The Evolution of Personal Selling
Söderling, Isa (2019)
2019
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019052211289
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019052211289
Tiivistelmä
This Bachelor’s thesis explores the evolvement of sales since 1870s, centralizing on personal selling. In addition to that, the implemented research examines the personal selling, its’ characteristics and development in Finland. The objectives are to widen the knowledge about the subjects surrounding personal selling, as well as to understand how sales have developed within time and what can be predicted about the future of sales.
This thesis contains a theoretical and an empirical section. The theoretical section focuses on the topics of consumer behaviour, sales orientations and personal selling. The chapter about consumer behaviour introduces the influences on buyers’ decision-making as well as presents the consumer buying process step by step. The chapter of sales orientations provides the evolvement and changes of sales approaches from 1870s to now and further. The chapter of personal selling defines the foregoing concept, provides the development stages of it, goes through the traditional sales process phase by phase, and views the significance and methods of rapport building.
The empirical section concentrates on the characteristics and evolvement of personal selling in Finland. The research was implemented by arranging qualitative interviews with ten Finnish salespersons, and analysing the findings into a compact form.
The results of the research show, that sales process does not seem to have changed that much over the years, but buyers and buying as well as salespeople and selling, have changed within time, mainly due to the development of technology and the increase of digitalization.
This thesis contains a theoretical and an empirical section. The theoretical section focuses on the topics of consumer behaviour, sales orientations and personal selling. The chapter about consumer behaviour introduces the influences on buyers’ decision-making as well as presents the consumer buying process step by step. The chapter of sales orientations provides the evolvement and changes of sales approaches from 1870s to now and further. The chapter of personal selling defines the foregoing concept, provides the development stages of it, goes through the traditional sales process phase by phase, and views the significance and methods of rapport building.
The empirical section concentrates on the characteristics and evolvement of personal selling in Finland. The research was implemented by arranging qualitative interviews with ten Finnish salespersons, and analysing the findings into a compact form.
The results of the research show, that sales process does not seem to have changed that much over the years, but buyers and buying as well as salespeople and selling, have changed within time, mainly due to the development of technology and the increase of digitalization.