Sales Management & Business Development

Session 1: 10/08/21
In this session, we had been Introduced to the fundamentals of the SMBD Course, A case study
at of Mr. Vishal Julka was discussed wherein he is regional sales manager, and he is in a
dilemma due to the fact he was looking forward to a regular day at work but because of
instances, he is not able to make Work-lifestyles balance. He is the midst of two important things
to do that is to make a presentation for the tomorrows conference, in addition to it he also had to
go for dinner. Work-Life balance is completely up to the person on how well he can optimize his
work and time. Other learning from the case is to encourage the team member’s contributors
through rewarding for their work. Selling vs Marketing has been discussed wherein selling is a
subpart of the Marketing domain. Selling focus on specialty of vendor’s desires not like
marketing which focus on consumer’s needs. Selling is planned for short term and advertising
and marketing is long term orientated. At last, we learned about Mr. John Henry Patterson who's
the father of Modern Sales Management.

Session 2: 12/08/21
In this session, we first discussed different types of personal selling, of which there are four main
categories, such as selling to resellers such as wholesalers/retailers. Following that is business-to-
business selling, followed by institutional selling, in which we sell our products in bulk to large
organisations. There are also jobs associated with personal selling, such as order takers, who are
salespeople who take orders from existing customers, similar to how a distributor salesperson
takes orders at retail stores. Order Creators are missionary salespeople who promote their
ideology/product to new clients. Order Getters are those who use their selling skills the most and
receive orders from clients. A technical support individual is someone who works as part of a
larger team but specializes in product research and engineering. Merchandisers are people who
take sample clothes and go to stores to get orders. At last, we discussed about emerging trends,
with a focus on the newer trends in the sales field.

Session 3: 14/08/2021
In this session, we talked about business development, which is more than just making planned
sales; it also includes things like developing a strategy and finding the right partner who can add
value to both the product and the business. During the strategy stage, there are a few main
categories that businesses must consider, such as technology or the supply chain side of things
that would benefit partnership. To evaluate potential partners, it must examine the SWOT of both
the competitor and the partner, as well as determine whether the industry requires a partner or if
an alternative would be preferable. Delivering a pitch also aids in the acquisition of such
partners.

Session 4: 16/08/2021
We talked about business development in this session, and we used a research paper titled
"Social Media and Related Technology: Drivers of Change in Managing Contemporary Sales
Forces." The authors of this research paper demonstrated how the use of technology and social
media has been both a boon and a curse for the sales force, as well as how managers can
effectively use all the tech resources to build their businesses sales. Supervision, selection,
training, compensation, and deployment are all aspects of sales management, while salesperson
performance includes role, skills, and motivation. The use of social media and technology in
supervision has completely transformed it. On the other side, technology has provided us with
advantages such as video conferencing, email, and the lack of geological boundaries for territory
bifurcation. Work-life balance has no place in this type of environment because people can log in
from anywhere at any time. Nowadays, social media profiles are also a good mirror to show a
person's personality, as both liking, and hatred can be seen by the recruiter. Selection is also
aided by technological advances such as simulation and on-demand video for trainings.

Session 5: 18/08/2021
This session taught me about selling skills and strategies. To begin, we can divide buyers into
five broad categories. Innovators are the people who want to be on the cutting edge of
everything. For example, if a new phone is released, they will buy it before anyone else. These
people's word-of-mouth promotion assists brands in establishing their product's image in the
market. Then there are early adopters, who follow innovators in quickly adopting new products.
Following that, both the early and late majority received equal weightage on the curve. Early
adopters are people who increase the company's sales during the product's growth stage. When a
product's market value stabilizes, most buyers arrive when the product is nearing maturity.
Finally, Laggards are buyers who do not switch to products for an extended period. On a scale of
9*9, selling and buying styles are also classified. Whereas 1*1 refers to the type of selling in
which neither the buyer nor the seller has any control over the product. The inverse of that is
9*1, in which the seller completely forces the buyer to purchase the product. . At 5*5, both the
seller and the buyer are in a compromised situation in which the seller motivates the buyer to
purchase rather than pushing them. Finally, at the top of the chart, there is 1*9, in which a
professional relationship induces a customer to purchase a product. At 9*1, the seller solves the
customer's problem and assists the customer in making an informed decision. There are also two
types of selling maintenance selling, in which the company already has clients and then makes
money from them. When salespeople try to connect with prospective customers, they are
engaging in developmental selling.