Nothing sways an Indian buyer’s choice more than a word of reassurance from the people he knows. Even for the purchases like cars, mobile phones and home loans, majority of the consumers in India rely on the references from their friends and relatives while making their decisions. The story is different in developed economies. Take the case of automobiles. In markets like the US, Canada and Japan, more people are influenced by conventional advertising by automobile companies, in developing markets like India, Malaysia and Thailand it’s the neighbor or the colleague who tips the scales one way or the other. “In case of luxury goods, the psyche of Indians has always been different. Buying a car is a family decision, so it is only natural that all the members of the family will talk to all the other users of a similar products, who they know”, General Motors India director P Balendran said. When the whole world is going crazy with Internet and mobile marketing, it is interesting that for Indians it’s still conventional advertising and word of mouth campaigns that sways their choices. Unlike in the West, Indians come from a very closely-knit society where people get influenced by their peers, relatives and local celebrities. People are more than willing to accept a brand if it’s endorsed by their favorite superstar or is recommended by their close associates.

Personal selling involves oral presentation of message in the form of conversation with one or more prospective customers for the purpose of making sales. According to you which of the following stands to be true regarding "Personal selling"?

• It allows the salesperson to develop a personal relationship with the customers. 
• Rigidness is seen in personal selling due to behavioral factor.
• Minimum wastage is seen as the company decides its target customer before making any contact with them.
• Direct feedback is seen in personal selling because face to face communication is there. 

1,3 and 4

Following points are related to personal selling:

1. There is lot of flexibility in personal selling. The sales presentation can be adjusted to fit the specific needs of the individual customers.
2. Personal selling allows a salesperson to develop personal relationships with the prospective customers, which may become important in making sale.
3. The wastage of efforts in personal selling can be minimized as company can decide the target customers before making any contact with them.
4. As there is direct face-to-face communication in personal selling, it is possible to take direct feedback from the customer and to adapt the presentation according to the needs of the prospects