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Personal Selling Essay My wife and I love shopping. She is more of a driver while I am on the analytical side. I like to gather the information, know the facts, evaluate options and then go for a purchase. For my wife, it is important to know the basic facts about the product and she is ready to make a quick decision, whether she wants the product or not. When we do shopping together, mostly we debate on â€Å"let’s buy right now vs. why not wait and evaluate other options. † Who wins? Well! Suffice it to say, our scores are pretty even. Recently she bought a new digital camera. While going to the nearest â€Å"Best Buy† to buy the camera, she wanted me to accompany her. Though before entering the store, she cautioned me to not to start a fact finding mission, comparing features and benefits of various brands, as she wants to make this purchase a quick and simple one. I agreed, but was not convinced. The digital camera market is now a days turned into a commodity market. There is a high price sensitivity due to â€Å"difficult comparison effects. † There are so many choices and brands available with similar features and benefits that sometimes it is really difficult to pick an absolute winner. When we entered the Best Buy, we already had a silent agreement that it will be a short trip, no fuss over facts! When we went to the Camera Section, it was truly confusing. There were so many choices from Nikons and Canons to Sonys and Toshibas that it was difficult to select one. My wife looked puzzled, and I had a huge grin, the message was loud†¦ and you wanted this to be a quick and simple purchase! Triumphantly, grinning from cheek to cheek, I started looking at the features of each brand and started comparing them†¦ the analyzer prevailed! But soon I was confused too. The features/ benefits and price variability was difficult to connect. There was significant price variability between various brands with similar features. At this point, we really needed help. Those of you, shopping at the Best Buy could relate to the fact that mostly it is hard to get help at this store. Customer service paged for the sales person but no one turned up. We were getting a bit annoyed because we were waiting for fifteen minutes and no sales person was available. When we were about to lose patience and walk out of the store, came a sales person. With a smiling face, he introducing himself as Bob. First, he very politely apologized for the long waiting time, gave us the reasons, of course the usual ones. But his demeanour and empathy washed out all our resentment and annoyance. He then enquired about our need and what we are looking for in a camera, etc. After determining our need, he gave an over view of the available choices in the camera section and by process of differentiation short listed four choices. He knew what he was talking, giving us quick facts about the products connecting features and benefits with our needs. We were impressed. By the time he short listed the choices, we were in so mesmerized and developed full faith in him that we were even ready to accept whatever he recommends as the best. But he did not do that, instead he narrowed down the choices and left the final decision on us. That was a great gesture. When we completed the purchase and walked out of the store, both my wife and me, a driver and an analyzer were happy and content because of a good experience. Did we make a great purchase or Bob, the sales person, made a great sale. Well, it was a win win situation for both stakeholders and this is a trait of great sales person. Why it was a good experience? First, Bob made sure to empathize with us, instantly relieving our anxiety due to long wait time. Second, he determined our need and then connected it with the available choices. He was confident because his product knowledge was superb. He had a human side that was touching and he did not impose his choice on us nor did forced selling. Now a days, we make it a point to recommend Bob to all our friends, if they are in need of a camera.