Salesmanship or qualities of a salesperson
The purpose of all business is to sell and
earn profits. They sell a product, service or an idea. To increase sales and
boost profits advertisements and sales-persons are there. They are the two
aspects of the same coin. A salesman does the same job in person which an
advertisement does impersonally. Both are indispensable for success in business
and millions and millions of rupees are spent on these heads. Good sales-persons
are now as essential as a meaningful and result-oriented advertisement. No
businessman, worth his name, can think of doing without them.
A sales-person is like an ambassador and
representative of a business and much depends on his or her success. A salesman
may remain at the shop or showroom, pay visit to houses or go on a tour from
town to town and village to village. However, his purpose and function remain
the same. He has to advertise, highlight the qualities of a product and sell the
goods of his company. He has to persuade the people to buy his goods. he has to
exercise a kind of magic to hypnotize the people to buy. He describes his
products or services in such a way that it appeals the buying instinct of the
people he comes in contact during his rounds.
A good salesman's purpose is to locate the
potential buyers and urge them to buy. The salesmen visit the houses, meet the
people, have an encounter with them and try to make them feel the need to buy
what they are offering them to sell. He or she is made to feel by them that
there is an occasion to grab the opportunity which if once missed would be
missed for ever. A sales man has to be persuasive, polite and smart to arouse
the interest of the buyers in his products. He has to be a kind of psychologist
to create goodwill about his company and its products.
A salesman also helps the buyers to make a
choice between many different products. In these days of mass production of
consumer goods by many reputed companies, the customer feels confused. He or she
may not be able to make a quick and right decision. He suffers from a kind of
indecision and hesitation and sometimes may procrastinate the buying. A good
salesman has to take full advantage of the situation. He explains, underlines
the various qualities of the products he is selling he emphasizes the
comparative advantages of buying them then and there or in near future. He
believes in beating the iron when it is really hot. He assures the buyer of
getting full return for his money. He assures of a very good after-sales service
if the product is durable consumer item. But he will not allow the opportunity
to slip. He has to use many weapons of strategy to push up the sales and thereby
boost the profits of the company. he may use the offer of a discount, a gift a
gift hamper, buy now and pay later etc as his weapons.
In order to motivate the people to buy your
goods you have to be very professional and use all the tricks found in the book.
Salesmanship is both an art and technique. it requires a specialization and
aptitude. It should be taught as a subject in schools and colleges. Everybody
cannot be a good and successful sales person. it is through the art of
salesmanship that even a new product can be a roaring success within no time.
Salesman help in building a brand image, reputation and goodwill of a business
as nothing else can do. Many companies and their products are today household
names because of their very efficient advertisements and salesmanship
strategies.
A good and successful salesman is supposed to
have many qualities of head and heart. He should be very smart, attractive,
alert, hardworking and healthy. He should have a liking for travel, tours,
visits and outdoor activates. He should be polite, courteous, persuasive,
friendly and sympathetic so that the customer feels at ease while at the shop or
the showroom. He should be a good conversationalist and able to reason out
things satisfactorily. Pleasing manners are always an asst for a salesman.
Patience and perseverance are other qualities
which a good salesman should have in abundance. Patience pays handsomely and
perseverance has its own need in salesmanship. A salesman serves the customers
with smile and never feels irritated even if a customer does not buy anything at
all after being shown many items. A seasoned salesman is a bit of psychologist
and tries to exploit the customer's psychology in making him purchase the item.
He never admits defeat nor says die. If a customer does not buy now, the
salesman feels he would surely the next time. He tries to win over the customers
for future purchases. His endeavor is always to satisfy the customers ad create
goodwill which pays good dividends in the long run.
A salesman has to be always active and on his
toes. Good salesmen and women are great assets to a business. They are
professionals and specialized persons in the field of salesmanship. They are
paid very handsomely for their labors and are in great demand.