Selling styles differ in many ways but one fundamental difference is between the sales-oriented and the customer-oriented approach. The first one concentrates on high-pressure techniques such as those used in selling encyclopaedias and cars.
The techniques include overstating the product’s merits, criticizing competitive products, using a slick pre-prepared sales presentation, selling yourself and offering some concession to get the order on the spot. This form of selling assumes that the customers are not likely to buy except under pressure, that they will be influenced by a slick presentation and ingratiating manners, and that they will not be sorry after signing the order, or if they are, it doesn’t matter.
In the customer-oriented approach, the salesperson learns how to listen and question in order to identify customer needs and come up with good product solutions. Presentation skills are secondary to needs analysis skills. This approach assumes that customers have latent needs that constitute company opportunities, that they appreciate good suggestions and that they will be loyal to representatives who have their long-term interests at heart. The problem-solver is a more compatible image for the salesperson under the marketing concept than the hard-seller or order-taker.
