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Emerging Trends in Sales ManagementTo be successful in a changing market environment, it is important that sales managers understand the importance of emerging trends in the following areas Global PerspectiveGlobal competition is intensifying. Domestic companies who never thought about foreign competitors are suddenly finding them in their backyard. This is a challenge which sales managers and salesperson must take on, they have to improve their personal selling efforts not only in their countries but also in foreign countries. Selling goods and services in global markets presents a challenge due to differences in culture, language, needs and requirements.Technological RevolutionDigital revolution and management information system have greatly increased the capabilities of consumers and marketing organizations. Consumer today can get information about products, compare it with other brand, place an order and place an order instantly over the internet. This has led to a different kind of sales force who collects information about internet users, markets and prospects of internet buyers. It is mandatory for all companies to have their website now.To compete effectively, sales person and managers will have to adopt the latest technology.Customer Relationship Management [CRM]Combining information technology with relationship marketing has resulted in customer relationship management. Interestingly, the concept of relationship marketing came about earlier by bringing quality, customer service and marketing together.Relationship marketing aims in building long term satisfying relations with key customers distributors and suppliers in order to earn and retain their long term preference and business. CRM enable companies to provide excellent real-time service by focusing on meeting the individual needs of each valued customer, through the use of CRM software packages.Sales Force DiversityThe demographic characteristics of sales force is changing and becoming more varied. For example, more and more women are taking up careers in sales management and selling. Also the education level of sales people is going up most of them holding a college degree or a post graduate degree. Sales managers now have to handle a sales force of these varied demographic, expectations of each and every individual is different and sales manager needs to use different motivational tools against each one of them.Team Selling ApproachThe practice of team selling is more widely followed by most companies in recent years. Team selling approach is used when company wants to build a long term mutually beneficial relationship with major customers, who have high sales and profitable potential. It is used for selling a technically complex product or a service to a potential customer. The composition of team may vary depending upon the customer from top management, technical specialist, customer service, etc…

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Managing Multi-ChannelsMulti-channel marketing system occurs when organization uses two or more marketing channels to target one or more customer segments. Major benefits of multi-channel marketing system are:

1. Lower channel cost2. Increased market coverage3. Customized selling

Multi-channel may also lead to conflicts and control problems, as two or more channels may compete for same customer. A successful sales manager will have to effectively manage conflict between the channels.Ethical and Social IssuesSales managers have ethical and social responsibilities. Sales people face ethical issues such as bribery, deception (or misleading) and high pressure sales tactics. Today’s sales managers have no choice but to ensure ethical standards from sales force otherwise they may be out of business or even land up in legal problems.Below diagram gives the changing trends in Sales Management

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The Psychology of Selling: Why People Buy

What do people really buy? They buy the benefits of a product. This chapter examines why and how individuals buy. It emphasizes the need for salespeople to stress benefits in their presentations. After studying this chapter, you should be able to

Explain the difference between a feature, an advantage, and a benefit.

Be able to construct a SELL Sequence.

Know when and how to use a trial close.

Explain why people buy benefits rather than features or advantages.

Enumerate techniques for determining a customer's needs.

List factors that influence the customer's buying decision.

Show why buying is a choice decision.

Strategies & tactics

Every business survives on the basis on a single thing: sales. Whether the business provides a product, either to consumers or other businesses, or it offers a service, the absence of sales means the end of the business. When it comes to talking about sales, though, the conversation often fixates on sales tactics at the expense of sales strategy. This is a critical problem. For a business to generate the best possible sales numbers, it needs both a clear sales strategy and sales tactics to support that strategy.

What is Sales Strategy?

A sales strategy, in simplest terms, represents an idea or general approach to achieving a particular business goal. A business might set a general goal of capturing more female buyers. If the business operates in an industry historically dominated by male buyers, a possible sales strategy would go something like this: de-masculine or feminize the product or service. A sales strategy often includes the content of marketing messages. A case-in-point example of a sales strategy aimed at capturing women buyers is the now-classic “Come see the softer side of Sears” campaign.

What are Sales Tactics?

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By contrast, sales tactics refer to the specific actions a business takes to carry out the sales strategy. Everything from running a series of TV ads and putting up fliers around the neighborhood to talking to a customer face to face about the benefits of a product constitute sales tactics. These tactics should, on the whole, reflect the overall sales strategy. The TV ads should feature products that the target demographic needs, in settings that make sense for them. If you aim to capture female buyers, statistically speaking, few women work on constructions sites, so advertising that features a construction site will likely not speak to women.

Choosing a Sales Strategy

In theory, a business can choose any sales strategy it wants. In practice, however, a sales strategy should take account of a product or service’s strengths and weaknesses. While typically used in reference to an entire business, a basic SWOT analysis can also prove useful in analyzing strategic sales and marketing plans. A SWOT analysis consists of a systematic assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats attached to a particular business, product or plan within the larger framework of the market. This type of analysis can help show where the business can best direct its sales efforts.

Considerations

No matter how well trained the salesperson or sales staff, in the absence of a clear

sales strategy, the sales tactics they employ will likely result in mediocre sales. The

sales strategy offers the people on the ground a clear starting place, as well as a clear

message, they can direct at potential buyers.

Distribution channels

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A distribution channel can have several stages depending on how many organisations are involved in it:

Looking at the diagram above:

Channel 1 contains two stages between producer and consumer - a wholesaler and a retailer. A wholesaler typically buys and stores large quantities of several producers’ goods and then breaks into bulk deliveries to supply retailers with smaller quantities. For small retailers with limited order quantities, the use of wholesalers makes economic sense.

Channel 2 contains one intermediary. In consumer markets, this is typically a retailer. The consumer electrical goods market in the UK is typical of this arrangement whereby producers such as Sony, Panasonic, Canon etc. sell their goods directly to large retailers such as Comet, Tesco and Amazon which then sell onto the final consumers.

Channel 3 is called a "direct-marketing" channel, since it has no intermediary levels. In this case the manufacturer sells directly to customers. An example of a direct marketing channel would be a factory outlet store. Many holiday companies also market direct to consumers, bypassing a traditional retail intermediary - the travel agent.

What is the best distribution channel for a product?

What factors should be taken into account in choosing the best distribution channel? Here is a summary:Nature of the product

Technical/complex? Complex products are often sold by specialist distributors or agents

Customised? A direct distribution approach often works best for a product that the end consumer wants providing to a distinct specification

Type of product – e.g. convenience, shopping, speciality

Desired image for the product – if intermediaries are to be used, then it is essential that those chosen are suitable and relevant for the product.

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The market

Is it geographically spread?

Does it involve selling overseas (see further below)

The extent and nature of the competition – which distribution channels and intermediaries do competitors use?

The business

Its size and scope – e.g. can it afford an in-house sales force?

Its marketing objectives – revenue or profit maximisation?

Does it have established distribution network or does it need to extend its distribution option

How much control does it want over distribution? The longer the channel, the less control is available

Legal issues

Are there limitations on sale?

What are the risks if an intermediary sells the product to an inappropriate customer

Roles and Responsibilities of a Sales Manager

A sales manager plays a key role in the success and failure of an organization. He is the one who plays a pivotal role in achieving the sales targets and eventually generates revenue for the organization.

A sales manager must be very clear about his role in the organization. He should know what he is supposed to do at the workplace.

Let us understand the roles and responsibilities of a sales manager:

A sales manager is responsible for meeting the sales targets of the organization through effective planning and budgeting.

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A sales manager can’t work alone. He needs the support of his sales team where each one contributes in his best possible way and works towards the goals and objectives of the organization. He is the one who sets the targets for the sales executives and other sales representatives. A sales manager must ensure the targets are realistic and achievable.

The duties must not be imposed on anyone, instead should be delegated as per interests and specializations of the individuals. A sales manager must understand who can perform a particular task in the most effective way. It is his role to extract the best out of each employee.

A sales manager devises strategies and techniques necessary for achieving the sales targets. He is the one who decides the future course of action for his team members.

It is the sales manager’s duty to map potential customers and generate leads for the organization. He should look forward to generating new opportunities for the organization.

A sales manager is also responsible for brand promotion. He must make the product popular amongst the consumers. A banner at a wrong place is of no use. Canopies must be placed at strategic locations; hoardings should be installed at important places for the best results.

Motivating team members is one of the most important duties of a sales manager. He needs to make his team work as a single unit working towards a common objective. He must ensure team members don’t fight amongst themselves and share cordial relationship with each other. Develop lucrative incentive schemes and introduce monetary benefits to encourage them to deliver their level best. Appreciate whenever they do good work.

It is the sales manager’s duty to ensure his team is delivering desired results. Supervision is essential. Track their performances. Make sure each one is living up to the expectations of the organization. Ask them to submit a report of what all they have done through out the week or month. The performers must be encouraged while the non performers must be dealt with utmost patience and care.

He is the one who takes major decisions for his team. He should act as a pillar of support for them and stand by their side at the hours of crisis.

A sales manager should set an example for his team members. He should be a source of inspiration for his team members.

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A sales manager is responsible for not only selling but also maintaining and improving relationships with the client. Client relationship management is also his KRA.

As a sales manager, one should maintain necessary data and records for future reference.

Here are 10 attributes of a great sales manager:

1) Passion. This is also one of the top qualities of a master closer and the only one that can’t be taught. Without a passion for the home building industry, it’s impossible to lead and inspire a team, Tarullo says.

2) Integrity. Combined with passion, these are the two most important qualities for a sales manager. “They need that core,” Tarullo says. “If they don’t have those, they shouldn’t be in sales management.”

3) Positive attitude. It’s up to a builder’s leadership to put smiles on the faces of the sales team and set the tone for the company.

4) Coaching. Seventy percent of a sales manager’s time should be spent coaching, either in groups or one on one, Tarullo says. Any sales manager who says the workload doesn’t allow that kind of time with the staff needs to examine how the day is being spent and ditch or delegate any activity that doesn’t affect lead generation or conversion.

5) Leadership by example. “The sales manager should be out on the sales floor with his people,” says Jim Capaldi, director of sales for the Ventura division of Standard Pacific Homes and author of The Ultimate New Home Sales Success Manual. “That’s where you’re most productive. Lead by example, make them accountable, push them, and get them out of their comfort zone.”

6) Loyalty. Sales managers need to go to bat for their sales team members, says Debbie Dompke, sales manager for Chicago-based Lexington Homes. “Let them know you’re on their side,” she says. “When they know you’re sincere, it’s amazing the work ethic you’ll get in return.”

7) Availability. Dallas-based sales trainer Bob Hafer says paperwork has to be done, but it can’t be used as an excuse “to not do the tough stuff.” It’s easier than dealing with people, to be sure, he says, adding, “Administrative tasks never talk back to you.” When he was a sales manager, he got to work at 7 a.m. and spent two hours on paperwork before the phone started ringing. Then, when the sales centers opened, he was available to work with his sales teams in the field.

8) Motivation. This includes encouragement and recognition. Dompke says she does this in “so many ways—contests, games, dancing, singing, dressing up. You laugh together and play together.”

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9) Continuous learning. Doctors, accountants, attorneys, and other professionals keep learning their whole lives in order to keep their skills up to date. Sales managers need to do likewise. “When you don’t grow,” Capaldi says, “you leave the door open for someone else.”

10) Listening and communication. This is an underpinning for most of the other qualities. You can’t be a good coach or motivator if you’re not a good communicator; and you can’t continuously learn, lead by example, or demonstrate loyalty without being a good listener.

“Years ago, the sales manager’s job was about paper management, organization, and managing the interest lists,” Capaldi says. “Now, it’s about keeping the sales team accountable, motivated, and focused on the basics of selling. I always preach to people that real estate sales is the hardest job to be good at and the easiest job to fail at.”

And Tarullo feels that the sales manager’s job is the key to that success. “I think it’s the toughest job in the business because you have to wear so many different hats,” she says. “You need to be a disciplinarian but also a coach and a motivator.”

Objectives of Sales Management

Sales management entails numerous objectives which are executed by sales managers. There are mainly three such objectives1. Sales Volume2. Contribution to profits3. Continuous GrowthThe sales executives in this case are the ones who help implement these objectives. However it is the top management who has to outline the strategies to achieve these objectives of sales management. The top management should provide products which are socially responsible and are marketed in a manner which meets customers expectations and does not break it. Thus sales management involves a strong interaction between Sales, marketing and Top management.Sales Management and financial resultsFinancial Results are another objective of sales management and are closely related and therefore sales management has financial implications as well.Sales – Cost of Sales = Gross ProfitGross Margin – Expenses = Net profit.Thus the variation in Sales will directly affect the Net profit of a company. Hence maintaining and managing sales is important to keep the product / service / organization financially viable.

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The Objectives of sales are therefore decided on the basis of where the organization stands and where it wants to reach. It is a collaborated effort from the top management along with the marketing managers and sales managers to provide with a targeted estimate.

PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION

The distribution part of the marketing mix if of the neglected child. Many market planers tend to take existing distribution strategies and channels.Distribution expenditure and plans must always be coordinated with the other parts of the marketing mix.Product ownership has to be transferred somehow from the producer to the consumer Goods also must transfer from the production site to the location where they are needed. Distribution role within the marketing mix is getting the product to its market; all responsibility rests with the distribution channels.Getting the product to market entails a number of activities, most importantly arranging from its sales (and transfer of title) from the producer to the final customer.

Distribution channels

A distribution channel consists of the set of people and firms involved in the flow of title to a product as it moves from the producer to the final customer or business users. A channel of distribution always includes both the producer and the final customer for the product in its present form as well as any middle man (such as retailers and wholesalers).Besides producer, middleman and final customer other institution aid the distribution process, among these intermediaries are banks, insurance companies, storage firms and transportation companies.

PERSONAL SELLING

WHAT IS PERSONAL SELLING?

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The personal selling is the personal communication of information to persuade a prospective customer to buy a produce or service or idea, it is the major promotional tool used to reach this goal.The effort of sales people go far beyond simply making transactions, they also include following

Explaining product benefits Demonstrating the proper operation of the product Educating customers about the new product Answering questions and responding to the objections Organizing and implementing point of purchase promotion. Arranging the terms of purchase Following up the purchase to ensure that customers are satisfied Developing the relationship with the buyers Collecting market and competitive information to improve marketing strategies

Personal selling is mostly used when:

The market is concentrated either geographically , in a few industries or a few large customers

The product has a high unit value, quite technical in nature or requires demonstration.

The product must be fitted to the individual customers needs as in case of insurance or investments

The product is in the introductory stage of its life cycle The organization does not have enough money for an adequate advertising.

FEATURES / CHARACTERISTICS OF PERSONAL SELLING

Following are different features which are present in the personal seller Sales people represent their organization in the outside world attitudes about a

company and its product are often based on the impression left by salespeople Sales people typically operate with little or no direct supervision therefore to be

successful salespeople must be creative and persistent Salespeople are authorized to spend company funds. they spend money for

transportation, food, housing, entertainment, and other expenses Salespeople must frequently travel a considerable amount Salespeople often have profit responsibility today’s salesperson do much of the

strategic planning for their individual territories. In cooperation with sales manager, they decide what target market they pursue, how they will deal with each market segment.

FUNDAMENTALS OF SUCCESSFUL PERSONAL SELLING

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Sales people must have greater flexibility, he must tailor sales presentations to fit the needs and behavior of the individual customers

He must have the potential of explaining the product benefits, answer questions of his customers

He must be truthful He must behave in a reliable manner Must seek similarity of personality between you and the customer and the

commodity interest and goals Sales person must see whether the person or his prospects has the potential to

pay for the product or not.

ROLE OF PERSONAL SELLING IN MARKETING

Personal selling is the interpersonal arm of promotion mix. Advertising consists of one-way, non personal communication with target consumer group in contrast personal selling involves two way personal communications between sales people and individual consumer -weather face to face, by telephone, through video conferences, or by other means.

Personal selling can be more effective than advertising in more complex situation like explaining product benefits, demonstrating the proper operation of the product, educating consumers about new products, answering different questions about their products and clear any doubts about it, organizing and implementing point of purchase promotion and also arranging the terms of sale, follow up the purchase to se that consumer is satisfied, also develop such a kind of personal relationship that the consumer can trust your product also it is very important because through this sales person can collect very useful competitive information.

Sales people can also work with whole sellers and retailers to gain their support and to help them be more effective in selling the company’s product they serve as a critical link between a company and its consumer.Sales people also represent consumer to the company, they learn about the needs of the consumer and work with other in the company to create greater consumer value.

SCOPE OF PERSONAL SELLING In the business there are two types of personal selling activities

Inside selling Outside selling

Inside selling

It involves retail stores. In this group we include the sales person in the stores and the sales people at the catalog retailers who take telephone orders. Also included are telephone orders takes at manufactures and wholesalers, most of whom taking existing customers routine orders over the telephone.

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Outside selling

Sales people go to the consumer. They make contact by telephone or in person. Most outside sales force usually represents producers or wholesaling, middleman, selling to the business users and not to the house hold consumers. In outside selling, we also include

1. Producers whose representatives sell directly to the household consumers (e.g.) insurance companies.

2. Representatives of retail organizations who go to the consumer’s house to demonstrate a product, give advice, or provide an estimate such as sales people for some furniture stores and home heating and air-conditioning retailers.

3. Representative of non profitable organizations (e.g.) charity funds raisers, workers for political candidate.

CHAPTER NO 4

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SALES PERSON

The term sale representative covers a broader range of positions in our economy. The position range from to the least to the most creative type of sellingSales force performs one or more of the following tasks for their companies:

Prospecting: Sales representatives find and cultivate new customers Targeting: they decide how to allocate their scarce time among prospects and

customers Communicating: sales representatives skillfully communicate information about

the companies products and services Selling: sales person know the art of the salesmanship, approaching, presenting,

answering objections, and closing sales. Servicing: Sales representatives provide various services to the customers –

consulting on their problems rendering technical assistance, arranging financing and expediting delivery

Information gathering: Sales representative conduct market research and intelligences work and fill in call reports

Allocating: Sales representatives decide on which customer to allocate scarce products during product shortages.

MOTIVATING SALES FORCE

Motivation is the process through which hidden needs are aroused.

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Some sales people will put forth their best effort without any coaching from the management.For them selling is the most fascinating in the world. They are ambitious and self status, but majority of sales representative require encouragement and special incentives from the management to work at the best level. This is specially true of field selling for the following reasons:

The nature of the jobThe selling job is one of frequent frustrating, sales representatives usually work alone, their laws are irregular and they are other away from home, they confront aggressive, competing sales representative, they do not have the authority to do what is necessary to in the account they lose large orders that they have worked hard to obtain.

Human nature Most people operate below capacity in the absence of special incentives such as financial gain or social recognition.

Personal problemsSales representatives usually preoccupied with personal problems such as sickness in the family, marital discord or debt etc.

MOTIVATION MODEL

Motivation effort Performance reward satisfaction

The above model suggest that higher the sales person motivation the greater is his or her effort , greater effort will lead to greater performance which will lead to greater rewards and greater rewards will lead to greater satisfaction which will again lead to reinforce motivation. The model implies following

Sales manager must be able to convince sales people that they can sell more by working harder or being trained to work smarter. But if sales are largely determined by economic conditions or competitive action this linkage is undermined.

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Sales manager must be able to convince sales people that the rewards for better performance are worth the extra effort , but if the rewards are too small or of the wrong kind the linkage is undermined

CHAPTER NO 5

THE PERSONAL SELLING PROCESS

Most companies take a customer- oriented approach to personal selling as consisting of several that the sales person must master. These steps focus on the goal of getting new customers and obtaining orders from them, however most sales person mush of their account on existing and building long term customer relationships.

STEPS IN THE SELLING PROCESS

Most selling program view the selling process as consists of several steps that the sales person must master. These steps focus on the goals of getting the new customers and obtain orders from them. Personal selling involves following steps

Prospecting and qualifying Preapproach Approach Presentation and demonstration Handling objections Closing Follow-up

PROSPECTING

The first step in the selling process is to identify prospects. Although the company will try to supply leads, sales representatives try to make their own leads can be developed in the following ways:

Asking current customer about the names of the prospects

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Cultivating other referral sources, such as suppliers, dealers, non competing sales persons, bankers and trade association executives.

Joining organizations to which sales person belongs. Engaging in the speaking and writing activities. Examining data sources (newspapers and directories) in search of names. Using the telephone and mail to find leads. Dropping in unannounced on various offices.

QUALIFICATION

Sales representatives must needs skills in screening out poor leads . prospects can be qualified by examining the following:

Financial ability Location Volume of business Special requirement Likelihood of continuous business.

PREAPPROACH

Before calling upon the customer it is very important that the sales person should learn as mush as possible about the organization (what it needs, who is involved in the buying) and its buyers (their characteristics and buying style), this step is known as pre-approach. The sales person can consult standard industry and online sources, acquaintances, and other to learn about the company. The sales person should set call objectives, which may be qualifying the prospects, to gather information and to make an immediate sale.Another step is to decide on the best approach, which might be a personal visit , a phone call, or a letter. The best timing should be considered carefully because many prospects are busiest at certain time. Finally the sales person should give a thought to an overall strategy for the account.

APPROACH

The sales person should know hoe to greed the customer tom get the relation up to the start. This involves the sales person appearance, the opening lines, and the follow up remarks and the opening lines should be positive for example, “Mr.Ali I am Salem Ahmed from the PC hotel Peshawar and appreciate your willingness to see me. I will do my best to make this visit profitable and worthwhile for you and your company this

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might follow by key questions and active listening to understand the buyer and his her needs.

PRESENTATION AND DEMONSTRATION

During the presentation step of the selling process sales person tells the product story to the buyer, showing how the product will make or save money. the sales person describe the product features and concentrate on the consumer’s need and benefits. Using need-satisfaction approach, the sales person starts with the search for consumer needs by getting the consumer to do most of the talking. This approach calls for good listening and problem solving skills. With the proper pre approach information the sales person can design a sales presentation that will attract the prospects attention. The sales person will try to hold the prospects interest while building a desire for the product and when the time is right , attempt to stimulate action by closing the sale . this approach is called AIDA ( an acronym formed by the first letters of Attention, Interest, Desire And Action), is used by many organization.After attracting the interest of the prospects it is very important to hold and stimulate desire for the product with sales presentation. The sales person must always know how the product will benefit the prospect.Companies have developed three styles of presentation.

Canned approach is the oldest approach in memorization of sales talk, covering the man point. It is based on stimulus response thinking: that is the buyer is passive and can be moved to purchase by the us of right stimulus words, pictures, terms and actions .canned approach is mostly used in door to door and telephone selling.

Formulated approach is also based on stimulus/ response thinking, but identifies early the buyer’s needs and buying styles and than use a formulated approach to this type of buyer the sales person initially draws the buyer into the discussion in a way that reveals the buyers needs and attitudes.. then the sales person moves into formulated presentation that shows how the product will satisfy the buyer needs. This is not canned approach but follow a general plan.

Need satisfaction approach starts with a search for customer’s real needs by encouraging the customer to do most of the talking. This approach calls for good listening and problem solving skills. The sales person than the sales person takes on the role knowledgeable business consultant hoping to help the customer save money or make more money.

Sales presentation can be improved by demonstration aids such as booklets, flip charts, slides, movies and audio –and video cassettes during the demonstration,, the sales person can draw five influence strategies.

Legitimacy. The salesperson emphasizes the reputation and experience of his or her company.

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Expertise. The sales person shows deep knowledge of the buyer’s situation and company’s product, doing this would being overly “smart”.

Referent power. the sales person build on any shared characteristics, interests, and acquaintances.

Ingratiation. The sales person provides personal favor( a free lunch, promotional gratuities) to strengthen affiliation and reciprocity feelings.

Impression. the sales person ménages to convey favorable personal impressions.

OVERCOMING OBJECTIONS

Customer almost always pose objections, during the presentation or when asked for an order. This resistance can be psychological or logical.

Psychological Resistance includes Resistance to interference Preference for established supply source or brands Reluctant to giving up something Dislike of making decision Unpleasant association about the other person Neurotic attitude toward money

Logical resistance includes Objection to price Delivery schedule Certain product or company characteristics.\

To handle these objections the sales representatives maintains a positive approach by: Asking the buyer to clarify the objections Questions the buyer in a way that the buyer has to answer his or her own

objection Denies the validity of the objections Turn the objections in to reason for buying

CLOSING

Now the sales person attempts to close the sale. Some sales people do not get to this stage or do not do it well. They lack confidence or feel uncomfortable about asking for an order or do not recognize the closing signal from the buyer, including physical actions, statements, comment, and questions.

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Sales person can use one of the following techniques They can ask for an order Offer to help the secretary write an order Ask whether the buyer wants A or B to make minor choices such as the color or

sizes etc. Indicate what the buyer will lose if the order is not placed now The sales person might offer the buyer specific inducements to close, such as a

special price, an extra amount no extra charge or a gift

FOLLOW UP AND MAINTAINANCE

This last step is necessary if the sales person wants to ensure customer satisfaction and repeat business this includes:Immediately after closing the sales person should complete any necessary details on delivery time, purchase terms, and other mattersThe sales person should arrange a follow up call or visit when initial order is received , to make sure there proper installation, instructions and servicing, this visit should detect any problems, and also ensures the sales person interest.The sales person should develop an account maintenance plan to make sure that the customer is not forgotten or lost.

MANAGING SALES FORCE

NATURE AND TYPES OF SALES PERSON The sales job is quiet different from the stereotype of the past. The image of the high pressure, fast friendship is largely outdated as in the nation of price cutting order chaser.There are following types of person seller

1. THE PROFESSIONAL SALES PERSON

A new type of sales person has emerged – the professional sales person. Today these reps are typically managers of designated market, which may be geographical or category of customers. They frequently engage in a total selling

TYPES OF SALES PERSON Driver Inside order taker Outside order taker

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Missionary sales person Sales engineer Consultative sales person

DriverIn this type of sale person primarily divides and supplies the product e.g. soft drink or fuels and service the account The selling responsibility of these sales person or authorized and rewarded for finding opportunity to increase sales to existing account.

Inside order takerIn this type of sales person he takes orders and assists the customer at the sellers place of business e.g. sales clerk of imperial stores

Outside order takerIn this type the sales person goes into the field and finds and requests for orders e.g. sales rep for a radio station selling advertising time to the local business.

Missionary sales person This type of sales person is expected to provide information and other services to existing and potential customers, perform promotional activities, and build goodwill. A missionary sales person does not solicit orders . an example of this job is an detail sales person for pharmaceutical firm such as Merck or Lilly.

Sales engineerIn this position the major emphasis is on the sales person’s ability to explain the product to the customer and also to adapt the product to a prospective needs of the customer’s particular needs . the products involved here are typically are complex , technically sophisticated items. A sales engineer usually provides technical support and works with another sales representative who calls regularly on a given account.

Consultative sales person This involves the creative selling of goods and services. th9is category contains the most complex , difficult s4lling job – especially the creative selling of services, because you can’t touch, see taste or smell them .

SELECTING AND RECRUITING SALES PERSON

At the heart of every sales force operation is the recruiting and selecting of good sales people. The performance difference between an average sales person and top sales person can be substantial. in a typical sales force , the top 30 percent of the sales person

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might bring 60 percent of the sales. Thus careful selection of sales person can greatly increase overall sales force performance. Beyond the difference in sales performance, poor selection results in costly turnover. When a sales person quits, the cost f finding and training new sales person plus the cost of lost sales. RECRUITING SALES PERSONRecruitment is the process of finding potential candidates to fill vacant job in an organization After the management has decided the needed traits, it must recruit sales people . the human resource department looks for applicants by getting names from the following

Current sales person Using employment agencies Placing classified ads Contracting college students Attract top sales people

Several policy and decisions are made in the recruitment phase these dimensions determine whether the job will filled by man or women or both; By high school graduates; business school graduates; or university graduates; by people who cn command highest salaries in their occupation, or by people willing to work for minimum wages.

SELECTING The selecting process is not the a one-shot approach in choosing the suitable candidate for the job. It involves a series of steps. Each step important because at each stage, information may be revealed which will disqualify the candidate a candidate has to pass through the series of barriers before getting the job in each of these steps job description matched with the job specification.

Sales force selection involves three important tasks Determining types of people needed by preparing the written job description; There have been many attempts to identify general set of personality attribute

that explains selling success, however this list tends to be little practical because they consists of common sense characteristics. Some company analyze personal history of their existing sales representativein effort to determine the trait common to successful performers, even than when company thinks it knpows what attributes are measuring to which quality should be present on the extent and abondance of one set the lack of another is difficult, a better approach is to identify the specification for the practice job, just as if the company were purchasing equipment or supplies rather than manufacturing for which detailed job description is required.

The description than become the basis for identifying the aptitude skills a need to perform the job.

Recruiting an adequate number of employees;

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A planned system of recruiting, a sufficient no of applicants is the next step in the selectionA good recruiting system involves;

Operates continually, not only when sales force vacancies occur. It is systematic in reaching all appropriate sources of applicants Provides flow of more qualified applicants than is needed

Following are the steps in the selection process1. Preliminary interview or screening2. Application blanks3. Testing4. Interviews5. Reference check6. Meeting with the departmental head7. Physical examination 8. Induction

RECRUITING APPLICANTS

A planned system for recruiting sufficient number of employees is the next step in the selection process a good recruiting system:

Operates continuously, not only sales force vacancies occur. Is systematic in reaching all appropriate sources of applicants. Provide a flow of more qualified applicants than is needed. To identify, large organizations often use placement services on college campus

or professional employment agencies. Smaller firms that need fewer new sales people may place classified ads in trade publication and daily newspaper.

Many firms solicit recommendations from company employees, customers or suppliers.

MATCHING APPLICANTS WITH HIRING SPECIFICATIONS

Sales managers use a variety of techniques –including application forms interviews, examinations-to determine which applicants posses the desired qualification.Virtually all companies ask candidates to fill out application indicates areas that should be explored in an interviewNo sales people should hired without at least one personal interview conducted by different people in different physical settings . pooling the opinions of a number of people increases the likelihood of discovering any undesirable characteristics and reduces the effects of one interviewer’s possible bias.The individual involved in the selection process need to be aware of the laws against discrimination in order to avoid inadvertent violations.

TRAINING SALES FORCE

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Training is the organized procedure by which people acquire knowledge and /or skills for a definite purpose because competitors have much programmed. The need for the trainings program should be scientifically determined and they must be designed to meet those needs. a number of approaches have been suggested by the scholars, researchers, and experts for determining organization’s training needs. Moore and Dutton contend that location; size and magnitude of training needs should be determined in order to get effective results for the money being spend for training

Many companies sends their sales representatives into the field immediately after hiring them they are supplied with samples, order book, and the description of their territory but mush of the selling is ineffective and unreliable, today the customers are mush educated and more demanding and many more supplies customer expert sales to have deep knowledge, to ideas, to improve the customer operation and to effective and reliable, this require much higher investment in training. Training programs are off course costly, they involve large outlays for instructors, materials, and space, paying a person who is not yet selling and closing opportunity because he or she is not in the field.Today’s sales representative spends a few weeks to several months in training. The median training period is 28 in service companies and 4 weeks in consumer Products Company. Training time varies in the complexity of the selling task and the type of person recruited into the sales organization.

The training has several goals; Sales representative require to know the company He needs to know the products of the company Sales reps needs to know the customers and competitors. Sales reps need to know how to make effective sales presentation. Sales reps need to understand field procedure and responsibilities.

COMPENSATING SALES PEOPLE

To attract sales people, a company must have an appealing compensation plan these plans vary greatly both by industry and by companies within the same industry. The level of the compensation must be close to the going rate for the type of the sales job and needed skills. To pay less than the going rate would attract too few quality sales people; to pay more would be unnecessary.

METHOD OF COMPENSATIONFinancial rewards are by far most widely tools for motivating sales people, it is very important to design and administer in effective sales compensation , financial rewards may be direct payments (salaries, wages) or indirect monetary compensation (paid vacation, pension, or insurance plan)Establishing a compensation system cause for decisions concerning the level of compensation as well as level of compensation.

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Three widely used methods of sales force compensation are; Straight salary a straight salary is affixed payments for a period of time during

which sales person is working it is typically used while compensating new sales person or missionary sales person, opening new territory, selling a technical product that require lengthy period of negotiation it provides a security and stability of earning for sales reps. This plan gives management control over reps efforts and the reps are likely to spend time on n0onselling activities that caters to customer’s best interest. The drawback of this method is that it does not offers any incentives for employees.

Straight commission a commission is the payments tied to specific unit of accomplishment. Thus a rep may be paid 5% of every sale. a commission method tends to have just opposite merits and limitations of straight methodIt is used when;

1. a strong incentive is needed to generate sales2. a very little non selling work is required.3. a company is financially weak and must its compensation expenses

directly to sales A heavy emphasis on commission can cause emphasis on sales not on customers. The ideal method is the combination plan, that has the best features of both the straight salary and straight commission SUPERVISING A SALES FORCE Supervising a sales people is difficult because sales people work independently at far flung areas, locations and where they cannot be observed continually, if too closely it can duly constrains the sales people, one of the attraction of the selling job the freedom it offers sales people to develop creative solutions to customers problems, close supervision can use this sense of independence, but also little supervision can contribute to the lack of direction sales people who are not supervised may not understand what the companies and supervisors expects from them.(e.g.) how mush time to spend servicing existence accounts, and how much developing new businesses.

METHOD OF SUPERVISION Personal observation the most effective supervisory method is personal

observation in the field. Typically at least half manager’s time is spend traveling with sales persons.

Reports sales people and check by sales managers prepare daily, weekly and monthly reports.

Annual calling plans it show that which prospects to call at which month and which activities to carry out. Activities include taking parts in trade shows etc

Time and duty analysis this shows how the sales person spend it time on different activities.

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Internet the fastest growing sales force technology tool is the internet which helps to gather competitive information, monitoring customers websites and researching industrial and specific customers.

EVALUATING SALES PEOPLE

Managing sales people include evaluating the performance of sales people. Sales executive must know what the sales force is doing in order to reward them or make constructive use proposals for improvements. By establishing performance standards and studding sales people’s activities, managers can develop new training programs to upgrade the performance of the sale force’s efforts. And, of course, performance should be the basis for compensation decision and other rewards.Performance evaluation can also help sales people identify opportunities for improving their efforts. Employees with poor sales record know they are doing something wrong. However, they may not know the problem if they lack objective standards by which to measure their performance.To improve the performance of the sales person it is very important for the sales manager to know the actual performance of the sales rep, some of the sources of information are ;

Sales reports monthly weekly and daily work plans and longer term territory marketing plans helps an executive to evaluate performance of the sales person

Call reports it is another source of information it shows which person or prospect to call on at which time.

Expense reports these reports helps to understand the activities of the sales person s. these expenses are partly or wholly repaid to the sales person.

Internet it is now most widely used tool for gathering information.

TYPES OF EVALUATION

Formal evaluation it produces several benefits it forces management to develop and communicate clear standards for judging performance and together well balance information about each sales person.Formal evaluation gives sales people constructive feed back that helps them to improve future performance finally sales people are motivated to perform well because they will have to sit down with sales manages and explain their performance.

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In formal evaluation managers compares a sales person’s current performance with the 0ast performance such as a comparison should directly indicate the person’s progress.

EVALUATION ON QUANTITATIVE BASES

Sales performance should be evaluated in terms of inputs (effort) and output (result) to gather inputs such as sales volume or gross margin provide a measure of selling effectiveness.

In quantitative evaluation we measure following; Call rate: no of calls per day or a week

No of formal proposals presented Non selling activities: no of promotional displays set or training session held

with distributors and dealers Sales volume per product, customer group Sales volume as %age of quota Gross margin per product No of orders and amount Closing rate: no of orders divided by no of calls.

QUALITATIVE EVALUATION

Performance evaluation would be much easier if it could be based on quantitative criteria. The standard would be absolute and deviation from standard could be measure precisely. Qualitative measure would also minimize the subjectivity and personal bias evaluators.

Some commonly facts are: Knowledge of company’s products, policies and competitor. Time management and preparation Customer relations Personal appearance.