Managing the marketing channels

It is very important to secure and maintain harmonious working relationships with the distributive networks are an important as building and maintaining favourable relations with final buyers. Distributive outlets are customers for the products, and collectively they bear responsibility for making the pay-off sales to final buyers. Unless the supply of product flows through the final buyers, marketing channels clog, and all previous personnel selling and other marketing efforts are wasted.

Both the manufactures and distributive outlets have much to gain from co-operation, and much to loose if it is lacking. Although co-operation is a two way street, generally the manufacturer must initiate it. Those charged with planning, administration, and implementation of programs of co-operation with distributive outlets must consider the implications for personal selling strategy and sales department operations.

No manufacturers marketing program is complete if it lacks plan for securing and maintaining the co-operation of the distributive outlets. The fortunes of manufacturers rise and fall with those of their distributors and dealers. If distributors and dealers succeed in selling the products, the manufacturer also succeeds if they fail the manufacturer fails.

Training and development

In every area training is the prerequisite to improvement, like-wise the purpose pf sales training is to achieve improved job performance, and the training should rest on the convictions that every salesman can be improved through carefully designed training

Steps involved in designing sales training:

1. Defining training aims.
2. Determining the training needs.
3. Determining the special needs.
4. Deciding nature and type of training required: Normally following are the some types of training, In company training, external training, individual training, group training, on-the job training, off-the job training.
5. Deciding the content.
6. Choosing the methods: The lecture, the personal conference, demonstrations, role playing, case discussions etc.
7. Developing the material required for training.
8. Evaluating the effectiveness of the training.

Aims of Sales training: Normally the sales training will have following aims to inculcate new techniques or to improve upon the existing knowledge.

1. To increase sales.
2. To acquire new accounts.
3. Faster turn round stocks.
4. Selling a complete product line instead of just fast selling items.
5. Better merchandising and sales promotion.
6. Better technical knowledge.
7. Improving sales presentation and sharpening sales skills.
8. Improving customer relations and dealer relations.

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Sales Approaches

Symptoms of poor morale:
1. Minor complaints get magnified.
2. Unionism suddenly arises.
3. Anti-management attitude of sales personnel.

Sales coaching/supervision: It is also important factor in sales management. It is perhaps the most neglected, but potentially most rewarding area. Effective sales supervision will increase sales and profits and reduce selling expense. It will also improve the morale and motivation of the salesman and reduce their wasteful turnover. The extent and sales supervision may vary depending the complexity of the organization. Important aspect that requires close supervision includes.

1. Setting norms for sales calls.
2. Managing key customers.
3. Guiding salesman on route planning.

Evaluation/appraisal: The basic idea of all performance appraisals is the belief that human beings have great capacity for growth and improved performance under right climate for performance, they will respond creatively and positively. The same principle applies equally to the performance appraisal of sales personal. The sales personnel perform better when performance criteria, goals, and tasks are established clearly and by mutual agreement. Likewise their performance is considerably improved when they are given periodic feedback on how they are performing and in what areas they can improve by greater application. The sales personnnel performance helps debt consolidation work in company. They also come up with improved performance when they are given the necessary help and guidance on the job and are rewarded promptly according to their contribution.

Motivation of sales personnel

Motivation sales personnel is an important aspect of sales force management sales force management sales personnel require additional motivation because of inherent nature of the sales job, role conflicts, the natural tendency towards apathy, and difficulties in building group identity. The concept of need gratification and interdependence assist in understanding efforts require that sales personnel. Implementing motivational efforts require that sales executives be skilled leaders, rather than drivers, of sales personnel. It demands that they be skilled in interpersonal and written communications. Satisfactory job performance develop out of deep understanding of motivational forces and process, effective leadership, two-way communication, and effective handling of relationships.

Moral building: Motivation in the larger sense includes morale good morale leads to good motivation and to good performance. In other words, morale and motivation go to hand in hand, it is the responsibility of sales management to built up the morale of the sales force and maintain it at high level. Following are the some of the reasons for poor morale.
1. Improper designing of the sales territories.
2. Some salesman might be given territories with little potential.
3. The compensation plan may be faulty.
4. Performance evaluation not done with fairness and objectivity.
5. Unfair treatment in rewards, transfer and promotions.

Creating the Sales Force-1

Source of sales force recruitment: Is categorized into two types’-namely internal sources and external sources.

An internal source consists of: Company sales personnel, company executive and internal transfers. An external source consists of: direct unsolicited applications, employment agencies, sales people making calls on the company, employees of customers, sales executives club, sales force of non-competing companies, sales force of competing companies, educational institutions etc.

Selection: Selection system of sales personal range from simple one step system consisting of nothing more than an informal personal interview, to complex multiple step system incorporating diverse mechanisms designed to gather information about applicant for sales jobs. A selection system is a set of successive ‘screens’ at any of which an applicant may be dropped from further considerations.

Steps involved in sales personnel selection: Normally following are the steps used in most of the company’s for the selection of the sales personal:

1. Preliminary interview and pre-interview screening.
2. Formal application form.
3. Interview: The techniques may consist of, patterned interview,
non-directive interview, interaction interview.
4. Rating scales.
5. References and credit check.
6. Tests: Tests may be consists of following types – tests of ability
tests of habitual characteristics, Interest tests, achievement test.
7. Physical examination.