Personal selling is the selling approach that involves studying the target customer in advance, meeting them with a well-developed product presentation, handling objections, and closing. As with any other approach, it entails its advantages and disadvantages that are usually associated with the process of direct interaction with the customer. Any critical analysis of such also needs to account for the internal resistance a customer might feel in response to the attempt to be persuaded to buy something.
The advantages of personal selling are numerous, granting the approach its logical popularity. A sales manager’s meeting a customer in person results in face-to-face communication that allows the business party to adjust the argument and persuade more effectively. Furthermore, it creates opportunities to build a relationship with a customer opening the doors for further collaboration in the future. It is also easier to obtain feedback when there occurs a direct transaction on the spot of a meeting.
The disadvantages of personal selling mainly focus on the potentially aggressive approach of salespeople and high resource-associated requirements. As personal selling demands the presence of a salesperson on the spot of the deal, the cost of its human resources is incredibly high. Consecutively, this approach is inefficient in terms of the number of customers per day and therefore is not fit for any mass production business. Finally, the two-person nature of the business-customer relationship in personal selling makes it easy to jeopardize since there is no middleman or mediator involved in the process.
Overall, as with any approach, personal selling cannot be used as a one-size-fits-all solution. Its benefits and drawbacks are logical and balanced, making further assessment necessary for any particular case. Certain business models would definitely benefit from personal selling more than others. Particularly, when a seller makes high-quality personalized objects per order and works on a commission-based system, personal selling is the best and the only way to go.