decoration16.Selling

Selling

Selling skills

can be very useful to you in your personal life. For example, have

you ever wanted to use someone else

’

s car? You had to use selling skills to

persuade

the owner to let you use it. When you

apply for a job

, you should really be trying to

persuade the

employer that

you will be a

good

employee.

If

you run

for an elected

office in an organization, you are really trying to sell yourself to others. You are trying

to

convince

people that you have good ideas and will provide the type of leadership

needed by that organization. Selling involves persuading others to accept your ideas

or your advice.

Selling

skills

are

also

important

in

most

jobs.

Business

managers

want

to

hire

people

who

are

creative,

who

work

well

with

others,

and

who

contribute

to

the

success of their business. In the world of business, selling is a very important function.

Business owners use selling skills to gain acceptance from customers and employees

about store policies and procedures. Successful salespeople use selling skills to assist

customers in making wise buying decisions.

What Is Selling?

Selling

involves

the

art

of

communicating

effectively

with

people---simply

explaining

how

a

product

or

service

will

benefit

the

customer.

Customers

will

not

purchase

a

product

or

service

until

they

are

convinced

that

they

will

benefit

from

owning that product or service. The salesperson needs to explain, advise and generally

help the customer. In fact, his most important job is to assist the customer in making a

wise buying decision. The word selling is defined as:

1.

assisting the customer, and

2.

helping the customer make a wise buying decision

Assisting the Customers

Business

in

America

today

is

very

competitive.

In

our

free

enterprise

system

,

there are many businesses that sell similar products

and services.

For example,

you

can

purchase

a

pair

of

jeans

from

a

department

store,

a

women

’

s

or

men

’

s

apparel

shop,

a specialty store

, or

a discount store

. Because customers can purchase the same

product

or

service

from

more

than

one

business,

it

is

important

that

businesses

provide polite, friendly service to

customers.

If customers do not receive polite and

capable

help

from

salespeople

at

a

business,

they

may

decide

to

purchase

from

another business. Salespeople make sure they provide the help customers expect.

Helping the Customer Make a Wise Buying Decision

The most important responsibility of any salesperson is to help customers make

wise

buying

decisions.

Customers

have

made

wise

buying

decisions

when

they

receive benefits from the products or services they have purchased. These benefits are

called

buyer benefits

. A buyer benefit is the gain or personal benefit customers receive

from the products or services they purchase. The salesperson

’

s job is to make sure his

customers purchase the products or services which will most benefit them.

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The Importance of Selling

Selling is important to our economy, to business, and to the American people. In

order

to

understand

its

importance,

you

need

to

be

familiar

with

some

basic

facts

about each

segment

of the American economy.

The economy of our country is divided into three phases: production, marketing,

and

consumption.

Production

refers

to

the

physical

creation

of

goods

and

services.

Farming,

mining,

fishing,

lumbering,

and

manufacturing

make

up

the

production

phase

of

our

economy.

Thousands

of

goods

and

services

are

produced

each

year.

These goods and services, however, do not sell themselves. After goods and services

have

been

produced,

they

must

be

made

available

to

consumers

for

purchase.

Marketing

is the process through which goods and services flow from the producer to

the

consumer.

Wholesalers

and

retailers

make

up

the

marketing

phase

of

our

economy.

Selling

is

the

most

important

marketing

function

performed

by

retail

and

wholesale businesses. Wholesalers buy from producers and sell to retailers. Retailers

buy from producers and wholesalers and sell to consumers. Consumers are the users

of goods and services in our society. The process of using goods and services is called

consumption

.

What contribution does selling make to our economy? The role of selling in our

society is to

identify

and provide the goods and services that will

satisfy the needs and

wants

of

the

consumer

.

Manufacturers,

wholesalers,

and

retailers

all

depend

on

customers

to

purchase

products

and

services.

When

a

business

’

s

sale

declines

,

the

company usually reduces the number of its employees. The jobs of the many people

who

produce

and

provide

goods

and

services,

therefore,

depend

on

successful

salespeople.

When

customers

purchase

products

and

services,

they

help

create

employment

in

manufacturing,

wholesaling,

and

retailing.

Full

employment

in

our

country

creates

additional

purchasing

power

for

our

consumers.

Selling,

therefore,

assists in

maintaining the high standard of living

enjoyed in our country.

What

contribution

does

selling

make

to

a

business?

The

role

of

business

in

society

is

to

provide

the

types

of

products

and

services

which

consumers

need

and

want.

It

is

the job

of the salesperson, as

the business

’

s representative, to

satisfy the

customers

’

needs

and

wants.

Salespeople,

and

the

manner

in

which

they

treat

customers, can really determine the success or failure of most business.

What contribution does selling make to the American consumer? Salespeople are

often

the

only

contact

a

customer

has

with

a

business.

Salespeople

represent

the

business

to

the customer.

They should offer sincere, honest,

friendly, and courteous

service to customers. The salesperson

’

s job is to make sure the customer benefits from

purchasing a product or service. Salespeople can save customers time and money by

providing

product

information,

showing

how

a

product

or

service

will

benefit

the

customer, and making sure customers purchase the products and services which will

best meet their needs and wants.

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