CHAPTER ONE

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

1.1   INTRODUCTION

Selling is one of the oldest professions in the world. The people who do the selling go by many names. Sales people, sales representatives, account s executives, sales consultants, sales engineers, agents district managers, marketing representatives, and account development reps, to name just a few.

        The term salesperson covers a wide range of positions form the clerk selling in a retail store to the engineering sales person who consult with client companies. The term sales person covers a wide range of steps. At one extreme, a sales person might be largely an order taker, such as the department store sales person standing behind the counter. At the other extreme are order getters, whose position demand the creative selling of products and services ranging from appliances, industrial equipment, or airplanes to insurance, advertising, or consulting services. Other sales person for pharmaceutical company whole calls on doctors to educate them about the company’s drug products and to urge them to prescribe these products to their patients.

        Therefore; personal selling is the interpersonal arm of the promotion mix. Advertising consists of one-way non-personal communication with target consumer groups. In contract, personal selling involves two-way, personal communication between salespeople and individual customers whether face to face, by telephone, through video conferences, or by other means, personal selling can be more effective than advertising in more complex selling situation. Salespeople can probe customers to learn more about their problems. They can adjust the marketing offer to fit the special needs of each customer and negotiate temrs of sales. They can build long term personal relationships with key decision makers.

        The role of personal selling varies form company to company. Some firms have no sales people at all, for example, companies that sell only through mail order catalos or companies that sell through manufacturer’s reps, sales agents, or brokers. In most firms, however, the sales forces plays major role. In companies that sell business products, such good stuffs, the company’s sales people work directly with customers. In fact, to may customers, sales people may be the only contact.

        The sales force serves as a critical link between a company and its customers in many cases, sales person serve both masters the seller and the buyer. First, they represent the company to customers. They find and develop new customers and communicate information about the company products and services. They sell products by approaching customers, presenting their products, answering objections, negotiating prices and terms, and closing sales. In addition sales people provide services to customers, carry out market research and intelligent work, and fill out sales call reports.

        A company’s move toward a stronger market orientation, their sales forces are becoming more market focuses and customer oriented. The old view was that sales people should worry about sales and the company should worry about profit. However, the current view holds that sales people should be concerned with more than just producing sales they also must know how to produce customer satisfaction and company profit.

        Beyond winning new customers and making sales, hey must be able to help the company to create long term, profitable relationships with customers.

1.2   STATEMENT OF PROBLEM OF THE STUDY

The problem of this research work is to find out the degree of effectiveness of promotional tools particular personal selling in marketing of consumer goods. (a case study of NNPC in Ilorin metropolises]. This problem is concerned with effect of using personal selling as a promotional tool in marketing of consumer goods. That is whether the cost of maintaining the sales forces (promotional variables) justifies the benefits demand by companies.

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