1152 2706 1 PB PDF

||Volume||4||Issue||03||Pages-5067-5085||March-2016|| ISSN (e): 2321-7545
Website: http://ijsae.in
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18535/ijsre/v4i03.12
Enlightening The Lives of Rural Women : Operation of Hul Shakti - Its Working &
Organisation Structure
Authors
Dr. V. Bhargavi Reddy , Dr. N. Sree Rajani2, Ms. A. Parvathi3
1
1
Principal, Dr. AER College of Management Studies & Research, C. Ramapuram, Tirupati - A.P.
2
Principal, Dr. Agarala Eswara Reddi MBA College, C. Ramapuram, Tirupati - A.P.
3
Asst. Professor, Dr. AER College of Management Studies & Research, C. Ramapuram, Tirupati - A.P.
Email: rajju12000@yahoo.com, rajju12000@yahoo.com, parvati.mba@gmail.com
INTRODUCTION:
In this paper a detailed presentation on project sakthi covering details of its emergence, operation and
benefits to participants is made.The hole data regarding the sakthi project included in this paper is collected
as a primary data from the company officials of different designations ( Rural sales promoters, Sales
officers), Sakthi entrepreneurs. Through direct conversations and interviews with them on the appointed
dates.
Project Shakti of Hindustan Uni Lever Limited
Project Shakti
Changing lives in rural India
Dr. V. Bhargavi Reddy et al IJSRE Volume 4 Issue 3 March 2016 Page 5067
PILOT PROJECT AND EXPANSION
The model was piloted in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh in 50 villages in the year 2000. The
Government of Andhra Pradesh took the pioneering step of supporting the initiative by enabling linkages
with the network of DWACRA Groups of rural women set up for their development and self-employment.
Most SHG women view Project Shakti as a powerful business proposition and are keen participants in it. It
has since been extended to in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal with
the total strength of over 40,000 Shakti Entrepreneurs.
ORGANISATION STRUCTURE
The HUL constituted a number of administrative areas ranging from 5-6 in each of the 15 states of the
country where the Project Shakti is in operation. Each area comprises 4-5 districts headed by an Area Sales
Manager (ASM) under whom work a Sales Officer (SO), Territory Sales In-charge (TSI), Divisional Rural
Sales Promoters (DRSP), and Rural Sales Promoters (RSPs)/ Junior Rural Sales Promoters (JRSPs).
Figure 1 Organisation Structure of HUL Shakti
Area Sales Manager (ASM)
Sales Officer (SO)
Territory Sales In-charge (TSI) in some States
Divisional Rural Sales Promoters (DRSP) in some States
Rural Sales Promoters (RSP) Junior RSPs
Shakti Entrepreneurs (SE) Shakti Entrepreneurs (SEs)

Area Sales Manager (ASM):
The overall authority of the Shakti Project is the area sales manager with Sales Officer, TSI, and DRSPs
working under him.
Rural SO:
He has to work for a day with the Shakti team. The date of the day of working has to be communicated to
the Shakti SO for planning his visit.
Rural TSI:
He has to check all the rural Shakti bills. Further, he has to countersign the Shakti dealer Journey Cycle (JC)
trend sheets and sign the part of RSP paperwork to JC log sheet. A copy of the same would be retained at
Rural distributor/ Redistribution Stockist level.
Rural Sales Promoters (RSPs):
The Rural Sales Promoters occupy a strategic place in the organisation in view of their association and
involvement in various functions, duties and programmes on behalf of the company as direct business-
promoting agents on the one hand and as true counsellors and financial coordinators of the Shakti
Entrepreneurs on the other hand. It is in this sense that this level employees can be considered as the true
business ambassadors of the company.
Role and Responsibilities of RSPs
RSPs are the last category of employees and expected to work in close cooperation with the Shakti
Entrepreneurs (SEs) both in the supply and sales of company’s products. Further, they have to be in regular
touch with SE for all kinds of HUL’s transactions. Thus their role is pivotal in the company.
Working Norms
The working norms of the RSPs consist of the work schedule, safety policy, and quality of work.
Work schedule includes the visit to the first SE point latest by 8 a.m., and two SE points every day. In case
the RSP is engaged in the SE appointment also, he would visit one SE point during the first half of the day
and one new village to generate/follow leads in the second half of the day or vice versa. The RSP has to visit
two villages on regular basis and make at least 40 home calls, 5 productive retail calls, and Rs.2,500 of hand
cart everyday. In case the RSP visits only one existing SE village on any particular day, he has to achieve all
the above targets from the same SE village only. Under no circumstances or without prior approval from the
sales officer, two RSPs shall work together. During the monthly operating cycle (MOC), the RSP must
cover all SE points and work in the SE village and not just visit it.
Safety policy According to the safety policy, the RSP must make it a point to wear helmet while riding his
motor bike on a highway or the village lane. He should not ride his bike on the highway when the dark sets
in. The RSP must also bring to the notice of DRSP and SO in case he faces any untoward incident.
Quality of work During his daily visit to the SE points, the RSP must verify that the SEs are not selling any
products without cutting the bill, that the SEs are maintaining all the sheets in the register and customer
ledger in the prescribed format on regular basis, that the SEs are keeping stocks in proper order, that the SEs
have learnt the calculation of profitability, that there is no slow non-moving stock at SE points and to note
down the sales data on homes covered, home sale value, retail/satellite sales value, etc., from SE register to
RSP docket for the period from last visit to current visit.
If the RSP undertakes a specific activity with the prior approval of the ASM, he must keep all bills of
expenses incurred for the purpose. The regular activities to be conducted by the RSPs are group meeting,
product demo, concept selling meeting (CSM), training programme, medical camps, etc. in the SE villages.
All activities carried out at SE points must be duly documented and photographed. In the conduct of all
activities, the RSPs are expected to follow the Shakti charter strictly.
The RSP shall not proceed on leave without the prior approval of leave-sanctioning authority, namely SO.
He can do this by calling SO over phone.
Documentation and Reporting
The rural sales promoters are expected to play a significant role in their duties and responsibilities and act as
crucial link between the HUL Company and the Shakti dealers with whom they work. The work schedule
primarily involves the main functions of documentation and reporting.
In respect of documentation, the RSPs have to necessarily carry docket along with them while visiting the
Shakti village. The main purpose of this docket is to maintain properly the different types of documents,
namely village-wise coverage data, SE profile summary, permanent journey plan (PJP) sheet, price list,
Operating Promotional Schemes (OPS) plan, weekly sales report, hand cart, SE documents summary
(purchase, retail homes and satellite sales), brand performance report, expenditure statement and specific
activity report.
Table 1 Reporting by RSPs
Reporting
Documents Report No. Medium
Frequency
Daily sales report Daily evening DRSP Verbal
Daily hand cart Daily evening DRSP Verbal
TDP sales TDP end DRSP Written
SE-wise purchase MOC end DRSP Written
SE-wise homes visited MOC end DRSP Written
SE-wise home sales MOC end DRSP Written
SE-wise retail sales MOC end DRSP Written
SE-wise satellite sales MOC end DRSP Written
Specific activity report MOC end DRSP Written
Monthly hand cart MOC end SO/DRSP Written
SE invoices/claim sheet MOC end SO Hard copy
Table 1 shows the reporting details of RSPs. RSP has to report orally to the Divisional RSP regarding the
day to day product sales, and travel expenditure incurred as per the two wheeler journey (daily hand cart).
After the completion of ten days period (TDP), the RSP has to submit a detailed report of the sales
completed during the said period. Further, the RSP has to submit to the DRSP a report for each monthly
operating cycle (Table 2) on the SE-wise purchase of stocks, number of homes visited, home sales, retail
sales and satellite sales. Besides he has to submit a specific activity report, monthly hand cart and SE
invoice/claim sheet to the sales officer.
Table 2 Monthly operating cycle (MOC) plan
Name No of
Not
S. No District of Field Dsgn. SEs Volume TDP1 TDP2 TDP3 Prod. 10k+
Applicable
Force end
1 *ATP ST
2 ATP SL
3 ATP SP
ANANTAPUR.
4 *KDP ST
5 KDP SL
KADAPA.
6 *KNL ST
7 KNL SP
KURNOOL.
8 *CTR SL
9 CTR ST
CHITTOOR.
10 *MBNR. ST
11 MBNR. SP
MAHABOOBNAGAR.
SAP
Total
ATP - Anantapur, KDP - Kadapa, CTR - Chittoor, MBNR - MahaboobNagar, KNL - Kurnool .
Regarding the administrative aspects like leave and all other issues, the RSPs are required to obtain verbal or
written sanction from the sales officer. For claim settlement, the RSPs have to report to the SO. The working
norms of the RSPs consist of job description, and distribution/working norm sheets.
Coordination
The RSP must coordinate his activity in close cooperation with RS (Redistribution Stockist) and TSI in the
matter of arranging supplies, getting coverage data, scheme clarification and gift distribution. In order to
ensure documentation of RS point, the RSP must act by providing profile summary, coverage of village
map, SE bill files/and sales details and Shakti file to the RS. During his schedule of working, the RSP has to
visit the RS point frequently, maintain cordial relation with RS and must not get involved in any work other
than that of Shakti. The RSP must coordinate with rural TSI for coverage data, supply problems, scheme
clarification and RS disputes. The RSP must report sales figures of SEs to TSI on regular basis. He should
also obtain the signature of RS on claims.
Performance Measurement
The RSPs are called upon to perform different functions based on which their performance levels/scores are
measured by the company to elevate them to higher positions. The performance of individual RSPs is
evaluated periodically to understand his efficiency in the context of the work allocated to him from time to
time. It is measured in terms of performance level and performance score.
Performance level In the case of performance level, the criteria employed are achievement of primary sales
target, achievement of secondary sales target, percentage productivity, percentage of SEs purchasing
company products for >Rs.10,000 and percentage contribution from homes. The relevance of the
performance levels of the RSP is to express in terms of different grades to them based on the above said
criteria.
The primary sales target is the stock of items supplied by the RSP (on behalf of the company) to the SE.
Secondary sales target is the actual stock sold to the various households or retailers or satellite villages by
the SE. Normally as per the rules of the company, each SE has to complete 60% of the stock through home
to home coverage and the remaining 40% may be through retailers, nearby satellite villages. Each RSP has
to look after more or less 40 SE points.
Performance score The grades may range in descending order from “extremely well”- “excellent” –
“good” - “bad” by which the promotion avenues as well as the annual increments of the RSPs are decided
by the company. The performance levels are the standards laid down by the company to achieve higher level
positions in the organizational hierarchy. Based on the criteria, the performance score is worked out as in
Table 3. According to this, the RSPs are categorized into four types.
Green- If a particular RSP has 100% performance score under SLAB-1 [which includes 25% of Primary
Sales Target (PST), 15% of Secondary Sales Target (SST), 20% of productivity, 15% of the number of SEs
purchasing > RS. 10K, and 25% of contribution from homes)], he is graded as “Green”.
Yellow - The RSP is given “Yellow” grade, if he is having a performance score of 75% under SLAB 2 (20%
of PST, 10% of SST, 15% productivity, 10% SEs with > 10K, and 20% contribution from homes).
Orange - The “Orange” grade is given to the RSP whose performance score comes to 50% under SLAB 3
(15% PST, 5% SST, 10% productivity, 5% SEs > 10K, and 15% contribution from homes).
Red- The least grade given to the RSP is “Red” under SLAB 4 with a performance score of 15% (5% PST,
5% Productivity, and 5% home contribution).
Table 3 Performance score of RSP
Criteria Slab-1 Slab-2 Slab-3 Slab-4
Achievement of primary sales target (PST) 25% 20% 15% 5%
Achievement of secondary sales target (SST) 15% 10% 5% 0
% productivity 20% 15% 10% 5%

% of SEs purchasing >Rs.10k 15% 10% 5% 0%
% contribution from homes 25% 20% 15% 5%
Promotion avenues
The short listing criteria for promotion of RSPs include: experience in current job, performance score,
written test and other requirements for his elevation from the level of Junior RSP to TSI. Table 4 presents
the criteria.
Table 4 Short listing criteria in the promotion of JRSP to TSI
Criteria JRSP to RSP RSP to DRSP DRSP to TSI
Experience in Min 3 months Min 6 months Min 12 months
current job
Performance 75% and above 90% and above 90% and above
score (Average of last 3 (Average of last 3 (Average of last 6
months.) months.) months.)
Written test Based on Shakti Based on Shakti Based on Shakti
Operation operation Operation
Other Ethical standard Refer to DRSP TSI competencies
requirements profile
The JRSP becomes RSP, if he clears the short listing process as indicated by the criteria of a minimum
experience of 3 months, a performance score of < 75% successful completion of a written test on Shakti
operations, and lastly fulfilling the ethical standards. But at the same time it has to be remembered that the
JRSP will become RSP only when some vacancy arises.
An RSP can reach the position of DRSP provided he puts in an experience of 6 months, a performance score
of >90% and on getting through in the written test. But the short listed DRSP candidates will be called for
interview subject to the availability of a vacancy of DRSP. Once the DRSP puts in an experience of 12
months in his position and has a performance score of >90% during the preceding period of 6 months and a
successful completion of written test along with other competitive skills, as compared to other candidates in
the race, he will be promoted as TSI.
In all the other above promotions, the desired criteria are communication skills, relationship with rural
sellers, RSPs and TSIs, past record on ethical ground (integrity), and fluency in computer operations.
Ethical Imperatives
The RSPs during their functioning in the field or office must keep in mind the required ethical standards and
imperatives, and display fairness and honesty in their actions as well as in the matter of distinguishing
between right and wrong. The different actions to be taken and adhered to by the RSPs while performing
their duties are:
to appoint SEs as per rules,
not to resort to false reporting on sales, homes, etc,
to maintain all documents required ,
to visit markets as per the plan ,
not to proceed on leave without informing their superiors, and
to wear helmets while driving in the field.
In their “ Integrity Check “ stipulated by the company, each of the RSPs while discharging his duties must
ask the following questions in case any doubt arises:
Is it legal?
Does it comply with my company's ethics and compliance policy?
How does this decision affect others or you?
How does the decision look to others?
How would you feel if the decision was made public?
Would your parents like your action?
The punishment for unethical behavior will be loss of job. Employees as well as SEs are advised to inform
SO/ASM if they see any one (junior/Senior/RS/TSI, etc) involved in unethical behavior. The company
rewards the SLs (Shakti Leaders) who inform about any unethical practices.
SHAKTI ENTREPRENEURS (SEs)
The Shakti Entrepreneurs are the women micro-enterprise business-dealers of the HUL, who are selected
and appointed from among the poorer women SHGs through a well-defined process. They are expected to
represent the company technically but in reality they are the “true saviours unto themselves” as also their
families and village community as a whole. It is in this context that the word “empowerment” acquires
relevance and significance in the transformation as well as upliftment of these BOP women of the rural
society.
Selection and Appointment
The selection and appointment of Shakti entrepreneurs is made as follows.
Choice of persons
Opportunity to obtain business dealership of the HUL without any initial deposit, and a profit of 6-11% over
the business investment of the group (wholesale, retail business benefit – 3%) will be available to only some
persons. The requirements are as follows.
The person should be a woman.
She can be a SHG member or an individual.
She should not have a retail outlet.
She should be willing to visit homes.
The woman nominee should be able to make an initial investment of at least Rs. 10,000.
She should be educated with reputation in the village.
She should possess self confidence, business interest and capability to maintain cordial relations with other
DWACRA groups in the neighbouring villages located within a radius of three to four kilometres distance
from her own village.
Choice of the villages
Only uncovered villages will be approached for choosing a person for appointment as SE. The SE Point
selected should not be very near to the RS market and it should be at least 10 km. away from it. The location
of the SE point should be easily accessible for the RD, as far as possible.
Armed with the preceding criteria, the concerned RSP or JRSP must proceed to have the coverage data. For
this purpose, he must obtain the latest census data of the State from the SO, followed by a discussion of the
same with rural TSI and Rural Distributor/Redistribution Stockist of the district, mark the villages to be
covered by the rural team, buy a district map concerned preferably showing the names of the villages in it
for better analysis, and select the villages demarcated for Shakti Point.
By the method of direct approach to villages, the DRSP/RSP selects the route of his visits to the concerned
villages, selects the uncovered villages in that route from the map, gathers information on whether the
retailers in the village are serviced by the HUL dealers, approaches village leaders (teacher, doctor, post
master, etc ) , and contacts anganwadi workers.
Using the method of networking facilities, the DRSP/RSP generates leads from RS/RDs , obtains clues
from the links of other RSPs , utilises links from existing SEs, locates the satellite market not being covered
by current SEs, and employs internet/links from LIC agents for collecting information about NGOs/SHGs
in the area.
Table 5 shows a typical village potential analysis. HUL expects to have a business potential of Rs. 78,625/-
for a village with a population of 2000 representing 500 house holds. This analysis is based on the
assumption that the three categories of houses A,B, and C, with differential rates of minimum spent-amounts
ranging from Rs. 400/- and Rs. 75/- can possess the average purchasing capacity of the company products
worth of Rs. 150/- per family.
Table 5 Village potential analysis
Number of Minimum spent
Category Percentage Potential (Rs)
houses per month (Rs.)
A 10 50 400 20,000
B 35 175 200 35,000
C 55 275 75 20,625
Total spent for 500 families 75,625
Average spent per family per month 150
Concept selling meeting

After completing the above formalities, the JRSP/RSP holds a Concept Selling Meeting (CSM) on behalf of
the company on the basis of the information generated through government/NGOs, banks and other
institutions, followed by his meeting with the concerned officials and representing the matter for
consideration. Then the RSPs/DRSPs meet local level officials and finalise a date for CSM.
The members of the SHG are invited to attend the said meeting at the selected venue for selection and
appointment of one of them as SE. The CSM Chart expects members to introduce themselves, followed by
the introduction of the HUL company and its sample products, as also about the Project Shakti by the RSP.
The RSP explains why the company representatives visited the village and what the Project Shakti
mechanics are. He also explains the profit and business potential, and finally opens the floor for questions.
Then the women interested in the dealership will be asked to furnish their names, together with their full
addresses, and contact numbers to the RSP, who in turn subsequently visits them three to four times for
finalising the appointment of one of them as SE.
The essentials emerging from the CSM enhance the credentials of the SHG women through government
representative, make the session interactive, make the RSP to speak in local language, if he can, display
product samples at the meeting , and demonstration by RSP all about the proceedings through charts.
Training
The Hindustan Unilever Limited being a well known company can impart not only training but also business
tactics, confidence and capability to the village women following their selection as SEs.
Operations
The DWACRA group or woman can act as a trade centre in the sale of different consumer products. Such
centre can develop into a bumper offer bazaar to take up the sale of other essential household products such
as vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, and DWACRA–produced products along with HUL products. This is done
on the basis of their demand in the village. The Shakti Dealer can order for the products from the company
based on her business within a month. The products are directly supplied to the Shakti Dealer at her house in
the village by company distributor with special discount (trade discount) of 3% on the retail prices. The
Shakti Dealers are allowed to return unsold products to the company once in 20 days and purchase in their
place products that can be sold easily.
Profits
Figure 2 shows the profit margins of Shakti Dealers in the channel of distribution. The dealer gains a margin
of 16% if she carries out door to door sales of the products. On the other hand, her profit margin ranges from
6-11% when she sells the products to the members of SHGs and 8-13% on sales made to retailers.
Figure 2 Profit ranges of different groups of dealers
Company HUL
Company Distributor
DWACRA woman dealer (SHG) - Shakti dealer
Dealer Group Members Retail Shop

Margin (16%) (6-11%) (8-13%)
Consumers Consumers Consumers
As shown in table 6, the total profit margins of SEs for different categories of products range from 7% for
foods and beverages, 11% for detergents to 13% for Personal Products (PP). It is clear from the table that the
profit margins are appreciably the highest as expected, followed by those of detergents, and foods and
beverages. While the additional margin of 2% and cash discount of 1% stand common for all product
categories, the total margin varies from 5-10%.
Table 6 Margins by product category (In percentages)
Product Sales Add. margin Cash discount Total margin
Total margin
category contribution for SEs to SEs by Rs for SEs
Detergents 62 8 2 1 11
PP 25 10 2 1 13
Foods 4 8 2 1 7
Beverages 9 5 2 1 7
The details of the profitability of SD based on an investment of Rs.15,000/- are portrayed in table 7. The
profit margin exclusively offered by the HUL to SD on this investment is 12% or Rs.1,800/-.
Besides, the SD from her sales operations is entitled to extend an offer of 5% to SHG members, 2% to non-
SHG members and 8% to retailers. It is here that the profit made by her from turnovers to SHGs and
retailers is of significance. 70% (Rs.10,500/-) of the turnover to the SHGs results in a profit of Rs.735/-
while that of retailers from a turnover of 30% (Rs.4500/-) works out to be Rs.180/-. The total profit from
these two categories is Rs.915/- (Rs.735+Rs.180) and a scheme benefit of Rs.500/-. The combined profit
benefit on the assumed total investment of Rs.15,000/- by the SD comes to 9% (Rs.1,415/-).
Table 7 Shakti Dealer – Profitability
Investment 15,000
Margin Offered 12%
(Exclusively for CD)
Operation
To group members 5% offer
Non Group members 2% offer
Retailers 8% offer
Turnover from
Groups Retailers
70% 30%
10,500 4,500
735 180
Total Profit = 915 (735+180)
Scheme benefit based
on achievement = 500
Total = 1,415 (9%)
Table 8 indicates the hypothetical return on investment projected by the HUL within SHGs, bank deposits
and HUL business respectively. Based on a capital of Rs.15,000/-, the company assumes the following
percentages of interest for these three categories of investment: 24%, 9% and 100% respectively.
Table 8 Return on Investment
Source With in Groups Bank Deposit HLL Business
Capital 15,000 15,000 15,000
Rotation 1,80,000
Yield 10,800
Net 3,600 1,350 9,000 60%
Scheme 6,000
Net Amount 3,600 1,350 15,000
Int % 24% 9% 100%
SHAKTI CHARTER
Shakti charter is developed to guide the rural marketing employees especially the RSPs.
SE Profile :
The SE Profile ensures that the SE is a member of the SHG – sponsored by government, NGO or bank ; an
anganwadi worker, or a female individual. In villages where there is no SHG operation, the SE is to be
appointed in consultation with the village Sarpanch and a non-wholesaler/a semi-wholesaler under any
circumstances.
Despatch procedure:
The despatch procedure is to be followed to see that all Shakti despatches are handled by the Rural
Distributor/Redistribution Stockist only; that no despatches are routed through the Shakti field force
(RSP/DRSP); that the ownership/accountability of despatches to Shakti dealers would lie with the Rural
TSI; that the rural TSI is within his right to refuse a Shakti despatch if he suspects mischief (Such stopped
despatches would be cleared only after both the Shakti and the rural SO jointly agree for the purpose); that
no RD counter sales are made to Shakti dealers; that the initial despatch should take place only through DD
and up to a limit of Rs.10,000 only (Any deviation from this procedure should have the prior sanction of the
Shakti ASM); that further despatches are continued only when cash payment is made on delivery of stocks
(Any credit extension facility to SE is to be made at the discretion of the RD/RS); that a PDP is ensured for
all SE despatches in due alignment with the SS despatches; that the Shakti SOs liase with rural team and
work out an integrated PDP for SS/SE despatches; that the RSP journey cycle PDP facilitates the despatch
procedure after the SE’s orders reach one day before the PDP; and that the responsibility of the despatches
to Shakti SE lies solely on the RD and the Rural TSI /SO
SE location:
The SE locations take care to see that all SE appointments are made in villages which are 10 km away from
urban centres; and that the new appointments of SEs are made in consultation and agreement with the rural
SOs.
Documents:
The documents are to be maintained at two levels: RD/RS level and SE level
RD/RS level
The RD/RS level documents are SE-wise and JC-wise sales track sheet, SE profile and photographs of SEs
to be obtained within three months of appointment, SE -wise infrastructure details covering village
population, names of the satellite markets covered (if any) and Satellite Market (SM) populations; Journey
Cycle (JC) log sheet duly signed by the RSP, RD and TSI; and Bindi maps clearly articulating the presence
of the SEs along with the Star Seller (SS).
SE level
The SE level documents are bill books for all house-to -house and outlet sales, and home-to home-register.
The rural SO has to work for a day with the Shakti team. The date of the day of working has to be
communicated to the Shakti SO for planning his visit. The TSI has to check all the rural Shakti bills. He has
to countersign the Shakti dealer JC trend sheets and sign the part of RSP paperwork to JC log sheet. A
copy of the same would be retained at RD/RS level.
RSPs don’ts:
The don’ts for RSPs are as stated below.
They should not have any cash dealings with RD/RS for personal needs.
The RSP should not take any salary or commission for conducting Shakti business.
He should not deviate from the JC PJP.
He should not handle stocks for the purpose of despatching them to the SE.
Under no circumstances should the RSP extend his services for the work of the distributors other than the
Shakti business.
Data generation and collection:
The data generation and collection covers the source for all types of data ranging from turnovers, number of
SDs, new appointments, number of active SDs, etc generated from the invoices of RD/RS to the SD, and
the invoices of RD/RS to be fed in the computers for the generation of the above.
The RSP visits SE point on the date of stocks arrival, explains the price list to the SE concerned – selling,
prices, margins, etc; explains the product profile to her, prepares dealer profile, initiates all documents,
conducts at least one activity (group meeting/Shakti day/home drive), introduces the SE to retailers/key
households, talks to RD and fixes permanent despatch plan (PDP), and shares contact phone numbers.
The documents at SE point are the purchase bill file ( Figure 3 ), the sales register/customer register (
Figure 4 ), the brand activation sheet (Appendix VIII), the bill books, profile sheet (Appendix II), and the
dealer board (if given by the RSP of HUL). After SE’s enrolment into the project, each SE will be given the
certificate of Shakti Dealership (Photo 1).
Photo 1 SE’s Dealership Certificate
Each SE is expected to maintain a bill book containing the company products sold to individual homes,
shops and satellite villages. In each case of the products, details of rate, quantity and total amount are
specified. This book constitutes the record of the SE’s total business based on which she can plan for future
investments in the business.
Figure 3 SE’s Bill Book Sample
Name of SE:
Village:
Name of Customer:
Date:
Category: Satellite Home Shop

[Tic k the right box]
Brand / SKU Sold Rate Quantity Total

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Total:
It contains the following formats: Visitor’s log book (Table II) meant for the visiting officials of the
company, Household sales tracker (Table IV) containing the details of product sales made to individual
houses, Retail Sales tracker
(Table V) containing details of retail sales to retailers, Satellite village Sales tracker (Table VI) for the use of
retail sales made to satellite villages, and Purchase details (Table V) of the concerned SE.
SE DOCUMENT FORMATS
Note: Each Se will maintain following documents:
Profile Sheet at the main entrance of the house
A file containing purchase bills
Secondary sales bill book
A sales register (Sales register shall contain more than 100 pages) The page wise document formats are
given
Format 1: Visitor’s log book (Page No. 1)
S. Name of the
Organisation Designation Date Signature Remarks
No. Visitor
Format 2: Household sales tracker (Page 2 to Page 25)

S.No. Name of Household Date Amount Date Amount
Format 3: Retail tracker (Page 26 to Page 50)

S.No. Name of Retailer Date Bill No. Amt Date Bill No. Amt
Format 4: Satellite Retail tracker (page 51 to Page 75)

S.No. Name of Retailer Date Bill No. Amt Date Bill No. Amt
Format 3: Retail tracker (page 26 to Page 50)
SN Bill Date Bill No. Amount

(Rs.)
SALES PROCESS
The sales process involving the following three sales channels form the required training and awareness to
the SEs selected and appointed:
Direct to homes (consumers),
Retailers in host village, and
Retailers in satellite village.
Home sales:
The home sales are carried out through sales call, objections and essentials.
Sales call
The sales call facilitates the RSP to go always with SE; to meet the house wife in her home; and to
introduce himself, the SE and the HUL company to the concerned householder; to greet the SE and enquire
about all members of her family; to show the product brief folder to the family and explain the features of
the brands; to find out the brands being used and if there is a competitor’s brand; to explain the equivalent
product of HUL and its benefits to them unlike the competitor’s-brand; to explain the advantage of his
personalised home service; to introduce all new and promotional packs; to reveal the best method to create
awareness about spurious packs; to ask for all product packs from the booklet and to sell products needed
for the entire family.
Objections
The RSP handles objections raised by SEs in the following order:
When the SE expresses her wish to buy products from retailers, the RSP tells her that she may get the
products at higher rates, that the retailer may not give free gifts/schemes and that she may get duplicate
products.
When the SE brings to the attention of the RSP that she cannot afford to invest high amount of money in the
purchase of HUL products owing to her being a woman, and hence is ready to buy them from retailer on
credit. The RSP answers such objection, by suggesting to the SE to take stocks for a week only. He further
tells her that the retailer may charge higher rates for the products purchased by her on credit.
Home sales essentials
The home sales essentials are of critical importance to the SE because of higher margin on the products sold,
besides establishing long term business relationship with the households. In this endeavour, she has to
prepare a list of all households in the village has to prepare a PJP for visiting homes (20-30 homes/day) and
has to visit homes herself and not her husband. Her target is at least 150 households/month and
Rs.100/home. She should focus to the maximum on home sales (at least 60%).
Retail sales:
The Retail sales have to be described from the angles of sales call, retail objections, and sales essentials.
Sales call
In retail sales, the RSP has to make a call to the retailer first by greeting him/her, by introducing himself and
company, by explaining the products and schemes and by creating confidence of his service. RSP informs
the retailer that the products and his timely service should be beneficial to the retailer. Thus the RSP would
succeed in obtaining orders for all the available products.
Retail objections
The RSP handles retail objections in the following fashion.
When the retailer wants to buy the HUL products from the near by town along with other products, the RSP
convinces the retailer that he/she can save the transportation cost in the advantage of getting the products at
his/her doorstep, will save time, will get all schemes, and the HUL product rates may be same as those of
market rate or even lower than the later and she gets fresh /original products.
When the retailer brings to the RSP’s attention he/she cannot sell HUL products directly to homes, he/she is
informed that the HUL product sales are promoted to selected homes and that the company builds market for
him/her from whom the products are bought.
The retailer finally pleads his/her inability to raise funds/cash for buying HUL products in view of which
he/she wants to be obliged by providing credit facility for the products. The RSP responds to this plea of the
retailer saying that he/she can take stocks enough for 2-3days till the RSP visits, and the investment is
definitely lower if the retailer purchases the stocks from the RSP.
Essentials
In the matter of retail sales, the RSP follows the following essentials to call on every outlet as per his call
plan, to call on every outlet whether buying or non-buying, to not to ignore small outlets, to study dealer
shelves /keep brief folder, to sell full range of products and not what the retailer asks for, to check and pay
attention to fast/slow moving lines, to focus on new brands, to check the visibility of all company brands, to
check competitor information, to check market hygiene – freshness of HUL stocks as well as those of
competitors, to check if retailer gets stock from the wholesaler, to make a note of retailer feedback about the
products and company, to ensure timely delivery of stocks, to cut the bills, to collect scheme details, to make
sure whether the customer ledger is updated for every bill cut, to visit retailers frequently, to supply the
stocks within an hour and to paste Point Of Purchase (POP) materials in the shops.
Satellite coverage:
For satellite coverage, the RSP must ensure the following: to make a list of all nearby villages for an SE
within a radius of 2 km, to introduce the SE to satellite retailers, to convince the SE to visit the satellite retail
markets, to cover each satellite market twice a month and to visit the satellite market regularly with SEs.
DEVELOPMENT
Development avenues are available to the SEs as per the stipulations of the HUL company by classifying
the SEs based on such factors as their experience, business turnover, quality of sales, share of homes/share
of satellite villages to the total and degree of dependence on the RSPs according to the HUL. Accordingly
the following four categories are recognised among them. They are:
New recruits
Silver SEs
Gold SEs
Diamond SEs
The New Recruits are those SEs appointed in April or later during the year. The remaining three categories
are recognised by the company on the basis of their performance. The profiling of SEs is furnished in table
9
Table 9 Profiling of SEs
Parameter New Recruit Silver SEs Gold SEs Diamond SEs
Experience 0-3 JCs 3-7 JCs 7-9JCs 10 JCs or more
Home: Sales No. Below 15%, 15 15-30%, 30 30-50%, 60 Over 50%, 100
Satellite Coverage Only with RSP 5%, 1-2 mkt 15%, 3-4mkt 20%, >4mkt
Shakti days Done by RSP Helps RSP Does when told Regular tool
Brand awareness Poor Average Very good Complete
Turn over < Rs 8,000 Rs 8000-12,000 Rs 12000-15000 >15000
Turnover is not a necessary condition---this is not indicative of numbers

Travel plan decision
As the SEs have different needs, they require different degrees of attention. They have to be differentiated
into classes on the basis of a rationale. Accordingly the travel plan of the RSPs has to be prepared. At the
same time, the RSPs have to visit and work only with two different SEs per day. As such, the permanent
journey plan must ensure that every SE is visited at least once in every journey cycle as shown in Table 10.
Table 10 SEs’ grade by Journey Cycle of RSPs
SEs’ grades Visit/JC Days/JC
New Recruit 2 1.0
Silver 2 1.0
Gold 1 0.5
Diamond 1 0.5
In the case of New Recruits, the RSPs have to make two visits per journey cycle (JC) as portrayed in Table
11.
Table 11 RSP’s Tasks for New Recruits
Training Needs RSP’s Tasks Collateral
Product Awareness Brief SE Brand Booklet
Pricing Brief SE RD invoice
Margin (home/retail) Demonstrate Price sheet
Retail All local outlets Sales, Rs.2000

Homes 10 known homes Sales, Rs.500
As reflected in the above table, in the case of new recruits the RSP has to explain about the product and
different price ranges for each product as also its entry in the invoice. At the same time, he has to show the
price sheet to the SE and demonstrate about the margin on each of the home/retail sales. Further, he has to
take her to all the retail outlets and complete the sales for Rs.2,000. Also, he has to take her to 10 homes
known to him, introduce them to her and complete the sales for Rs.500.
The RSP must make two visits per journey cycle to the Silver SEs as presented in Table 12. The table
reveals the tasks of RSPs ranging from explaining the calculation of margins on each of the home sales to
the SEs and the expected earnings for her on such sales. The other duties of the RSP include the showing of
10 additional homes for sales, and the sales there from fetching an amount of Rs.1,200. He should also take
her to a nearby village and complete the sale of products worth of Rs.1,000/-
Table 12 Silver SEs with Two Visits Per JC
Training needs RSP tasks Collateral
Home margins Demonstrate Earnings
Homes Add 10 homes Sales, Rs.1,200
Satellite Add 1 market Sales, Rs.1,000
The Gold SEs are visited only once per journey cycle by RSP as shown in Table 13. As in the case of Silver
SEs, the RSP has to explain and show the Gold SEs too about the calculation of margins and earnings due
from home sales besides introducing them to an additional 20 households with a products sale of Rs.1,200,
and adding a satellite market with a products sale of Rs.2,000. A Gold SE must independently maintain the
home purchase monitor as also begin to order products on her own. She also should take training in rural
distribution interactions. For an SE to become a Gold, she must cover at least 50 homes regularly before
promotion.
Table 13 Gold SEs with One Visit Per JC
Training Needs RSP tasks Collateral
Home margins Demonstrate Earnings
Homes Add 20 homes Sales,Rs.1,200
Satellite Add market Sales,Rs.2,000
The above categories of SEs - New recruits, Silvers and Golds - when compared by different parameters as
in Table 14 show the completed maximum journey cycles appreciably increasing from New Recruits to
Gold SEs (3-9 JCs). In the matter of satellite village markets too, there is a high variation between the three
classes of SEs: In the case of New Recruits, the Satellite village markets must be covered fully with the help
of RSPs. The Silver SEs with 1-2 markets must do 5% sales and the Gold SEs covering 3-4 satellite markets
must complete 15% satellite sales. In the case of home sales and the number, the category-wise picture is
15% satellite markets and 15 houses for New recruits, 30% and 30 houses for Silver SEs and 30-50% and 60
houses for Gold SEs respectively.
Table 14 Comparison Between New Recruits, Silver and Gold SEs by Traits.
Parameter New recruit Silver SE Gold SE
Experience 0-3 JCs 3-7 JCs 7-9 JCs
Home: Sales, No <15%, 15 15-3 0%, 30 30-50%, 60
Satellite coverage Only with RSP 5%, 1-2 mkt 15%, 3-4 mkt
Shakti days Done by RSP Helps RSP Does when told
Brand awareness Poor Average Very good
Turnover <Rs.8,000 Rs.8,000-12,000 Rs.12,000-15,000
No.: Number of homes
With respect to Shakti day, the RSPs assist New Recruits in their celebration of the event, whereas in the
case of Silvers the SEs help the RSPs in organising the Shakti day and the Golds organise the Shakti day on
their being asked to do so.
The Diamond SEs are those who are characterised by a single visit of the RSP per Journey cycle. The tasks
of RSPs include rural distribution (RD), interactions with and coaching of Diamond SEs, adding homes,
tracking additions and training them to enable reporting by the SEs. The Diamond SEs must be able to
function without the RSP’s visits, add business, cover at least 100 homes, report performance and interact
with RDs. They are also expected to independently maintain RD interactions and data without any help from
RSPs. Table 13 shows the Diamond SEs with a single JC per visit. The evolution of the SEs can be gauged
from their level of performance in the business ranging from local level retailers to those with higher sales
and higher earnings. These are projected in the Figure 15.
Table 15 Diamond SEs with a single visit per JC
Training Needs RSP tasks Collateral
RD interactions Coach Ordering
Adding homes Track additions -
Reporting Training Formats
Figure 5 Performance Levels of SEs
Table - I Shakti Entrepreneur Profile

NAME OF SHAKTI DEALER
NO. OF FAMILY MEMBERS
NAME OF VILLAGE
NAME OF BLOCK
NAME OF DISTRICT
NAME OF GROUP
NO. OF GROUP MEMBERS
NO. OF GROUPS IN THE VILLAGE
VILLAGE POPULATION
NO. OF HOUSEHOLDS
NO. OF OUTLETS IN VILLAGE
NO. OF SCHOOLS IN THE VILLAGE
DISTANCE FROM RD POINT
NAME OF THE SUPPLYING RD
PH. NO OF RD
PH. NO OF RSP
SATELLITE MARKET DETAILS:

DISTANCE NO. NO. OF
NAME OF THE NO. OF NO. OF
POPULATION FROM SD OF RETAIL
VILLAGE GROUPS SCHOOLS
VILLAGE HHs SHOPS
TABLE – II VISITORS FEEDBACK

SN Date Name of Visitor Company Designation Remarks Signature
Table – III Purchase Summary

S.No. Date Bill No. Amount (Rs.)
Table – IV Home Sales Tracker
DATE:→
SN NAME OF HOUSEHOLD AMOUNT↓ AMOUNT AMOUNT AMOUNT AMOUNT
Table – V Retail Sales Tracker

DATE:→
SN NAME OF RETAILER AMOUNT↓ AMOUNT AMOUNT AMOUNT AMOUNT
Table – VI Satellite (Nearby) Village Sales Tracker

DATE:→
SN NAME OF RETAILER AMOUNT↓ AMOUNT AMOUNT AMOUNT AMOUNT
Table – VII Pepsodent Brush Brand Activation Sheet

SE NAME :
VILLAGE NAME :
BLOCK :
HOUSE EXISTING USAGE NO.OF SIGNATURE OF
PURCHASED Y/N
HOLDER NAME BRAND NAME PIECES SOLD HOUSE HOLDER
Table – VIII- Vim Activation Tracking Sheet

Name of Shakti Dealer :
Village :
District :
No. of Signature of
SN Name of HH Date Purchased (Y/N)
pieces sold HHs
1
Page Total
Note: Pl. take signature or thumb impression of Household in the column named Sign.
CONCLUSION :
Rural marketing needs innovative approaches to reach the remote villages and bottom of the pyramid
consumers. The experiments of HUL and ITC-e-Choupal are commendable. The empowerment of village
women as rural distributors in project Shakti make it a unique experiment.The project took off very well and
is working in many areas successfully as per the reports.

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||Volume||4||Issue||03||Pages-5067-5085||March-2016|| ISSN (e): 2321-7545

Sales Officer (SO)

Territory Sales In-charge (TSI) in some States

Divisional Rural Sales Promoters (DRSP) in some States

Rural Sales Promoters (RSP) Junior RSPs

Shakti Entrepreneurs (SE) Shakti Entrepreneurs (SEs)

% productivity 20% 15% 10% 5%

Concept selling meeting

DWACRA woman dealer (SHG) - Shakti dealer

Dealer Group Members Retail Shop

Consumers Consumers Consumers

Net 3,600 1,350 9,000 60%

Net Amount 3,600 1,350 15,000

Int % 24% 9% 100%

Category: Satellite Home Shop

Brand / SKU Sold Rate Quantity Total

Format 2: Household sales tracker (Page 2 to Page 25)

Format 3: Retail tracker (Page 26 to Page 50)

Format 4: Satellite Retail tracker (page 51 to Page 75)

SN Bill Date Bill No. Amount

Turnover is not a necessary condition---this is not indicative of numbers

Retail All local outlets Sales, Rs.2000

Table - I Shakti Entrepreneur Profile

SATELLITE MARKET DETAILS:

TABLE – II VISITORS FEEDBACK

Table – III Purchase Summary

Table – V Retail Sales Tracker

Table – VI Satellite (Nearby) Village Sales Tracker

Table – VII Pepsodent Brush Brand Activation Sheet

Table – VIII- Vim Activation Tracking Sheet

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