SALES MANAGEMENT

Sales Management Strategy

Sales Management Definition:
The planning, direction and control of
personal selling, including recruiting,
selecting, equipping, routing, supervising,
paying and motivating to the personal sales
force.
Sales force is responsible for the sale of the
companys products and to add profit to the
business organization and to fulfill social
obligations.
Steps in Designing and Managing a sales force
Objective setting
Training for Sales policies
Designing Sales force : Structure and force
Deciding Sales force : Compensation
Recruiting and Selecting : Sales Force
Guiding and motivating : Sales Force
Performance Rating of Sales Force
Managing the Sales Force
Successful sales force Management means:
The right organization and aggregation
against product lines and geographies
The right strength and qualification
The right compensation and incentive system.
Sales Managers Duties and Responsibilities
The following are some of the principal duties of a
sales manager :
Organizing sales research , product research, etc.
Getting the best output from the sales force under
him
Setting and controlling the targets, territories, sales
experience, distribution expenses, etc.
Advising the companys sales policies
Problems of Sales Management
Designing and Managing Sales Force
The sales manager control the various activities
of the sales force but sometimes they may be
beyond control leading to problems in the sales
organizations.
They should maintain a vigilant check on the all
the activities and the actual supervision of, and
guidance to, individual salesman is also a sine qua
non of a sound sales manager.
Sales Force Authority
If authority is not delegated to the sales force, they
will not be able to deal with the customers who, in
turn, do not like to deal with persons who have no
authority. Hence the sales force requires delegation
of authority with respect to the following:
Changing or fixing prices
Credit facilities to old and existing customers.
Assurance regarding quality and after-sale service
Payment terms and settlement of claims
Target Setting
Target setting is necessary for achieving
organizational goals. Sales targets are fixed based on
the past experience, time period and brand
positioning in the market. If these are not taken into
consideration then it invites frustration in the sales
force and unhealthy comments.
The target should be fixed in a way that they are
achievable and most of the sales force feels that if
proper efforts put in they can achieve the sales
target. So the sales manager should be vigilant in
fixing realistic targets and motivate them to achieve
it.
Sales Forecasting
It is difficult to say how long consumers will
continue to accept existing goods in a volatile
environment which is changing fast with new
competitors, new technologies, new fashions
articles and new advertising strategies.
Sales forecast must change as conditions change.
Accuracy depends on meticulous planning and
dynamic strategies.
Sales Management Formulation of Sales
Authority
The following are the key decisions areas in sales
management which are particularly relevant to
strategy formulation :
Determining the size of the sale s force.
Decision regarding type and quality of sales force
required
Designing the sales organization
Territory designing
Recruitment and training procedures
Task allocation

Compensation of Sales Force
Performance appraisal and control system
Feedback mechanism to be adopted
Managing channel relationship
Coordination with marketing departments

The Double Win Strategy
In this strategy, both the customer and the salesperson
come out of the sale with the sense of satisfaction. The
following is the behaviour of persons who have
adopted the win-lose approach with that of persons
who have adopted the win-win strategy.
Win- Lose People Win-Win People
See a problem Help others solve their problem
Fix a problem Fix what caused the problem
Let life happen to them
Make life a joyous happening for
others and themselves
Live in the past
Learn from the past, live in the
present and set goals for the future
Make promises they never
keep
Make commitments to themselves
and to others and keep both of them
Hard Sell Vs. Soft Sell Strategy
In identifying the customers, the salesperson can use
two strategies which are explained below

Hard Sell Soft Sell
Concern for self Concern for customer
Canned presentation Questions for discussions
Talking Listening
Pushing product Providing buying oppurtunities
Presenting features Presenting Benefits
Advocating without
knowledge
Acknowledging needs
Methods of Selling
Telemarketing : Selling Concepts on the phone.
Sales on the Internet
Mail order Sales
Sales through Scale Fixed Shop retailers:
Departmental Stores
Chain Stores
Mail Order houses
Hire Purchases Shops
Super markets
Fixed Price shops
Cooperative stores
Sales Through Wholesales and Retailers
Wholesalers perform a number of functions in the
marketing of goods as listed below:
Assembling and Buying
Storing or Warehousing
Transporting
Financing
Risk Bearing
Grading, Packing and Packaging
Providing market Information

In the process of acting as a link between the
wholesales and the consumer, a retailer performs many
functions. The more important of them are below:
Buying and Assembling
Warehousing and Storing
Selling
Grading and Packing
Financing
Supply of Market Information
Advertising