It was in the mid-1960s when, influenced by new marketing concepts, the sales function incorporated a new orientation known as the "needs approach" or "customer focus". The salesperson's functions include getting to know his customers and identifying their needs in order to adapt his offer to them. Over time, companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance not only of knowing their customers and their needs, but also of establishing long-term relationships with them. This is referred to as customer loyalty and relationship marketing.

At this point we can point to a definition of personal selling: "That process of interpersonal communication during which the salesperson discovers and satisfies the customer's needs, all in a context of seeking long-term, mutually beneficial benefits for both parties". All these changes involved the emergence of new ways of selling and also new ways of managing the sales force. but in no case did they call into question personal selling or the figure of the salesperson. In fact, no other sales method allows sales arguments and the handling of customer objections to be adapted more quickly and effectively than "face-to-face" selling.

Digitalisation in business

The innovation and digitalisation are two concepts that go hand in hand and their arrival implies a systematic questioning of the way companies have been managed until very recently. And sales, the strategies and techniques used to sell and the organisational forms of commercial management are also under constant review.

DIGITALISATION MEANS THAT MARKETING AND SALES ARE BECOMING MORE INTERCONNECTED AND NEW WAYS OF SELLING ARE EMERGING:

• Online sales.
• Mobile marketing.
• Social networking.
• Messaging functions.
• Websites.

In order to understand the current situation of personal selling, we can analyse two major forces that operate in parallel and have a decisive impact on the understanding of selling. On the one hand, the competitive demands of the market generates a tendency towards increasingly customer-focused business models, looking for the long-term relationship, through face-to-face contact. On the other hand, the arrival of the The digital era has generated new forms of customer relations that call into question personal selling as it has traditionally been practised.  

The challenge of personal selling today is perfectly defined by Benoit Mahé, author of "The Connected Salesperson". The subtitle of this book reflects the new paradigm of personal selling: "Recovering the baker's smile in the age of omnichannel commerce". Although this book is focused on retail sales, the principles that inspire it are valid for sales activities in general. How to combine the human relationship, which remains a key aspect of customer loyalty, with the use of new technologies that significantly expand this relationship. Another aspect to consider is the increasing level of demand that companies are placing on their salespeople, due to the reduction in the size of sales teams, a growing product portfolio with a shorter life cycle. 

CONSEQUENCE

Salespeople must increase their productivity, consolidating long-term relationships with their clients, using new technological tools. All of this requires salespeople to constantly update their knowledge and technological skills, but also to take advantage of new neuroscientific trends applied to sales, and to master digital marketing techniques. 

Selling in the context of entrepreneurship:

Selling is an activity that is inherent to human beings. But in the case of entrepreneurs, knowing how to sell is a fundamental requirement. Financiers, suppliers, clients, partners, investors are some of the interlocutors to whom the entrepreneur needs to sell. They are pThe arguments therefore need to be adapted to what each of these actors wants to hear.

When it comes to the marketing of products and services, we must not forget the importance of the salesperson in the initial stages of the business. Even when we talk about technology-based products and services in which online sales systems can play a fundamental role. Sometimes it is the entrepreneur himself who assumes the commercial functions, but in the long run it is necessary to create a commercial structure that responds to the different sales methodologies available. In that structure we must incorporate people who are well trained in the mastery of technologies but also have the skills to establish strong, long-term personal relationships with customers. For a start-up business, having people with in-depth knowledge of the sector and of the potential customers to whom the offer is addressed means gaining time of particular value as it allows commercial activity to be generated from the outset.