The first step in the salesperson's overview is:
The first step in the salesperson's overview is:
Options
Official answer
(a) Prospecting — Prospecting is the first step in the personal selling process; it involves identifying and locating potential customers who may be interested in buying the product.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark: selecting option (a) Prospecting — no partial credit for this MCQ.
Hint
Before a salesperson can talk to anyone or prepare anything, they first need to find out — who are the potential buyers?
Quick oral answer
Prospecting is the first step in the salesperson's overview — it involves identifying and finding potential customers who may be interested in buying the product.
Common mistakes
- 1.Writing 'pre-approach' as the first step — pre-approach is the second step that comes after prospects have already been identified through prospecting.
- 2.Writing 'approach' as the first step because it is the first point of direct contact, without realising that prospects must be found before any contact can occur.
- 3.Confusing 'qualifying' with 'prospecting' — qualifying is the evaluation of whether an identified prospect meets buying criteria, not the initial identification step.
Analysis and explanation
Prospecting is the first step of the personal selling process because it identifies who the salesperson should even approach.
Concept
- The personal selling process follows a fixed sequence: Prospecting → Pre-approach → Approach → Presentation → Handling objections → Closing → Follow-up.
- Prospecting means identifying and locating potential customers (prospects) who may be interested in the product.
- No later step (pre-approach research, contact, presentation) can begin until prospects are identified — hence prospecting must come first.
Common mistakes
- Answering "pre-approach" as the first step — pre-approach is researching prospects already identified through prospecting, not identifying them in the first place.
- Answering "approach" as the first step because it is the first moment of direct contact — but contact is impossible before prospects are found.
Real-world
- Sales organisations that use disciplined prospecting criteria (e.g., the BANT framework — Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) consistently generate better revenue outcomes than those relying on random outreach, and common prospecting sources include referrals, trade directories, cold calling, and networking.
Previously asked
What is prospecting in the context of the sales process?
Arrange the following steps of sales process in correct order: approach, prospecting, presentation, closing.
Why is prospecting considered the foundation of the selling process?
Interesting facts
According to HubSpot's global sales research, prospecting is rated as the hardest part of the sales process by 40% of salespeople — more difficult than closing or handling objections — because it requires sustained effort with a high rate of rejection.
The term 'prospecting' originates from the gold rush era of the 1800s when miners would survey land looking for signs of gold — sales professionals borrowed the term to describe the search for valuable potential customers hidden in the broader population.
Modern AI-powered prospecting tools can analyse millions of data points — company growth signals, hiring patterns, technology usage, social activity — to identify sales prospects with up to 3x higher conversion rates than traditional cold outreach lists.
Question details
Q6 of 31 questions
- Board
- CBSE
- Class
- Class 10
- Subject
- Marketing and Sales
- Year
- 2019
- Section
- Section A
- Marks
- 1
- Type
- MCQ
- Chapter
- Personal Selling
- Topic
- Sales Process
- Bloom's level
- remember
- Syllabus topic
- Unit 5: Personal Selling — Steps in the Selling Process (CBSE Class 10 Vocational Studies: Marketing and Sales)
- Updated
- 2026-02-19
- Author
- Padhantu
- Reviewed by
- Padhantu
Spotted a mistake or something unclear?
Tell us and we will fix it.
Frequently asked questions
What are the steps in the personal selling process?
The personal selling process typically follows seven steps: Prospecting, Pre-approach, Approach, Presentation and Demonstration, Handling Objections, Closing the Sale, and Follow-up.
What does prospecting involve in the context of selling?
Prospecting involves identifying and qualifying potential customers who have the need, financial ability, and authority to purchase the product. Methods include referrals, cold calling, trade directories, social media, and networking events.
Why is prospecting considered the most important step in the sales process?
Without a pipeline of qualified prospects, a salesperson cannot generate sales regardless of their closing skills. Prospecting ensures that time and effort are spent only on individuals or organisations who are genuinely likely to buy, making it the foundation of all subsequent steps.