HOW SALES ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA HAS CHANGED OVER LAST TWO DECADES

New developments and trends in selling and sales management are creating demands and opportunities
that require adaptation and new approaches on the part of both sales organizations and academic
researchers. Sales environment in India is rapidly changing in recent years.

DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE

External environmental changes affecting the sales force in terms of four categories of influences,
including customers, competitors, technology, and the ethical and regulatory environment. The
organization’s efforts to adapt itself to, and, in some respects, control, changes in the external
environment result in changing internal structures and processes that have important implications for
sales management.

CUSTOMERS: Customer expectations of salespeople and their organizations continue to ratchet

upward. Evidence of this can be seen in declining customer satisfaction ratings for many organizations
even as they invest heavily in process improvements and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
In particular, customer expectations are increasing in relation to sales person knowledge, speed of
response, breadth and depth of communication, and customization of information and product/service
offerings. Indeed, customer expectations change, often faster than organizations are effectively
responding.

COMPETITORS: Competition in market is increasing in the market so every organization has

competitive advantage over another organization. Typical markets today can be described as
hypercompetitive. At the same time, the squeeze between revenue and profit targets and the cost to
serve customers places great pressure on salespeople to produce under intense competition. As product
life cycles decline in duration, with firms overtaking one another in attempts to gain product
advantage, salespeople continually updating their market knowledge i.e., of products and competitors.

TECHNOLOGY: In order for salespeople to meet the rapidly changing customer expectations, they
have the innovative ideas and technologies. Technology enables salespeople to store, retrieve, and
analyze customer data and making specific recommendations that are customized for long-term
business solutions. Technology has also helped sales people manage important information during
sales cycles. Technology advances the practice of selling and the maintenance of inter organizational
relationships in many ways.

ETHICAL AND LEGAL ENVIRONMENT: The ethical and legal environment can constrain the
sales organization’s ability to effectively pursue certain marketing activities. Sales managers have a
responsibility to ensure that salespeople become more cognizant and vigilant with regard to the
representations they make to customers. In highly competitive selling situations, salespeople are
particularly careful about the arguments they use and inducements they offer in attempting to win
sales. Also, globalization has resulted indifferent interpretations of cultural expectations and has led to
the need for more thoughtful consideration of various characteristics when selling globally.

COMPANY’S PRODUCT: The largest single critical factor determining the company’s sales growth
is the product itself. If the product is satisfying the needs of the consumers at reasonable prices, it will
sell. The company needs to be mindful of maintaining its quality and adding or modifying the
functions and utilities according to the changing technology and varying tastes and preferences of the
customers.

NAME: AASTHA GIRI

ROLL NO.: M19121

GROUP: 1