What is Professional Selling in Marketing?

When you think of a professional seller, what comes to mind? Maybe you picture a pushy salesperson who promotes their product and tries to get you to buy it even after you’ve told them you’re not interested. Or maybe you think of spammy telemarketing phone calls. Either way, selling is often viewed in a negative light.

Professional selling is not always a bad profession, though. It can be used to honor God, and it plays a key role in marketing. So, what is professional selling in marketing?

What is professional selling?

Before answering what is professional selling in marketing, it’s important to understand what professional selling is. According to Dr. Jeff Fawcett, dean of Grace College’s School of Business, professional selling is “the process of working with your customer to meet their needs with the products or services of the company that you represent.” Most often, professional sellers connect with other businesses, but they can also interact directly with individuals who might be interested in their products or services. 

What is professional selling in marketing?

Marketing has four parts: product development, pricing, distribution, and promotion. Sales fits into the promotion category and puts products and services in front of people who need them to meet a need. “Professional selling is the key to communicating with your customers and representing the product line to those who would benefit from buying your products or services,” said Fawcett. In other words, professional selling bridges the gap between products and customers.

What can you do with a professional selling degree?

A degree in professional sales and/or marketing can open doors to a variety of jobs, including:

• Insurance agent: Insurance agents sell insurance policies to customers. They can sell life, home, health, and car insurance or any other type of insurance.
• Sales representative: Sales representatives specialize in selling products to customers or businesses in their industry. They can work in several aspects of industries, including inside sales, wholesale, pharmaceutical sales, and outside sales.
• Purchasing officer: Purchasing officers make sure a company has enough resources and inventory. They also place orders to meet the company’s needs for materials, products, and services.
• Sales engineer: A sales engineer works with highly technical products. They have strong sales skills and technical knowledge about the products they sell so that they can answer customers’ questions and offer demonstrations.
• Business owner: Business owners create or purchase businesses. They participate in the day-to-day responsibilities of the business or oversee the operations of the company.
• Real estate agent: Real estate agents help clients purchase or sell real estate properties. Often, they specialize in either buying or selling. They may also help clients along several steps of the process, such as listing, negotiating, and closing.
• Loan officer: Loan officers are banking professionals who analyze loan requests to determine if they think the client can repay the loan. Sometimes loan officers also pitch loan offers to potential clients.

How can professional selling be used to honor God?

The pushy, manipulative salesperson stereotype mentioned earlier does not reflect how Christians should approach professional selling; in fact, it demonstrates quite the opposite. Professional selling should be used to glorify God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 

“Glorifying God in business means working hard for our employer and treating our coworkers, supervisors, and customers with appropriate respect as we seek to meet their needs,” said Fawcett. “Business is all about serving other people. If you do that well, you make a profit which can then be used to minister to your employees and customers,” he added.

Why get a professional selling degree at a liberal arts institution?

Professional selling is all about building relationships with your customers so that they trust you enough to buy your products. At Grace, our liberal arts education focuses on the four core relationships of your career and your life: God, yourself, others, and the world. Learning about these four relationships will help you know how to build business relationships with potential customers.

“It is very important for us to treat everyone, regardless of what they believe, as the image bearers of God that they are,” said Fawcett. “This makes a huge difference in the way we treat the people around us.” 

Professional selling is more than bragging about your company or trying to force customers to buy your product; it’s about trust, relationships, and honoring God. Now that we’ve answered your question of what is professional selling in marketing, learn about our sales and marketing degree and request more information about Grace College.