When the President of American Marketing Association, Neil Borden coined the term “marketing mix” in 1950 with its famous 4P’s even he did not had imagined that after few decades these four elements namely Price, Product, Promotion & Place will become full-fledged industries or domains in themselves.

4Ps of Marketing

The element of “Place” has emerged very strongly & is not just about the physical location or product distribution channels. It also includes the people of a range of processes involved in bringing products to the end consumer. So, this is where the Sales people fit into – product channel or distribution point

Today, with the growing market competition & wide range of choice / options among end consumer the sales domain has turned out to be more scientific with its own set of 4P’s.

Personalization

The first “P” of sales ecosystem is the “personalization” where the sales communication needs to be more specific & personalized that fulfills the buyer’s or requirement & ultimately its expectation. For example, if an end user is looking for assured money back insurance policy & insurance agent is trying to a sell a policy that only provides death cover, the sales process is likely to be unsuccessful because of the non-personalized communication between agent (sender) to the buyer (consumer)

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Perception

Perception motivates a buyer & builds its confidence on the seller. It adds an intangible value to the sales proposition & helps the buyer to make purchase decision. The element of perception originates from look & feel of the stuff around the buyer during the process of sales. Example, the quality of sample packaging sent to the buyer, proposal, stuff carried by sales personnel & their appearance during meeting the buyer.

Good perception convinces the buyer that they are dealing with good people.

4Ps of Sales Process

Performance

If perception motivates a buyer then “performance” satisfies them. The seller must explain the buyer how its product / service will improve the buyer’s performance. Example, if a seller is pitching for an electric generator then the product presentation should talk about buyer’s cost saving, increase in operational efficiency, return on investment (ROI), post-sales service.

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A commitment to performance acts as a catalyst for a favorable buying decision.

Proof

Buyers never take anything on seller’s face value; they need proof for everything. Perception & Performance holds good to them to reach the final stages of sales closure but writing “letter of intent” still needs a solid case.

3rd party survey, customer testimonials, lab test reports are few ways to satisfy the customer need.

Conclusion – For a successful sales process, seller should personalize their sales communication with a positive perception in the mind of buyer & assuring performance delivery through validated proofs.