Effects of Personal Selling on Sales: A Case of Women Groups in Imenti North District, Meru County, Kenya
Abstract
As firms increase in number, modern marketing calls for more than just producing the products, pricing  them  and  making  them  accessible  to  the  target  market,  in  addition,  they  must  also communicate to present and potential consumers and the general public. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of personal selling on sales of agricultural products produced by  women  groups.  The  population  of  the  study  comprised  of  100 women  groups  registered with  the  Ministry  of  Sports,  Culture  and  Social  Services  by  December  2012  in  Imenti  North District  in  Meru  County  Kenya  engaging  in  agricultural  activities  to  generate  income.  Simple random  sampling  technique  was  used  to  determine  the  sample  size  of  79.  One  official  from each   of   these   groups  was   picked   as   the   respondent.   Primary   data   was   collected  using structured  questionnaires  which  were  administered  personally.  Data  was  presented  by  use  of frequency tables then analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques such as frequencies and percentages.  Categorical  data  analysis  methods  were  used  to  aggregate  the  influence  of promotion elements on sales. Chi Square test was used to test the hypotheses. Personal selling was  found  to  be  widely  used  promotion  method  by  women  groups  where  they  largely  target women. Personal selling was found to have influence on sales of agricultural products produced by women groups.
