Module 1 : Introduction to Sales Force Management

Running Head: Introduction to Sales Force Management

Module 1: Introduction to Sales Force Management

Kishore Kandalai

Aspen University
 Module 1 : Introduction to Sales Force Management

Abstract

The purpose of the abstract is to provide the reader with a brief overview of the overall paper

which in this case is “5” essay questions.

1 Determine and summarize the typical characteristics of an outside sales force. Illustrate

. situations in which producers, wholesalers, and companies that conduct business-to-

business sales rely on outside sales for product promotion.

2 A business writer observed, "It is folly to expect behavior A when rewarding behavior B."

. Argue for or against the validity of this statement, and interpret its application to the

challenges involved in aligning sales force behavior with corporate strategic goals.

3 Compare and contrast the transactions-oriented and consultative sales strategies.

4 It is often said, "Salespeople are born, not made." Defend or negate the truth of this

. statement, and verify your position with concrete examples.

5 Visit the following websites and assess their value as resources for sales managers. Select

. and summarize the most significant issues currently faced by sales managers.

Sales and Marketing Management Executives International

Sales and Marketing Management Magazine

Defend or negate the truth of this statement, and verify your position with concrete

examples.
 Module 1 : Introduction to Sales Force Management

Module 1 Deliverables

Assignments: Essay Questions

Essay Question 1

Determine and summarize the typical characteristics of an outside sales force.

Illustrate situations in which producers, wholesalers, and companies that conduct business-

to-business sales rely on outside sales for product promotion.

The sale of products or services by sales personnel who go out into the field to meet with

potential customers. Salespeople often travel to meet customers face-to-face, as well as to

maintain relationships with existing customers. However, some companies may consider

telemarketing a form of outside sales as well.

Outside selling involves two-way, personal communication between salespeople and

individual consumers. Outside selling can be more effective than advertising in more complex

selling situations. The role of personal selling varies from company to company. Some firms

have no salespeople at all. The sales force serves as a critical link between a company and its

customers. The salesperson can represent both buyer and seller. They represent company to the

customer and customers to the company. Salespeople are becoming more market-focused and

customer-oriented. The old view was that salespeople should be concerned with sales and the

company should be concerned with profit. The new view is that salespeople should be concerned

with more than just producing sales—they must know how to achieve customer satisfaction and

company profit.

The selling process consists of several steps that the salesperson must master. These steps

focus on the goal of getting new customers and obtaining orders from them. Most salespeople
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spend much of their time in maintaining existing accounts and building long-term customer

relationship.

These steps are:

1). Prospecting and qualifying. In this step the salesperson identifies qualified potential

customers.

2). Qualifying lead is the process of identifying good ones and screening out poor ones.

Prospects can be qualified by:

a) Financial ability.

b) Volume of business.

c) Special needs.

d) Location.

e) Possibilities for growth.

3). Reproach is the step in which the salesperson learns as much as possible about a

prospective customer before making a sales call.

a). Set call objectives.

b). Consider timing.

c) Have a sales strategy.

4) During the approach step, the salesperson should know how to meet the buyer, make him

satisfied and get the relationship off to a good start.

5) The presentation and demonstration is the step in which the salesperson tells the product

“story” to the buyer, showing how the product will make or save money for the buyer. A need

satisfaction approach where the salesperson investigates the buyer’s needs and then matches the

product to those needs is advised.

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6) Handling objections is the step in the selling process in which the salesperson seeks out,

clarifies, and overcomes customer objections regarding buying.

7) Closing occurs when the salesperson asks the customer for an order. The techniques for

closing include:

a). Ask for the order.

b). Review points of agreement.

c). Offer to help in writing up the order.

d). Ask whether the buyer wants this model or that one.

e). Note that the buyer will lose out if the order is not placed now.

8). The follow-up occurs after the sale and ensures customer satisfaction.

There are many different types of outside sales forces each requiring a different strategy

to be successful. Outside Sales forces can be either in business-to-business sales (eg: Firestone

selling tires to Ford) or in business-to-consumer (eg: State farm selling auto insurance to

consumers). Further, the salesperson in business-to-business sales calls on three distinct types of

business customers

Manufacturers (eg: Ford)

Intermediaries (eg: Dick’s Sporting Goods) and

Institutions (eg: Harvard University)

All salespeople sell products that are goods, services, or most commonly , some combinations of

the two, and that are being purchased for the purpose of consumption, incorporation or resale

Essay Question 2
 Module 1 : Introduction to Sales Force Management

A business writer observed, "It is folly to expect behavior A when rewarding

behavior B." Argue for or against the validity of this statement, and interpret its

application to the challenges involved in aligning sales force behavior with corporate

strategic goals.

In 1975 an American academic named Steven Kerr wrote a short, powerful article

entitled "On the Folly of Rewarding A while Hoping for B". It was one of those rare cases where

the title succinctly captures an idea whose relevance and truth we all can recognize.

Kerr’s central point is that we can expect people to rationally do (or pretend to do) the

things that are rewarded rather than the things we say they should do. As has been said, "Put

your money on self-interest. At least you know the jockey is trying."

In World War II troops were committed for the duration unless killed or invalided. They

had a strong motivation to hasten the end of the war. Allied troops in the Vietnam War had a tour

of a year or less. Their self-interest was not tied to the end of the war.

While their governments wanted them to focus on winning the war, their rewards were

linked to looking after themselves. Not so their opponents. They were there for the duration.

We should not be surprised when doctors over test, overprescribe and over treat illness.

Under our health system, their patients bear little of the cost. So they have no incentive to resist

the doctors’ actions.

For doctors there may be some direct financial gain from overservicing. More important

though is the possible costs and professional damage from malpractice suits. Overservicing

diminishes the chance of facing such suits, or losing them if they occur.
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So, while as taxpayers we would prefer doctors to test and treat at the level warranted by

the circumstances of the case, in fact we have a reward system that encourages contrary

behaviour.

Most of us want honest politicians who tell us clearly what they will do in office, then

stick to that once elected. In fact, politicians don’t behave that way, yet they still get elected.

Their chance of being elected is frequently harmed by candour about programs. It is the

community, with a strong contribution from the media, which sustains this reward system.

Politicians behave rationally within it.

Likewise, we expect our public service to do the best it can with the community resources

available to it. Yet all senior public servants know the overriding rule is to avoid embarassing the

minister, since that harms the government’s standing and may cost it votes.

So community good, typically hard to measure, plays second fiddle to avoiding

identifiable errors ¾ which are far easier for the media, talkback radio and the community at

large to identify and blame on someone.

This is a recipe for weak decision making in public sector management. It provides a

powerful argument for limiting government activity. It is not a matter of inadequate public

servants. It is the consequence of a community supported reward system unavoidably biased

against good public sector management.

All of the above are examples of reward systems which encourage behaviour contrary to

what is wanted. In his article Kerr pointed out that business is not immune to this folly.

Espousing long term growth and profitability while rewarding short term results is an

example. Or asking people to accept the challenge of stretching targets but rewarding those who

meet budget ¾ even if those budgets contain little stretch. The folly appears when we make a
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commitment to TQM yet put pressure on staff to meet near term production and sales volumes

irrespective of the quality implications.

The US Academy of Management recently polled a number of senior executives on the

prevalence of this folly in business today2. Those executives reported it alive and well. Instances

they quoted are shown in the table below.

Hoping for . . . While rewarding . . .

Teamwork and collaboration
Innovative thinking and risk taking
Development of people skills
Employee involvement and
empowerment
High achievement
The best team members
Proven methods and not making mistakes
Technical achievements and accomplishments
Tight control over operations and resources
Another year’s effort

They attribute these follies to:

An inability to break out of old ways of thinking about reward practices.

Lack of an overall system view of performance factors and results.

Continuing focus on short term results by management and shareholders.

To those reasons we might add cases where we espouse something in which we do not wholly

believe.

Essay Question 3

Compare and contrast the transactions-oriented and consultative sales strategies.

Transactional selling is targeted at customers who are not interested in, or who are unable

to afford, the value-added services offered by the selling firm. With this approach, the

salesperson does not follow up with the customer after the sale and is not concerned about

cultivating a long term relationship

Alternatively, consultative selling is used for those customers interested in the value-added

services. Consultative selling involves salespeople who have in-depth knowledge of their
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Customers Company and business. In fact , a team of individuals from the selling firm might be

involved since it is often difficult for a single salesperson to provide all the necessary knowledge.

Consultative sales people or sales teams create value for their customers by identifying problems

and finding mutually beneficial solutions

A selling firm engages in multiple relationship strategy when it reaches some customers through

transactions selling and other customer through consultative selling.

Microsoft has dramatically different selling relationships with its many business customers.

Interestingly, the differences are not always due to size of the customer. Microsoft has

transactional relationships with some of these largest national accounts. Certain firms corporate

cultures that resist forming close partnerships and sharing proprietary information with vendors

Essay Question 4

It is often said, "Salespeople are born, not made." Defend or negate the truth of this

statement, and verify your position with concrete examples.

Good salespeople are committed to their craft, and they naturally say, "I am a salesperson." Good

salespeople also have what Alexander the Great called dynamis - the will to fight. They know

how to listen, and they know how to learn. Sales requires a certain disposition in the

professional: attentiveness, enlivened by a sense of responsibility to the customer and an intense

personal desire to solve problems. Salespeople are not tourists in their profession. But these are

table stakes for being a professional of any kind. Deliberate practice is the key difference

between great salespeople and everyone else.

 Module 1 : Introduction to Sales Force Management

Training is important. Good sales training develops skills and characteristics that drive sales.

There are many ways to describe training, but I like a good/bad format:

• Good training doesn't criticize or praise. Good training measures results.

• Good training teaches how to sell. Bad training teaches "what" to sell.

• Good training is consistent. Bad training occurs randomly.

• Good training deliberately focuses on one skill and metric at a time.

• Good training inspires confidence. Bad training inspires hubris.

• Good training creates insight. Bad training creates blind spots.

• Good training provides a program of deliberate practice that requires and enables

salespeople to improve their sales results dramatically and consistently over time.

Formally speaking, the theory of deliberate practice that underlies any good training regimen or

program is

• Intended to improve performance

• Designed by an expert, Repeated a lot

• Continuously generating feedback on results

• Highly demanding mentally

• Mimics performance environment

• Not much fun.

Inexperienced but professional salespeople with dynamics who practice deliberately can become

great. That’s why great sales managers are also very capable trainers. Their salespeople become
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better producers the longer they work together. If salespeople were born, that could never

happen.

Essay Question 5

Visit the following websites and assess their value as resources for sales managers. Select

and summarize the most significant issues currently faced by sales managers.

Sales and Marketing Management Executives International

Sales and Marketing Management Magazine

These websites are resourceful for pursuing a career in sales, SMEI Provides details on Sales

Certification and Education to attain Certification in sales at all levels of Sales Career.

Starting for Sales Person to Sales Manager / Sales Executive. Details of Benefits of Certification

and Accreditation, Industry Recognition of Sales Certification and details of Upcoming Events

for aspiring sales executive to attend learn and network.

Sales and Marketing Management Magazine has the following regular Web casts, e-newsletters,

white papers, broadcasts and more, all provide our readers easy access to the most relevant

trends, strategies, exclusive research, expert voices, and cutting-edge case studies designed to

help them sell more, manage better, and market smarter.

The articles on the SMM are very resourceful

Walking the Tightrope - Provides tips for successfully incorporating Facebook and blogging into

our marketing efforts

Brand Boosting That Drives Top-Line Growth - Six steps to elevate brand building to its rightful

position as a driver of growth

Lessons From the Back Seat of A Cab - What every sales professional needs to know
 Module 1 : Introduction to Sales Force Management

SMM Connect is Strong networking Tool for Sales Executives .

References

http://www.salesandmarketing.com

http://www.smei.org/

http://thesalesblog.com

Management of Sales Force – Rosann L Spiro, Gregory A.Rich, William J.Stanton – 12th
Edition.