Introduction to Sales

Management
 The exchange of goods or services for an amount of
money or its equivalent in kind
 First generation (Exchange of goods)
 Second generation (Store concept)
 Third generation (Search of the customer started)
 Fourth generation (First step to systematic selling)
 Fifth generation (Need based selling)
 Sixth generation (Started in 1960)
 Seventh generation (Customer satisfaction came into
picture)
 Helps organization to achieve its goals
 Enhances knowledge about both internal as well as

external environment
 Information exchange among the departments
 Identification of potential prospects, qualify them and

develop a long-term relationship with such customers

 Sales makes a vital contribution to society and the
economy, its negative image tends to overshadow the
good it does
 The profession of selling is one of the most degraded,

condemned, and ridiculed professions in the society

 Increase sales volume
 Contribute to profit
 Long-term growth of organization
 Improving the contribution to profit
 Attaining the long term growth in market
 No tandem between sales and marketing functions in an
organization
 A marketing person may perceive the sales job as
◦ One with no scope of creativity
◦ Sales people do not understand the behavior of customers rightly
 A sales person may perceive the marketing job as
◦ Inferior because sales people make the marketing program
successful
◦ Being alienated from the actual market
 A negligible communication between these two
organization
 Shorter product life cycle
 Longer, more complex sales cycle
 Reduced customer loyalty
 Intense competition among manufacturing companies
 Rising customer expectation
 Increasing buyer expertise
 Electronic revolution in communication
 Nowadays companies are hiring women too as a sales
personnel in selling products and services to both types
of individual as well as industrial customers
 As a sales forecaster
 As a strategic planner
 As an observer of buyer behavior
 A market analyst
 A leader
 A cost and profit analyst
 A budget manager
 A communicator

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 Hiring (recruiting sales force)
 Training (Providing necessary sales training)
 Coaching ( observing the training needs of sales person)
 Motivating (continuous support)
 Setting targets and tracking results
 Recognizing and rewarding performance
 Providing leads and sales support
 Organizing the sales efforts
 Conducting sales meetings
 Allocating scares resources

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 As a persuader
 A service provider
 An information-gatherer and reporter
 An advocate
 A traveler
 A coordinator and scheduler
 A problem definer
 A customer ego builder
 Arranging display for wholesaler and retailer

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 Identify potential customers from current data base
 Identifying prospective accounts and deciding upon the
priority and frequency of making calls
 Deciding upon the selling approach
 Administering the sales order
 Service provider
 Information gathering and reporting
 Skill up gradation
 Administrative responsibilities

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 Sales-related policies pertaining to the product
◦ Product line policy
◦ Product design policy
 Sales-related policies pertaining to the distribution
 Sales-related policies pertaining to the pricing

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Personal Selling
 Personal selling is the process in which a salesperson
has a personal interaction with the customer for the
purpose of selling a product or service
 It is a promotional tool in any company’s promotional

mix

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 Sales development
◦ The salesperson needs to generate a perceived need for the
product in customer’s mind.

 Sales maintenance
◦ Retaining the customer for the longtime with company

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 Qualitative Objectives
◦ Effective time management
◦ Possessing sufficient knowledge
◦ Maintaining good customer relation
 Quantitative Objectives
◦ Increase market share
◦ Number of sales call made
◦ Minimize sales expenses

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 Market access strategies
◦ Company’s use of its own sales force
◦ Use of distributors
◦ Telemarketing independent sales agents
◦ The internet
◦ Developing hybrid marketing systems
◦ Establishing alliances
◦ Account relationship strategy

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 AIDAS theory
 Buying formula theory of selling
 Behavioral equation theory
 Right circumstances theory

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 Stimulus-response approach
 Need satisfaction approach
 Problem-situation approach

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 Prospecting
The salesperson identifies qualified potential customers

Pre-approach
The salesperson learns as much as possible about a prospective
customer before making a sales call

Approach
The salesperson meets the customer for the first time

Presentation
The salesperson tells the “product story” to the buyer, highlighting
customer benefits

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 Handling Objections
The salesperson seeks out, clarifies, and overcomes customer objections to buying

Closing
The salesperson asks the customer for an order

Follow-up
The salesperson follows up after the sale to ensure customer satisfaction and
repeat business

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 Understanding customer types through different selling
styles
◦ Trade selling
◦ Missionary selling
◦ Technical selling
◦ New business selling

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 Finding customers
 Researching customers
 Communicating effectively
 Providing customer services
 Creating customer satisfaction

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 Information sharing
 Handling customer alerts
 Reporting sales force activities
 Tracking the progress of leads
 Accurate routing of leads
 Internet based facilities
 Customer profiling
 Comparison of historical data
 Competitive intelligence
 Sales forecasting tools

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Hiring and Training
Sales Personnel
 Helps in saving cost
 Helps in saving salary and other expenses
 Save the image of company by selecting right people
 Need to make strategies to keep the sales person for a

long time

Hiring and Training Sales

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 Mental Aptitude Dimension
◦ Mental alertness
◦ Business terms and memory recall aptitude
◦ Communication skills
◦ Numerically skills
◦ Mechanical interest

Hiring and Training Sales

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 Personality dimension
◦ Honesty or character
◦ Sociability
◦ Cynicism
◦ High energy levels
◦ Dominance
◦ Competitiveness
◦ Emotional maturity
◦ Work habits
◦ Work motivation

Hiring and Training Sales

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 Sourcing the Candidate

Screening the Candidate

Personality Test
Selection Test

Honesty Test
Background Check

Personal Interview Psychometric Test

Letters of Recommendations

Physical Examination

Making the Employment Offer

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 To increase the productivity of sales force
 To decrease the wastage of sales force efforts
 To improve the image of organization
 To increase the customer relationship

Hiring and Training Sales

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 Initial sales training
 Follow-up or refresher training
 Training by the manufacturer to the distributor’s sales

force
 Training by the manufacture to customer

Hiring and Training Sales

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Designing Training Program

Determine the objectives of training program

Review sales activities of the organization

Determine who should be trained

Identify training needs

Determining how much training is required

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Implementing the Centralized training
Training program
Third party training

Selecting the right Training zone

trainer

On-site training

Timing of training Training through postal

material

Satellite-delivered training

Place of training
Online training
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Evaluating the Training
Program

Salesperson’s reaction

Knowledge acquisition

Behavioral change/ transfer of learning

Organizational outcomes
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