Assignment 1

Sales and Distribution

Bhavya Srivastav

191316

Question 1:- Define the term ‘Sales Management’.

Explain functions of Sales Management in detail,
quoting suitable examples

Sales management is defined as the planning, direction, and control

of personal selling including recruiting, selecting, equipping,
assigning, routing, supervising, paying, and motivating as these
tasks apply to personal sales force.
Sales management originally referred exclusively to the direction of
the sales force. Later the term took on broader significance in
addition to the management of personal selling.
Sales management specifically contributes to achieve the marketing
objectives of a firm. In fact, sales managers set their personal selling
objectives and formulate the personal selling policies and strategies.

Sales management:-
Before, anything else you need to know what sales management is and how it
works. There are two main parts to managing your sales team. The first is the
person-management, making sure everyone knows what they are doing and what
is expected of them. The second is keeping track of sales that have been made.
To keep everyone on track, you need to set goals and targets, that the team can
aim for. In addition, a to-do list or diary should be used to make sure each team
member does what is needed at the right time.

This might be making calls, sending messages, or attending meetings in person.

Sales meetings are often one of the most difficult aspects to manage as they can
take place at the customer’s location. The salesperson must get there on time,
have all the information they need with them, and potentially get away in time to
get to their next meeting.

Comparatively, it is quite straightforward to keep track of sales. This is because

sales will be recorded on a centralized system with the option of easily running
reports. If the sales are too low in a particular period, you can offer
encouragement and solutions as necessary.

Functions of sales management

There are various ways in which sales management helps a business to
streamline their sales process and increase their ROI. You can refer to these
ways as individual functions of sales management. Let us take a look at how this
worksPrevious Performance and Setting Targets

One of the functions of sales management is to ensure that targets are reached,
but targets that are set too high will never be reached. By running reports on sales
figures over a period of time, especially those produced by current members of
the sales team, you’ll be able to calculate the most sensible and achievable target
for individuals and the team as a whole.

Of course, previous performance does not always indicate how anyone will
currently perform. There may have been changes in the products that are
available or the locations that your sales team serve. You need to factor in those
differences when you are setting targets.

Managing the Sales Process

At any given time, there could be a large number of potential customers working
their way through your company’s sales process. Another function of sales
management is to make sure that each lead is dealt with promptly and correctly.

Identifying the best leads is a key factor in increasing the sales figures for the
business. Converting those who are ready to buy into full paying customers is
easier than getting the person who only has a passing interest to part with their
cash.
Improving process efficiency
This leads to improving the efficiency of the sales process. Finding the best leads
is a step that is near the end of the process. But, optimizing and improving the
process as a whole will bring more good leads through more quickly.

The flow through the sales process should be constant. From newly interested
people to fully qualified leads that are ready to buy, and the more you can
automate it, the better.

Instead of having to worry about every little detail, using a software solution to
automate particular tasks will make everything run much more smoothly. Say, a
customer lands on your website and has shown an interest in a particular product.
Ideally, you might have a whole team (or a certain salesperson) dedicated to that
one product. By assigning the care of that customer to the right team or
salesperson, their needs will be better met. And, the likelihood of a sale increases
dramatically. In the same way, sending out an automated email with similar or
related products on will help build a relationship and create interest for the
customer. To do this manually may take some time. But once configured, such a
system does not need to be interacted with again by the sales team.

But, what if the customer does not purchase through the automated nurturing?
Then, you can assign tasks to the sales team for manual follow-up.

Monitor salespeople’s performance

As mentioned earlier, the production of reports is essential to see how the
business has progressed over time. An aspect of sales management that should
not be overlooked is team leadership. Basing your actions on the cold hard facts
presented by current and historical reports will enable you to get the best out of
your team.

Congratulate those who deserve it and encourage and re-train those who are
struggling. If there’s still no hope for the underperformers after giving them a fair
chance, it may be that sales is not the field they will excel in

The functions or duties and responsibilities of a sales manager differ

from one concern to another depending upon the size of the concern.
As stated earlier, in a small business undertaking, most of the
marketing functions (i.e., both the administrative and operating
functions of marketing) are performed by the sales manager himself.

In a medium-sized undertaking, the sales manager performs only the

operating functions of marketing, i.e., the functions connected with
the execution of the marketing plan framed by the board of directors.
In a large undertaking, the sales manager performs only the
administrative work of planning, coordinating, guiding and
controlling the marketing activities, whose execution is entrusted to
several subordinates. But, in this case, though the operating
functions are entrusted to the subordinates and are not performed
directly by the sales manager, the ultimate responsibility to get all
these functions done lies with the sales manager.

In consumer goods industry, planning function is important. It is

necessary to develop sound sales programmes and integrate them
with research and promotion. In industrial marketing, the operating
functions become important. There is more need for the direction of
the sales force, accompanying salesmen when they make calls, and do
some selling himself.  Thus, in consumer marketing, sales managers
devote more time to planning and less to operating. The reverse is
true for industrial marketing.
In an organization, where supervision by the sales manager over the
sales force is direct, the sales manager has to devote more time to
operational aspects. Where supervision is decentralized down the
line, there is scope for the planning functions as the functions are
delegated.

An important function that takes much time of a sales manager is the

management of the sales force. The apportioning of time between the
planning and operating functions depends upon the nature of the
products, the size of the company and the supervisory structure
created.
 Question 2 :- “Companies give more importance for
training of Sales Force”. Elaborate the statement

Answer:-
Sales-force training:-
Training is that continuous process which has four elements namely,
telling the salesmen, showing them, letting them do it and checking their
doing and making sure that they are up to the expectations.

Sales training is that responsibility of a sales manager that eats away the
laxities and fills the cavities of a potential salesman and gives a finishing
touch to make them more supple, suitable and able, for the sales- line
responsibilities. Training is a programmed learning of the tricks of the
trade.

Significance of Sound Sales-Force Training:

Learning the things by experience means learning by trial and error or hit
and misses approach. However, training replaces such costly and time-
consuming learning by programmed learning in which accumulated
experience is shared by the veterans. It is a deliberate effort and acts as a
substitute for so called ‘experience’.

The importance of training of sales force lie in the following

points:
1. It improves sales performance:
Better and improved understanding of market forces, company policies,
product knowledge and the knowledge of the customers and the
knowledge and the use of selling techniques enable him to handle
customers with full confidence. This results in improvement of his sales
performance and profitability of the firm.

2. It minimizes the turnover of sales-force:

In any organisation, new sales-force turnover rate is much higher than the
seasoned sales-force. It is because, they feel themselves misfits for the
jobs, become unnerved and get divorced from the company. It is sales
training that builds-up his knowledge, skills and confidence thus
retaining them in the line longer.

3. It improves his understanding and behaviour:

Sound training is one that imparts deeper and sounder understanding of
company its past, present and future as to philosophy, policies, and the
procedures. This makes him aware of what is expected of him in terms of
performance and, therefore, behaviour.

He is made to match to the pattern of behaviour suitable for the firm’s

growth and, therefore, his growth and prosperity.
4. It curbs wastages:
A trained salesman is likely to cause least waste as he is capable of
handling goods and belongings with utmost care and caution. Trained
salesmen are self-starters and look down upon the supervision.

It is the untrained who waste much of their valuable time because; they
are unaware of its importance. The wastage of time, efforts and products
are nipped in the bud by a comprehensive training programme.

5. It guarantees sound employer-employee relations:

Trained salesmen bring increased sales and improved sales performance
giving company the desired turnover and profits. When company
earns well, it pays well. This guarantees sound relations, no resignations,
no bickering and no clashes. There prevails high employee morale
manifested in the form of reduced employee turnover, increased sales,
increased profits, improved amity, and job-satisfaction. High employee
morale has its salutary impact on its image and its further refinement.