NIFT

MFM - II
Subject: Sales & Distribution
Management

Date : 18/03/2015

Submitted to : Dr. Sanjeev Malage

Submitted By :
Srishti Raut (MFM/14/188)

Table Of Contents

Question 1: Prepare a report on emerging trends in Sales Distribution Management.3

Question 2: Identify a company and develop Sales Presentation methods / Strategies
Bibliography

19

11

Question 1: Prepare a report on emerging trends in Sales Distribution

Management.
Clients make decisions within the first 12 seconds of meeting the sales team/represenative
whether to invest their money and time in a particular product of service. This makes it
very important to understand what are the merging trends within Sales & distribution
management field, as selling is the pillar on which the success of any company is defined.
With the opening up of economies and the lightning speed at which technological
advancements are taking place which are shaping the new trends in this field. The world's
challenges are changing the very manner of selling. New issues await today's
professional. These trends require flexibility, tenacity, and the opportunity to educate
ourselves in a variety of disciplines. To be successful in a changing market environment, it
is important that sales managers understand the importance of emerging trends in the
following areas :
1. Global Perspective & understanding of new markets & growing competition
2. The growing importance of Customer Relationship Management
3. The new emerging channels & managing Multi-Channel sales
4. Emerging trends in Sales force management
5. Technological revolution

1.Global Perspective : Competition & Market

The competition within any industry is no more limited to the national players , or the giants
that have grown locally as most of the economies witness the emergence of global
players. This is posing a great threat to many of the domestic players making profitability
of business the main objective for many domestic players. To do this they must fortify their
sales strategies and double their efforts towards it. This does not work particularly one
way, as the marketeers have taken a dramatic shift from domestic client bases to a
multinational one has taken place. The challenges that present themselves during this
course is that of language barriers , cultural shifts & communication gaps that occur. What
will soon become an asset to many domestic companies as they engage in international
clientele is to have a sales force that is well equipped in the cultural tastes & preferences
of the International audience, which will give a better understanding of what the audience
is truly liking versus their dislikes. Also the ability to engage & communicate cross
culturally will soon give the companies an edge over their competitors.
2.Decline of Mass marketing as market grows more fragmented
The growth of niche markets has caused the emergence of niche sales and marketing
strategies becoming the norm. This is causing the market to become more fragmented,
which has made mass marketing a more or less volatile approach. Marketeers & Sales
managers now have a very fragmented marketed which has been segmented at multiple
levels making it important for them to join forces and work together. Companies now need
to pay more attention to the consumers behaviour to understand where they are choosing
to spend their money. The growth of new consumer markets demanding different ways of
doing business means sales teams will need to be even more targeted in their sales
planning and prospecting efforts no more scatter gun approach. The need is to have an
external buyer-seller we approach to tackle consumer demands which a company targets
to meet or expects to perish.

3.Customer Relationship Management (CRM) & its growing importance

A successful sale to a great extent depends on how a sales person can build a relationship
with the potential consumer. Competitive differentiation stems from the perceived customer
value. Customers desire to be with those they trust; this is the key differentiator in a
marketplace cluttered with vendors. The goal of CRM is to drive growth (i.e. revenue) and
maximise efficiencies (i.e. profit) in business practices, processes, and relationship
management (sales). Now the market demands that the consumer becomes the central
focus of all its efforts. With the emergence of excellent technologies & new platforms like
Social media, CRM is no more about just relationship marketing , but also about constant
engagement with the consumer through Integrated marketing communications. The use of
databases to not just recognise the most profitable consumer , but to convert the majority
into a cash cow. Many banks are now engaging in building a separate unit for Relationship
Managers , whose one simple goal is to build upon the consumer to buy & invest more into
a bank. An excellent example of this practice is HDFC who has invested a great deal in
their Data base & CRM efforts using the software CRMNext. The software helps the bank
achieve the following:
A Single 360 customer view by integration with data warehouse and other core banking
applications.
Scalable and fault tolerant technology for hosting more than 25 million customers and
400 million related records which enhances productivity
Empower customer service and sales teams with automated cross selling and up selling
opportunities through intelligent segmentation of customers.
The results of a successful CRM approach for HDFC has helped them achieve a 208%
increase in lead conversion with 40% increase in cross sell & 93% improvement in sales
turn-around-time.They have witnessed a 92% Increase in customer loyalty index &
decrease of customer complaints by 30%.

4.Managing Multi-Channels with new emerging channels & approaches

Many organisation are using multiple channels to engage their consumers. Not limiting
themselves to self owned outlets but Multi brand retailers & also new age plat forms like Ecommerce. Major benefits of multi-channel marketing system are:
Lower channel cost
Increased market coverage
Customised selling
The use of Multi channels can also create conflicts in terms of control & co-ordination
between channels. Therefore it is a challenge for Sales manager to efficient handle
conflicts and ensure maximum profits through the optimum use of these channels. There
are also some new approaches to multi channel selling that seem to have emerged :
Team Selling Approach
The practice of team selling is more widely followed by most Information Technology
companies in recent years. This type pf approach is used by companies when they want to
build a relationship with a consumer which is mutually beneficial to both parties. Major B2B
consumers 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 Benefits that companies can draw from this approach are :

- A team is more likely to as enough questions to identify the consumers real needs.
- Having more individuals present increases the likelihood of a consumer connecting with
someone on the team.
At Wipro ,the conduct team selling wherein the team consists of a Business development
executive , a solution expert & a domain expert; the goal is the address all doubts and
objections raised by the consumer while building a relationship with them.

 Social Selling
Social selling refers to using Social Media as a platform to conduct sales and engage with
consumers. As reported by Mark Fidelman in Forbes online, the article shows the actual
numbers on social selling, and how it really empowers sales activity of a company:

- 78% of social sellers sell above average

- Social sellers are on average 23% more likely to beat sales quotas
- 54% of study respondents say they have used social media for a sales success
- 40% link social media use to multiple closed deals
The most valuable benefit of social selling is instead of just pounding a general target
audience with a heavy-handed message over and over again, the company gets an
opportunity to engage a particular individual who is expressing a need or talking about a
given industry. And then craft a time-sensitive message that appeals to what that person
has already said. The beauty lies in the fact that social media matches a need with the
supply, time and time again, in precise ways thxat make sales easier for both parties, the
salesperson and the customer.The data tracking for this happens through metadata
analysis; wherein the consumers internet footprint is collected to understand where all the
potential consumer is surfing and what he/she is looking for .

5.Emerging trends in Sales force:

Sales Force Diversity
There are crucial changes taking place in the demographic characteristics of sales force
as it becomes more varied & valuable. As there is a growth in number of women who are
joining the sales force, the quality of the sales force is also improving with higher
standards of educational qualifications. with this trend, the challenge that companies face
is to sustain the quality & reduce turnover of employees. The constant drive for profit has
disabled the organisations' capability to acquire the best talent. A frightening thought, for
the largest asset of any organisation is talentespecially sales talent.Talent management
and sales effectiveness needs to be at the top of every manager's list in every
organisation. As per the CSO Insights' 2009 Annual Sales Effectiveness Report:

- The percentage of salespeople failing to hit their sales quota rose from 38.8 percent to
41.2 percent.

- Overall revenue plan attainment dropped from 88.2 percent to 85.9 percent.
- Seventy percent of firms report the ramp-up time for new salespeople is seven months
or greater.
Coaching is the key to an effective Sales force
As sales force becomes the greatest asset of a company after its customer , it is important
to invest in them. The use of an efficient Coaching program has resulted in a dramatic and
positive difference to sales people and their sales results. Sales managers are slowly
seeing merit in coach training for team engagement and improved bottom line. The
organisations need to know the need to recruit in and develop their sales teams to be
educators and facilitators not product sales people. Their investment in their sales people
will result in a whole new skill set including patience, listening, creative problem solving
and dealing with ambiguity and complexity. Constant development of skills can help the
sales force achieve their targets in a more efficient manner as the customers face a better

trained & skilled representative of the company. Customers will come to value the new and
improved sales approach as they are at the heart of the sale and they will trust the sales
person who will help them make the right Decisions moving forward.
Ethical and Social Issues
The growing awareness about ethical codes is an important aspect which is changing the
way most sales organisations are functioning. This trends is majorly affecting business
which engage B2B clients as they face ethical issues like bribery, deception (or
misleading) and high pressure sales tactics. It is important to educate the sales force
about the need of these ethical codes & to take ample measures to ensure the ethical
codes are followed.

6. Technological Revolution
Information system have greatly increased the capabilities of consumers and marketing
organisations. To compete effectively, sales person and managers will have to adopt the
latest technology. The technology revolution has bought about multiple trends:
Knowledge management.
As computer software developed, spreadsheets enabled end-users to take data and gain
useful information, such as buying patterns and favored products. The data collected at
various levels during the sales process like - at the point-of-sales level & at the internet
level helps understand the consumers better & the use of this data helps companies
maintain a competitive edge over its competition.
Using scientific data to predict B2B buying behaviour
In 2012 smart organisations, large and small, will follow the lead of business-to-consumer
(B2C) retailers such as Amazon.com by making smarter use of customer data to predict
behavior, drive sales, and deepen relationships. Companies are now faced with an
increasing availability of knowledge and an opportunity to exploit it. As available data
grows around buyers preferences and habits, emerging trends, new values sets and ways
of living, businesses will find new ways to understand their customers and new metrics to
access.

While change is good, it requires adjustment. The future of selling requires changes to
keep pace with generational and cultural shifts creating behavioural changes in decisions.
The selling representative of tomorrow must work efficiently and quickly to maintain this
pace to keep up with the growing competition.

Question 2: Identify a company and develop Sales Presentation

methods / Strategies
The company : Apple
Apple, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media
devices, personal computers, portable digital music players, and sells a variety of related
software, services, and third-party digital content and applications. Its products and
services include iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, iPod, a portfolio of consumer and professional
software applications, the iOS and OS X operating systems, iCloud, and accessories,
service and support offerings. The company ideology of Think Different reflects clearly in
its products & the sales experience that they provide. The current CEO of Apple Tim Cook
who took the reins of the company recently revealed the Apple Watch, the latest offering of
Apple.
The Product : Apple Watch (price)

The watch is by far the most personalised product ever created by Apple. It represents a
new chapter in the relationship people have with technology.These smart watches been
defined by their ability to keep unfailingly accurate time,it keeps time within 50 milliseconds
of the definitive global time standard. It delivers on the promise of compact design which is
aesthetic & tailor made to cater many kinds of audiences.

Product benefits:

- Customised user interface : Lets you customize your watch face to present time in a
more meaningful, personal context thats relevant to your life and schedule.

- Easy Communication & connect : Making communication more convenient as it sits right
on your wrist, it can add a physical dimension to alerts and notifications.

- Health & Fitness : The three rings of the Activity app show your daily progress and help
motivate you to sit less, move more, and get some exercise. Its also an advanced
sports watch, giving you real-time stats for a variety of the most popular workouts.

- Design : You can customise the design of the watch right from the size of the dial one
prefers (32mm , 42mm) to the kind of bands that they would like to use : rubber band
to , aluminium alloys in multiple colour choices. The grooves in each case are precision
engineered and CNC machined to ensure a perfect fit with any band. You can even
personalise the interface to choose what suits your mood and style.

- Technology : Taptic Engine, a linear actuator inside Apple Watch that produces haptic
feedback. what it does is it taps you on the wrist whenever you receive an alert or
notification, or press down on the display. Now even your heart beat is being used to
collect vital data to help you understand how your body functions & help you gain better
fitness. Force Touch - Use of extremely sensitive sensors that can differentiate between
a tap & a swipe. A digital crown which is traditional to watch i.e. the crown can be now
use to navigate , communicate and enjoy the whole Apple watch experience.Also the
watch has a single chip which configures an entire computer system ; It is an industry
first and represents a singular feat of engineering and miniaturization.

- Built-in Apps: The HeathKit which is a utility app in the iPhone becomes an integral part
of the Apple watch experience.

Prospective Audience:
Apple is know for its Niche market targets.

- The similar strategy is being used here as the sales are Targeted towards the 20 - 45
years of age group

- With household income more than 15 Lacs P.A they belong to the Upper Middle Class &
Upper class of the social class.

- By VALS segmentation they are the Thinkers whose primary motivators are their ideals .
Know to be conservative, they are practical consumers who look for durability,
functionality, and value in the products that they buy.They have abundance of
resources, yet seek information before indulging into a purchase.

- Market Segment Profiles: Business professional, Travellers , Athletes

- Specific Target Market Segments: Current loyal Apple consumers; Y o u n g

urban

Professionals into new wearable technology ; Business / travel users into portable
technology ; Active athletes runners, walkers, marathoners , Joggers

Approach:
The approach towards the Sales presentation becomes very crucial to have a successful
sales. But with Apple the one thing that is important during the process of Sales
presentation is to build a relationship with the consumer.
The approach that is best suited for Apple Watch is the Product approach , as it is a new
product and the curiosity surrounding it is high. Using this approach i.e letting the
consumer feel & enjoy the uniqueness of the product through self experience gives the
sales person an opportunity to understand how to begin the pitch. For e.g. Once the
consumer wears the Apple Watch , if they ask about the battery life, the sales person
knows that the longevity & performance concerns of the consumer must be first addressed
to convert a prospect into a definite sale. the idea behind using this approach is to give the
consumer a chance to lead the conversation.
Sales Presentation & Demonstration technique:
Need-Satisfaction Method:
Apple recognised the need of the consumers to have a wearable technology that is
personal & is an amalgamation of the Apple ecosystem , iPod & the iPhone. The vision for
the sales presentation is simple : The focus is on WHY the consumer needs the Apple
Watch & HOW it is going to benefit them ? What about the Apple Watch will be beneficial ?
What
How

Why

 The reason on initiating a sales pitch starting with a question of Why is to understand
where does the need for a smart watch arise for the consumer. What features are driving
the purchase.
Giving the consumer a lead and trying to understand the source of the demand, can give
the sales person an insight into what concerns of the audience must be addressed. Also
it becomes crucial to do the same as the consumer that walks in is someone who
already has gained certain amount of information regarding the product. They are visiting
the store to take the final call of whether to purchase or not.
Specific to the Indian consumer scenario, when making a high stake purchase i.e. a
watch that costs 50,000; the consumer has already built a certain notion regarding the
product. By asking why we know what is the information that is pre gathered & what are
the perceived notions vis a vis the product. An insight of the features that are truly
attracting the consumer towards the product.
This brings us to the How. Once we have the consumer insight as to Why the Apple
Watch , we can move on to conversing as to How the Apple Watch truly makes a
difference versus its competitors.
The How is where we talk about the advantages of the features that the consumer has
addressed in the initial question.
The What adds further to the How by informing about the true benefits of owning the
Apple Watch. The various benefits that the consumer would otherwise be unaware of.
Also at this juncture we try and add the prospects of building a relation with the
consumer. It not just till the sale , but the after sales service. Factors such as a training
session , or helping with the unboxing of the Apple Watch etc.
It is consumer engagement that will help us make the sale. Sound knowledge of the
product & understanding of the consumers concern & need is the key to making the sale.

The Sales Presentation

The Setting : The Apple Store
The Sales aid : The Financial scheme brochure & Feature brochure
The Pitch : When the consumer is aware about a particular feature of the Apple
Watch
When the consumer walks in to the apple store the most important part is to give the
customer the freedom to experience the product. Once you spot that the consumer is
going ahead towards the Apple Watch and has experienced it & shows a certain query on
their face, this is when the Apple genius (Sales representative) approaches.
Things to remember while talking to a prospect :
Understand what do the customers already know about the Apple Watch.
See if their iPhone is compatible. Probe further into understanding what feature of the
iOS8 does the prospect like and build on that liking towards the adb=vantage of using
the Apple Watch.
And what kind of utility are they looking for a formal or casual or fitness.Understand what
is their personal style and put forth the features of the watch in that perspective for the
prospect.
Incase the consumer is not an iPhone user , then the pitch must focus on elevating the
consumer to upgrade themselves to the iPhone experience and then showcase how the
Apple Watch will benefit them further.

Participant

Response

Apple genius

Hi Sir / Maam can I help you ?

Consumer

I have been reading quite a bit about the Apple Watch , and I would
like to understand how does the digital crown work?

Apple genius

Sir the Apple Watch is purely about personalisation through relevant

technology. So unlike the regular watch the crown is not purely to
manage the time , it can be used to navigate easily through the
phone. You could see it for yourself, it helps you navigate precisely &
nimbly without obstructing your view of the dial.The watch interface
turns on as you raise your wrist, and the user interface can over as
personal as your heartbeat sir. The reason for it to be so responsive
is the fact that the watch is a simple device which you wear
everyday. Sir tell me what is it that you love about your iPhone?

Consumer

I love the user interface & the easy yet efficient technology it
provides to me

Apple genius

Precisely sir , the Apple Watch takes this to a whole new level with
its force touch technology ,Apple Watch senses force, adding a new
dimension to the user interface. Force Touch uses tiny electrodes
around the flexible Retina display to distinguish between a light tap
and a deep press, and trigger instant access to a range of
contextually specific controls. With Force Touch, pressing firmly on
the screen brings up additional controls in apps like Messages,
Music, and Calendar

Consumer

Hmmm, so how personal can I make the device

Apple genius

Right from the right use of the apps like if you need your weather ,
news and music on the go , the Apple Watch Flashes technology will
do that for you. To personalising the dial of your watch to the picture
you like & connecting with your close friends. The apple watch is
technology that inhibits rather than enabling you. The Taptic
technology will tap on your wrist to notify you about any new
messages.

Consumer

But is it compatible with other devices like Android ??

Participant

Response

Apple genius

Sir , you for one I am sure have enjoyed the Apple devices , this is
about completing the whole apple experience of relevant and
personal technology by creating a complete eco system. The apple
watch will definitely add a new joyful dimension to the Apple device
experience that you have had till date.

Consumer

What about the Durability ?

Apple genius

Diamond is the toughest substance, and we have used Sapphire

which is the second-hardest transparent substance. Thats why we
chose it to cover the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition faces,
and to make the lenses of the heart rate sensor as you can use it in
all purposes even while going out for a run or a trek. Also the battery
life is of 18 hours that helps you use the watch to its maximum
potential.

Consumer

Ok, so what are my financial options ?

Beyond this point , the Apple genius must know that they have one foot of the customer in
for the purchase. The goal now is to simplify the process of the sales , and avoid causing
any trouble to the consumer. The financial options that is most viable to the consumer & is
outlined by the company must be advised and you should make it as convenient a process
possible. Uncomplicated the paper work & ensure a speedy process with the fastest
possible delivery of the product.

Bibliography