Sales

Management
Unit – I
Introduction to Sales Management
BBA
Prepared By - Ketki Khera (Assistant Professor )
 Contents
• Introduction to Sales Management
• Evolution of Sales Management
• Objectives of Sales Management
• Functions of Sales Management
• Sales Management Process
• Marketing Vs. Selling
• Types of Sales Managers
• Sales Executives
• Duties & Responsibilities of Sales Managers
• Relation of Sales executives with other executives
• Formulation of Sales Strategy

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 Sales

• A sale is a transaction between two or more parties in which the

buyer receives tangible or intangible goods, services, or assets in
exchange for money.

• Sales is the only function in an organization that generates revenue

or income for a company and hence it needs to be managed properly.
The financial results of a company depend upon the performance of
the sales department.

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 Definition

• According to American Marketing Association

• 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 the personal salesforce.’
• Sales management, according to the above definition, is the
management of the salesforce. This is a personnel-type function.

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 Concept
• Sales Management was initially meant to be
the direction of salesforce personnel.
• Later the term took the broader significance
apart from personal selling and the term
“sales management” includes managing of all
the sales promotion, physical distribution,
pricing and product merchandising and so on.
• Subsequently, businesses as well as academia
started using the term ‘marketing
management’ rather than ‘sales management’.
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 Meaning
• Sales Management is a technique of managing the business sales
operations. It is a method of developing a sales force, coordinating
sales activities and implying various techniques that enable the
business to improve its sales.

• Sales management performs three crucial tasks in every organization.

making sales plans and targets, hiring competent sales staff and sales
reporting. It is an efficient tool that helps in increasing the net sales and
profitability of an organization.

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 Evolution of Sales Management
• Situation before industrial revolution in U.K.
i. Dominant influence of small scale manufacturers on the economy.
ii. Supremacy of production or manufacturing.
iii. Selling was not an important function.

• Situation after industrial revolution in UK & USA.

i. Dominant influence of large scale manufacturers on the economy.
ii. Separate functional departments such as manufacturing, finance &
sales.
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 Evolution of Sales Management

iv. Due to extensive production of goods, selling to neighboring

markets was not sufficient.
v. Marketing activities like advertising, sales promotion etc. gained
more significance.

• Marketing function incorporates the concept of sales functions like

advertising, sales promotion, marketing research and marketing
logistics.

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 Nature of Sales Management
• Goal Oriented : Similar to other management
activities, sales management also have a specific
purpose and intended for the achievement of specified
goals or objectives.
• Continuous Process: The sales manager needs to
perform sales management functions regularly and this
process is never ending.
• Systematic Approach: It is an organised way of
handling the sales function of the company where every
problem has a defined and proven solutions.
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• Relationship Selling: The salespeople make efforts to build a
strong customer relationship to sell the products or services
effectively.
• Marketing Management Integration: Marketing is a broader
concept. It includes all the activities related to sales management.
• Pervasive Function: It is a universally applicable concept which
has been adopted and tested by every kind of business
organisations.

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Concept of Sales Management

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 Objectives of Sales Management

Objectives

Contribution to Continuing
Sales Volume
Profits Growth

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 Other Objectives of Sales Management
• 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.
• 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.
• Compliment Marketing Activities – Sales management’s task is to
support the marketing functions of the organization. Marketing and
sales need to go hand in hand to achieve the desired results.
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• 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.
• Organization Growth – With the sustained and continuous sales
management techniques, the organization tends to gain market share
and results in growth of the organization.
• Market Leadership – With increased sales volumes and profits,
‘sales management’ enables an organization to become the market
leader.

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• 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.

• 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.

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 Functions of Sales Management
• Preparing the Sales Plan
• Recruiting the right people to execute the sales plan
• Training the people selected to build competency in achieving the
targets set and fulfilling the organization’s objectives.
• Defining the sales territories.
• Specifying the sales quota to be achieved for each territory
• Defining the remuneration and reward system for the sales force
• Providing welfare and healthcare facilities to the sales force.

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• Devising a sales force development program
• Analyzing past performance with the current performance and
making predictions on demand
• Coordinating with the marketing department and the consumers
• Sales planning and sales policies
• Pricing policy and price fixing
• Advertising and sales promotion
• Scientific salespersonship, management and control of sales force.

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• Marketing research
• Planning and control of sales operations and control of sales costs
• Selection and management of channels of distribution
• Branding, packing and labeling
• After sales service, if necessary
• Integration and coordination of all functions

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Difference between
Selling & Marketing
Concept

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In simple words, selling transforms the goods into money, but marketing is the method of serving
and satisfying customer needs. 

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BASIS FOR COMPARISON SELLING CONCEPT MARKETING CONCEPT

Selling concept is a business Marketing concept is a business

notion, which states that if orientation which talks about
consumers and businesses remain accomplishing organizational
Meaning
unattended, then there will not be goals by becoming better than
ample sale of organization's others in providing customer
product. satisfaction.

Compelling consumer's mind Directing goods and services

Associated with
towards goods and services. towards consumer's mind.

Starting point Factory Target Market

Focuses on Product Customer needs

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 Perspective Inside-out Outside-in

Business Planning Short term Long term

Orientation Volume oriented Profit oriented

Means Heavy selling and promotion Integrated marketing

Price Cost of Production Market determined

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Sales Management Process
Formulation of a Strategic Sales
Program

Implementation of the Sales

Programme

Evaluation and Control

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Formulation of a Strategic Sales Programme

• The strategic sales programme should consider the environmental

factors faced by the firm.
• It should organize and plan the company’s overall personal-
selling efforts and integrate these with the other elements of the
firm’s marketing strategy.

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Implementation of the Sales Programme
• The implementation phase involves selecting appropriate sales
personnel as well as designing and implementing policies and
procedures that will direct their efforts towards the desired
objectives.

Evaluation and Control

• The evaluation phase involves developing methods for
monitoring and evaluating the performance of the sales force.

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Concept Of Sales Job
• The nature and characteristics of the sales job is unique and different
from other jobs in an organization.

• The sales force has the core responsibility of representing their

companies, and planning their activities (with little or no supervision),
to achieve the targets set by the superiors.

• They must work judiciously for the benefit of the company keeping in
mind the concerns of their employer organization, customers and the
society.
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 Who is a Sales Manager ?
• A sales manager is someone who is responsible for
leading and guiding a team of sales people in an
organization.
• They set sales goals & quotas, build a sales plan,
analyze data, assign sales training and sales
territories, mentor the members of his/her sales team
and are involved in the hiring and firing process.
• A sales manager plays a key role in the success and
failure of an organization. He is the one who plays a
pivotal role in achieving the sales targets and
eventually generates revenue for the organization.

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• The job description of a typical sales
manager is given below as an example.
• Title: Sales Manager
• Reports to: Marketing Manager
• Job objective: He has to attain the
highest sales volume by developing and
implementing effective sales
programmes based on agreed
company’s policies.

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Duties & Responsibilities of Sales Manager

Sales Salesforce
Organisation
Programmes Management

Communication
Relations Control
s

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• Sales programme:
• He formulates the sales objectives both short-term and long-term in
consultation with the marketing department.
• He takes steps to realise these objectives for which he prepares
detailed sales programmes.
• These programmes improve our competitive position, and control
the selling and distribution costs.
• He formulates and reviews policies related to sales, pricing,
distribution, promotion. He designs sales strategies.

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• Organisation: He builds his own sales organisation to achieve the
sales objectives. He heads this organisation, and provides the
leadership. He develops the individuals within this organisation, and
compensates them in such a way that they perform well.

• Relations: He coordinates with the other departments, and the

CEO so as to attain corporate objectives through the sales objectives.
He establishes a rapport with the traders and helps to train its
manpower.

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• Salesforce management: He decides about the sources of
recruitment; and design the selection process for sales personnel. He
is responsible for directing the salesforce. He is responsible for
training and development. He makes training continuous. He
provides for replacements and promotion. He motivates his staff so as
to make them achieve the goals. He puts into effect the supervisory
mechanism on the field force.

• Communications: He informs the marketing manager about the

progress of the sales function. He establishes a two-way
communication system with his salesforce.

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• Control: Sales being a key input in production planning and
control, he keeps in touch with the manufacturing department. He
tries to budget the sales, measures the performance against the
budgeted figures and takes the corrective action. He delegates his
authority down the line. He controls the reporting activity. He sets the
performance standards, and undertakes performance appraisal.

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Functions of Sales Manager

Planning Operating

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 Planning Function

• Planning function includes the following:

(i) design a sales programme.
(ii) establish and manage a sales organisation.
(iii) control the sales performance, sales activities, expenditure.
(iv) set the sales goals, formulate the sales policies, and design the
sales strategies.
(v) prepare a sales plan to implement the sales objectives.

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 Operating Function
• The operating functions include:
(i) manage the salesforce.
(ii) interact with other departments.
(iii) interact with the trade and customers.
(iv) interact with the marketing department, and report to the
marketing manager.
(v) do some selling on his own to keep abreast of the current selling
environment.

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• In an organisation, where supervision by the sales manager over the
salesforce is direct, the sales manager has to devote more time to
operational aspects.
• Where supervision is decentralised down the line, there is a scope for
the planning function.
• In a decentralised selling organisation, there is delegation to the
subordinates, and hence more time is left for the planning functions.

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• C.L. Boiling spells out the functions of a sales manager.
1. Market analysis
2. Formulation of sales policy
3. Sales forecasting and planning of a sales campaign
4. Pricing policies
5. Packaging policies
6. Branding policies
7. Distribution policies
8. Training, control and compensation of salesmen
9. Territory allocation and quota setting
10. Sales promotion policies
11. Advertising and publicity
12. Order preparation and office recording
13. Customer records
14. Sales reports

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• A sales manger has managerial, non-managerial functions. In
managerial functions, there is analysis, planning, organising, staffing
and controlling of sales activity.
• In managerial function, there is decisionmaking in areas such as
pricing, channels, product, sales promotion, advertisement and
administration of personal selling.
• Non-managerial activities are sales forecasting, selection and
training of salesmen and sales office administration. Line functions
of a sales manager include decision-making and staff functions
include advisory functions such as coordination of research,
planning, staffing and interdepartmental interface.

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 Characteristics of Sales Manager

• A sales manager must visualise what his exact role is and what duties
and responsibilities are expected of him.
• A sales manager must do the right selection of the salespeople he
needs. He must have a willingness to delegate.
• He should do proper time management. He should apportion the time
between the office and field activities. He should have time for
planning and conceptual activities.
• He should be an effective leader.

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Types Of Sales Managers
Administrative sales manager

Field sales manager

Administrative-cum-field sales manager

Assistant sales manager

Product-line sales manager

Divisional/regional sales managers

Branch sales mangers

Sales supervisor

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1. Administrative sales manager:
• Administrative sales managers are found normally in highly integrated sales
organisations selling multiple lines of products in national and international
markets.
• He is known by alternative titles such as ‘vice president’, ‘in-charge of sales’,
‘director of marketing’, ‘general sales manager’ and ‘marketing manager’.
• He is primarily concerned with coordination and integration of all the company
activities relevant to marketing.
• He is not an authority on design, engineering, manufacturing and finance;
contrary to these, he is an authority on sales and profits.
• He is responsible for sales planning that involves integration of sales personnel,
merchandising, advertising and promotion, financing, distribution network.

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2. Field sales manager:
• The field sales manager or operating sales manager is a line sales
executive reporting directly to the administrative sales manager.
Operative sales manager works under the direction, guidance and
supervision of the general sales manager.
• He is mainly responsible for the effective implementation of sales plans
and policies developed by the administrative sales manager.
• He is known for personal direction and control of sales personnel and
hence, spends major portion of his time in the field supervision of the
work of sales-force.
• He is to recruit, select, train, supervise, stimulate, evaluate, equip,
control and route the sales-force.
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• He assigns sales territories and controls activities of salesmen
through setting the standards of sales achievements, analysing the
sales reports, holding the sales meeting, supervising the advertising
and sales-promotion cooperation with dealers, directing sales
contests, supervising warehousing inventories, dealer relations and
coordinating territorial and home office activities.
• Thus, a field sales manager provides the administrative sales
manager with the latest information relating to the view points of
dealers and consumers on company, company products, policies, and
practices with facts on market trends, competitors, distributors and
individual salesman.

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3. Administrative-cum-field sales manager:
• In case of smaller organisations, we come across such sales manager
who combines the functions of administrative and executive sales
officer.
• Administration and field operations cannot go together. However, size
and economy points force many units to combine the distinct roles of
administration and field operation.
• As an administrator, he plans, organizes, directs and coordinates. As a
field operator, he guides and supervises and controls the activities
within the sales organisation. Thus, thinking and doing are done by the
same person that goes against the very idea of specialisation for an
administrator is a ‘thinker’ and a line officer as ‘doer’.
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4. Assistant sales manager:
• The administrative sales manager is assisted by Assistant sales
manager in the administrative functions of planning, analysis, direction
and coordination.
• He coordinates the work of sales staff that is specialized in advertising,
sales-promotion, research, merchandising and dealer relations.
• He may also handle sales office personnel, records and routine.
• He acts as the link between the head-quarters and the field-sales-
manager at distance. Thus, he acts as both line and staff officer in the
sales organisation.

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5. Product-line sales manager:
• A company that markets variety of products has such product-line
sales manager responsible for one or group of products in the
product- line.
• He is also known as product or brand manager.
• He is responsible not only for sales but also for production, research,
product- development, planning, advertising and profit for the
product or the group of products in question.
• He is to report to the Marketing manager who coordinates the work
of several product sales managers.

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6. Divisional/regional sales managers:
• In all the national organisations, one comes across these Divisional or
Regional sales managers. These are also known as District sales managers who
are responsible for the delegated sales operational duties on a territorial basis.
• They report to Assistant sales managers or the field sales managers who act as
the liaison officers with headquarters. The functions of Divisional or Regional
sales manager are similar to those of field sales manager.
• They are mainly responsible for maintaining the man-power in the concerned
areas by recruiting, selecting, and training, supervising, motivating and
controlling the sales-force.
• The divisional sales managers assist branch managers in solving their sales
personnel problems, dealer relations, warehousing and inventory, advertising
and sales promotion, sales campaigns and sales meetings.
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7. Branch sales mangers:
• In case of sales organisations that operate branches or local sales offices
in major cities of the country, one is to come across such Branch sales
managers. Branch sales manager is a line executive responsible for the
direction of a small group of salesmen calling on consumers or dealers
in the branch area.

• He recruits, selects and trains, sales people with the guidance of

Divisional or Regional sales manager to whom he reports. He works
along with salesmen in the field, supervises their sales activities, holds
periodic sales meetings, evaluates sales performance and helps in key
accounts.
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8.  Sales supervisor:

• A sales supervisor is a line sales manager who supervises normally

eight to fourteen salesmen. He is seen in branch sales office of a
national sales organisation having branches all over the nation.
• He is responsible to the local branch sales manager. In case there is
no branch sales manager, then he is responsible to the sales manager
of the company directly. His work is to train and motivate the
salesmen under his charge.

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 Relationship of Sales Departments with other
departments

• Success of an organisation depends on the relationships and

associations established by the sales department with the customers
and the other public.
• A sales department leads the company’s efforts in providing an over
increasing quantity of products or services to the customers.
• This activity can be performed with profit only, if the sales
department functions effectively in coordination with other
departments which help it to make things happen.

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• Marketing
• Marketing and sales work together very closely in a business. The role of
marketing is to attract a customer to the business and develop an interest
in their products. Marketing will also ensure the sales department are
selling products and services that meet the wants and needs of customers.
• Finance
• The finance department provides a budget and an amount of money that
will allow the sales department to function effectively, whilst also
monitoring the sales made and the revenue achieved. Finance will also
closely monitor any costs that the business has, and ensure the sales
department are selling enough products for the business to achieve a
profit.

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• Production
• Production must communicate effectively with the sales department to inform
them of how many products they are able to make within a certain time period.
This will allow the sales department to inform customers of any delay and avoid
disappointment.
• Production will also have to ensure that their products are of a high quality and
represent the brand effectively. This will avoid complaints and returns by
customers, and make the role of the sales department much easier.
• Supply chain
• The supply chain must gain information from the sales team to allow them to
supply the right goods and services to the correct customer. The supply chain
will also want to ensure they have enough stock and that customers receive it
within the time period promised by the sales team.

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• A sales strategy is defined as a documented plan for positioning and
selling your product or service to qualified buyers in a way that
differentiates your solution from your competitors.
• Sales strategies are meant to provide clear objectives and guidance to your
sales organization. They typically include key information like growth
goals, KPIs, buyer personas, sales processes, team structure, competitive
analysis, product positioning, and specific selling methodologies.
• When you boil it down, the goal of every sales strategy is to make sure
your salespeople hit their quota, right? And it’s the messaging element—
what salespeople say, do, and write in order to create perceived value—
that wins or loses the deal.

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 Thank you
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