is provided by the business.
Benefits
There are some benefits in several ways that can be provided by the personal selling.
The organisation grows because the objectives of the organisation can be met, as both sales and number of customers will get higher.
The employees could have benefits as they can be motivated to work hard and do well, and be awarded of financial rewards for meeting sales targets.
The customers can benefit because they can trust the professional assistance and advice which will help them to get the best goods or services that they need.
The knowledge and skills
Anyone can be a good sales person, several American studies have shown that not everyone has the personal qualities to sell successfully. Potential sales people have particular important qualities, for example being enthusiastic to make your business successful. The skills that are required for being sales person can be learnt and developed.
Body language
Here is a list of some skills and knowledge that are required for personal selling:
Sound product knowledge: Product knowledge is necessary for any salesperson, sales people should be aware enough of the range of products or services on offer to be able to match other aspects, such as performance, price, features and the quality, to the individual needs of each customer.
Use a computer to get information: Knowing how to use the computer is important and the knowledge of using a computer to get information is more important. Some businesses involve people who know how to get information from the computer as most of the businesses at the meanwhile use the Data Base which make it easy to them to get information about the availability of the products in the stock.
Being accurate with numbers: This one of the most important things in personal selling, because it is essential to be accurate with numbers to be able to calculate the revenue, profit and total costs or other calculations such as costs of tax.
Listen well: listening well is also essential to the sales people as the customers need someone who is a good listener and listen well in the event of making a complaint about a service or product without interrupting.
Ability to close sales: sales person should have the skills of how to make the customer interested and buy his product or service. Sales person should know how to attract the customers and make the sales process successful, in way that make the customer persuasive of the product or service offered.
Keep up to date: sales people should be up to date in three ways to make them good sales people, they should be aware of the most recent products and services that their organisation offer, as well as what is coming soon. They must know about their competitors and what they offer, and they also should have an idea of what the latest trends are. This enables them to remain ahead and be in control of the market and use it to meet the future needs of customers.
The legislation that affect personal selling
There is some legislation that affect personal selling and this legislation are to protect the consumer. The legislation that might affect personal selling is as follow;
Sales of Goods Act 1979: If the customer buys goods from a trader, The Sale of Goods Act says they must be:
Of satisfactory quality, which means the product the customer buys should be reasonably reliable.
Fit for purpose, which means it should perform the function the customer bought it to do.
As described, means it should be exactly what the trader told the customer it was.
Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982: This Act extends the rights of customers under the Sale of Goods Act to any goods or materials provided as part of a service or on hire. For example, if taps provided and fitted by a plumber are faulty, customer should be able to claim compensation from the plumber. The Act also states that a person providing a service (for example, a hairdresser or car repairer) must do so:
- With reasonable care and skill.
- Within a reasonable time (if no specific time has been agreed in advance) and
- For a reasonable price (unless a price was agreed in advance).
Consumer Protection Act 1987: This Act covered the safety of consumer goods and also dealt with misleading prices of any item and mislead consumer over sales and inflate price reductions. This Act also says that only safe goods should be put on sale.
Consumer Credit Act 1974: This Act is a consumer protection in law. It requires certain businesses to obtain consumer credit licences and protects individuals receiving credit up to £25,000.
Cancellable agreements have a cooling-off period starting on the day the customer signs. This period is 14 days for goods bought from a mail-order catalogue. Otherwise, it is five days from the day the customer receives either a second copy of the agreement or a separate copy of a notice of cancellation rights.
Trade Descriptions Act 1968
The Act makes it a criminal offence to apply a false trade description to goods. The Act covers descriptions given both verbally and in writing. It covers any factual statement about the physical qualities of the product, e.g. size, capacity, performance, place of manufacture and previous history.
Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) (Amendment) Regulations 2005
The Distance Selling Regulations were first passed in 2000 and amended in 2005, they protect customers who buy goods and services sold over the internet, by email order, by digital television, phone or fax. The protections include:
• The right to receive clear information about goods and services before deciding to buy.
• Confirmation of this information in writing.
• A cooling off period of seven working days in which the consumer can withdraw from the contract.
• Protection from credit card fraud.
Why personal selling need to be aware of this legislation at all time?
Sales people should be aware of this legislation because if they do not, they might be sued and taken to the court if they breached any of the sales goods or the other acts that states the right of customers.
Examples of different situations where legislation might affect personal selling
I will give two different examples where legislation might affect personal selling.
Example1:
If a customer bought a hand watch because it is labeled ‘’water resistant’’ never water gets into it, even if it is left in water of 50 meters’ depth. After that the customer had a shower while he was wearing it and it broke, because the water got into it.
In this case the customer should have a refund and the sales person should do that because his product was not as described. The customer has the right to have a refund or exchanging under the Sales of Goods Act 1979.
Example2:
A customer bought a washing-machine and asked the sales person to deliver it to his home, and will pay for the delivery charge. The washing-machine was delivered after 3 days. When the he removed the protective package, he noticed a crack on the glass door of the washing-machine and reported that to the company. He was told that this is not liable, because he signed the delivery note to say it was ‘’received ok’’.
In this case the customer has the right to have it exchanged under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.
Example 3:
If a customer bought a car which turns out to be faulty or which the customer thinks has been misdescribed by the salesperson, The Sale of Goods Act 1979 states that, if the customer can show the goods to be faulty, not fit for their purpose or misdescribed, he/she has, for a short time after purchase, a right to reject them and get a refund of the purchase price.
