Q.Describe the scope of salesmanship.

The scope of salesmanship answers the question 'where is salesmanship practised?' — and the answer is very wide.

The scope of salesmanship tells us the range of situations in which it is practised. It is very wide and includes the following.

1. Selling tangible goods. This covers both consumer goods (soap, food, clothing bought by households) and industrial goods (machines, raw materials and components bought by businesses).

2. Selling intangible services. Insurance, banking, transport, tourism and similar services are sold through salesmanship. Personal persuasion matters even more here, because the buyer cannot see or touch the product before buying.

3. Selling ideas. Salesmanship is also used to persuade people to accept new ideas, causes or practices — for example in social, health or awareness campaigns.

4. Different levels of selling. Salesmanship is practised at many levels — a counter salesman in a shop, a door-to-door / travelling salesman covering homes or a territory, a specialty salesman selling high-value goods, and an industrial salesman selling to expert business buyers. …

A frequent error is to limit scope to physical goods sold in shops. Remember that services and even ideas are sold through salesmanship, and that selling happens at several levels (counter, travelling, specialty, indu …