Marketing and Retail Business

Retail Management
Unit II
Door To Door Selling

Objective of this lecture

The basic objective of this study is to focus on:
 Concept of Door to Door Selling
 Impact of Personal Selling on retail business

Door to door selling and personal selling-

Personal selling process refers to a process that occurs when a sales representative meets with a
potential client for the purpose of transacting a sale.
Door to door selling is important even in the modern era of technology and internet. Sometimes
products are very costly, they need impact to interact with the customers and make them
understand how this product is important. So this is where a personal selling becomes essential
and salesmen go to customer and explain the importance of product.
Door to door selling can be related when purchases or investment of e money is very high, like if
you want to buy a policy of 25 lakh rupees, obviously it is not very easy that customer would
come through internet. The customer has to be trained to understand the benefits of e policy and
agent has to go to crystallize such a big deal. If you are in a property or real estate business, so
this would not happen through internet. The door to door selling or personalized selling is
needed. Here is where you have to go to customer, convince him and show the options available
with you. It is not only one visit or one website interaction that would help you to crystallize the
sale. It is many interactions and it is to convince the customer to get his trust and then only the
sales of crore of rupees can be crystallized. Sales processes can be used in for face to face
encounters and telemarketing. So when sales are of less value, you can crystallize through
internet or through telephone but when the sales process does involve lot of money, you need
customized or personalized sales.
• Sales activity can occur in the field by representatives who call on clients, in a retail or
wholesale environment
• Sales personnel attend to customers by processing orders
• Telemarketing environment - sales person makes telephone calls to prospects.
• Different types of sales roles can be identified:
Role of sales representative - when they enter into personalized selling, it is to contact with
customer to crystallize the basic issues or values related to products which the customers are
buying in market.
Different types of sales roles
• Order takers refers to selling that occurs primarily at the wholesale or retail levels to
determine customer needs.
• Order getters refer to field sales representative who makes a sales presentation to win
business to maintain relations with existing clients.
Order takers - when products are very reputed, you get orders automatically because most of
wholesalers and retailers would buy these products to sell it to customers. Order getters - are

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people, who through their personal impact and effort try to convince customers and get orders
from them directly.
Missionary selling
Missionary Selling is often seen as a sales support role. The missionary sales person distributes
information about products or services, describes product attributes and leaves materials but does
not normally close the sale.
Missionary selling - is not done by ordinary sales people. They will have a better role i.e. it is
not only for one year that they have to perform their function. It is association of mission for
creating material, connecting to clients, talking to clients to build brand of the company. With
this course of interaction with the community of customers, they are able to create positive faith
and pulse in the market. So missionary selling is to establish a reputation that you can perform
this function or you are able to provide a quality related to particular product.
Cold calling
• Sales representative telephones or visits a customer without a prior appointment.
• Cold calling is often considered to be the most challenging of the sales activities.
• Sales representative is likely to be more conscious of the client's time
• They seek to condense sales process by combining approach and sales presentation
It becomes important for the companies to tap all resources and all modes and methods of
reaching to customers. Cold calling is one method, where you don’t take any appointment with
customer but directly reach customer according to convenience of time and try to check on
whether he is interested. If interest is there, you can influence customer and win a sale of
product.

Relationship Selling
Relationship selling or consultative selling builds trust and faith for maintaining interactions with
customers by creating long term value of relationships.
There are relationship sellers in the market, who are only managing positive faith with customer.
They are sending e-mails and greetings to customers. They are sending gifts to customers on
festivals and occasions, so that the loyalty is build up with these customers and they are
connected to organization for longer period.
Relationship selling -Relationship selling often involves
• Problem solving approach
• Sales representative acts in a consultative role
• He becomes a partner in the client's problem-solving exercise
• Found in high-tech selling environments.
He maintains relationship for customer. He gets into a connection, which has to imbibe trust and
faith. This faith would generate an environment which may be technologically oriented. Faith is
a connection, where anytime, salesman can create vibe in market to enhance value of products
related to customers.
Steps involved in personal selling
Prospecting -
Identifying prospects or prospecting occurs when the sales person seeks to identify leads or
prospects
People go for door to door selling - It is not that they are walking on roads and knocking each
door but they are tracking online websites. The online data becomes important, what customers

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are surfing, what they are searching. A customer visit to a website, an entry of basic enquiry
would make these people to find prospects and they would call these customers.
There are very good websites like India Mart. If a customer is going, maybe he is searching for
some items, you just enter that website and you will get a call from all the related suppliers. They
will quote prices. May be, you buy or do not buy, but you get connection and get list of people,
who are in business and the customers who are searching for these products. So these websites
do give support in prospecting, which could be potential customers and may be if customer is
associated with you with trust, he can buy products from you.
Sources of identifying prospectus
Sales representatives use a variety of sources such as
• Business directories
• Commercial databases
• Mailing lists
• Lists of lapsed customers.
There are varied sources available in market, from where you can get data like who are
customers, who are users and where your product can be sold. How to get access to customer
becomes important.
Qualifying needs
Qualified leads are those who have
• Need for the product
• Capacity to pay
• Willingness to pay for the product
• Willing to be contacted by the salesperson.
After prospecting, when you have created a list of customers. Then, you have to connect with
the qualified leads. Qualified lead is a person who has potential desire and e power to buy
because may be if there is a desire but he has no financial background, it is waste of time to
contact the customer. So you need to understand people, who can purchase or have potential
interest and basic desire to buy. Then you can connect to customers to crystallize the sales which
happen in a better way in the market.
Pre Approach - refers to the process of preparing for the presentation. This consists of
• Customer research
• Goal planning
• Scheduling an appointment
• Tasks necessary to prepare for the sales presentation.
Now before you contact the lead, it is important for you to do a research, to study who customer
is, where he is residing, what are his interest. Once you know about the customer, then according
to customer needs, you can trader your presentations, find out utilities of productions or models
of productions which can connect with customer needs. So before going to customer, you need to
find out solutions which may be needed, you have to do a presentation before you reach
customer.
Approach refers to stage when salesperson meets with customer to leave an impression on buyer
for his
 Professional conduct
 Attire
 Handshake
 Eye contact for honesty and trust

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Professionalism stage - you leave an impression on customers of your honesty and trust. It may
be sales is not crystallized, impression is left which can connect to this customer for future.
Need assessment - Salespeople should evaluate customer based on need for product.
• Need to reveal prospective client's
• Current situation
• Source of any problems
• Impact of problems
• Benefits of solution
• Client's prior experience with brand
When you reach customer and he has got some interest in product, how do we offer model to
product. This can be done by need assessment to analyze what actually the customer needs,
what is the current situation, what are the problems, what are the impacts and on the basis of his
problems, you can advise a model, which will be best aspect in terms of budget and quality. So
this will be professional and consultative advice from sales person can give benefit to customers
to buy right product.
Handling objects- Customers might
• Question price or value of product
• Dismiss product/service as inadequate
• Avoid making a commitment to buy
• Refuse because of an unknown factor.
• Salespeople should do their best to anticipate objections and respectfully respond to
them.
You have done lot of work on prospecting and designed presentation but still there can be
objections. The customer may refuse or may buy. Even if he is buying, he has objections about
the quality of service; he may dismiss your orientation towards the product. So you have to listen
to customer. Customer is important, so you need to have an approach, which is calm and positive
to support him, even if he is not buying the product. It is not advisable to abuse customer and end
up in a relationship which is negative. Always be positive in relationships that carry your
credibility and trust in the market for future collaboration
Closing- Sales person can seek to gain commitment and close the sale.
• If he is unsure about prospect’s readiness to buy, might consider using a 'trial close.'
Sometimes, it happens that the customer is not giving you commitment. So you may ask him, to
at least try the product and if he is satisfied then only he can come to the buying aspect and can
sign the contract.
Follow up - the salesperson must remember to follow up. Following up will ensure customer
satisfaction and help establish a relationship with the customer.
Whether the sell ended up in a positive way or it ended in a negative way. The follow up is
important for giving thanks and addressing the issues of customers. The customer needs to be
looked after, so we need to understand the problems of customer, even after your total process of
demonstration is closed.
Sales person and closing techniques - The salesperson can use several different techniques to
close sale like:
• Alternative close
• Assumptive close
• Summary close
• Special-offer close

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So it is not always advisable to reach a dissatisfied customer. It is important that if he is not able
to settle on this product, then you can offer an alternative product. You can do that, may be if
you want this, you can make up ground and assumption that he will buy in future. You can build
a basic approach, where customer would relate only to special aspects of needs. If he is not
buying the whole product, he can take some accessories or other aspects of product or he can end
up the relationship by giving him special offer by which he is attracted and connects to you.
Sales presentation in door to door selling
The steps in AIDA process are to grab customers
• Attention
• Ignite interest
• Create desire
• Action
The salesperson can do this through product demonstration
When you go for presentation, the product needs to have those attributes, values, where the
attention or interest of customer is desirable. The customer would only be interested in your
product, if it can offer value and utility to his life in terms of quality and some innovative
aspects.
Types of Sales scripts
• Prescribed scripts- are highly detailed scripts which specify precise phrases to be used
in given situations.
• Prescribed scripts are used in a variety of contexts including direct selling, market
research, and fast food service.
How do you reach the customer? You have prescribed script i.e. you cannot go beyond this, each
and everything in terms of price is written and this prescribed script will help you to solve the
problems of customer.
Advantages and disadvantages of prescribed scripts –Advantages
• Can enable speedy transactions
• Provides uniform delivery.
Disadvantages
• Tendency for delivery to become robotic
• Lacking in authenticity
When you have prescribed script for customer, it is more standardized, detail and auto- driven.
The disadvantage is that you cannot customize it, because it is already prescribed like what is
customized is according to cost and taste of e customer. You can prepare a dish in hotel but hotel
has already a standard set of menu, that cannot be changed, so that is a prescribed script and
customized is, what you take on- spot and decide the price and give it to the customer.
Goal driven scripts-Defines the goals for each type of transaction
• Allow employees to use their own phrases during the encounter.
• Goal-driven scripts can appear more natural and authentic
• Requires employees with well developed communication skills.
Sometimes you have goal - driven scripts i.e. you understand what the aim of customer is and
what he wants. According to his aim and desire, you can customize a script, where employees
need to be trained and they can understand the costing aspects. They give a budget to customer
and if the customer is agreeing, they can design the option for selling product or service to the
customer.
Hybrid Approach - offers a choice within a range of scripts.

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 • This approach is neither prescribed nor totally flexible.
• It provides a range of scripts from which employees select an option
This is a script which is moving to combine the advantages of prescribed and customized scripts.
On basis of this, you try to select an option which is most suitable for the company and customer.
Impact of technology on Personal selling -
• Cell Phone
• Laptops
• E-mails
• Internet and Social Media
This helps in creating a more fruitful interaction with the customer. The door to door selling
through personal selling become more professional and customized because you have started
understanding the customer through social media. If you know a customer, you can go to Face-
book, can see what are his interest, activities, status, value - additions in life. His basic research
on twitter- handle can give you the opinion and interest of customer. According to research of
customer through this media, you can increase quality of interaction with the customer. So
people who are involved in personal selling, have to do a research before they connect with the
customer.
Classification of approaches of personal selling
• Stimulus Response Selling
• Mental States Selling
• Need Satisfaction Selling
• Problem Solving Selling
Personal selling can be classified into these four aspects depending on the type of customer to
whom you are related.
Stimulus response selling
• Salesperson provide stimuli
• Buyer’s response sought
• Continue until purchase decision complete
Sales person gives stimuli. This stimulus is taken by the customer and if response is there, he
would try to professionalize this response and would give added value support to customer
desire. Why this product is important, give him consultancy and advise so that this product is
purchased by the customer.
Mental state selling
• Attention
• Interest
• Conviction
• Desire
• Action
This is the AIDA model; where we try to get attention of customer, try to build interest of
customer through promotions and offers. Convection is perception, which customers need in
market. They need to be satisfied. We try to create desire by adding more utilities and attraction
in terms of cost. Then we try to wait for action, that customer would come to buy this product.
Need satisfaction selling
• Uncover the needs of seller
• Present offerings to satisfy the buyers
• Continue selling until purchase

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The need satisfaction is to understand the problems of particular area. Design product according
to problems which are impacting the customers. Then give a solution to customers. This is need
selling.
Problem solving selling
• Define Problem
• Generate Alternative Solutions
• Evaluate Alternative solutions
• Continue selling until purchase decision
Problem solving -If the customer has problem and you are trying to find how you can solve this
problem, then you have many options related to particular problem .You can offer best solution
to customer on the basis of budget. If you are an event consultant, you have to decorate a party
event venue, in that case, the problem of customer is, that he needs to conduct function with
beautiful decoration. You can give various options depending on price and budget. You can
understand what problems of customer are and try to make changes according to needs of
customer. Then try to set a price and this is how you can solve the problems of customer and sell
your basic service to customer.
Consultative selling - The process of using expertise selling products and services
• Business Consultant
• Long term Ally
• Strategic Orchestrator
Consultative selling – is required, when you want to sell financial products or you want to sell
innovative marketing functions to customers. The consultative selling has give business
consultant to people, to make them understand that what investment required, what will be
return, they get and how you are going to get this product to survive in the market. Consultative
selling is to look into advantages of company and profits of customers. This is obviously, with
insurance, stocks, financials products and other consultancies or activities of events and
entertainment happening in market.
How do we build value for the customer – the value can be build by focusing on effective CRM
function, by designing a selling strategy and by building product quality. So when you connect in
personal selling and go for door to door customization of your product, it is important that you
incorporate advantage of CRM technology and your creative designs related to product. The
combination of everything can help you to get support in market. Door to door selling through
personal selling has become important, even in, internet and technological era because people
still need attention of salesman. People still need consultant’s advice, because the web based
information is too standardized. Your customized problems, need to be addressed and somebody
specialist is needed in the market, to understand you and try to select a best offer which is
available in market
Summary
In this lecture, we have studied door to door selling. Door to door selling is still important in real
estate business, insurance, financial and other service oriented activities which relate to retail
management. Door to door selling can be crystallized through effective personal selling process
of trained sales people, Sales people at all level, and do routine functions. At missionary level,
they try to build brands and at consultative level, they try to give advice to customers. Salesmen
still are important for company, who try to manage marketing department. I hope, students must
have understood the impact of door to door selling, even in the era of internet and websites.
Thank you students!