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PART I

INTRODUCTION TO
SALES MANAGEMENT
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 CHAPTER 1

SALES MANAGEMENT:
ITS NATURE, REWARDS, AND
RESPONSIBILITIES

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
A career in sales management is exciting and unique and
provides numerous opportunities. This chapter will do
the following:

 Provide you with an overview of a sales manager’s

job.
 Introduce you to the various types of sales managers
and the skills required of them.
 Discuss what a new manager experiences when
promoted from a sales job.
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 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
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FIGURE 1.1 THE SALES MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Sales Management Functions

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PLANNING

The conscious, systemic process of making

decisions about goals and activities that an
individual, group, work unit, or organization will
pursue in the future and the use of resources
needed to attain them.

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FIGURE 1.1 THE SALES MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Sales Management Functions

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STAFFING

Activities undertaken to attract, develop, and

maintain effective sales personnel within an
organization.

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FIGURE 1.1 THE SALES MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Sales Management Functions

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SALES TRAINING

The effort put forth by an employer to provide the

salesperson job-related culture, skills, knowledge,
and attitudes that result in improved performance
in the selling environment.

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FIGURE 1.1 THE SALES MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Sales Management Functions

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LEADING

The ability to influence other people toward

the attainment of objectives.

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FIGURE 1.1 THE SALES MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Sales Management Functions

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CONTROLLING

Monitoring sales personnel’s activities,

determining whether the organization is on target
toward its goals, and making corrections as
necessary.

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FIGURE 1.1 THE SALES MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Sales Management Functions

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 SALES PERFORMANCE

Sales Management is the attainment of

sales goals in an ethical, efficient, and
effective manner.*

* Instructor added word ethical.

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FIGURE 1.2 THE SYSTEMS VIEW OF AN ORGANIZATION

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT

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Organization is a social system that is goal
directed and has a deliberated structure.

Goal directed means an organization is designed

to achieve some outcome.

Social means being made up of two or more

people.

Deliberated structure means the tasks are divided,

and the responsibility for their performance is
assigned to organization members.

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 MAJOR PARTS OF AN
ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEM
Organizational effectiveness is the degree to which
the organization achieves a stated objective.

Organizational efficiency refers to the amount of

resources used to achieve an organizational goal.

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FIGURE 1.3 SALES LEADER LEVELS IN THE ORGANIZATIONAL HIERARCHY

CEO

President T o p S a le s L e a d e r s
( S t r a t e g ic )

Vice President of Marketing

National Sales Leader

M id d le S a le s
Zone Sales Leader L ead ers
( T a c t ic a l)
Regional Sales Leader

F ir s t - L in e
District Sales Leader
S a le s L e a d e r s
Assistant District Sales Leader ( O p e r a t i o n a l)
Nonmanagerial Salespeople
Sales Trainee Salesperson Key Account

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FIGURE 1.4 PERCENTAGE OF TIME SPENT ON FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
BY ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL

Top Managers

P la n n in g S t a f f in g T r a in - L e a d in g C o n t r o llin g
in g
35% 10% 5% 30% 20%

Middle Managers
P la n n in g S t a f f in g T r a in in g L e a d in g C o n t r o llin g
28% 10% 10% 30% 22%

First-Line Managers
P la n n in g S t a f f in g T r a in in g L e a d in g C o n t r o llin g
15% 20% 25% 25% 15%

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FIGURE 1.5 A SALES PERSONNEL CAREER PATH

President

Vice President of Marketing

National Sales Mgr.

Zone Sales Manager

Regional Sales Manager

District Sales Manager

Key Account Salesperson

Salesperson

Sales Trainee
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 SALES MANAGEMENT SKILLS
1. CONCEPTUAL AND DECISION SKILLS
Refer to the cognitive ability to see the organization as a
whole and the relationships among its parts.

2. PEOPLE SKILLS
Involve the ability to work with and through other people and
to work effectively as a group member.

3. TECHNICAL SKILLS
The ability to perform a specialized task that involves a certain
method or process.

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PROMOTION FROM SALESPERSON
TO SALES MANAGER
Changes that occur when a person becomes a new
manager:
1. Perspectives change
2. Goals change
3. Responsibilities change
4. Satisfaction changes
5. Job skill requirements change
6. Relationships change
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FIGURE 1.6 RELATIONSHIP OF CONCEPTUAL AND DECISION, PEOPLE, AND TECHNICAL
SKILLS TO SALES LEADER LEVEL

C o n c e p tu al an d P e o p le S k ills T e c h n ic a l S k ills
D e c is io n S k ills

T o p S a le s L e a d e r s

M id d le S a le s L e a d e r s

F ir s t - L in e S a le s L e a d e r s

N o n m a n a g e r i a l S a le s p e o p l e

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THE PROMOTION EXPERIENCE
Phase One – Immobilization
Phase Two – Minimization or Denial of Change
Phase Three – Depression
Phase Four – Acceptance of Reality
Phase Five – Testing
Phase Six – Searching for Meanings
Phase Seven – Internalization

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PROBLEMS NEW MANAGERS EXPERIENCE

• Lack of preparation for the job.

• Expected to step into the job and
immediately function effectively.
• Often lacks an immediate peer group.

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MAKING A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION TO
MANAGEMENT

• Have a learning attitude – a

willingness to learn, change, adapt,
and seek help when needed.
• Having realistic expectations.
• Leave the old job behind.

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 THE BOTTOM LINE

Skilled sales managers are the key to a successful organization.

Sales managers have five functions that, when combined, can
allow them to achieve the goals desired by higher levels of
management.
The various types of sales managers can be broken down into the
categories of vertical and horizontal.
Most corporations hire a person who cannot only sell but who
also shows the potential to one day become a sales manager.

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• Other desirable characteristics
• Confidence
• Intelligence
• Enthusiasm (feeling of energetic enterest )
• Intelligence
• Self-worth
• Knowledge
• skill

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• Characteristics of the sales people
• Personality and physical characteristics
• Personality Personal characteristics
• Dominance
• (forceful opinion, enjoys role of leader) Age
• Endurance
• Working long hours height
• Empathy
• Understanding others Education
• Social recognition hobbies
• E tthWiht

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• The role of the sales manager
• Define the role of the sales function in relation to
over all corporate and marketing objectives
• Selecting, training and delegating sub ordinates
• Using time effectively
• Allocating time to think and plan
• Exercising leader ship
• Maintaining control

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• Nature of sales management positions
• Position guide-sales manager.
• Reporting r/n ship-to vice president of marketing
• Job objective-to secure maximum volume of dollar
sales through effective sales procedure
• Responsibilities –the sales manager is concerned with
• Sales program
• Organization
• Sales force management
• Internal and external relation
• Communication
• control

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• 2.Position guide-district sales manager.
• Reporting r/n ship-reports to the sales manager
• Job objective-to secure maximum dollar sales
of the company’s products in the sales district .
• Responsibilities –the district sales manager is
concerned with
• Supervision of sales personnel
• Control
• Administration
• communications

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• executives
• Ability to define the position’s exact functions and
dutiesin relation to the goals the company expect to
attain.
• Ability to select and train capable sub ordinates and
willingness to delegate sufficient authority to enable
them to carry out assigned tasks with minimum
supervision.
• Ability to utilize time effectively
• Ability to allocate sufficient time for thinking and
planning
• Ability to exercise skilled leadership

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