Advertising and Salesmanship
Advertising
Advertising is paid, non-personal, sponsored communication about a product, service or idea, carried through a medium to a mass audience. Objectives: to inform, persuade, remind, create primary or selective demand, and build brand goodwill. Media classes: print (newspaper, magazine), broadcast (TV, radio), outdoor (hoardings, transit), direct mail and digital (search, social, display).
Message and media planning
AIDA is a common framework: attract Attention, hold Interest, create Desire, prompt Action. Effective copy needs a clear proposition, believable proof and a call to action. Media choice depends on reach, frequency, cost per contact and audience profile.
Salesmanship and the selling process
Salesmanship is personal, two-way persuasion in which the seller adapts to the buyer. Steps: prospecting, pre-approach, approach, presentation, demonstration, handling objections, closing and follow-up. A good salesman has product knowledge, listening skill, empathy, honesty, patience and the discipline to follow up.
Worked example
A Guwahati firm launches a silk brand. Reasoning: Attention through a social-media reel in Assamese; Interest through the story of local weavers; Desire through close-up fabric shots and a price offer; Action through a "buy now" link with delivery. A representative then handles objections personally at the outlet - that is salesmanship, not advertising.
Traps that cost marks
- Calling advertising personal selling.
- Claiming advertising guarantees sales; it only communicates.
- Forgetting that salesmanship includes after-sale service and complaint handling.
- Ignoring ethics: misleading claims, false comparisons and fake testimonials breach the ASCI code.