Sales Force Size

In most companies, the sales force is the most critical part of the business; thus determining the sales force size is
critical in planning for sales governance. Although the corporate sales team is one of the most valued assets of the
company, it can also be expensive to maintain. Increasing the size of the sales force may increase sales volume
but at a higher cost to the company. It is therefore necessary to determine the optimal sales force size. The size of
the sales force will also affect territory design.

The three most commonly used methods to determine sales force size are as follows:

Breakdown Method
This is the simplest method among the three. In this method, each member of the corporate sales team is
assumed to possess the same level of productivity. In order to determine the size of the sales force needed, the
total sales figure forecasted for the company is divided by the sales likely to be generated by each individual.
However, this method fails to account for differences in the ability of salespeople and the difference in potential
of each market or territory. It treats the sales force as a function of the sales volume, and does not take
profitability into account.

Workload Method
The workload method is also known as the build-up method. In this method, the total workload (ie., the number
of hours required to serve the entire market) is estimated. This is divided by the selling time available per
salesperson to forecast the size of the sales force. This method is commonly used since it is easy to understand
and to recognize the effort required to serve different categories of customers.

However, this method also has some shortcomings. It assumes that all accounts in the same category require the
same effort. Other differentiating factors such as cost of servicing, gross margins, etc. are not considered after the
accounts are categorized. It also assumes that sales persons are equally efficient, which is generally not true. One
way to overcome this shortcoming is to adjust the sales force size, determined in the last step, for efficiency. The
sales force can be classified into different categories based on their efficiency and the actual number of sales
persons required can then be calculated with this adjusted number.

Incremental Method
The incremental method is the most precise method to calculate the sales force size. The underlying concept is to
compare the marginal profit contribution with the incremental cost for each sales person. The optimal sales force
size as per the incremental method is when the marginal profit becomes equal to the marginal cost and the total
profit is maximized. Beyond the optimal sales force size, the profit reduces on addition of an extra sales person.
Therefore, sales people need to be added as long as the incremental profit exceeds the incremental cost of adding
sales people. The main shortcoming associated with this approach is that it is difficult to estimate the additional
profit generated by the addition of one salesperson and is therefore difficult to develop.

Thus, sales force needs to be properly organized, motivated and compensated in order to have the right size to do
the workload, alignment to cover all needs, and keeping them happy and selling. At the end of the day, they are
the ones who get the customer to give up their money for the company's product or service.

Recruitment & Selection of Sales Force

Right salesmen can help company achieve marketing objectives. Recruitment and selection are two important
decisions in sales force management that concern with ensuring the right type (right qualities, right qualifications,
and right experience) of sales personnel.

Problem of recruitment and selection arises when:

1. Starting a new company
2. Resigning and retiring of existing salesmen
3. Death of existing salesmen
4. Suspending of existing salesmen
5. Growth and development of company's operations
6. Entering into new territories

7. Developing and introducing new products

Note that salesman is not only employee of a company, but he is its responsible representative; he is not dealing
only with selling products, but also with goodwill and reputation of company. A right salesman can create positive
effect on sales volume, profitability, customer satisfaction, dealer effectiveness, company's goodwill, promotional
efforts, and so forth.

While recruiting and selecting salespersons, job analysis (consisting of job description and job specification) is to
be made for better selection. Recruitment and selection are interdependent decisions. Let us discuss both terms
separately.

Recruitment:

Recruitment means searching for prospective candidates and inspiring them to apply for the post. Recruitment
ends on the last day/date of receiving applications. Salesmen can be recruited through a number of sources.

Sources of Recruiting Sales Force:

Main sources, widely practiced in India, includes:
1. Advertisement
2. Other firms
3. Middlemen
4. Personal recommendations
5. Recommendation of existing staff
6. Special recruitment agencies
7. Private training institutes
8. Colleges and academic institutes, etc.

Types of sources to be used for recruiting the salesmen depend on certain criteria, like type of products to be
sold, types of customers to be served, paying capacity of company and type of remuneration plans, and other
relevant factors.

Selection:

Selection means selecting the fixed number of suitable candidates from those who applied for the posts. Selection
process starts as soon as recruitment ends. Recruitment considers all applications received in a due date while
selection considers only the required number of most suitable candidates.

There is no ideal selection process that most companies can follow. Normally, for selecting salesmen, the simple
and short selection process is followed. However, some companies, when more salesmen are to be selected at
time, also follow lengthy and systematic selection process. Selection process depends on types of salesmen, cost
and financial position of company, time available, company's objectives, and so forth.

Steps in Selection Process:

Systematic selection process consists of following steps:
1. Receiving applications
2. Screening applications
3. Preliminary interview
4. Written tests
5. Final interview
6. Medical examination
7. Final selection
8. Appointment and induction
Important Conditions:

At the time of final selection or appointment of salesmen, following conditions must be made clear:
1. Time to resume the duty
2. Company' marketing objectives, policies, and strategies
3. Duties and restrictions
4. Place of work
5. Reporting system or procedure
6. Bill collecting system
7. Remuneration and incentives
8. Training and expenses

Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment and selection of sales personnel

Companies always need employees to help them in realising their goals and objectives as far as operations are
concerned. It is the desire of every firm to ensure that they hire the best personnel who will always put the
interest of the organisation first to make sure that productivity and desirable results are attained. However, it is
never an easy task to select the best employees because people have unique abilities and different ambitions.

When it comes to hiring sales personnel in an organisation, one important aspect that you need to have in mind is
that sales require teamwork rather than individual effort. It thus implies that most of them must be willing to be
team- players to help in driving sales high. But the fact of the matter is that sales personnel recruitment has to
vary from one organisation to the other depending on the needs and products or service of that particular
organisation.

Factors that influence the Recruitment and Selection of Sales personnel

Type of product

Companies that deal with engineering goods or services will indeed require sales staffs that are proficient in
technical skills that pertain to the product. The reason behind this is because they will be able to demonstrate to
the potential clients how these items work in the process of convincing them to make the purchase. On the other
hand, companies offering B2b products need sales personnel who have perfect presentational skills.

Designation

This is also an essential element that is always looked into when hiring sales personnel. The placements usually
vary from an ordinary sales staff to regional sales manager. It, therefore, suggests that the approach for recruiting
individuals to suit the particular title or rank will also be different. For instance, you will need a regional sales
manager that has vast experience, knowledge and understanding of the various sales aspects. This is contrary to
hiring an entry- level sales personnel, which probably little knowledge and expertise will be required.

Process of recruitment

Ordinarily, an organisation ought to have a sales department. This is the department that deals with the hiring of
sales personnel from recruitment, interviews and ultimately employment. The senior most officers in this
particular department such as sales managers and regional sales managers, in conjunction with the human
resource department, are involved in the entire process.

It is essential to include all these parties during recruitment process because of it usually a dynamic field and
requires a person with strong sales profile. Some relatively small companies may also choose to consult
recruitment agencies to help them in identifying the best talents that would suit their needs.
Primarily, there are two methods that companies usually use in recruiting sales team; Internal and external
methods. The internal process involves hiring from within, which means existing employees are hired to take the
positions that are vacant. It is usually an approach that many people laud within the organisation because it
makes it possible for the employees to climb their career ladder from within. The other good thing with this
method is that it helps the organisation to use few resources and time during the entire process.

On the other hand, external recruitment involves hiring potential employees from outside of the organisation. The
candidates for filling these positions are recruited from other companies to come and feel the required sales
positions. It is also an ideal way of hiring because it enables the organisation to get individuals with new ideas on
how to carry out the job. But it is also regarded as an expensive and time-consuming process because several
things are involved before the required candidate(s) are finally hired.

Interviews

Ultimately, the company will have to put the potential sales personnel they are recruiting into a vetting process to
determine their suitability before hiring them. This is the usual way of fine-tuning to get the best talent that
makes it possible for you to hire the best out of the selected few.

Summarizing the above, Sales personnel recruitment and selection is generally done in the sales department.
Furthermore, this article will outline how exactly can sales personnel be recruited along with sources of recruiting
sales personnel.