Some detailing into the pros and cons of Personal Selling

Personal selling is oral communication with potential buyers of a product with the intention of making a sale. The personal selling may focus initially on developing a relationship with the potential buyer, but will always ultimately end with an attempt to "close the sale".
Personal selling is the oldest form of promotion. The role of the sales force is very vital in personal selling activity and well-known marketing experts describe six main activities of the sales force like:

1.Prospecting, trying to find new customers.
2.Communicating with existing and potential customers about the product range.
3. Selling, building contact with the customer, answering questions and trying to close the sale.
4. Servicing, providing support and service to the customer in the period up to delivery and also post-sale.
5. Information gathering, obtaining information about the market to feedback into the marketing planning process.
6. Allocating , in times of product shortage, the sales force may have the power to decide how available stocks are allocated.

The sales force adapt personal selling as a promotional activity due to its benefits. Some of them are detailed as follows:
• Personal selling is a face-to-face activity; customers therefore obtain a relatively high degree of personal attention
• The sales message can be customised to meet the needs of the customer.
• The two-way nature of the sales process allows the sales team to respond directly and promptly to customer questions and concerns.
• Personal selling is a good way of communicating large amounts of technical or other complex product information.
• The face-to-face sales meeting gives the sales force a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the product.
• Frequent meetings between sales force and customers provide an opportunity to build good long-term relationships
Even though there are various advantages there are few disadvantages.
The main disadvantage of personal selling is the cost of employing a sales force. Sales people are expensive. In addition, a sales person can only call on one customer at a time. This is not a cost-effective way of reaching a large audience. So as a solution to these disadvantages, techniques like, sales promotion and public relations can be used to introduce the product or services to a larger crowd.