SALES FORCE MANAGEMENT

Although selling is an extremely important function in most organizations it does have something of a bad reputation. This has mainly come about from the kind of hard selling associated with door-to-door selling. This image is quite far removed from the majority of selling that takes place especially in the business-to-business sector. Much of a salesperson’s time is not actually taken up by selling but with a variety of other tasks that they have to undertake in order to achieve the sale.

INTRODUCTION

Sales force organization refers to the type and size of the sales force. The type determines the degree of controllability while the size has profit implications. If the sales force is large the organization has to decide about the kind of specialization and co-ordination to use

Sales organization

Recruitment:It is the process of finding out candidates,

who are encouraged to apply. Selection is the process of choosing some out of many candidates. Therefore, we can say that selection is recruitment, but recruitment is not selection. Selection is the process of rejection of unfits. Recruitment precedes the selection process.

Recruitment

There are two types of recruitment: Internal Sources External Sources

Internal Sources:As the name says, it means the recruitment of people within

the organization. They fill in vacancies with the existing members within the existing organization. This can also be termed as promotion.

Merits: Co-operation Loyalty Honest performance No training Same salary

Demerits: Limited scope Chances of favoritism Time to adjust

External Sources: Employment Exchange Competitors’ organization. Salesmen of non-competing firms Educational institutions Recommended cases Advertisement Unsolicited applications

QUESTIONS?

The process of selecting differs from one place to another. Each firm has it’s own method of selecting people. The qualities expected must match with the job description and the person should be qualified enough too. The steps followed for selection is the same in all the places.

Application Blank Screening Reference Personal Interview Test Medical examination Final interview

Selection

Training is the continuation of selection. After selection, the sales manager will have two options.

Send him to the work field directly Send him for training program

It is always advisable to train a person before sending him to the work floor.

Training means the process of perfecting the salesmen for their work. It is the organized procedure through which knowledge as well as skill, for a particular purpose, is acquired.

Training

It is the salesmanship that hums the wheels of industry, turns the income and plums the living standard of the society.

It is the art of convincing the prospects to buy the given products and services. It is the wit act of persuasion. It is the ability to handle people and dandle the product. It is the ability to convey human needs and wants.

PERSONAL SELLING

Flexible and adaptability Minimum waste Acts as a feed back Creates lasting impression Pulls through logical sequence

Merits

It is expensive Difficulty of getting right kind of sales man Stake in consumer loyalty More administrative problem

Demerits

Selling across the table Selling at the counter Selling at the door step Auction selling Tender selling

Methods

Closing the sale

Presentation and demonstration

Pre-approach

Overcoming objections

Approach

Prospecting

Process of personal selling

Motivation and Compensation

Most buyers believe that the higher the salesperson’s motivation, the greater the effort and the resulting performance, rewards, and satisfaction-and thus further motivation.Such thinking is based on several assumption.

MOTIVATION

Sales managers must be able to convince salespeople that they can sell more by working harder or by begun trained to work smarter

Sales managers must be able to convince salespeople that the rewards fro better performance are worth the extra effort.

In this stage organization identify the attributes that motivates the sales executive to perform well.

There are two types of incentives given by the organizations

They are

Motivation

FINANCIAL NON-FINANCIAL

INCENTIVES

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES * Salary package * Flexible expenses * Fringe benefits…etc…

NON-FINANCIAL BENEFITS * Promotion * Recognition * Awards

TYPES OF INCENTIVES

To know whether the sales executives are achieving the quotas set for them i.e sales plans, the reports of their performances are compared against the set standards.

On the basis of the information, the conclusions are drawn and accordingly incentives are announced.

If required the sales executives are motivated and trained.

Evaluating

COMPENSATION is made in three ways.

COMPENSATION:

Direct salary

Direct Commissi

on

Combined plans

Direct salary: In this method sales executives are given

fixed salary per month. Direct commission: In this case the executives will be working

on commission basis…Eg : Life insurance agents. Combined Plans: It is a mixture of straight salary and straight

commission plans. In this method the sales executives are paid their regular salary plus their commission on the sales they make.

Eg BMTC pays their conductors a fixed salary + 2% Commission on the sale of tickets.

Compensation

THANK YOU…