Introduction: Salesmanship is an art of selling goods. It helps the manufacturer or the employer and the employee or the salesman equally. This art can be cultivated. In highly industrialized countries like U.S.A and England, salesmanship has become a career and sometimes it attracts talented persons. Actually speaking, salesmanship and advertisement are the two determining factors of a successful business. A good salesman knows the art of taking out the money from the pocket of the most unwilling and shrewd consumer by means of his art of salesmanship. Hence, an efficient salesman is an essential asset to a manufacturer.
Functions of a Salesman: Functions of a salesman are manifold. He helps himself, the manufacturer and the buyer at the same time. he satisfies the customer after knowing his want properly without wasting time and energy. Sometimes, he guides the consumer as to what type of commodity he should purchase to satisfy his want. A good salesman assists the producer by distributing and selling the goods. It is the salesman who impresses upon the consumer the worth of a particular commodity by means of his art of speaking and advocacy. Ultimately, a good salesman goes on making strides of progress by showing his worth. Sometimes, we have come across a man to our delightful surprise who started his career as an ordinary salesman and rose to the rank of the General Manager with the same manufacturer through his salesmanship.
Qualities of a Good Salesman: A good salesman should be tactful. He should understand the want of the buyer at the very first word and should present the wanted article promptly. He should be persuasive. He should not lose heart finding an obstinate buyer. He should go on explaining his viewpoint enthusiastically and patiently till he satisfies the buyer. For this, he should have a perfect knowledge of the article he sells. Sometimes an intelligent buyer puts such questions regarding the details of a certain commodity that an ordinary salesman fails to answer. A perfect knowledge of a commodity is an essential qualification of a good salesman. A good salesman should be regular and punctual. He should possess good health and good physique. His personality should be convincing. His dress should always be neat, clean and tidy. He should be unconditionally prepared to remove the objections and doubts of the buyer. He should never lose patience and get annoyed. Annoyance is the greatest disqualification of a salesman.
Advantages of a Good Salesmanship: In India, salesmanship is considered an ordinary career. Hence, no importance is attached to its training. A good salesman sells goods and creates market and demand for new articles. Thereby, he helps the manufacturer in the establishment of goodwill. Our country is advancing towards industrialization. A good salesman is in demand everywhere. Salesmanship may be introduced as an optional subject of study in our curriculum. This will give an impetus to business in the country.
Conclusion: Big companies like the Bata, select their salesmen very carefully and it is one of the main reasons of the popularity of the Batas. Life speaks louder than tongue. Every firm or company or manufacturer speaks to the consumers through its salesman. In foreign countries, salesman is an important subject taught at schools and the study of human psychology is one of the main topics which forms the subject of salesmanship more interesting.