Sales and Distribution

Management 2e

Tapan K. Panda
Sunil Sahadev

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 Chapter 9
Recruitment and
Selection of the Sales
Force
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 Learning Objectives
• Discuss the hiring and planning process

• Understand the recruitment, selection, and socialization processes

• Explain the concepts of job description and man specifications

• Know the sources and methods of recruitment

• Examine the methods of interview and apply these techniques in

different situations

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 Roles of a Sales Manager
• performs sales management +HR management !
• recruits, selects, trains, motivates, leads, controls, and
compensates sales teams
• selection and recruitment of efficient sales people is always a
process of building competitive advantage for an organization

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 The Hiring Process
Strategic position
Turnover analysis Job qualification

Establish hiring Decide on the number of Job description

objectives salespeople to hire

Organizational
Identify best sources of recruitment characteristics
•Internal source of recruitment Company image climate
•External source of recruitment Styles of supervision,
compensation, and
Generate database of motivation plan of the
candidates company

Salesperson’s
Evaluate candidates desirable
characteristics
Select and induce candidates to
accept position

Socialize

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Challenges in Sales Force Selection
• personality types matching to job profiles
• one of the measures that the organization looks in an employee is:
- the ability to perform by an employee
= ability x motivation
• level of motivation

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 Planning for Recruitment
1. Strategic position analysis
2. Turnover
3. Job analysis
 gathering and organization of information

 concerning the tasks, duties and responsibilities of a

specific job
4. Task inventory analysis and KSA matrix
 job qualification

 job description

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 Sales Force Recruitment
• recruitment is an act of inducing qualified and appropriate
people to get interested in and apply for a salesperson’s position
within a sales organization

Internal sources
 existing employees
 lateral and upward moves
 interns and cooperative students
 employee referral programmes

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 Sales Force Recruitment
External sources
 industry sources  walk in interviews
 educational institutions and  networking referrals

campus  web consultants

 recruitments  responses to direct open
 employment exchanges advertisements
 placement consultants

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 Sales Force Recruitment
Selection procedure
inviting application forms
personal interviews
reference checks
physical examinations
psychological tests
intelligence
 personality
 aptitude and skills
 determination of terms of service
 appointment
 initial orientation

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 Selection of a Salesperson
Selection Procedure:
Inviting a blank application
Personal Interviews
Reference checks
Physical Examinations
Psychological tests
Intelligence
Personality
Aptitude and skills
Determination of terms of service
Appointment
Initial orientation

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 Socialization process
• Process of orienting a new salesperson to the sales organization,
territory, or division in which he or she will be working.

• Three stages of Socialization

Anticipatory stage

Encounter stage

Settling in

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