What are the disadvantages of personal selling?

Relative to other forms of marketing promotion, personal selling has a high cost, a limited reach and a negative reputation. Personal sellers typically interact with one prospect or a small group, while a company can reach thousands or even millions of people with a TV advertisement.

The time involved in personal selling is expensive because the messages are customized to each individual prospect. Companies pay sales representatives to develop and present sales information. Though it has improved, personal selling still carries a negative reputation in the marketplace as of 2014. Poor ethics, aggressiveness, hard-sell tactics and misleading messages are among the criticisms of personal selling.