1

Sales Management
 Sales Management
Sales Management is a part of Marketing Management.
Sales Management can broadly be defined as – The Planning,
Direction and Control of the Personal Selling function in an
Organization, which includes
a) Recruiting (e) Selecting
b) Equipping (f) Assigning
c) Routing (g) Supervising
d) Paying (h) Motivating ………….
the Sales Force involved directly or indirectly in the Personal Selling
function.
Sales Management can also be defined as – the planning, Organizing,
Leading and controlling of the Personal Selling function.
 
 Sales Management
Sales Management can also be defined as – the planning, Organizing, Leading
and controlling of the Personal Selling function.
 
The fundamental objectives of Sales Management are :
 
• Generating Sales Volume.
• Contribution towards the profits of the Organization.
• Ensuring continued growth in business.
 
How Sales Management directly affects the profits of an Organization can be
judged from the following equation:
 
(SALES) – (COST OF SALES) = (GROSS MARGIN)
 
(GROSS MARGIN) – (EXPENSES) = (NET PROFIT)
 
 Sales Management
From the above it would be clear that more the SALES higher are
the chance of increased GROSS MARGIN. And since expenses do
not necessarily increase with increase in Sales, rather expenses
reduce with increase in Sales, the NET PROFIT is bound to increase.
 
The above objectives are achieved by members of Organization
Through Personal Selling activities, which makes it imperative to
understand the concept of Personal Selling very clearly and study its
bearing on the selling as well as buying process.
 
It is to be noted that Personal Selling is not the same as
Salesmanship. Rather Salesmanship is a part of Personal Selling.
 
 
 
 Marketing vs Sales
Marketing Approach Sales Approach
a)  Identify markets a) Identify customers
• End use analysis - Prospecting for customers
• Desk research - Who else, where else approach
• Market research - Meet customer’s specific needs
 b) Develop products b) Meet customer’s specific needs
Research & Development - Application engineering
c)  Develop & maintain an effective c) Overcome the obstacles in the
marketing system field of sales of the product/service.
• Pricing strategy -Handling objections
• Product/service promotion - Personal selling
• Advertisement campaign - Developing quotations
• Distribution strategy - Submitting tenders
• Packaging - Combating competition
• After Sales Service - Matching competitor’s moves
d) Ensure profitability & adequate return-on-investment d) Ensure profitability
• Costing system - Return on time invested
• Inventory control - Control on Accounts(clients)
• Receivables - Margin on sales
• Credit control - Control on selling expenses
 
 
 
•  
 PERSONAL SELLING
 
Personal Selling can be defined as a means for
implementing Marketing Programs – along with
other marketing elements such as Pricing,
Advertising, Product Development & Research
and Physical Distribution, etc.
 Personal Selling vs Impersonal Selling
 
 
Personal Selling involves person to person contact. It requires :

1. To clarify to the buyer the unique benefits he can get by buying the product/service.
2. To satisfy the objections of the customer.
3. To understand the consequences for the buyer; i.e. the hidden, unexpressed reasons
for not buying and to offer solutions to overcome these.
4. To convert implicit needs into explicit ones.
5. To give confidence and reassurance to the customer.
6. To educate the customer and to effectively differentiate his company,
product/service, from those of the competitors.
7. To solve problems.
8. To get direct feed-back from the market and be close to the customer.
9. To gain a competitive advantage.
 
Impersonal Selling also does the above but not through person to person contact.
These functions/activities are done with the help of Visual, Audio and Audio-Visual
aids like – information leaflets, advertisements in the print media, advertisements in
the audio-visual media, voice-mail service etc.
 HOW DIVERSE IS THE PERSONAL SELLING FUNCTION?
A. Service Selling  
• Inside Order Taker – Counter salesmen inside a Departmental Store etc.
e.g. Sales executive at the ‘BATA’ shoes show-room.
• Delivery salesperson – mainly engaged in delivering the product/service.
E.g. the person filling oil at the Bharat Petroleum Service Station;
delivering IndianOil cooking gas, person delivering you your Credit card.
• Route or Merchandising salesperson – a typical toiletries salesman who
collects order and ensures proper display of his products at the shop.
• Missionary salesman – the Medical Representative detailing the Doctor
about a new formulation. He does not take orders but only disseminates
latest information. Door-to-door campaign for participating in the
elections/voting.
• Technical Salesperson – strictly speaking he is a consultant to the client.
E.g. project consultancy by an Architect.
 HOW DIVERSE IS THE PERSONAL SELLING FUNCTION?

B. Developmental Selling
• Creative Salesperson of tangibles – selling a new software, selling a newly
invented gadget.
• Creative salesperson of Intangibles – selling insurance policy,
Advertisement executive prospecting for accounts.
 
C. Basically Developmental Selling, not requiring unusual creativity

• ‘Political’, ‘Indirect’ or ‘Back–Door’ Salesperson – a salesperson selling one

commodity gets orders or another commodity because of his
Organizations infrastructure. E.g. an exporter of garments form India gets
an order from a client in England for canned apple juice(because of his
efficient and ethical dealing with the client)
• Salesperson Engaged in Multiple Sales – e.g. an Advertising Executive
giving many presentations to the ‘Agency Selection Committee’ of a
Company. One concept can be accepted /all can be rejected.
 THEORIES OF PERSONAL SELLING
a) STIMULUS RESPONSE SELLING – “Buy One Get one Offer” –
a stimulus to the ‘prospect’ strongly influences the decision
making process and converts him into a buyer.
b) MENTAL STATE SELLING {A.I.D.A.S. Model} – Attention of
the customer is drawn through unique product/service
feature; Interest of the prospect is developed; prospect
develops Desire and converts to a potential customer;
Action takes place (customer buys the product/service);
Customer derives Satisfaction from the product/service.
c) NEED SATISFACTION SELLING – There was a ‘need’ for a
T.V. that will adjust its brightness according to the room
luminosity – L.G. Television being sold with ‘Golden Eye’
feature.
d) PROBLEM SOLVING SELLING – Pollution was a serious
problem, CNG concept was sold to the Government.
e) CONTINGENCY SELLING – Distress Sale.
 A TYPICAL PERSONAL SELLING PROCESS
 
There are five stages in a typical Personal Selling process: 
1. Preparation:
• Planning the itinerary – Time & Territory Management
• Planning each sales call.
• Prospecting and evaluating new customers.
2. Opening a sales call:
• With new customers(under prospecting)
• With existing customers - Inventory Check
- What is new to offer.
3. Presentation of the Product/service:
• Features, Advantages and Benefits of the offering/s.
• Demonstration, if possible, of the offering
• Handling objections - Obstacles to sales {customer is convinced but sale is not effected because
customer is short of cash/customer cannot carry the product today
solution could be credit card/finance option and home delivery next day}
- Sales Objections{customer is dissatisfied because of some attribute of
the product detailed by the salesperson but not available. E.g. a ‘ceiling
fan’ salesperson details that there are ‘double ball’
bearings present but the customer
finds only one ‘ball’ bearing and the other is a ‘bush’ bearing.
• Negotiations.
 A TYPICAL PERSONAL SELLING
PROCESS
3. Closing of the sales call:
• Timing of the sales call.
• Methods of closing.

4. Service:
• Problem solving.
• Marketing Intelligence.
• Merchandising.
 A TYPICAL PROSPECTING PROCESS
  time, planning work is done to
To economize on scarce Productive Selling
eliminate calls on non-buyers. This ‘Planning work’ is called prospecting. The
steps involved are:
 
1. Formulating Prospect Definition: Persons/Organizations who have the
willingness, the financial capacity and authority to buy the product or
service being offered by the personal selling functionary is a PROSPECT.
2. Searching out potential accounts: The sources can be directories of all
kind; news and notes in trade magazines/journals; membership list of
Associations; friends and acquaintances; etc.
3. Qualifying prospects & determining probable requirements: Prospects
above a certain level of requirement are considered as ‘Qualified’ and are
pursued unless otherwise future growth/other factors are of significance.
4. Relating company products/service to each prospect’s requirements:
Final step is to approach the prospect and convince him that his
requirement will be satisfied by your Company’s product/service.
 
SALES RELATED MARKETING POLICIES
Sales related Marketing Policies directly influence
the jobs of the sales executives. There are three
major types of such policies:
 
1. Product Policies – what to sell.
 
2. Distribution policies – whom to sell.
 
3. Pricing policies – at what consideration.
 
 PRODUCT POLICIES
1. Marketing Policy related to Product objectives: The Personal Selling style would alter
if a Company changes its ‘Product Objective’ from ‘providing the customer best
value for money products’ to ‘providing the customer the most economical
product’.
 
2. Marketing Policy related to Product Line: Only ‘Cornflakes’ is a Short Product Line –
e.g. Mohan’s Cornflakes ; Whereas ‘Kellogg’s’ has a Long Product Line of ‘Breakfast
Cereals’. The Personal Selling activity would vary in both cases. The Management
keeps reviewing the market scenario and the following decisions follow :
 
a) Changes in product offerings: Reappraisal of the existing product lines is
done at regular intervals. Reappraisals serve two purposes :-
i) to determine whether individual items are still in tune with market demand.
ii) To identify those that should be dropped from, or added to, the line.
e.g.: ‘Fiat’ dropped their old model to come up with ‘Sienna’ and then further
brought ‘Palio’.
‘Hindustan Lever’ appraised the situation of ‘Lifebuoy’ and launched
‘Lifebuoy Personal’.
 
 PRODUCT POLICIES
b. Re-appraising the product line and line simplification: The
Product Lines are reviewed and appraisal is done in terms
of – strengths & weaknesses as compared to competitors;
whether product features are in line with consumers
desirability; profitability for the Company.
E.g. Scooters India Limited, which was earlier into the
manufacturing and marketing of Two-Wheeler (Vijay Super
scooter) and Three Wheeler (Vikram), re-appraised their
product lines and took a conscious decision to discontinue
the Two Wheeler line and continue with the Three Wheeler
line. (Line Simplification)
c. Re-appraising the product line and line diversification:
e.g.: Tata Engineering & Locomotive Company(TELCO)
diversified from Trucks to Passenger Cars.
d. Ideas for new products: e.g. : ‘India Today’ weekly
launches a ‘Daily Newspaper’.
 PRODUCT POLICIES
3. Product Design Policy : The two main policy decisions on product design
are :
a) The frequency of design change.
b) The extent to which design should be protected from copying.
This policy is very relevant in certain industries – like garments,
automobiles, mobile phones, home appliances etc.

Design Protection is done through various Legal procedures – Trade Mark

registration, Design Registration, Design/Process Patent, Copyright etc.
Regular design changes, in line with the current consumer preferences,
goes a long way in helping effective personal selling.

4. Product Quality and Service Policy : ‘Khaitan’ fans come with a seven
year warranty. ‘Crompton’ fans come with a two-year motor guarantee.