THE IMPACT OF PERSONAL SELLING IN THE MARKETING PERFORMANCE PRODUCT
(A Case Study of Universal Company Plc Rivers State).
ABSTRACT
In our locality where the patronage of industrial product is not common on high, firm involve must devise means to keep their head above water in terms of sales and cost of making sales. The marketing performance of industrial product in our locality must be buttressed by the use of impactive tools to increase sales. To this, the firms involved have to use the appropriate tool or means that will pay for the cost of using it. Hence, firms consider the use of personal selling in marketing  their products. When all the theorist and planners have had their moment and the production, finance and labour problems have been solved, then someone somewhere has to go out and knock on someone’s door. This treatise is hence looking at the impact of personal selling on the marketing performance of industrial product. Though firm may complain that game does not always worth the candle, personal selling has been considered to be the most impactive in attracting customers especially where the sales is not high. As this work progresses, the good and the bad side of the personal selling as a promotional tools to boost the sales of industrial product will be divulge.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0    INTRODUCTION
 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
This research work deals with the impact of personal selling in the marketing performance of industrial product. Personal selling form part of the component of promotion. Other part of the promotion mix are advertising, packaging, public relation, and sales promotion. All the component of promotion help in their individual ways to communicate the vital attributes of the organizations offering with their prospects or customer or given reason why the potential buyer need to choose the firm’s product among completing brands.
No matter how well advertised a product may be no matter the amount of publicity that has been carried out on a particular product, and no matter the amount of money that has been pumped into the sales promotion, they only to inform the prospective buyers of the availability of the product. More (expect personal selling) can convert the firm’s product into cash. We should remember that exchange is a centre of marketing and that aspect of marketing that makes exchange to be possible is personal selling.
The role which personal selling play in an economy can be seen with the number of personnel engaged in one selling activities or the other of the approximately 33 percent of a nation’s work force that are involved in marketing as a gainful employment, 10 percent of a nation’s workforce is in sales job.
Any activity that employs as much as 10 percent of a nation’s workforce becomes very important and need to be studied. So far, it does not mean the personal selling is the most important of the promo tools.
The other aspect of the promo tools are as well important. But what the reader should know is that there is no other promo tool that brings the firm and prospective buyers into direct contact. The only promo tool that makes this possible is personal selling. It is only during the physical contact that prospects are made to be convined to accept value offer by the organization in exchange for a price sought by the firms. The important role which personal selling plays in the communication process cannot be over looked.
No amount of investment done any of the promo tools can go to replace this important role of personal selling in really actualizing he exchange transaction needed to keep the whole of industry on a continuous movement.
Apart from the above mentioned roles of personal selling, one should not also forget that, sales people also get themselves involved in other none selling activities such as carrying out repairs on broken down bought items, passing necessary information down to consumer, and also receiving vital information from the customers which are passed upwards to marketing managers towards the provision of better qualify customer service in the market.
Personal selling role can be summarized, this personal contract for non selling tasks.
 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Despites the popularly acclaimed benefits of personal selling, industrial firms still seem to have it as the lease choice in the scheme of thing for promotions.
The cost of personal selling is too high for industrial firms to shoulder. Therefore they baulk at it. Salesmen of industrial firms are thing that is seemed to be real in the discharge of personal selling promotional exercise.
The industrial firms have low turn over therefore they cannot afford the cost of personal selling despite that is necessary.
Both the public and the firm see it is an awake and means of promotion. The target market of industrial product is not as large as the largest market for consumer product.
 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is to examine the following;
The impact of personal selling in the marketing performance of industrial products. The benefits of personal selling to:
The product company
The users
The problem of salesman in personal selling activities
The contribution of personal selling to:
Total sales
Total net profit
 1.4    RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.     Does personal selling contributes to increase sales volume on industrial product?
2.     Are salesman adequately remunerated to embark on aggressive personal selling for the industrial firms?
3.     Does high cost of personal selling constraints to the choice of these promotional tools?
4.     How is personal selling beneficial to the marketing performance of industrial product?
5.     Does personal selling achieves the company’s marketing objective?
1.5    SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research is significant and beneficial to:
Industrial firms that are yet to discover the benefit of personal selling.
Any researcher wishing to discover the rational for adoption of personal selling by industrial firms.
The study will also clarify and inform the yet to embrace personal selling manufacturers on the need to adopt it as one of the strongest weapons of promotional tools.
The study through the case study company to solve its problems of using personal selling as promotional tool when it is awkward to do so, and when is suitable to do so as well.
Although the target market of the industrial product are fewer, but the study will help any interested manufacturer of industrial product to know how best to adopt personal selling as promotional tools reducing customer perceived risk on product. It still seems to be neglected in the field of marketing programmes. “It has been remarkable, how relatively little attention, personal selling in industrial marketing in academic research.
However, existing knowledge is limited concerning how impactive personal selling is used in the marketing on industrial product by personal selling especially by universalcompany plc, and the industrial customer and prospects.
The company’s products are bought by organizations. For the purpose of producing other goods for re-sales. The study therefore seeks find the following.
The impact personal selling in the marketing performance of industrial product.
The benefit of personal selling to;
The industrial products.
The industrial customer
The problem of salesman in personal selling activities.
The contributions of personal selling to;
Total sales volume
Net profit
1.6    SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
Since the study is concerned with the impact of the personal selling in the marketing performance of industrial product, the researcher shall limit the study of universalcompany in Aba. This study will also investigate the benefit of personal selling to the industrial produce and industrial users.
 1.7    DEFINITION OF TERMS
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT: A product purchased to be directly to produce other product or to be used in the operation.
PERSONAL SELLING: A process of informing prospective buyer and persuading them to purchase product though personal communication in an exchange.