“SALES

MANAGEMENT”
INTRODUCTION TO SALES
MANAGEMENT
 This reviews the meaning of sales management, how
sales management has evolved over years, and its
fundamental principles.
 The sales managers of today use professionals and
scientific procedures to plan and implement a sales
management programme.
 This will help us to understand the basic principles of
management applied to sales, recruiting, training,
supervision, evaluation and control.
 It will also help us to understand the basic principles of
designing sales organizations, the process of fixing
quota an allocating territories and forecasting future
demand
 WHAT IS SALES MANAGEMENT?

Sales management is the attainment of sales

force goals in an effective and efficient
manner through:
• Planning
• Staffing
• Training
• Leading
• Controlling organizational resources
Evolution of Personal
Selling
Peddlers selling door Selling function
to door . . . served became more
as intermediaries structured

1800s 1900s 2000s

Industrial
As we begin Post-Industrial
the 21st century, selling
War and
continues toModern
develop,
Revolution
becomingRevolution
more professional
Depression
and more relational
Era

Selling function
Business organizations
became more
employed salespeople
professional
The Evolution of Personal Selling
 Personal selling:
selling interpersonal influence
process involving a seller’s promotional
presentation conducted on a person-to-person
basis with the buyer
 Has been a standard business activity for
thousands of years
 Early peddlers sold goods they manufactured
or imported . . . viewed selling as a secondary
activity
 In 18th century America, peddlers sold
directly to farmers and settlers in the West
 In the 19th century, drummers sold to both
consumers and intermediaries sometimes
using questionable practices and built negative
stereotypes which persist today
 Today’s salesperson is usually a highly-trained
professional
 Sales professionals take a customer-oriented
approach employing truthful, nonmanipulative
tactics in order to satisfy the long-term needs of
both the customer and the selling firm
 Today’s professional salespeople are problem
solvers who seek to develop long-term
relationships with customers
Continued Evolution of
Personal Selling
Change Salesforce Response
More emphasis on developing
Intensified and maintaining trust-based,
competition long-term customer
relationships

Increased use of technology

More emphasis Increased use of lower-cost-
on improving per-contact methods
sales productivity More emphasis on profitability
objectives
Continued Evolution of
Personal Selling
Change Salesforce Response

Demand for in-depth, Team selling

specialized knowledge
as an input to purchase More emphasis on customer-
decisions oriented sales training
Emerging Trends in Sales
Management
Trends in Personal Selling
 Relationship selling:
selling regular contacts over an
extended period to establish a sustained seller-
buyer relationship

 Consultative selling:
selling meeting customer needs
by listing to them, understanding -- and caring
about -- their problems, paying attention to
details, and following through after the sale
 Team Selling:
Selling combination of salespeople
with specialists from other functional areas to
promote a product
Virtual sales team
 Sales Force Automation (SFA): applications
of computer and other technologies to make
the sales function more efficient and
competitive
Benefits include improved effectiveness due to
improved access to information, lower costs,
improved product launches, and attentive customer
service
 Barriers To Listening
 Prejudgement
 Defensive
 Self-Centeredness
 Out-listening
 Over speaking
 SELLING PROCESS
 Defined as a process by which a salesperson
identifies and locates the prospects,
separates the prospects from the suspects,
approaches them and makes a sales
presentation, handles their objections, and
closes a sale. Subsequently, he also follows
up the existing customers to identify future
sales leads, and measures the success and
customer satisfaction level of the current
products and service offerings.
 Methods of closing
the sale
 Caution Method
 Implied consent method
 Special induced method
 Direct order method
 Choice narrowing method
 Ownership suggestion method
 Comparison method
 Emotional method
The Sales Process:
Selling Strategy
In order to be successful in today’s global business
environment, salespeople must also think and act
strategically. The must develop strategies for:

Their Sales Territory

Each Customer

Each Sales Call

 The Sales Process

• Prospecting:
Prospecting personal-selling function of
identifying potential customers

• Qualifying:
Qualifying determining that a prospect
has the needs, income, and purchase
authority necessary for being a potential
customer
 Approach:
Approach salesperson’s initial contact with a
prospective customer

Precall Planning: use of information collected during

the prospecting and qualifying stages of the sales
process and during previous contacts with the prospect
to tailor the approach and presentation to match the
customer’s needs
 Presentation:
Presentation describing a product’s major
features and relating them to a customer’s
problems or needs

 Demonstration allows the customer to

experience a good or service
 Handling Objections:
Objections expressions of sales
resistance by the prospect

Example: A customer’s “I don't like the color” is

probably their way of asking what other colors are
available
Objections are reasonable and professional salespeople
are prepared to handle them appropriately
 Closing:
Closing stages of personal selling where the
salesperson asks the customer to make a
purchase decision

 Follow-up:
Follow-up post sales activities that often
determine whether an individual who has made
a recent purchase will become a repeat
customer
Helps build mutually beneficial long-term
relationships
Managing the Sales Effort

 Sales management:
management Activities of planning,
organizing, staffing, motivating compensating,
and evaluating and controlling a sales force to
ensure its effectiveness
 Recruitment and Selection
One of the sales manager’s greatest challenges
Careful selection is important for two reasons:
○ Substantial costs involved
○ Mistakes are costly and detrimental to customer
relations and sales-force performance
 Training
Principal methods used are on-the-job
training, individual instruction, in-house
classes, and external seminars
Popular training techniques include
instructional videotapes/DVDs, lectures,
roll-playing exercises, slides, films, and
interactive computer programs
 Supervision
Span of control: the number of sales
representatives who report to the first level of sales
management
Optimal span of control is affected by such factors
as complexity work activities being performed,
ability of the individual sales manager, degree of
interdependence among individual salespersons, and
the extent of training each salesperson receives
 Motivation
Efforts to motivate salespeople usually take the form
of the briefings, information sharing, and both
psychological and financial encouragement
Psychological encouragement includes appeals to
emotional needs, recognition, and peer acceptance
Financial encouragement includes monetary rewards
and fringe benefits such as club memberships and
sales contest awards
 Compensation
Commission: incentive compensation directly
related to the sales or profits achieved by a
salesperson
Salary: fixed compensation payments made
periodically to an employee
 Qualities and Responsibilities of a
Sales Manager
Qualities of Sales Manager:

 Physical qualities
a) Sound health
b) Agile (lively) & hardworking

 Psychological or mental qualities:

a) Leadership quality
b) Personal magnetism
c) Ability to inspire
d) Forcefulness
e) Tact
Contd…,

 Character qualities:
a) Honesty & Integrity
b) Humanity
c) Self-discipline

 Intellectual qualities:
a) Mental capacity
b) Sound judgement
c) Receptiveness
d) Ability to teach
Contd…,
Duties & Responsibilities of Sales Managers:
1. Planning sales
2. Advising management
3. Selection & appointment
4. Coordinating & directing
5. Training the sales force
6. Allocation of sales territories & sales quotas
Contd…,
7. Compensating the sales personnel
8. Maintaining the sales office
9. Controlling the sales activities
10. Studying market conditions
11. Managing sales promotion and advertising