Errands involved in sales management

Following are the important errands involved in the successful management of the sales in the organizations:
a) Setting personal selling objectives.
b) Formulating sales policies
c) Structuring the sales force
d) Deciding the size of the sales force
e) Designing sales territories
f) Developing the sales forecasts and sales budgets
e) Designing sales territories
f) Developing the sales forecasts and sales budgets
g) Fixing sales quotas/targets for individual sales territories/salesman
h) Creating the sales force:
1. Recruitment
2. Selection
3. Induction/orientation

i) Managing the sales force
1. Compensation
2. Motivation
3. Morale building
4. Sales coaching/supervision
5. Evaluation/appraisal
6. Training and development

j) Managing the marketing channels
k) Ensuring growth and developing new accounts
l) Sales communication and reporting
m) Sales coordination and sales controlling including sales expense control
n) Building the sales organization
o) Co-ordination with marketing management in the areas like, product mix, pricing, distribution, advertising and sales promotion
p) Creating and maintaining right image for the company and its products in the market

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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Managing the Sales Force-1

Managing the sales force involves the following conceptual activities, let us discuss each of them briefly.

1. Compensation
2. Motivation of sales personnel
3. Morale Building
4. Sales coaching/supervision
5. Evaluation/appraisal
6. Training and development

1. Compensation: Once a sales personal is selected it is necessary to design a good sales compensation plan, according to experts sales compensation plan meets the following requirements.

It provides a living wage.
The plan fits with the rest of the motivational program.
Plan should be fair.
It must easy for sales personal to understand.
Plan must adjust pay according to change in performance.
It must be economical to administer.
It must help in attaining the objectives of the sales organizations.

Steps in devising the good compensation plan: Whether contemplating major or minor changes or drafting completely new sales compensation plan, the sales executive approaches the project systematically, good compensation are built on solid foundations. A systematic approach assures that no essential step is overlooked, they are:

a. Define the sales job.
b. Consider the company’s general compensation structure.
c. Consider compensation patterns in company and industry.
d. Determine compensation levels.
e. Provide for the various compensation elements.
f. Consider special company needs and problems.
g. Consult the present sales force.
h. Reduce tentative plan to writing and preset it.
i. Revise the plan.Implement the plan and provide for follow up.

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