PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT, MARKETING AND SALES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT, MARKETING AND SALES

Definition of terms

Product: A product is a tangible or intangible item or service that is created, designed, or

manufactured to fulfill a specific need, wants, or demand in the market.

Marketing: Marketing is a multifaceted process and set of activities that involve creating,
communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings (products or services) that have value for
customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

Sales: Refer to the process of persuading and convincing potential customers or clients to
purchase a product or service offered by a company

Product development: The process of conceiving, designing, creating, and bringing new
products or services to the market.

Key Elements of Product Development

a) Idea Generation: The process of generating ideas and concepts for new products or services.
This can come from market research, customer feedback, brainstorming, or innovative
thinking.
b) Market Research: Analyzing the market and industry to understand customer preferences,
trends, and competition. This helps in identifying gaps and opportunities for new products.
c) Concept Development and Testing: Creating initial product concepts and testing them with
potential customers to gather feedback and refine the ideas.
d) Design and Prototyping: Developing detailed product designs and creating prototypes or
mock-ups to visualize and test the product's functionality and appearance.
e) Product Testing and Validation: Conducting thorough testing to ensure the product meets
quality and performance standards and aligns with customer expectations.
f) Manufacturing or Development: If the product is physical, this involves setting up production
processes and manufacturing the product. For software or digital products, it involves coding
and development.
g) Marketing and Launch: Developing marketing strategies, branding, and promotional plans to
introduce the product to the target market.
h) Distribution and Sales: Setting up distribution channels and sales strategies to make the
product available to customers.
i) Feedback and Iteration: Continuously gathering feedback from customers and stakeholders
and making improvements or iterations to the product based on this feedback.

Importance of Product Development

a) Meeting Customer Needs: Effective product development begins with a deep understanding
of customer needs and preferences. By creating products that address these needs, businesses
can enhance customer satisfaction and build long-term relationships
b) Competitive Advantage: Developing innovative and unique products can give a company a
competitive edge in the market. It allows businesses to differentiate themselves from
competitors and attract a broader customer base.
c) Revenue Growth: New products often represent new revenue streams. A well-executed
product development strategy can lead to increased sales and revenue, contributing to the
financial health and growth of the company.
d) Market Expansion: Introducing new products can open up opportunities to enter new markets
or expand existing ones. This can be essential for businesses seeking to diversify and reduce
dependence on a single product or market segment.
e) Adaptation to Changing Trends: Markets and customer preferences evolve over time.
Effective product development helps companies stay relevant by adapting to changing trends
and technologies.
f) Enhanced Brand Reputation: Consistently delivering high-quality, innovative products can
bolster a company's reputation and brand image. This can lead to increased trust and loyalty
among customers.
g) Risk Mitigation: Relying solely on existing products can be risky, as market conditions can
change rapidly. Diversifying a product portfolio through development can help mitigate these
risks by spreading them across multiple offerings.
h) Cost Efficiency: While product development involves upfront costs, it can lead to long-term
cost savings through improved efficiency in production, reduced warranty claims, and better
inventory management.
 i) Customer Engagement: The process of involving customers in the product development
cycle, such as through surveys or feedback sessions, fosters customer engagement and
loyalty. Customers appreciate when their opinions are valued and incorporated into product
improvements.
j) Innovation Culture: Emphasizing product development fosters a culture of innovation within
an organization. This culture can drive creativity, problem-solving, and a forward-thinking
mindset among employees.
k) Sustainability: Developing environmentally friendly and sustainable products is increasingly
important in today's market. Companies that prioritize sustainability in their product
development can appeal to eco-conscious consumers and meet regulatory requirements.

Levels of Product Development

1. Idea generation (Ideation)

The initial stage of the product development process begins by generating new product ideas.
This is the product innovation stage, where you brainstorm product concepts based on customer
needs, concept testing, and market research.

It’s a good idea to consider the following factors when initiating a new product concept:

i. Target market: Your target market is the consumer profile you’re building your product for.
These are your potential customers. This is important to identify in the beginning so you can
build your product concept around your target market from the start.
ii. Existing products: When you have a new product concept, it’s a good idea to evaluate your
existing product portfolio. Are there existing products that solve a similar problem? Or does
a competitor offer a product that doesn’t allow for market share? And if yes, is your new
concept different enough to be viable? Answering these questions can ensure the success of
your new concept.
iii. Functionality: While you don’t need a detailed report of the product functionality just yet,
you should have a general idea of what functions it will serve. Consider the look and feel of
your product and why someone would be interested in purchasing it.
iv. SWOT analysis: Analyzing your product strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
early in the process can help you build the best version of your new concept. This will ensure
your product is different from competitors and solves a market gap.
 v. SCAMPER method: To refine your idea, use brainstorming methods like SCAMPER, which
involves substituting, combining, adapting, modifying, putting to another use, eliminating, or
rearranging your product concept?

To validate a product concept, consider documenting ideas in the form of a business case. This
will allow all team members to have a clear understanding of the initial product features and the
objectives of the new product launch.

2. 2. Product definition

Once you’ve completed the business case and discussed your target market and product
functionality, it’s time to define the product. This is also referred to as scoping or concept
development, and focuses on refining the product strategy.

During this stage, it’s important to define specifics including:

i. Business analysis: A business analysis consists of mapping out distribution strategy,

ecommerce strategy, and a more in-depth competitor analysis. The purpose of this step is to
begin building a clearly defined product roadmap.
ii. Value proposition: The value proposition is what problem the product is solving. Consider
how it differs from other products in the market. This value can be useful for market research
and for developing your marketing strategy.
iii. Success metrics: It’s essential to clarify success metrics early so you can evaluate and
measure success once the product is launched. Are there key metrics you want to look out
for? These could be basic KPIs like average order value, or something more specific like
custom set goals relevant to your organization.
iv. Marketing strategy: Once you’ve identified your value proposition and success metrics, begin
brainstorming a marketing strategy that fits your needs. Consider which channels you want to
promote your product on—such as social media or a blog post. While this strategy may need
to be revised depending on the finished product, it’s a good idea to think about this when
defining your product to begin planning ahead of time.

Once these ideas have been defined, it’s time to begin building your minimum viable product
(MVP) with initial prototyping.
 3. Prototyping

During the prototyping stage, your team will intensively research and document the product by
creating a more detailed business plan and constructing the product.

These early-stage prototypes might be as simple as a drawing or a more complex computer

render of the initial design. These prototypes help you identify areas of risk before you create the
product.

During the prototyping phase, you will work on specifics like:

i. Feasibility analysis: The next step in the process is to evaluate your product strategy based on
feasibility. Determine if the workload and estimated timeline are possible to achieve. If not,
adjust your dates accordingly and request help from additional stakeholders.
ii. Market risk research: It’s important to analyze any potential risks associated with the
production of your product before it’s physically created. This will prevent the product
launch from being derailed later on. It will also ensure you communicate risks to the team by
documenting them in a risk register.
iii. Development strategy: Next, you can begin working through your development plan. In other
words, know how you’ll be assigning tasks and the timeline of these tasks. One way you can
plan tasks and estimate timeline is by using the critical path method.
iv. MVP: The final outcome of the prototyping stage is a minimum viable product. Think of
your MVP as a product that has the features necessary to go to launch with and nothing
above what’s necessary for it to function. For example, an MVP bike would include a frame,
wheels, and a seat, but wouldn’t contain a basket or bell. Creating an MVP can help your
team execute the product launch quicker than building all the desired features, which can
drag launch timelines out. Desired features can be added down the road when bandwidth is
available.
4. Initial design

During the initial design phase, project stakeholder’s work together to produce a mockup of the
product based on the MVP prototype. The design should be created with the target audience in
mind and complement the key functions of your product.

A successful product design may take several iterations to get just right, and may involve
communicating with distributors in order to source necessary materials.
 To produce the initial design, you will:

i. Source materials: Sourcing materials plays an important role in designing the initial mockup.
This may entail working with various vendors and ordering materials or creating your own.
Since materials can come from various places, you should document material use in a shared
space to reference later if needed.
ii. Connect with stakeholders: It’s important to keep tight communication during the design
phase to verify your initial design is on the right track. Share weekly or daily progress reports
to share updates and get approvals as needed.
iii. Receive initial feedback: When the design is complete, ask senior management and project
stakeholders for initial feedback. You can then revise the product design as needed until the
final design is ready to be developed and implemented.

Once the design is approved and ready to be handed off, move onto the validation phase for final
testing before launching the product.

5. Validation and testing

To go live with a new product, you first need to validate and test it. This ensures that every part
of the product—from development to marketing—is working effectively before it’s released to
the public.

To ensure the quality the product, complete the following:

i. Concept development and testing: You may have successfully designed your prototype, but
you’ll still need to work through any issues that arise while developing the concept. This
could involve software development or the physical production of the initial prototype. Test
functionality by enlisting the help of team members and beta testers to quality assure the
development.
ii. Front-end testing: During this stage, test the front-end functionality for risks with
development code or consumer-facing errors. This includes checking the ecommerce
functionality and ensuring it’s stable for launch.
iii. Test marketing: Before you begin producing your final product, test your marketing plan for
functionality and errors. This is also a time to ensure that all campaigns are set up correctly
and ready to launch.
 Once the initial testing is complete, you’re ready to begin producing the final product concept
and launch it to your customer base.

6. Commercialization

Now it’s time to commercialize your concept, which involves launching your product and
implementing it on your website.

By now, you’ve finalized the design and quality tested your development and marketing strategy.
You should feel confident in your final iteration and be ready to produce your final product.

In this stage you should be working on:

i. Product development: This is the physical creation of your product that will be released to
your customers. This may require production or additional development for software
concepts. Give your team the final prototype and MVP iterations to produce the product to
the correct specifications.
ii. Ecommerce implementation: Once the product has been developed and you’re ready to
launch, your development team will transition your ecommerce materials to a live state. This
may require additional testing to ensure your live product is functioning as it was intended
during the previous front-end testing phase.

Your final product is now launched. All that’s left is to measure success with the initial success
metrics you landed on.

Product Life Cycle

A product has a life of its own and goes through cycles. Although different products have
different types of life cycles, the traditional product life cycle
Introduction Stage

This stage involves introducing a new and previously unknown product to buyers. Sales are
small, the production process is new, and cost reductions through economies of size or the
experience curve have not been realized. The promotion plan is geared to acquainting buyers
with the product. The pricing plan is focused on first-time buyers and enticing them to try the
product.

Growth Stage

In this stage, sales grow rapidly. Buyers have become acquainted with the product and are
willing to buy it. New buyers enter the market and previous buyers come back as repeat buyers.
Production may need to be ramped up quickly and may require a large infusion of capital and
expertise into the business. Cost reductions occur as the business moves down the experience
curve and economies of size are realized. Profit margins are often large. Competitors may enter
the market but little rivalry exists because the market is growing rapidly. Promotion and pricing
strategies are revised to take advantage of the growing industry.

Mature Stage

In this stage, the market becomes saturated. Production has caught up with demand and demand
growth slows precipitously. There are few first-time buyers. Most buyers are repeat buyers.
Competition becomes intense, leading to aggressive promotional and pricing programs to capture
market share from competitors or just to maintain market share. Although experience curves and
size economies are achieved, intense pricing programs often lead to smaller profit margins.
Although companies try to differentiate their products, the products actually become more
standardized.

Decline Stage

In this stage, buyers move on to other products and sales drop. Intense rivalry exists among
competitors. Profits dry up because of narrow profit margins and declining sales. Some
businesses leave the industry. The remaining businesses try to revive interest in the product. If
they are successful, sales may begin to grow. If not, sales will stabilize or continue to decline.
 CHAPTER TWO

IDEA GENERATION AND CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

Sources of Idea

1. From consumer or target audience

Every creative and innovative entrepreneur must pay close attention to potential customers,
client or consumers on a continuous basis. This kind of attention can take an informal approach
of personally monitoring potential ideas affecting the needs of customers or formally arranging
for customers/consumer to have opportunity to express their opinion. This could be achieved
through a comprehensive survey/questionnaire or forum. The ideas or opinion generated from
the target audience must be to a large extent represent enough market to support a new business
or expand a section of an existing business.

2. From existing products and services

Existing products and services could be carefully monitored and evaluated to uncover ways to
improve them. This might results in a new product or service that has more market appeal and
better sales and profit potential. In this period of advancement in information communication
technology (ICT), creative and innovative approach of ICT can have far-reaching effect on
existing products and services. Prospective entrepreneurs can therefore take advantage of
information communication technology (ICT) to build new variant of old products or services
with a more market appeal, better sales and profit potentials.

3. From marketing distribution channels

For a product that involve a marketing distribution channel (sale representative group), members
of such distribution channels are also excellent sources for new business ideas, because of their
familiarity with the needs of the market. For example, let’s imagine that a company has ten sales
persons in one zone. In each month, every member of the group can itemize why his/her sales is
high, low or below average. Ideas gotten from such analysis could become a source of
innovation and creativity that will lead to a better business idea in marketing.
4. From research and development

The greatest source of a new business idea is the entrepreneur’s own effort in research and
development. The quest to gather information, ask questions from existing entrepreneurs,
analyze economic data and information within the market can lead to a unique business concept.
The prospective entrepreneur’s creativity and innovation coupled with foresight and much
research can be a source of business idea

5. From the Government of the day

The national and county governments can be a source of new products or business ideas in two
ways.

First, basis information about products/services is obtained from government data bank or
statistical unit like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). A thorough analysis of such data can
provide clear guides to new areas of business.

Secondly, new product ideas can come in response to government regulations or policies. For
example the current regulations by the government that telecommunication operators/company
should register their subscribers.

This could be an open door to greater services by their distributors, even though registration is
free. An area of local content management system can also evolve as the result of this
government policy, thus creating new business opportunity for the operators in the near future.

Methods of Generating Business Ideas

Focus Groups

A focus group is defined as a group of individuals providing information in a structured format.

A moderator leads the group of about 8 to 14 participants through an open, in-depth discussion
rather than simply asking questions to solicit participants’ responses. For a new product or
services area, the moderator focuses the discussion of the group in either a directive or non-
directive manner. The group is stimulated by comments from other group members in creatively
conceptualizing and developing a new product or service to fill a market need. The focus group
is an excellent approach for initially screening ideas and concepts. Existing companies can use
this method to expand a section or department to be able to achieve greater productivity in its
services.
Brainstorming

The brainstorming method allows a group of individual to be stimulated to greater creativity by

interacting with each other and participating in organized group experience. Most of the ideas
generated from the group have no basis for further development, yet there are times that a good
idea emerges. This has a greater frequency of occurrence when the brainstorming effort focuses
on a specific product or market area. For this approach to be successful there should be no
negative comment or criticism, quantity of ideas should be encouraged, the wider the idea, the
better and combinations and improvements of ideas are encouraged. Many modern commercial
banks successfully use.

Problem Inventory Analysis

Problem inventory analysis is a method for obtaining new ideas and solutions by focusing on
existing problems. In this approach, the customers or consumers are provided with a list of
problems in a general product category. Thereafter, they are asked to identify and discuss
products in each category that have a particular problem. This method is effective when an
improved service/product is desired. When known products or services are related to suggested
problems, a new product idea emerges. Result from product inventory analysis must be carefully
evaluated as they may actually reflect a new business opportunity. For maximal result, it is
advisable that problem inventory analysis should be used primarily to identify new product ideas
from existing product before further evaluation.

Idea Processing

Idea generation: is described as the process of creating, developing and communicating

abstract, concrete or visual ideas. It’s the front-end part of the idea management funnel and it
focuses on coming up with possible solutions to perceived or actual problems and opportunities.

Information gathering

Product development: Product development and service design are what tailors your services
and products to end-users needs, pain points, and requirements. To successfully implement an
effective process of product development or service design you need to approach the initiatives
the right way, meaning to gather the required data, analyze it carefully, and use it as a user
centric compass, leading the way for your business development.
Buyer Personas

A buyer persona is a psychographic profile of your ideal customers, displaying their interests,
goals, channels used, pain points, challenges, behaviors, and demographics in an easy-to-gasp,
infographic way. This information will help you get powerful insights into customers’
requirements and pain points and will help personalize your service or product to fit their needs.

Competitor Research

Competitor analysis or research focuses on the channels, content, products, services, posting
schedules, and overall marketing efforts and business model of competitors. It’s used to help you
understand the market and industry-wide trends, see what current customers of your segment are
engaged with, and get accessible ideas you can implement to achieve tangible results. The best
way to approach this research is to look for information on competitors’ websites, social media,
and leading forums. This will give you an understanding of what brands are promoting, and what
users think, helping you form a coherent view of the market.

Customer Surveys

Although there are two crucial stages (before Conception and after Launch) when customer
feedback has to be collected to set your product development or service design in the right
direction, regularly gathering such data will help you to:

 Get information about what you need to develop further or polish

 Know what customers like about your product/service and incorporate it into your value
proposition or gather testimonials
 Find your competitive advantages or disadvantages
 React to market changes promptly

Sales Channel Survey.

The sales channel survey is extremely important because it shows how easy or difficult your
products or services are to sell.
Customer Visits

Customer visits are probably the best way to understand the acceptance of your product or
service. They’re also useful for building a strong community around your brand as such
initiatives make the client feel meaningful and appreciated.
User Testing

Another practical way to get the engineering team introduced to consumers’ needs and
behavior is to invite people and let them use the new product or service you’re developing.
Such initiatives are extremely important because they give validation of the demand or design
and assesses the ease-of-usage.
From Feedback to Ideation

One of the best practices you can implement is to gather customers’ ideas through a single,
easily-accessible place. This will help you have a coherent view of future development
needs. Collecting feedback for ideation purposes is important in product development and
service design because this initiative helps drive the development process even more
towards customer personalization.

Data That Drive Product Development and Service Design

Gathering feedback and data about customers, competitors, and the market are extremely
important when you’re making long-term, complex strategies. Our job as marketers is not to
launch the perfect campaign for the best product because such things do not exist in real life. Our
job is to understand the market and the consumer, try different approaches, gather data about
consumers’ reactions to each of them, analyze, and polish the product or service day by day. Our
job is to learn and understand how to meet the ever-changing requirements of customers,
continue growing our audience and reshaping the world bit by bit.
Information evaluation
It can evaluate using the Four Ds.
 Decompose the organization's strategy into measurable outcomes.
 Divide measurable outcomes into specific outcomes for each product team in the
organization.
 Determine features that each product team can build to achieve their team's target outcomes.
 Discern if these outcomes are being achieved by analyzing data and using this insight to
improve features.

Feasibility analysis
Feasibility analysis is designed to assess whether your entrepreneurial endeavor is, in fact,
feasible or possible. By evaluating your management team, assessing the market for your
concept, estimating financial viability, and identifying potential pitfalls, you can make an
informed choice about the achievability of your entrepreneurial endeavor. A feasibility study
allows a business to address where and how it will operate, its competition, possible hurdles,
and the funding needed to begin.
Organizational Feasibility Analysis
Organizational feasibility aims to assess the prowess of management and sufficiency of resources
to bring a product or idea to market. The company should evaluate the ability of its management
team on areas of interest and execution. Typical measures of management prowess include
assessing the founders’ passion for the business idea along with industry expertise, educational
background, and professional experience. Founders should be honest in their self-assessment of
ranking these areas.

Financial Feasibility Analysis

A financial analysis seeks to project revenue and expenses (forecasts come later in the full
business plan); project a financial narrative; and estimate project costs, valuations, and cash flow
projections. The financial analysis should estimate the sales or revenue that you expect the
business to generate.
The financial analysis may typically include these items:
 A twelve-month profit and loss projection
 A three- or four-year profit-and-loss projection
 A cash-flow projection
 A projected balance sheets
 A breakeven calculation
One commonly used equation for a sales model multiplies the number of target customers by the
average revenue per customer to establish a sales projection:
T×A=S
Target(ed) Customers/Users × Average Revenue per Customer= Sales Projection

To calculate the breakeven point, you must first understand the two types of costs: fixed and
variable.
Fixed costs are expenses that do not vary based on the number of sales. Rent is one example,
but most of a business’s other costs operate in this manner as well. While some costs vary from
month to month, costs are described as variable only if they will increase if the company sells
even one more item. Costs such as insurance, wages, and office supplies are typically
considered fixed costs.
Variable costs fluctuate with the level of sales revenue and include items such as raw
materials, purchases to be sold, and direct labor. With this information, you can calculate
your breakeven point—the sales level at which your business has neither a profit nor a loss.

 Projected cash flow outlines preliminary expenses, operating expenses, and reserves—in
essence, how much you need before starting your company. You want to determine when
you expect to receive cash and when you have to write a check for expenses. Your cash
flow is designed to show if your working capital is adequate.
 A balance sheet shows assets and liabilities, necessary for reporting and financial
management. When liabilities are subtracted from assets, the remainder is owners’ equity.
Market Feasibility Analysis

A market analysis enables you to define competitors and quantify target customers and/or
users in the market within your chosen industry by analyzing the overall interest in the product
or service within the industry by its target market. You can define a market in terms of size,
structure, growth prospects, trends, and sales potential. This information allows you to better
position your company in competing for market share. After you’ve determined the overall size
of the market, you can define your target market, which leads to a total available market
(TAM), that is, the number of potential users within your business’s sphere of influence.
 CHAPTER THREE

PROTOTYPE PRODUCTION AND TESTING

Production of prototypes

Prototype is the first example of an industrial product, from which all later forms are developed.

Here are four steps to get your first prototype built so you can turn your idea into a patented,

Profitable product.

1. Create a Concept Sketch

The first step toward turning your idea into reality is getting it down on paper. Draw your idea to help you
visualize your prototype in greater detail. While it is possible to use a digital drawing program for this
step, it may be more efficient to start on paper first.

2. Develop a Virtual Prototype

At some point it’s going to be invaluable to create a digital sketch of your idea. A standard digital design
tool used by engineers and other professionals, which enables them to make both 2-D and 3-D renderings.
A 3-D rendering lets you rotate and animate your virtual sketch, so you can visualize it from all angles,
helping you see approximately how a physical version of your design will look. If you’re not skilled with
computer drawing and rendering tools, professional graphic designers or prototype designers can assist
you with this step.

3. Build a Physical Prototype

Once you have a virtual prototype, you’re ready to build a physical prototype. If you have the skill, you
can build one yourself. If you need help, there are several types of resources you can tap to get this step
done. One way is going to a professional prototype designer. An alternative is getting a designer or
engineer to build your prototype. Once your first prototype is built, you may find flaws that need to be
corrected before you seek a patent. You may need to build several prototypes to get a good one done.
Typically, early working prototypes are built of less expensive materials than later versions to save
money while fixing design flaws. As you improve your design, you can eventually make a prototype that
replicates your actual product as it will be sold to consumers.
4. Locate a Manufacturer

Once you have a working prototype, you’re technically ready to apply for a patent; however, you might
want to take the additional step of locating a manufacturer that can produce your product at a profitable
price. If your idea is going to be profitable, you need to be able to build it at a cost that is low enough that
you can cover expenses without cutting too far into your revenue

Importance of prototyping

1. The prototype gives the customer a complete idea of how the site will look like in the final result.
2. Prototyping allows you to streamline the design development process, focusing on important interface
elements.
3. A site’s sketch is an irreplaceable thing if the client still does not fully understand what he expects
from the site, what functions each page will carry. Careful planning at the prototyping stage makes it
possible to avoid global changes in the finished layout.
4. At the prototyping stage, it is possible to identify unnecessary elements that are best abandoned.
5. This process significantly reduces the workload of the designer in developing the project, and thus
saves the customer’s money.
6. Having a prototype in hand, the designer and customer more clearly represent the final result.
7. Prototype development involves the involvement of the customer, contributes to more productive
work, process consistency.

Prototype product evaluation

In a Prototype Evaluation, you get the chance to ask your target users for initial feedback on design,
usability, and user experience. This can be done by the following.

1. The Usability Factor

Getting strangers to try out your product prototype and allowing a third-party to record their experiences
is a great idea. The data you have from these trials can help you to find out just how useful your product
is. Having people who know absolutely nothing about the product test it out will provide some very
useful insights. Often times, these trials will bring to light any design flaws that may exist with a product.
If you have the time and budget, you need to have at least three separate groups test out your product
prototype. The more testers you are able to use, the easier you will find it to get a true assessment of your
product’s usefulness.
Have Testers Complete Various Tasks with the Prototype

Before handing off your prototype to a test group, you need to develop a series of core tasks you want
them to perform. Once you have this information, you can easily create a list of instructions for the
testers. When writing out these instructions, spell everything out so you won’t confuse the individuals
who will be testing the product. Getting these testers to perform these tasks can help you figure out where
design changes may need to be made. If all of the testers are having the same problems when attempting
to complete the tasks you have laid out, then chances are it is due to an issue with your product.

Allow the Prototype Testers to Offer Suggestions

The last thing you want to do as an inventor is to ignore feedback from the people who test your
prototypes. Being unwilling to change your design can lead to lots of problems in the long run. If all of
the testers are saying the same thing about your product prototype, you need to pay attention. Usually, the
people testing your prototype will have great ideas about how to make it better and more user-friendly.
Taking these suggestions and actually using them can help you take your product to the next level.
Neglecting to allow prototype design professionals to help you create a physical representation of your
invention is a bad idea. Most inventors who try to handle the building of a prototype on their own usually
regret it. The money paid to professionals for this type of help will pay off when you are able to deliver
an appealing and functional prototype to investors and a group of testers.

Commercial viability

The end goal of a Design Thinking work process is to create a product that is desirable, feasible, and
viable. This means that your product should not only satisfy the needs of a user but be easy to implement
and have a commercial model as well. During the bulk of your Design Thinking work process,
desirability would be at the forefront, as you are concerned with testing your ideas and validating your
hypotheses about your users. Towards the end of your project, however, you should bring the focus to
feasibility and viability as well so that your product can be sustainable. The following are ways you can
make sure that your design product is feasible and viable, on top of being desirable to your users.

From Prototyping and Testing to Thinking about Feasibility

The feasibility of your solution is about whether or not you are able to implement your solution in an
effective manner. It not only affects your company’s operations as it seeks to implement your product or
service, but it also impacts your users’ experiences in a direct way. To start thinking about the feasibility
of your solution, you can focus on three main areas that impact implementation: the distribution channels,
the capabilities you need for pulling off the solution and the potential relationships you can form with
external partners.
Product be Distribution

To start thinking about the distribution channels of your solution, discuss with your team the possible
ways your users can experience the solution. Where would they go? When and how would they
experience the product or service? Why would the user want to gain access to your product? From these
questions, think of as many alternative distribution and delivery possibilities as possible. Make a list of all
the potential people who as well as channels that will be involved in delivering the solution to your users.

Capabilities needed for creating and delivering the product

Make a list of the various capabilities you will need for creating and delivering your product to users.
Include all the manpower, manufacturing, financial and technological capabilities that are necessary. For
each capability, note down whether they exist in your organization.

Ensuring the viability of the product

The commercial viability of your product or service is an important factor that affects its sustainability
and long-term success. This is true even for non-profit organization and projects, because commercial
viability will ensure that your product will continue to work even without constant inflow of funding from
donors or governments. To conduct an evaluation of the viability, you should analyses the value
proposition your product or service provides, think of potential revenue sources, and consider various
stakeholder incentives you can use.

Customer Value You Provide

Together with your team, think of the value that your solution provides to users. Does it provide more
convenience to your customers, therefore helping them save time? Or does it provide security or safety
that previously did not exist in a task? You can refer to your prototypes and notes that you have taken
down in past testing sessions with users to find out what elements of your solution they find the most
important or useful. Next, try to figure out how much your users will pay for the value your solution
provides. You may rely on past prototyping and empathy-gaining sessions with users, which may shed
some light on how much they are willing to spend. Alternatively, you can consult experts or internal
stakeholders who may have a better idea of how much your solution is worth.

Revenue Sources

Depending on whether your solution is a product or service, or a mixture of both, it can have different
sources of revenues. Together with your team, identify all the actors that will pay for the solution. How
much will each actor pay for the product or service? For instance, if you are working with the government
to implement a new service to people in need, will the government be paying for the full cost, or will the
end users co-pay a portion of the price? Also, think about how the payment will be made. Depending on
the industry conventions, the country you are delivering your solutions to, and the needs of the users, you
may want to accept cash, credit, or payment in kind for your solution. Besides the payment mode, you
should also think about the most appropriate payment structure for your solution. Examples of possible
payment structures include the following:

 Membership, where users pay a regular fee (monthly, yearly, etc.).

 Commission, where you earn a percentage of transaction fees enabled by your solution. (You can
earn commission from the user or the user’s customer, or both.)
 Give the product but sell the refill, to encourage adoption of your solution and earn revenue once
users become repeat customers.
 Pay-per-use, where you charge a fee for every time a customer uses your solution.

Incentives Each Stakeholder Possess

Identify all stakeholders whom your product will affect. Discuss with your team if the product provides
value to each stakeholder involved. On the other hand, does your product increase the costs to some
stakeholders? Go through each stakeholder, and find out if they have any incentives or disincentives to
adopt or help you with your product. For instance, if your product helps supermarket goers get even more
value while shopping, would adopting your product create a disincentive for supermarkets?

Test It Out: Launch Live Prototypes and a Pilot

After you and your team have gone through assessing the feasibility and viability of your product, you
may want to go ahead and launch a live prototype to test your product in the market.
 CHAPTER FOUR

INITIAL PRODUCT RUN

The Factors of Success for New Product Development

Delivering Unique Benefits to Users: The product itself—in terms of its design, features, and benefits to
customers—is the often the bellwether of new product success. Are you introducing a “me too” product
vis-à-vis the competition, or does the new product deliver unique benefits to the consumer? It probably
comes as no surprise that innovative products typically fare better than those that have few elements of
differentiation. As a matter of fact, research has shown that innovative products that offer unique benefits
versus the competition have five times the success rate of products with fewer elements of differentiation.

Planning before Development: This would seem almost intuitive, but unfortunately, many companies
fail to plan properly before developing a new product. Remember the old phrase “If you fail to plan, you
plan to fail.” The “rule of thumb” in successful new product development is to thoroughly define the
product before development gets underway. This means defining the target market, the product concept,
customer needs and wants, and product requirements. Numbers don’t lie. Research has demonstrated that
new products in which predevelopment activities were well-defined and executed had a success rate of 75
percent versus just over 31 percent for products in which those predevelopment activities were lacking.

Technological Synergy and Quality: Technological synergy is when a new product is built on the firm’s
existing technological resources. The bottom line is that new products that have a strong fit between the
project needs and the company exists technological and production resources are typically much more
successful in the marketplace. The further away the product strays from the company’s current
technology, the less likely it is that the product will be successful.

Marketing Synergy and Quality: Like technological synergy, marketing synergy is also an important
factor in new product success. Marketing synergy examines the fit between the needs of the new product
development project and the company’s sales, advertising resources, customer service capabilities,
distribution, and marketing research. The closer the fit, the more successful the product will likely be in
the marketplace. As a matter of fact, according to research, new products in which marketing synergy
existed were 2.3 times more likely to be successful than products where marketing synergy was lacking.

Market Attractiveness: Market attractiveness is a measure of potential value and considers factors like
short- and long-term profit, market growth rate, how much competition currently exists in the market, the
cost of entry into the market, and how much the product satisfies the needs of customers in the target
market.
Causes of product failure

Lack of product uniqueness:

Any product that does not satisfy a unique need of consumers, fails to dislodge more established brands
available. Customers must comprehend the new product’s advantages. Unless sound communication
strategies support the introduction of a new product, failure usually follows. A product is likely to be
perceived as unique if it satisfies a new function; if it satisfies an existing function in a new ways; if its
price and performance give it an advantage over the competitive products. It should be distinctive in one
way or the other.

Poor planning:

Companies must have a game-plan that carries them through every stage and aspect of product’s life. The
plan is to care for consumers. Many forces are at work that alter consumer’s needs and wants for
products; life- styles change populations, age and preferences change; similarly needs of industrial buyers
are affected by changing business opportunities shortage of energy and material, technological advance
and so on. The market potential of the product and the nature of competition must be determined
beforehand.

Poor timing:

The market success depends, to a large extent, on the ability of the company to launch the product at a
time when consumer demand is at its highest. Though it may not always be desirable to be the first to
enter the market, undue delay or un-opportune time may mean that the demand for the product
demonstrated during consumer testing phase might vanish by the time the product is launched in
commercialization period. Hence, appropriate time has its strategic importance in product success.

Misguided enthusiasm:

On several occasions, it so happens that there will be either an under-estimation of the strength of
competitors or an over-estimation of one’s own capabilities resulting in over-optimistic calculations
which will be shattered very soon by the actual product performance. This can happen when executives
want to market a particular product because; it is tied with their personal ambitions in the company.

Product deficiencies:

Many a times, technical product deficiencies are the common cause of new product failure. Engineers and
product technocrats are capable of giving the best laboratory products by over- engineering. This is a
good so far as technical superiority is concerned over competitors.
However, an ‘over-engineered’ product costs a lot to the firm and finally to the consumers where
competitors have an edge over the firm in question. Technical deficiencies are to be removed but too
much should not cost much.

SALESMANSHIP

 A salesman is a person who has the skill and ability to convince others about the proposal of
goods and services, so that the latter may be induced to purchase the goods and services. His
concise effort to induce a prospective buyer results in a successful sale. This skill and ability of a
salesman is called salesmanship. Let us take some definitions of salesmanship.
  Prof. Stephnson defines salesmanship as ‘‘Salesmanship refers to the concise efforts on the part
of seller to induce a prospective buyer to purchase something that he latter had not really decided
to buy, even if he had thought of it favorably’’: it consists of persuading people to buy what you
have for sale, in making them want it, in helping to make up their minds.’’

 According to C.A. Paderson ‘‘Salesmanship is the process whereby a seller ascertains and
activates the needs or wants of the buyer and satisfies these needs or wants to the mutual
continuous advantage of both buyer and the seller.’’

Features / Characteristics / Essentials of salesmanship

Services to producers and consumers:

The salesman takes the goods of the producer and sells it to its consumers. This simple and useful task of
salesman provides services both to the producer and the consumers. The salesman acts as a friend,
philosopher and guide to the customer in making decisions regarding purchase of goods. He tries to fulfil
the demand of the customers to their best satisfaction. He presents an idea or offering of a proposition for
the benefit of customers.

Arts of persuasion, not compulsion:

Salesmanship is the art of winning the hearts of consumers to dispose the firm’s goods and services. The
salesman through his tact, motivates the customers to buy goods and never forces them to buy goods. The
salesman has to create a favorable atmosphere in the mind of the buyer by presenting the positive aspects
of the product to be sold. It is an inducement to accept something and an attempt to convince. It is an
attempt to create an urge or desire with another to have what other has to offer. Thus it is an attempt to
sell.
No exploitation

In good salesmanship, there is no scope for exploiting innocent customers. Cheating, fraudulent practices
or undue advantages of customers affect the customers adversely. The customers lose their confidence
and trust on the salesman as well as on the organization. The prices charged should be commensurate
with the quantity and quality of goods and services. Salesman does not encourage haggling or bargaining.

Oral communication

Salesmanship is a process of direct oral communication between the salesman and the customers. This
two-way communication enables the exchange of views and opinions, answers to queries, clarification of
doubts and guiding the decision-making of the customers. The clarity and influence of such
communication makes the salesman successful in selling. It is a presentation of an idea or offering of a
proposition.

Educative process

Through salesmanship the customers get knowledge about the goods and about the marketing of goods. It
informs the customers about the new products, the price, utility, special features of the products and their
competing products. So, salesmanship educates the customers adequately about the product and enables
them to take right decisions. It is a process of ascertaining and activating the want of others.

Mutual benefit

The salesman acts as the link between the seller and buyers. The seller, with the help of salesmanship,
maintains and extends the sales and thereby earns a steady income. On the other hand the buyers, being
well guided by the salesman, get their desirable goods and derive adequate satisfaction. Therefore it is an
attempt by salesman to arrive at a common point of view with another.

Permanent customer’s relationship:

To maintain the sales, the salesman tries his best to win the confidence and trust of the customers. By
regular supply of goods and services to customers to their best satisfaction, the salesman develops a
permanent and favorable relationship with the customers. He always considers that the customer is always
right.

Universal applicability:

The features of salesmanship have universal applicability. The fact lies in making the customers accept
you, your ideas and the products with a satisfied mind. Good salesmanship standardizes norms for
salesmen.

Nature of Salesmanship

Nature of salesmanship explains whether it is an art or science or a profession. It tries to debate whether
salesmen are born or made. Let us discuss these various aspects of the nature of salesmanship.

Salesmanship is an art.

Art is the act of doing the things in the light of knowledge and skill. Art may be defined as ‘‘a branch of
learning in which human skill, knowledge, imagination and practice have an important role to play’’. It is
the internal expression of one’s feeling, talent, ideas and values to accomplish a desired goal. It needs
skillful application of knowledge, imagination and practice. The various fields of art are singing, painting,
writing, acting etc. Art differentiates the application or implementation of one’s skill for the achievement
of better results.

Salesmanship is an art of selling goods or services or ideas. It is the skill and capacity of the salesman to
win the trust and confidence of the prospective buyers. It is the art within a salesman which develops him
to be a successful salesman. By virtue of this gifted quality the salesman becomes more successful than
others. It is the artistic quality of the salesman which enables the salesman to understand the mind of the
customers easily. The salesman’s artistic mind reads the choice, taste, preference, style, behavior of the
customers accurately and draws the attention of the prospects to the goods and services favorably.
Salesman is an artist who paints mental pictures with a verbal brush.

Though salesmanship is an art, it needs to be improved and up dated by scientific training and experience.
The art of selling, if inherent with a salesman, can be taken as an added quality for successful
salesmanship. Salesmanship as an art can be developed to some extent by persistent efforts. Through
practice and trials, art can be perfected.

Salesmanship is a science.

Science is a systematic body of knowledge. It is well established and universally accepted body of truth
and facts. It is well guided by definite set of principles. The laws and processes are well set by research
and experiments and are not ordinarily changeable. There are exact sciences like Physics, Chemistry and
Botany and also inexact sciences like Psychology, Sociology, and Anthropology etc. Unlike exact
sciences, the inexact sciences change with changing situations. The inexact sciences come under social
sciences. Salesmanship is a social science which changes along with change in civilization.

Salesmanship is a science based on human psychology. It has a body of standardized guidance to deal
with the customers. There are also enough guidelines for knowledge against personality, product and
prospects.
In spite of so many guiding factors for dealing with potential buyers, there is no guarantee that a
particular solution may work successfully as the situation changes. Perfect theoretical knowledge may not
successfully work in the case of salesmanship.

But a salesman with perfect knowledge and with a skillful art of persuading customers can easily win the
hearts of customers. So, we can say that salesmanship is both an art and science, rather it is more an art
than science.

Salesmanship is a profession.
Profession can be defined as an occupation which requires a specialized knowledge and skill to practice.
Profession is an employment requiring some degree of skill and training, but it is not mechanical by
nature. The practices made by doctors, lawyers, etc. are examples of profession. The important
characteristics of a profession can be stated below:

i. It is a specialized body of knowledge.

ii. It requires a prolonged preparation to acquire such knowledge.
iii. It needs an approved course, award of a degree from a prescribed institute like that of National
Institute of Sales and scheduled training.
iv. It has an established code of conduct and ethics.
v. Well-formulated standards are set to be followed by its members.
vi. Service to others is given priority over self-interest.
vii. It is not mechanical and hence no fixed remuneration or reward is set for the job.

Sales Process

Pre: approach/prospecting (identifying and Preparing for potential customers)

1. Approaching the customer (opening the sale and greeting the customer)"
2. Determining customers wants and needs"
3. Presenting goods and services"
4. Addressing objections and questions"
5. Closing the sale"
6. Handling Payment"
7. Following up with the customer

Sales management

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.

Objectives of sales management are as follows:

1. Revenue Generation – One of the main objectives of sales management is to generate revenue for the
organization. The sales department is solely responsible to bring in the money.
2. Increase Sales Volume – Through efficient sales management, the organization wishes to increase the
number of units sold. This will ensure that the production facilities do not remain idle and are utilized
to the fullest.
3. Sustained Profits – Sales management has an objective of improving the profits of the organization
through effective planning, coordination and control. Sales management strives to increase sales and
reducing costs, this ensures good profits for the organization.
4. Organization Growth – With the sustained and continuous sales management techniques, the
organization tends to gain market share and results in growth of the organization.
5. Market Leadership – With increased sales volumes and profits, ‘sales management’ enables an
organization to become the market leader.
6. Converting Prospects to Customers – Getting prospects to become customers is an art and a science,
it requires good planning and sustained efforts. This is accomplished through sales management.
7. Motivate the Sales Force – One of the core objectives of sales management is to motivate the sales
force. Selling is a very stressful task, achieving sales targets can become very challenging. Therefore,
the sales management task is to ensure that the sales force is continuously motivated through proper
incentives and reward systems

Sales Management Process

Sales management isn’t an easy task. It depends on the team, products, resources, and responsibilities.

1. Planning

Sales planning are the most important step in the sales management process. It includes setting sales
targets for the company, assigning the coverage areas, designing the process map, and preparing the lead
generation tactics to boost sales. A sales manager usually plans the whole sales management process.

2. Hiring Sales Executive

Sales management is incomplete without a sales force or sales executives. The sales team is needed to run
the sales operations, get orders, selling goods and services. The first step is to make sure you have the
right executives and they are motivated enough to complete the required sales. There should be specific
responsibilities defined for different sales persons.

3. Training

Before selecting executives for a particular action, first, you need to ensure that the team receives
sufficient training, support, and motivation. Their skills need to be enhanced regardless of their individual
experience. Keep executives up-to-date with training in new products, professional development,
competitions, competitors, and potential lead sources.

4. Set SMART Goals

Set sales goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. Setting SMART goals
will help you refine your ideas, focus on your efforts, save time and resources more efficiently, and
increase your chance of achieving what you expect.

5. Manage Sales Activities

Sales managers are responsible for managing the sales team’s activities. It includes advocating for the
team as a whole, rejoicing at successes, and empathizing with losses. Besides that, sales managers should
keep a careful eye on everyday sales activity and address any concerns or success as required.

6. Sales Reporting

Reporting sales activities is one of the most important steps in sales management. Sales reports are
basically prepared by a sales manager. These reports outline the sales operations of a business over a
specific time period. These reports include information on leads, sales volume, revenue, and new
accounts.

7. Forecasting Future Sales Targets

Besides evaluating current sales targets and performance, the focus should also be on forecasting future
targets for dollar value and sales force for the next sales cycle. The responsibility of a sales manager is to
make sure that future targets are also being prepared as per the market demand and available forecast.

Sales Management Strategies

1. Use Individual Coaching:

Supervise individual members of your team to understand their strengths, weaknesses, habits, and areas
for improvement. Then provide feedback on their skills and suggest new strategies for improving their
work efficiency.

2. Apply Technology:

You can apply technology to get feedback from members of your team. Using technology, you can also
track their performance and provide guidance and feedback accordingly.

3. Increase Efficiency:
Identify the barriers to your current sales strategy and apply problem-solving skills to limit obstacles and
help your team increase the efficiency of the sales process

4. Promote Healthy Competition:

Teams respond well to competition. So, offer offering incentives are the best way to encourage members
to generate sales. If your sales department has multiple sales teams, then encouraging competition among
them will create stronger team identities and motivate members to push their limits.

5. Be Proactive While Addressing Issues:

Being aware of possible issues can improve the ability to respond proactively. If you identify a problem
and or expect a problem to become a bigger obstacle, addressing it fast can stop it from scaling.

6. Provide Feedback Regularly:

Feedback helps associates to identify their strengths and weaknesses. When your executives receive
regular feedback, they try to strengthen their weaknesses and enhance their strengths.

7. Stay Up-to-Date on your Competitors:

As a sales manager, you need to stay aware of competing companies. Retain your top-selling employees
by offering them incentives. Analyze other companies’ sales strategies to understand their goals and also
you can adapt their effective strategies to enhance the sales performance of your company.

8. Set Goals that are Realistic:

When you set goals for your team, make sure the goals should be both realistic and also challenging.
Attainable goals can improve the confidence of your associates while challenging goals can promote
growth and development.

9. Identify Barriers:

Review processes that may create obstacles for your team. Then provide suitable strategies to your
associates so that they can overcome those barriers.

10. Be Adaptive and Reflective:

When you make a habit of reviewing your own success and areas for improvement, it will identify
opportunities to grow your leadership skills. Regularly reflecting on your management style will help you
to be a better leader for your team.
Benefits of Sales Management

The key benefits of sales management are eliminating the work of administration and setting up a security
system that coordinates all customer data and gives you real-time analysis.

1. Improved Organization

A sales management system is one of the most effective tools available to help you increase business. It
functions as a database, storing and effectively organizing lead and customer information. This makes for
easier, more efficient information retrieval, and it helps to ensure that important data isn’t lost or
corrupted because of inaccurate storage. The system also helps to get your staff and your workday
organized.

2. Automation

As a sales manager, you know that the best way to run your business is to have a good understanding of
your overall sales funnel. The automation features of a sales management system deliver valuable time-
saving benefits for your team. By eliminating tedious tasks and leaving more time for sales
representatives to focus on what they do best, these systems are easy to use but also helpful. Automated
emails, text messages, scheduling reminders, and other features of a quality sales management system can
help your team focus on the work that truly requires their attention.

3. Detailed Overview of a Customer

With sales management software, every communication by sales, marketing, or customer representatives
can be held in the same place. This makes it easier to understand the customer journey so far, ensuring
there’s no more re-educating your sales force on the same data repeatedly.

4. Minimal Data Entry

Phone call data is one of the hardest things to capture and organize. A customer relationship management
platform makes this process much easier by providing all the tools you need to minimize data entry,
making it easier for your sales team to focus on the conversation. Phone calls can be recorded and stored
in your CRM, so you won’t have to re-enter them when they come in. This helps promote greater
accuracy and efficiency within your organization, which means more time spent making sales and less
time waiting on paperwork.

5. Enhanced Team Collab

A sales management system gives your team access to a single centralized database that includes all their
calls, notes, and notes from their clients. With a management system, each team member can see where
their leads are in the sales pipeline — and what tasks require to be completed for them. This centralized
database makes it easy for them to coordinate and collaborate on the efforts of selling.

6. Improved Distribution

If you want to sell more products and gain more customers for your business, a sales management
program is the answer. It connects you with your customers by implementing effective distribution
techniques. And it can easily help you get money from other resources to improve your operations.

The sales management program helps in identifying sales distribution, setting appropriate pricing, and
other issues that could affect your sales. It will also give you details about what marketing techniques
should be used to increase your sales.

Sales Performance Evaluation

A sales performance evaluation is an assessment for sales managers and sales reps to ensure that they can
achieve goals and that they will have career development. Productivity and performance are discussed in
this review. Usually, the sales performance evaluation is conducted yearly.

Benefits of a Sales Performance Evaluation

Having a sales performance evaluation for your group can come in handy when you want to assess and
learn the strengths and weaknesses of your sales team. This way, you can mitigate any risks and low-
performing areas done by your members. What’s more? There are tons of benefits you can get from
generating this evaluation form. Listed below are the following:

1. Career Development: You can further develop your career through sales performance evaluation. You
will know where you are lacking in your work. You will know the areas where you need
improvement. You will know if you do not have the best work strategy. You can be aware if you need
to develop your skill set. The evaluation can guide you so that you can be better. Through the sales
performance evaluation comments, you can have the feedback that you need so that you can make
your work better. Your superiors can tell you the things that you can do to improve your work.
 Knowing how you truly do is a good thing. You will know the weaknesses that you have to correct.
This way, you can find solutions to all the challenges that you are facing.
2. Work Achievement Recognition: The sales performance evaluation is a time when your efforts can be
recognized. It is your time to shine. If you have been doing well at work, this is the time when your
superiors can praise your great work. Your perseverance and diligence at work can be reviewed by
your superiors and it can be a great feeling for you to have positive feedback from them. All your
effort is paid well after you receive good sales performance evaluation comments. Being recognized
for all your efforts can further encourage you to strive more at work. So, a sales performance
evaluation is a good tool to encourage your sales reps to work better. It is one way to encourage them
to always reach the sales target.
3. Improve Profitability: Whenever you do a sales performance evaluation, your sales representatives
will know where they are lacking in work. The result of it is your sales representatives can make
amendments to make their work better. Seeking improvement for work means that you can generate
better sales for your business. As the sales reps work harder, they will ensure that they will drive
more sales. They will be eager to reach all of their quotas. This will mean a steady sale that will be
enough for your business. So, the sales team can work better after every sales performance
evaluation.
4. Maximize Client Value: You can encourage your sales team to have better relationships with clients
through the sales performance evaluation. They will know if they are lacking some ability to connect
with clients. Their purpose is to generate good sales. They have to make clients say yes to the
company’s products or services. So, their performance with clients needs to be better if they cannot
generate great sales for your business. You can advise them to have the development when it comes
to connecting with clients. You can inform them to maximize the client value.
5. Identify Leakage Areas: You can identify your weak points as a sales rep through the sales
performance evaluation. You will know if you are lacking in participation in the project plan or if you
need to enlarge your customer base. You will know the areas where you need to improve. Sometimes,
we have to identify the problems first before we can make a solution. Through the evaluation, you
will know your weaknesses. You will be reminded of all your failures. You can take everything to
heart so that you can be better at work next time. You can do everything so that you will not commit
the same mistakes again.

Tips on Sales Performance Evaluation

Through sales evaluation, you can pitch in better sales ideas and marketing strategies to improve your
brand’s performance, therefore, giving yourself an edge against your competitors. So, Create a
comprehensive performance evaluation for your team and assess their daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly,
or annual sales within minutes through the following tips we provide you below.
1. Make a Review Outline: You can create a review outline so that you can be guided on the things that
you can write for the sales performance evaluation. Before writing on a sales performance evaluation
sheet, you should know the perfect thing that you can write in it. After creating an outline, you can
have a draft that contains all your observations. It will be easy for you to examine the content of your
evaluation by having an outline. You can be sure that you can cover the most important aspects of the
sales performance evaluation.
2. Rely on Right Resources: You should use reliable data in your sales performance evaluation. Be sure
that you are going to utilize the right resources. So, consider the metrics that you have at work.
Through this, you can measure the performance of your sales reps. You should base your observation
on customer feedback. This will tell you how well your sales reps are with your clients. You should
also determine their performance according to the sales numbers. By knowing the number of sales
that they can generate in your business, you will know how good they are.
3. Set Follow-up Assessments: You can set a date for follow-up assessments. This is where you can
discuss career development with your sales reps in person. This is needed so that you will know what
your sales reps think. You can better advise them on the right thing to do to improve their work. You
can reward the achievements that they have done in completing projects and having milestones. You
can better let them know of the action plan of your sales team. You can talk about development
strategies so that you can work together in achieving long-term objectives.
4. Know the Team’s Feedback: You need to give a chance for the team to provide feedback. By doing
this, you can make them feel important because you are asking for their professional opinion. You
can demonstrate good leadership skills in doing this. Their feedback is important because they know
what is happening within the sales team. They know their co-workers and they are aware of their
performance. You can have an accurate report by asking for the team’s feedback. You can use it to
make the sales performance evaluation better.
5. Offer Guidance: You can offer guidance to your sales reps after the sales performance evaluation.
Encourage them to get a better result in the next sales performance evaluation. You can boost their
confidence to have a better performance next time. Encourage them to do the things that they need to
do to make their work better. Guide them as a good friend who truly wants their welfare. If you do it,
you can also think for the welfare of the company. You can work together so that your company can
generate more sales in the future.
6. Make Learning Opportunities: Your sales reps are not perfect. If you want them to have a better
performance, you need to do something for them to improve. So, you must create learning
opportunities for them. Get them involved in ongoing training that can harness their skills. They need
to develop their skill set. You should tell them that they should not be weary of learning. They need
to learn many things so that they can be better. Ask for their cooperation to further educate
 themselves to be better in sales. Through learning, all of you can have the perfect skills to achieve the
sales goals of your company.
7. Schedule Regular Performance Evaluations: Usually, sales performance evaluations are done each
year. But your company can do better. It is better if you will conduct it more often. If you like, you
can have a sales performance evaluation monthly. In this frequency, you can better monitor the
performance of your sales managers and sales team. You can make them more serious about
improving their performance. Career development can be more emphasized by doing the evaluation
often. You can see performance improvement sooner when this happens.
8. Consider Self-assessment: You should be open to having a self-assessment. Honest feedback from the
sales reps themselves can be helpful to your company. By having self-assessment, you will know
what your employees think. You can guide your employees, knowing what they need at work. Self-
assessment is a reliable form of performance review. It can motivate the employees to work better
and be honest with themselves about their performance. They should be open about their strengths
and weaknesses. This way, the company can help them to improve their sales performance.
9. Set Goals: You need to set goals for the sales team. After the evaluation, you should make your team
a part of the goals that can help everyone to generate more sales. Establish objectives where all of you
can be responsible. It will be good if all of you will work together for common goals.