INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT KOZHIKODE

Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management

Course Outline

Course Code and Course Title Sales and distribution management

Course type
Pre-requisites (if any) -
Course Credit 2
Total no. of sessions 8
Session Duration 2.5 Hrs
Quarter VI
Year and Batch
Sections (if any) -

Instructor Prof. Aishwarya R

Contact Details aishwaryar@iimk.ac.in
Office
Consultation Hours Anytime through email

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Sales and distribution management course! Why are you doing this course? To
put in the words of Prof. Craig Wortmann, “Nothing happens until something gets sold”.
Irrespective of the profession we are in, we are always selling something in exchange for a value.
It could range from making the customer choose our product, convincing our boss to go along
with our idea, convincing an organization about our skills at the time of interview or even when
we are trying to convince to convince our family about the choice for a meal.

Selling is all pervasive. We involve ourselves in the acts of selling all through the day. In a
corporate setting, selling has transformed from a hyper-active to pro-active phase; transactional
to relationship oriented; and aggressive to a consultative mode. This function still is the major
source of revenue generation. We will hence focus on the selling process in the first module of
the course. The module will provide an overview of the steps involved in selling and influencing
strategies.
Sales force is at the vortex of the rapidly changing customers, competitors, products,
technologies and markets. This makes their job more challenging than any other counterparts in
the organization. A core challenge in front of a sales manager is to enhance the sales force
performance under demanding and rapidly changing environment. The second module on sales
management helps the participants understand certain nuances on how to enhance the
productivity of the salesforce.

Modern day marketing is incomplete without understanding the channel design and the role of
channel partners. Marketing channels are a great source of value addition to all the key
stakeholders of the company. Well developed marketing channels provide competitive advantage
to the companies. The module on channel management would help in enabling the participants to
appreciate the channel design, role of channel intermediaries, flows in channel, channel
migration and last mile distribution challenges.

The three modules of the course-personal selling and sales management, and channel
management will help you gain a good theoretical and practical insight into the sales and
distribution process.

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

As the classroom discussions would be highly practice oriented, participants are advised to come
prepared with the required readings as given in the course outline. The course is designed to
enable the participants to meet the following objectives:
1. Understand the nuances of personal selling, sales management and channel management
concepts.
2. Develop problem solving skills essential for personal selling, sales management and channel
management process.
READINGS

Selected readings, cases and additional reading material for the course will be provided to the
participants.

EVALUATION

End Term 50 %
Class Participation & Case Analysis Submissions 30 %
Quiz/Assignment 20 %

Note: All the participants should submit the answers to the case discussion questions on the day
the class is scheduled (before the commencement of the session). Discussion questions for each
case will be given separately.

SESSION PLAN AND PEDAGOGY

Module 1: Personal Selling

S1-S4 Topics covered
Personal Selling, the selling process, Influence and Negotiation

Readings
What makes a good salesperson?
Dismantling the sales machine
Six habits of merely effective negotiators
Getting past Yes
What’s your negotiation strategy

Cases
Case will be distributed before commencement of class

Pedagogy
Case analysis, lecture, video, role play, in-class exercises

Module 2: Salesforce Management

S5-S6 Topics covered
Motivating sales personnel, setting targets, compensation, evaluation

Readings
Setting Better Sales Goals with Analytics
Make the sales task clear

Cases
Parkin Laboratories: Sales Target Dilemma

Pedagogy
Case analysis, lecture, exercise

Module 3: Distribution Channels

S7-S8 Topics covered
Introduction to channels, channel design and influence, channel conflict, online channels

Readings
Developing and managing channels of distribution
The customer has escaped
Fit products and channels to your market

Case
Eastern Condiments (A and B)
Jabong.Com: Balancing the demands of customers and suppliers

Pedagogy
Case analysis, lecture, exercise

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