Meaning and Definition of Salesmanship

Every business exists to sell what it produces. A firm may make an excellent product, price it fairly and advertise it widely, yet nothing happens until a buyer is actually persuaded to part with money and take the goods home. Salesmanship is the human skill that closes that final gap — the art of persuading a prospective buyer to purchase a product or service that will genuinely satisfy his need or want.

The word 'salesmanship' comes from 'salesman' + 'ship', where the suffix -ship means 'the skill or quality of'. So salesmanship literally means the skill of a salesman. It is the ability to convince a person that a particular product will serve his interest better than the money he pays for it, and to do so in a way that leaves the buyer satisfied and willing to buy again.

A useful working definition is this: Salesmanship is the personal, persuasive and helpful effort by which a seller assists or persuades a prospective buyer to buy a product or service, in a manner that satisfies the buyer and benefits both the buyer and the seller.

Three ideas sit at the centre of this definition:

1. It is personal and persuasive. Salesmanship works chiefly through face-to-face or direct human contact. The salesman studies the customer, understands his need and then persuades — never forces — him to buy.
2. It is helpful, not manipulative. Genuine salesmanship guides the buyer to a product that actually satisfies his need. Persuading a person to buy something useless to him is not salesmanship; it is mere pushing that destroys goodwill.
3. It creates mutual benefit. A good sale satisfies the buyer (he gets a product worth more to him than the price) and the seller (he earns profit and a repeat customer). Salesmanship aims at a lasting relationship, not a one-time deal.

A short, memorable statement: Salesmanship is the art of selling goods and services by convincing buyers that buying is in their own interest.

Salesmanship, selling and marketing — how they differ. These three terms are often confused. Selling is the broad act of transferring goods for money and includes impersonal methods such as advertising and self-service counters. Salesmanship is the narrower, personal, skill-based part of selling that works through direct persuasion by a salesman. Marketing is the widest term of all — it covers product design, pricing, distribution and promotion, of which salesmanship is only one promotional tool. In short, salesmanship is a part of selling, and selling is a part of marketing.