CHAPTER 1: Introduction
Marketing is a defined as the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals (AMA, American Marketing Association).Personal selling is part of the promotional mix, and the role which it plays in a firm can easily be seen from its importance. Personal selling is essentially the revenue generation of industrial producers. Personal selling is an aspect of salesmanship, in which there is a direct face to face interaction between a seller and the buyer to effect exchange of facts for making buying decision.
It is through sales representatives that firms know the needs and wants of buyers in order to know what to produce. But it is not enough to produce goods and service that satisfy human wants but also the goods and services must be passed to the user for production to complete. This is where the personal selling strategies come in. The salesperson has to communicate to the buyer by persuading and creating awareness for the product to be desired. The product so advertised has all the potential to satisfy the need of the prospect more than competitive product in the market through personal selling than other types of awareness creation for a product, like advertising, public relation, sales promotion etc.
This is because, personal selling is a face-to-face communication, which has the potential to convince the buyer and demonstrate the workability of the product in terms of its quality and features. Advertising, sales promotion and publicity is a fertile ground for personal selling to excel by persuading and informing the target buyer about the product the company is offering. Companies that deals on industrial products need salesmen to help them analyze the needs of customers.
Personal selling enables marketers to make their presentation to fit the needs, wants, motives and behavior of individual customer. Personal selling is an effective tool used by organizations to receive the desired response from its customers and prospects. Effective personal selling includes effective communication, education of customers on product usage, problem solving stimulating and motivating and ultimately soliciting for favorable response. For any firm that produces industrial products to succeed in its competitive environment, it must adopt personal selling as its number one promotional tool.
The selling of industrial products through personal selling enable the salesperson to convince the potential customer through face-to-face interaction and ensure that the potential customer like the company’s products and preference to other competing products and parts with his her money for the product. Håkan Håkansson & IMP Group. (1982).
1.1 Background of the Study
Companies that deals on industrial products need salesmen to help them analyze the needs of customers.
Personal selling enables marketers to make their presentation to fit the needs, wants, motives and behavior of individual customer. Personal selling is an effective tool used by organizations to receive the desired response from its customers and prospects. Effective personal selling includes effective communication, education of customers on product usage, problem solving stimulating and motivating and ultimately soliciting for favorable response. For any firm that produces industrial products to succeed in its competitive environment, it must adopt personal selling as its number one promotional tool.
The selling of industrial products through personal selling enable the salesperson to convince the potential customer through face-to-face interaction and ensure that the potential customer like the company’s products and preference to other competing products and parts with his her money for the product. The study therefore is focused on the appraisal of personal selling practice and enhanced sales of industrial products among businesses in Lagos metropolis. Kristian Möller, David T Wilson (1995)
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Personal selling provides customers the opportunity to receive personal attention. This is to enable the sales person understand the needs of the customer and make an effective sale. The marketing manager can customize the sales message accordingly depending upon the needs and types of customers which provides a two-way communication process. The sales team has a good opportunity to respond directly and promptly to any of the customer’s queries and concerns. Personal selling helps in passing on large amounts of technical data or other complex product information to the customers. This indirectly educates the customers and updates them on latest happenings on the industry, company and new products. Frequent meetings between sales force and customers provide an opportunity to build long-term relationships. However the significance and importance attached to personal selling requires that the salesperson possess the competence to carry out this functions. Experience reveals that many salesperson fail in this regards. The inability to communicate effectively, understand product technical functions and handle customer enquiries and complaints undermines the use of personal selling to promote industrial products. Despite company huge investment in financial motivations many salesperson have not been able to enhance the required sale volume of industrial product. Therefore the problem confronting this research is to investigate personal selling practice and enhanced sales of industrial products among businesses in Lagos metropolis
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
1 To determine the nature of industrial product
2 To determine the nature of personal selling in promoting industrial product
3 To determine the effect of personal selling in the enhancement of the promotion of industrial product.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1 What is the nature of industrial product?
2 What is the nature of personal selling practice in the sale of industrial
Product
3 What is the effect of personal selling practice in enhancing the promotion of industrial product in Lagos Metropolis?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PRODUCT
The study shall proffer a structural appraisal of the nature of personal selling practice in the promotion of industrial product.
The study shall appraise the effect of personal selling in the promotion of industrial product
It serves as a useful source of information on issues of the application of personal selling in industrial product promotion.
1.6 STATEMENT OF THE HYPOTHESIS
1 Ho The sale of industrial product in among businesses in Lagos metropolis is low
Hi The sale of industrial product among businesses in Lagos metropolis is high
2 Ho The level of personal selling practices among businesses in Lagos metropolis is low.
Hi The level of personal selling practices among businesses in Lagos metropolis is high.
3 Ho The effect of personal selling practices in enhancing the promotion of industrial product among business in Lagos metropolis is low.
HI The effect of personal selling practices in enhancing the promotion of industrial product among businesses in Lagos metropolis is high.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study focuses on the appraisal of personal selling practice and
Enhanced sales of industrial products among businesses in Lagos metropolis.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
INDUSTRIAL GOODS: This is goods destined to be sold for the purpose of output for further production of other goods and services.
MARKET SHARE: This is a firm’s percentage of the industries total sales.
MARKET POTENTIAL: This is the maximum sales potential for all sellers of a product or service over a fixed period.
PERSONAL SELLING: This is just a direct personal contact with present and prospective customers for the purpose of selling customer need of goods and services.
SALES QUOTA: This is a share of the company’s overall sales job that is assigned to some marketing unit as a means of evaluation of sales activities, it’s planning and control.
SELLING: This is the act of persuading prospective buyers to buy goods and services from which they can derive suitable benefits thereby increasing their total satisfaction
