4.3 Personal selling

Personal selling can be a very powerful means of marketing, perhaps the most powerful a business has at its disposal. A salesperson who talks personally to a potential customer, finds out about their needs and can explain the benefits of the product, is more likely to be successful in making a sale than any advertising, sales promotion or public relations that the business could use instead. Customers also have the opportunity to ask direct questions about the product. However, a sales force also tends to be the most expensive marketing communications tool for a business. Personal selling is therefore mostly used for expensive or highly technical products that need a lengthy decision-making process.