Strategic Marketing Management in Asia

Sales Force Management

J. Clement Sudhahar,
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Sales Force
Management
J. Clement Sudhahar
 ▾
16
A sales force serves as a company’s personal link to its customers. The ultimate
objective of sales management is to influence the sales force to get sales orders. The
vital stage in sales force management is to evaluate the performance of the indivi-
dual salespeople in order to suitably reward, evaluate, and retain star performers
and keep the cash registers of the firm ringing loudly. This chapter briefly reviews
some of the key issues on sales force management.

Sales force management, an important function of marketing, is

considered by some to be a very powerful arm of marketing. The
sales management process involves planning, implementing, and
evaluating sales force activities within the guidelines set by the
company’s strategic marketing plan. The tasks of staffing and
training a sales force present managerial challenges in several
areas. The key to successful sales force management lies in select-
ing salespeople with the right characteristics. Then plans must be
made to assimilate these “go-getters” into the company and to
train them. Management must then meticulously set up programs
to motivate, compensate, and supervise the sales force.

447
 Role of Sales Management in Marketing
Sales, a critical function of marketing, is a pivotal point in linking
the organization with the customers through product placement. In
simple words, marketing creates the platform and selling executes
the plan of revenue generation by means of exchange. Marketing
stresses the importance of satisfying customer needs and wants
through the process of exchange. Sales management plays an
important role in marketing, especially for firms in business-to-
business markets. Personal selling is the most frequently used pro-
motional technique in business markets and management of the
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sales force is an important component of any quality selling effort.

Strategic Sales Force Management

The sales force is a key link between companies and customers.
Therefore, companies have to be careful in designing and structur-
ing the sales force with a strategic focus. The paramount step in
sales force management is deciding the structure of the sales forces,
the setup of which is dependent on the strategy followed by the
company. Common sales force structures include the following:
• Territorial structure is used where every sales representative is
assigned a specific geographical area. This structure is pre-
ferred for building relationships with locals.
• Product structure is used for complex and unrelated product
portfolios. Here the salespeople are directly associated with
research and development of the products.
• Market structure is used if the companies are operating in dif-
ferent industries or market segments. Every sales force specia-
lizes in a definite market and helps push a product efficiently
in the given market. However, a disadvantage of this approach
is if customers are located over a wide geographical area.
• Complex structure is used when companies are in the business
of selling complex products to different customers across a
large geographical area. Here sales force structure is a combi-
nation of the other structures.

448 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 Once the structure is designed, companies need to make a deci-
sion with respect to the size of the sales force. The size of the sales
force is dependent on the market size and the number of custo-
mers. The overall success of sales teams, of course, is dependent
on the sales manager (different companies designate the Head of
Sales in different ways). A sales manager, in order to be effective,
must understand customers, appreciate the role of the salesperson,
and have the respect of the sales force. The key to success in this
realm depends on the efficient execution of the following sequence
of steps (Figure 1).
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Training the Sales Force

After recruiting a salesperson, virtually all companies put new
and inexperienced salespeople through an orientation and sales
training program, often lasting weeks or months. Even experi-
enced salespeople need continual training to improve their selling
skills, learn about new products, and improve their time- and
territory-management practices. A recent survey in India found
that 75 percent of the companies give experienced salespeople
1 10 days of training a year, with a primary focus on improving
product knowledge. One of the primary training areas for experi-
enced salespeople is in the use of sales force automation and other
web-based selling methods.

Motivating the Sales Force

Salespeople, especially the field sales force, require a high degree
of motivation. One key is to determine what motivates the sales
reps: is it money, status, control, accomplishment, or something

Recruitment Assimilation Training Motivation Compensation Supervision Performance

and selection evaluation

Figure 1: Managing a Sales Force.

Sales Force Manage ment 449

 else? People differ in what motivates them, and their motivations
change over time. A young salesperson is more likely to be moti-
vated by money, whereas an older salesperson may be more inter-
ested in recognition or power.

Compensating the Sales Force

Financial rewards are by far the most widely used tool for moti-
vating salespeople. Consequently, designing and administering an
effective sales compensation plan is a big part of a sales manager’s
job. Financial rewards may be direct monetary payments (salary,
commission) or indirect monetary compensation (paid vacations,
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pensions, insurance plans).

Supervising the Sales Force

Supervising a sales force is difficult because salespeople often
work independently at far-flung locations where they cannot be
continually observed. And yet supervision serves both as a means
of ongoing training and as a device to ensure that company poli-
cies are being carried out. The most effective supervisory method
is personal observation in the field. Typically, at least half a sales
manager’s time is spent traveling with salespeople. Other supervi-
sory tools are reports, e-mail, messaging, and sales meetings.

Evaluating the Sales Force

Managing a sales force includes evaluating their performance.
Sales executives must know what the sales force is doing in order
to reward them or make constructive proposals for improvement.
By establishing performance standards and studying salespeople’s
activities, both quantitative and qualitative measures should be
used to formulate a complete picture of performance. Quantitative
evaluation generally has the advantage of being specific and objec-
tive as it measures the output in terms of target set versus achieve-
ment. Qualitative evaluation often reflects broader dimensions of
behavior, but is limited by the subjective judgment of the evalua-
tors. For either type of appraisal, management faces the difficult

450 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 task of setting standards against which a rep’s performance can be
measured.

Recent Trends
Organizations today recognize the paramount role of selling func-
tions and set up state-of-the art structures for managing it effec-
tively as it is one among the many functions of marketing where
the deliverables can be assessed objectively, precisely, and numeri-
cally. The face of any organization is the sales force. Companies
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spend a considerable amount of time and money on their sales

force. However, having a sales force is expensive and companies
attempt to manage them in an efficient manner.
The focus of the sales function in the recent period has trans-
formed in many ways and the metamorphosis can be summarized
(Evolution of Sales Focus) as:

A Shift From… To…

Transactions Relationships
Individuals Teams
Sales volume Sales productivity
Management Leadership
Local Global

Today, a new philosophy concerning salespeople has gained

momentum and stresses the following:

• They work in teams;

• The computer is their primary sales tool;
• They do not sell to customers; rather they partner with them;
• The term salesperson is out; consultant/relationship manager
is in.

Sales Force Manage ment 451

 Sales Force Automation: Order of the Day
In recent years, organizations have equipped their salespeople with
an increasing array of electronic tools. Mobile phones, laptop com-
puters, tablets, and multimedia equipment allow salespeople to
access the internet, e-mail, and various company databases. They
also allow salespeople to electronically communicate with their
managers, marketers, and others in their organization by providing
such things as market intelligence, call reports, credit applications,
and customer questions. Today, organizations are moving beyond
using these tools only for communication and integrating them with
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software that allows a salesperson to create customized reports for

customers, develop proposals with prices, discounts, delivery dates,
and other information critical to making a sale, estimate costs for
particular orders, and develop forecasts for customers and terri-
tories. This capability of using electronic tools to combine company
and client information in real time to enhance the sales function is
known as sales force automation (SFA). SFA also equips the firms to
control all sales functions through Sales-dashboard, an online moni-
toring device for keeping tabs on the entire sales activity.

Summary
Organizations across the globe recognize that the keys for success
in sales management are innovation, technology, and leadership
provided at the top. These three aspects, coupled with the latest
selling approaches — viz. solution selling, consultative selling,
and relationship selling — enable them to deliver the pre- and
post-sales functions at desirable levels. Sales jobs today range
from order takers through support salespeople (missionary sellers,
sales engineers) to order getters (consultative sellers). Some chan-
ging patterns in personal selling have emerged in recent years —
patterns such as selling centers (team selling), global sales teams,
relationship selling, telemarketing, internet selling (sales through
web, online, social and interactive media), and sales force automa-
tion. The top management must therefore set up foolproof pro-
grams to motivate, supervise, and compensate a sales force in
order to keep pace with the changing face of people and markets.
452 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR
 CASE 1: SALES FORCE MANAGEMENT

Sustaining Sales Force Performance: AB Controls India Ltd.

Auto Component Industry
J. Clement Sudhahar

The auto components industry, being an integral part of the auto industry in India,
was expected to grow by 9 11 percent in 2012 2013 with slowing growth in
domestic Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) production and moderate growth
in exports. Softening input costs will provide some respite but improvement in Original
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Parts Manufacturers (OPM) is likely to be limited, given the weak outlook for Original
Equipment Manufacturing production and continued pricing pressure in the replace-
ment segment. The outlook remains healthy for production of auto components over
the next 5 years, with an expected Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of
15 17 percent, driven by a robust forecast for the domestic automobile industry and
growing low-cost sourcing by global Original Equipment Manufacturing (Table 1).

OUTLOOK ON SIZE AND GROWTH IN THE AUTO COMPONENT INDUSTRY

Table 1: Domestic Consumption and Growth in the Auto Industry.

Proportion Size in Growth Proportion Size in Growth

of Total Rs. 2011 2012 of Total Rs. 2012 2013
(%) (Billion) (E) (%) (%) (Billion) (P) (%)

Domestic consumption
OEM 64 1477 12 64 1610 8 10
Replacement 36 840 10 36 924 9 11
Total 100 2317 14 100 2534 8 10
Domestic production
OEM 69 1477 12 68 1610 8 10
Replacement 16 334 7 15 357 6 8
Exports 16 335 41 16 388 15 17
Total 100 2146 13 100 2355 9 11
Source: CRISIL Research — Database accessed during March 2013.
E: Estimated; P: Projected.

Sales Force Manage ment 453

 OEM SLOWDOWN TO HAMPER AUTO COMPONENT PRODUCTION
The pace of growth in domestic automobile production (in value terms) is expected
to slow down in 2012 2013, with sharp deceleration in growth across all automo-
bile segments weighing down volume growth as well as pricing power of auto com-
ponent manufactures. The most major impact would emanate from the cars and
utility vehicles and commercial vehicles segment which cumulatively make up over
70 percent of OEM component demand.

OVERVIEW OF INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE IN 2011 2012

Production
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The cumulative production data for March April 2012 shows production growth of
13.83 percent over the same period last year. In March 2012 as compared to March
2011, production grew at a single digit rate of 6.83 percent. In 2011 2012, the
industry produced 20,366,432 vehicles of which the share of two wheelers, passen-
ger vehicles, three wheelers, and commercial vehicles were 76 percent, 15 percent,
4 percent, and 4 percent, respectively.

Domestic Sales
The growth rate for overall domestic sales for 2011 2012 was 12.24 percent
amounting to 17,376,624 vehicles. Only in the month of March 2012, domestic
sales grew at a rate of 10.11 percent as compared to March 2011, where the sales
figures stood at 1223 vehicles.
The passenger vehicles segment grew at 4.66 percent during March April 2012
over same period last year. Passenger cars grew by 2.19 percent, utility vehicles grew
by 16.47 percent, and vans by 10.01 percent during this period. In March 2012,
domestic sales of passenger cars grew by 19.66 percent over the same month last
year. Also, sales growth of total passenger vehicle in the month of March 2012 was
at 20.59 percent (as compared to March 2011). For the first time in history, car sales
crossed two million in a financial year.
The overall commercial vehicle segment registered growth of 18.20 percent during
April March 2012 as compared to the same period last year. While medium and
heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs) registered a growth of 7.94 percent, light
commercial vehicles (LCVs) grew at 27.36 percent. In only March 2012, commercial
vehicle sales registered a growth of 14.82 percent over March 2011.

454 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 Three-wheeler sales recorded a decline of ( ) 2.43 percent in April March 2012
over the same period last year, while goods carriers grew by 6.31 percent during
April March 2012 and passenger carriers registered a decline by ( ) 4.50 percent.
In March 2012, total three-wheeler sales declined by ( ) 9.11 percent over March
2011.
Total two-wheeler sales registered a growth of 14.16 percent during April March
2012. Mopeds, motorcycles, and scooters grew by 11.39 percent, 12.01 percent,
and 24.55 percent, respectively. If we compare sales figures of March 2012 to
March 2011, the growth for two wheelers was 8.27 percent.

Exports
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During April March 2012, the industry exported 2,910,055 automobiles, registering
a growth of 25.44 percent. Passenger vehicles registered growth at 14.18 percent in
this period. Commercial vehicles, three wheelers, and two wheelers segments
recorded growths of 25.15 percent, 34.41 percent, and 27.13 percent, respectively
during April March 2012. For the first time in history, car exports crossed half a
million in a financial year.
In March 2012 compared to March 2011, overall automobile exports registered a
growth of 17.81 percent.

AB CONTROLS INDIA LTD: SALES GROWTH AND QUALMS

ABC, a leading auto component manufacturer in India, has established itself as a top
OEM supplier to prominent auto majors in India, namely, Toyota, Tata, GM, and
Hyundai, besides exports. In 2009, the firm received the “Best Managed Supplier”
award from Toyota apart from being judged as “Consistent Performer” by TATA.
These awards, besides a flurry of certificates received from export markets and qual-
ity certification from ISO agencies, speak volumes for ABC’s consistent performance.
The firm achieved milestone successes in every fields in auto component manufactur-
ing, be it OEM, exports, replacement, accessories in retail market and servicing of
contracts with auto majors in its relatively small history. Sales revenue has always
been heading north without exception on a yearly basis. The top management also
never hesitated to go for expansion even once in the last decade.
The salient features of the firm are as follows:

• Specialized: Competence lies in the forged, CNC-machined, assembly and

heat treatment of automotive components for specialized applications.

Sales Force Manage ment 455

 • Scale: One of the largest manufacturers in India of components used in the
manufacture of trailer axles, transmission, and air-brake systems.

• Competitive: More than 45 percent of the revenue is derived from exports to

quality-conscious US and European markets in addition to Australia, Brazil,
and Mexico, among others.

• Customers: Brand-enhancing customers comprise Tier-I and Tier-II companies

across the world like Arvin Meritor (USA), Alliance Corporation (USA), Zenus
Starker — BMW (USA), and Bosch Rexroth (UK), among others, besides OEM
customers.

• Visible: Shares are listed on the Mumbai Stock Exchange and National Stock
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Exchange.

The company with all its focused energy has been very aggressive in expanding its
base all the time from being a domestic supplier to being the top Indian auto majors
entering export markets and servicing replacement markets. The growth achieved in
all three areas of its foray is evidence of its efficient sales force management strate-
gies. The foray made by the company into retail and replacement markets was
hugely successful in the initial two years, due to the all-out effort of Mr. Vijay
Kumar, Manager-Sales, Retail/Replacement. This fact was strongly endorsed by the
Vice-President-Sales, Mr. Mihir Sen.
After a sturdy performance in the first two years, 2009 2010 and 2010 2011, the
retail segment of the company saw the sales moving southward in 2011 2012
which had impacted the overall results. And first two quarters of 2012 were also not
great as far as sales growth was concerned. When the annual sales review meeting
was held in January 2013 at Chennai, India, a minor backlash was feared from the
President concerning dwindling sales performance in one specific segment headed
by Mr. Vijay, awardee of “Star Performer” of the country, and his teams across the
country, especially in South India which is supposed to be the citadel of the firm’s
performance zone. Mr. Mihir called his Secretary Ms. Joy asking for all the reports.
What followed was the conversation below:

“Have you collated all the reports from the different verticals?” asked
Mr. Mihir
“Yes sir, but…” was the stunted reply from Ms. Joy.
Hesitantly, Mihir quizzed Joy, “Where is the let up happening?”
“This time the lag is from Mr. Vijay and his team only.”

456 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 Mihir quickly flipped through the records and asked about the manage-
rial aspects of the super-sales-man turned Manager, Mr. Vijay’s moves
in the last one year.
“What is the turnover rate in the retail sales division headed by Vijay?”
“It is 32% in 2011 12”
“Its astonishingly very high”
“On the rise year-on-year, that is 20% to 32% in the last two years”
“Did you ever check the exit views of those sale people?”
“Not much... sir”
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Scanning all the information that his Secretary could muster, Mihir turned very
thoughtful and wanted to have a candid chat with Vijay who was summoned that
evening. Slowly, over a cup of coffee and a bowl full of dry fruits, the discussion
began.
Mihir was very objective in his assessment of the decline of a star performer, after
acknowledging Vijay’s initial performance spurt. Mihir had no option but to
acknowledge and applaud Vijay’s team building efforts, not only in one zone but
across the country. He was very appreciative of the fact that building efficient sales
teams in particular was a herculean task and categorically said, “Hats off to you
Vijay.”
Vijay was steadfast with all the anticipation that the discussion would henceforth
center around his downward slump.
On the expected lines, when questions arose on the 2012 downward spiraling sales,
Vijay was very calculated in his response as he started listing out the steps taken by
him and outcomes.
He gave region-wise actions taken by his managers in arresting the trend and
summed up the overall tactical moves adopted by him in countering the situation
over the last one year as follows:

Optimize the sales process

Optimize the sales pipeline and create effective KPI’s (key performance indicators)

Build a proper recruiting process

Develop the sales management team through training and mentoring

Optimize compensation

Test and manage talent.

Sales Force Manage ment 457

 “But all these steps together, surprisingly, yielded counter-productive results,”
quipped Mihir.
“That’s really it,” summed up Vijay in a disappointed tone.
The conversation went on for another 15 minutes, and then came a bolt from the blues.
To the utter surprise and dismay of Mihir, Vijay handed over his resignation letter.
Mihir did not want to give any knee-jerk reaction but had very little clue on how to
proceed further.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Comment on the move of AB Controls concerning expansion drive into the repla-
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cement market.

2. Consider the status of Mr. Vijay and justify his decision to quit.

3. If you were the Vice-President, Sales of AB Controls, how would you react to the
situation posed by Mr. Vijay’s resignation?

4. Comment on Mr. Mihir’s handling of the sales manager prior to the Annual
Review Meeting.

5. As the strategic consultant of ABC suggest a modified top organizational chart

to ensure sales performance efficiency.

TIPS FOR DISCUSSION

Teaching objectives: This case can be deployed for teaching major subjects like mar-
keting principles, sales and distribution management, human resource management
and strategic management. It is capable of addressing learning objectives in terms of:

The concept of sales force management

Performance management

Negotiation management

Concept of strategic decision making.

While administering this case the facilitator can keep a

tab of the following:

• The concept of Product Mix and ANSOFF matrix on market expansion while
foraying into new markets.

458 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 • Concept on Emotional Quotient and Alter Ego has to be kept in mind while
tackling and taking critical decisions.

• Senior Executives of any discipline have to strike extreme balance between

task and people management, especially while handling star performers.

• Stereotyped approaches to sensitive issues would backfire more often than

not. One has to summon all his hands on experience in dealing with new
market conditions.

• A sales-oriented organization, as it avoids top-heavy structure, facilitates the seam-

less decision making and swift problem-handling. Consequently, the synergy
among sales volume, deadlines, and morale of sales personnel may be established.
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Answer guide Q1:

For answering this question, the students may contemplate about the expansion
strategies like concentric, horizontal, or vertical growth strategies. A firm which has
been doing so well in OEM market, being into replacement market, the image and
timing of the move need to be kept in mind here.

Answer guide Q2:

Sales position in any organization calls for extreme dedication and aggression in
terms of effort front. Needless to say of the situation thirsted upon Mr. Vijay, a cor-
nered performer, no surprise that he took an extraordinary decision of quitting
straight away. The students need to consider the temperament and cognitive skills
of such sales employees while dealing with their decisions.

Answer guide Q3:

Senior Executives of any discipline have to strike extreme balance between task and
people management, especially while handling star performers. Stereotyped
approaches to sensitive issues would backfire more often than not. One has to sum-
mon all his hands on experience in dealing with this kind of tricky situation of losing
an able hand in the midst of expansion.

Answer guide Q4:

When organizations venture into new frontiers, they have to mull over apt handling
of performance woes at each level. Mr. Mihir has faltered in this realm of assessment
of the situation and personnel management. Rather than resorting to old-fashioned
hard-post sales reviews, the top management must set up fool-proof programs to

Sales Force Manage ment 459

 motivate, supervise, and compensate a sales force in order to keep pace with the
changing face of people management and employee engagement.

Answer guide Q5:

While answering this question, the students can keep tab of the following point:
A sales-oriented organization, as it avoids top-heavy structure, facilitates the seam-
less decision making and swift problem handling. Consequently, the synergy among
sales volume, deadlines, and morale of sales personnel may be established.
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Appendices

Appendix 1: Values, Vision, and Mission of AB Controls India Ltd.

Values

• Time is the essence of the business and always values time in meeting delivery
requirements of our customer

• Integrity and honesty in our dealings

• Passion for excellence
• We honor the dignity and value of individuals working as a team
• Taking on big challenges and seeing them through
• Accountability to customers, shareholders, partners, and employees for
commitments, results, and quality.
Vision

• “To be global leaders in manufacturing of automotive components, assemblies

and complete transport solutions by providing cost competitive quality products
to the retail customers.”

460 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 Mission

• “To provide superior products for the automotive segment and increase its
market share through quality, innovation in manufacturing, and cost
efficiency.”

Appendix 2: Philosophy and Strategy.

Philosophy

• As a manufacturing company in the automobile industry, we stand for

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systematic quality management and an open information policy, paying

attention to and fulfilling the wishes and needs of our customers.

• Our aim is to continuously increase our company’s competitiveness. We want

to be a reliable and flexible partner for our customers. Therefore, all
employees, whether in the manufacturing sector or in other sectors of the
company, are trained to meet all quality standards of our company in their
scopes of duties.

• In order for us to meet these requirements, we built up an extensive quality

management system. It fulfils the requirements of the international norm
ISO 9001:2000 and the requirements of ISO/TS 16949:2002 and is integrated
and in use companywide.

• We are an organization inspired by enterprise, fueled by dynamism, and

distinguished by service. As an automotive components manufacturer to some
of the best-known brands, globally and in the domestic market, we aim for
complete customer satisfaction through quality, reliability, and time-bound
performance. As a dynamic, well-integrated company, we believe in keeping
one step ahead of the times.
Strategy

• Create a de-risked business model through a combination of scale and product

variety.

Sales Force Manage ment 461

 • Product variety to be widened through continuous improvement and
innovation.

• Innovation is to be reflected in cost reduction and increasing production of

value-added products.

• Both these initiatives are to be reflected in enhanced margins and profits in

OEM and Retail markets.

• The profits are to be aggressively reinvested in scale and product variety

leading to sustainable growth.
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Appendix 3: Competitive Edge.

At ABC, the competitive edge is derived from the following:

• Values: The highest ethical and professional standards.

• Knowledge: Most specialized product insight within the niche; ability to
absorb manufacturing technologies with speed; ability to absorb customer
standards for general benefit; motivated team of around 50.

• Mind-to-market: Short tenure makes it possible for business partners to

seize the first-mover supply advantage.

• Reference: Collaborative work with some of the largest names across a

decade.

• Scale: Globally benchmarked operational capacity and higher than

competition.

• Quality/efficiency: Derived from cutting-edge technology, training, and

progressive shop floor practices.

• Logistics: Timely product delivery to the customer’s shop floor, ensuring

uninterrupted operation at all times.

• Balance sheet: Very low debt and increasing cash flow every quarter.

462 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 Appendix 4: Sales Training Programs at AB Controls India Ltd.

Intermittent Training Modules

Employees train themselves through role plays to face tech-savvy customers and
demonstrate the feature updates in the products.

• Average per year 10 such training sessions, which focus on the features,
demonstration, and customer interaction.

• Day-long training and online tests once a month.

• Training out-turns at the retail outlets has become integral part of the training
schemes.
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• Other training sessions are organized for the new recruits and the existing
employees regularly in different formats.

• Online packages:
○ Online packages

○ Classrooms and

○ Hands on experience of the products.

Induction Training Module

• Imparts the training in the local language.

• Trains the representatives on the:
○ Device

○ Services

○ Experiences and

○ Conversation skill.

• Adopts the role-play format in a big way in its training modules.

Sales Force Manage ment 463

 • Communication skills assessment and upgradation.
• Web-based training on products on a continuous basis with focus on the:
○ Operating system

○ Hardware

○ Features.
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464 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 CASE 2: SALES FORCE MANAGEMENT

Influence of Sales Force Training in Primary Healthcare

Sameer Deshpande
Anurudra Bhanot

Sales training is considered critical in a marketing organization because it improves

“sales competencies such as creativity in the sales process, problem solving, ethical
decision making, and effective listening skills.”1 According to scholars such as Attia,
Honeycutt, and Leach,2 sales force training improves the effectiveness of marketing
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strategies, specifically to achieve higher sales and consumer satisfaction. Leach and
Liu3 report that effective sales training programs improve organizational commit-
ment, sales performance, and customer relations.
Studies have assessed the influence of training from the perspectives of both buyers
and sellers to get 360-degree feedback.4 However, previous sales management stu-
dies have not explored how training influences knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors of
both the sales force and consumers, attributes that are at the core of a consumer
persuasion process. We contribute to the sales force training literature by exploring
these influences using Donald Kirkpatrick’s model5 for evaluating the effectiveness
of sales training. Kirkpatrick’s model recommends carrying out the process in four
steps: at level 1 (the reactions stage), trainees provide information on how much
they like and comprehend the training program. Level 2 (the learning stage) entails
assessment of the skills and knowledge trainees have acquired and how their atti-
tude toward the subject matter has changed. Level 3 (the transfer stage) emphasizes
ascertaining whether trainees’ changes in knowledge and attitude transfer to
change in sales behavior. Level 4 (the results stage) measures change in sales and
consumer performance as a result of sales training.
While the influence of sales training on sales force performance has been investi-
gated in large-, small-, and medium-sized commercial companies6 as well as public
sector organizations,7 previous studies have failed to assess the influence of training
efforts on social behavior change. Influencing social behaviors (e.g., replacing unsafe
sex with condom use or delaying childbirth) is considered to be more challenging
than influencing commercial behaviors (e.g., switching brands of soda; Lee and
Kotler8), requiring a higher level of personal selling9 and hence increasing the impor-
tance of sales force training in the social sector. We thus test the Kirkpatrick model
in an under-researched and rapidly growing area of the social sector. Specifically, we
look at Project PRACHAR (Promoting Change in Reproductive Behavior) of

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 Pathfinder International India and its efforts to assess the influence of training of
Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), the frontline health workers, to promote
reproductive and child health services and increase their utilization among women of
reproductive age.
Health services by social sector are an important component of the health sector in
any society. In countries like India, healthcare is delivered by the public healthcare
and commercial and noncommercial private sectors. Of these, the noncommercial
private and the public healthcare systems are largely under-researched, although
they cater to large sections of society, especially the poor. A study conducted in a
social healthcare setting, especially among frontline health workers, will potentially
benefit both the commercial and social sectors. For the social sector, the findings will
help organizations such as the central and state governments, nonprofits bodies,
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and funding agencies to improve their work.

But these findings also have the potential to contribute to the commercial sector.
Health workers play a critical role by providing home visits, forming long-term perso-
nal relationships with women and likely the rest of their families, providing services,
selling health products (such as contraceptives) at a subsidized price, and offering
advice with the intent to persuade their clients to change high involvement behaviors
steeped in long traditions. Word-of-mouth publicity can play a vital role in spreading
positive and negative information about these workers and their messages. The nat-
ure of salesmanship of frontline health workers is comparable to that of investment
consultants or pharmacists, who play a similar role when they deal with the old
habits of consumers, create awareness, form personal relationships, and try to
change people’s behaviors in relation to savings, eating habits, and physical activity.
Thus, organizations such as consulting firms and pharmacies could learn from the
evaluation procedure used to assess the influence of training on various outcomes.

Project PRACHAR
Investing in frontline health workers in countries like India is considered to be the
most cost-effective way to save lives of millions of mothers and children.10 These
workers deliver health services to and improve the health outcomes of people living
in remote areas of the country who otherwise would not have access to modern
medicine.11 Several studies have proposed providing training to such workers to
enhance their performance.12
Pathfinder International project PRACHAR invested resources in the frontline
health workers in Bihar, India, through training, capacity building, and supportive

466 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 supervision to achieve the project goal of improving the health and welfare of
young mothers and their children by changing the traditional custom of early child-
bearing. This study examines the role played by the training, capacity building, and
supportive supervision provided to ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists),
who, as change agents, interacted with underserved populations in rural areas to
change their traditional beliefs, norms, and practices related to early marriage and
childbearing.
PRACHAR has operated in three phases since 2001, when it received funding sup-
port from the David and Lucille Packard Foundation to foster changes in reproductive
health among young people in Bihar. The project was designed to change beliefs,
attitudes, and practices among adolescents, young married couples, parents, and
influential adult figures in the community. The behavior change strategy used a mix
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of communication channels, including media and infotainment, community outreach

activities, and interpersonal communication at the individual, household, and com-
munity levels through the ASHAs — a cadre of frontline health workers who act as
the interface between the community and the public health system and are responsi-
ble for health promotion activities.
In its third phase (since 2009), the project has been working closely with the
Government of Bihar’s State Health Society to incorporate successful PRACHAR
approaches into the daily work of government health workers, primarily the ASHAs.
As part of its intervention activities, the project conducted a performance improve-
ment training of over 1000 ASHAs in the Gaya district. The ASHAs were trained
intensively over three days to carry out interpersonal communication to promote
behavior change and deliver information about family planning concepts, myths,
and misconceptions and the full range of contraceptive methods and products. They
were given a set of specific messages to use to communicate about the benefits of
delaying and spacing with newly married women with no child as well as married
women with one child. Job aids provided to them included flip books and audio-
visual material containing messages on reproductive health, family planning, and
contraception. A team of male communicators supervised their work and supported
them by participating in discussions with community members as well as male mem-
bers, in particular, of the families of the women who were being served by the
ASHAs.
To assess the usefulness of the training, data were collected in December 2011 and
January 2012 by Westat India using randomly sampled surveys with 160 ASHAs and
1600 female clients (community women) in the Gaya district of Bihar. Additionally,
10 focus group discussions were conducted with ASHAs to get their detailed views

Sales Force Manage ment 467

 on how different components of the training helped them in their day-to-day work.
The survey conducted with community women measured their satisfaction with the
services provided by ASHAs after the training program.

FINDINGS
We present findings according to the four stages of the Kirkpatrick model.13

Reactions, Learning, and Transfer

Findings revealed that training had a positive influence on the performance of
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ASHAs, increasing their knowledge and understanding of reproductive and child

health topics. The training program’s use of visuals, graphics, and models helped
clarify difficult concepts. Similarly, its use of simple language, local dialects, folk
music and songs, storytelling, and activities to explain various topics in an enter-
taining way improved the learning process. These approaches helped ASHAs to
understand various issues related to family planning and contraception, to retain
the key messages long after the program, and to explain important health issues
to their clients through stories that the village women enjoy and understand
easily.
The training improved the record-keeping skills of over 90 percent of the ASHAs.
These skills helped them in planning and organizing their day-to-day work, identify-
ing and prioritizing important segments to work with, keeping information about cli-
ents at their fingertips, and using the register to follow-up with different clients.
ASHAs have felt a perceptible difference in their productivity as a result of improved
record keeping. Because they could identify and prioritize key client segments from
the register, they were able to visit these clients more frequently — thrice a month
compared to once a month before the training. Also, recording the background
details of every client in the register enabled them to customize the advice to suit
the needs of individual clients. ASHAs made an effort to understand the reproductive
and family planning needs of every woman based on the reproductive stage of her
life cycle and offered advice specific to her needs.
The training also had a noteworthy impact on the communication skills of the
ASHAs (79 percent said so). They moved from simply regurgitating health mes-
sages to all segments without understanding their background and informational
needs to tailoring messages to most individual segments. In the training, they
learnt that different segments have different beliefs, priorities, and barriers to

468 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 change and different ways of processing information — the same argument can
appeal to different people in different ways. They learnt the importance of addres-
sing the specific concerns of each segment and using different strategies to
persuade different segments. In giving examples of how they address different
mind-sets, ASHAs said their strategies now included giving real-life examples from
within the community, sharing their own examples when relevant, requesting help
from the male communicators to garner support from the male members of a
client’s family, and undertaking patient approach with women who take time to
make up their minds.
The training also helped ASHAs to understand the role played by the family mem-
bers of the women — their parents, husbands, parents-in-law, and other family
members — in influencing the women’s decisions. As a result, the ASHAs started
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discussing various issues with the influencers as well in order to create an enabling
and supporting environment for the women.

Results
To get a better picture of the influence of training, a survey was conducted with the
clients of ASHAs, that is, community women. Nine in ten women knew who the
ASHA in their village was, and the majority indicated that the ASHA visited their
home two to three times a month. Regarding the level of services provided by the
ASHAs, the majority of women reported that the ASHA answered all their questions,
willingly spoke to family members when appropriate, used a flip chart to explain
things to them, provided them with pills or condoms when needed, and provided
them with information on other methods of contraception. They reported that dis-
cussions with the ASHA helped them make decisions related to spacing their chil-
dren, providing better care of their children’s health, delaying their first birth, and
observing better hygiene of their sexual and reproductive organs. See Table 2 for a
summary of their responses.

In summary, the training program helped the ASHAs to segment their audience
(by characteristics of both the audience members themselves and those of their
influencers), understand their audiences’ individual situations, tailor their sales mes-
sages, improve their communication skills, and form strong and long-term relation-
ships. All these features are essential characteristics of an effective salesperson and
are required to close a deal in services marketing.14 These enhanced attributes
improved the effectiveness of the performance of ASHAs and changed their cli-
ents’ behaviors.

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 Table 2: Influence of Discussions with ASHAs on Community Women (N = 959;
Figures in Percentage).

Helped Did Not Help Can’t

a Lot At All Say

Keeping a gap of at least three years 78 21 2

between children
Better care of child’s health 75 22 3

Delaying the first child to 21 years of age 72 24 5

Maintaining hygiene of sexual and 70 27 3

reproductive organs
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Better care of family’s health 65 31 3

Choosing the right contraceptive method 62 32 5

Regular and correct use of contraceptives 58 36 5

Source: Authors created the table from different reports of Westat India.

DISCUSSION
The contribution of this study is both measurement-oriented and contextual.
Measuring the influence of training on the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of
the ASHAs and their clients using the Kirkpatrick model enabled the training organi-
zation to comprehensively understand the influence of training, which fed inputs
back into the quality of the sales training program. These forward and backward lin-
kages in the sales training program will eventually have a positive influence on the
effectiveness of the service organization. Contextually, the study contributes to the
potential for improving effectiveness in both the commercial and social sectors. In
closing, this study fills an important sales force training research gap by systemati-
cally assessing the influence of sales training in a social sector context.
Pathfinder’s PRACHAR Project adapted the training to meet the needs of both the
salesperson (ASHA) and her clients (community women), the majority of whom have
little or no education, are generally confined to the four walls of their houses, and
live in traditional societies that do not encourage discussion of reproductive and sex-
ual health matters. By using graphics and visuals to explain the female anatomy;
using local motifs, folk songs, storytelling, and dialects; and by providing job aids to
the ASHAs, Project PRACHAR showed the way to culturally adapt training efforts to
improve the performance of community health workers.

470 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What is the Kirkpatrick model? In what commercial and social marketing situa-
tions can this model be applied?

2. What is social marketing? How does it differ from commercial marketing? How
does it differ from social communication?

3. Why is sales force training important? How does it help organizations achieve
their bottom line outcomes?

4. In addition to sales force training, what other strategies should organizations uti-
lize in order to improve sales force performance?
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5. In addition to sales force performance, what other strategies should organiza-

tions utilize in order to improve organizational performance?

TIPS FOR DISCUSSION

The case study introduces readers to the importance of sales force training in the
social marketing context. But before we go any further, students should be educated
on the concept of social marketing, which is the application of commercial market-
ing principles to address social problems. It involves identifying a target audience,
understanding their needs, and providing tailored and attractive environmental solu-
tions that provide benefits and reduce barriers and thus make desired behaviors
attractive. Social marketing strategy involves providing tangible product or intangible
service, thus going beyond communication-only approaches (such as ads on televi-
sion or circulating brochures), which increases the likelihood of adoption of desired
behavior.
This case is about how to effectively provide a social service. One of the issues that
arises when promoting a service is weak sales performance. To enhance sales perfor-
mance, sales force training is essential, but rarely employed in the social sector. This
case highlights one of those rare examples of utilizing a sales force and regularly
training it. It also highlights the rare attempt to measure the influence of such a
training program, especially with a theoretical model in place.
One could end the discussion by asking students the importance of sales force train-
ing and other ways to improve sales force in particular and organizational perfor-
mance in general. A comparison between commercial and social marketing would
be relevant again.

Sales Force Manage ment 471

 Answer guide Q1:
Donald Kirkpatrick’s model (1994) of evaluating effectiveness of sales training
recommends carrying out the process in four steps. At level 1 (reactions), trainees
inform their liking and comprehension toward the training program. At the learning
stage (#2), the evaluation procedure assesses what skills and knowledge trainees
acquire and how does their attitude toward the subject matter change. In the trans-
fer stage, the emphasis is on ascertaining whether the change in knowledge and
attitude transfer to change in sales behavior. Level 4 (results) measures change in
sales and consumer performance as a result of sales training.
One could ask students whether this model looks complete; are there any gaps in
this model.
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The model can be utilized in any situation where sales force was trained and sales
force utilized to promote products or services. Although training and employing of
sales force is common in commercial marketing setting, it is rarely used in the social
marketing situation. The reason for this poor utilization lies in the fact that many
social marketing programs lack promotion of tangible good or intangible service.
Without goods or services, it becomes difficult to justify use of sales force.

Answer guide Q2:

It would be good to first pose these questions with students. They are very likely
going to confuse social marketing with social media marketing or with
communication-only effort. Then the instructor could proceed to clarify the
differences.
Social marketing is an audience-oriented approach to understand why target indivi-
duals carry out current behavior and not the desired behavior and what could be
done to reverse this situation. The strategy involves offering alternative opportunities
that enhance benefits of desired behavior and reduce barriers.
Social marketing begs, borrows, and steals its framework from commercial market-
ing; however, the objectives of these behavior change initiatives differ. Commercial
marketers are interested in maximizing shareholder value. Their bottom line includes
maximizing sales and profit. On the other hand, social marketing initiative cares for
individual and societal welfare. In commercial marketing, the competition is another
brand promoting the same behavior, while in social marketing, the competition is
current behavior and individuals or organizations that promote current behavior.
Social communication primarily employs communication strategies to influence
behavior. Social marketing goes beyond communication. It additionally influences

472 J. CLEMENT SUDHAHAR

 the environment by offering tangible goods or intangible service, by reducing bar-
riers, and by enhancing convenience and other benefits towards the desired beha-
vior. For example, warning labels on cigarette packets is social communication, while
promoting nicotine replacement gums or patches is social marketing. Going beyond
communication enables a social marketing initiative to be more attractive and thus
more successful.

Answer guide Q3:

The discussion could start with the broader topic on the importance of employee
training and then narrow it down to sales force training. Sales force training edu-
cates the individuals about the products and services, its technical details, about con-
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sumers, and ways to promote the offering to the consumers. Training improves
motivation and ability of sales force to promote organization’s products and services.
Enhanced motivation and ability to promote invariably improves organizational bot-
tom line. A motivated salesperson also improves communication with the consumer
and the latter’s involvement and motivation to purchase the product/service and
change behavior.

Answer guide Q4:

Other strategies include incentivizing sales performance through monetary rewards,
promotion, appreciation, and recognition.

Answer guide Q5:

Other strategies include incentivizing performance of employees in general, having a
positive and motivational internal communication, and conducting continuous
research and development to monitor changing audience interests and competition
and in response to develop products and services that remain attractive to the audi-
ence members.

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