staffing the sales force 1

7/30/2019 Staffing the Sales Force 1

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INITIAL STEPS OF SALES FORCE

MANAGEMENT

SALES JOB ANALYSIS Assembling and analyzing factual information on specific jobs.

Listing of activities to be performed

SALES JOB DESCRIPTION

It is the output of sales job analysis covering job objectives

component duties & responsibilities

performance criteria

reporting relationships.


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PREPARATION OF SALES JOB

SPECIFICATIONS

Focus on the duties & responsibilities portion of the job description

Determine qualifications needed to perform the job satisfactorily:

which ones all new recruits should possess personality

characteristics & qualifications

and which ones will be provided through training.


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RECRUITING & SELECTING SALES

PERSONNEL

Evaluate the sources from which sales personnel with good

potentials are available.

Tap the identified resources and build a supply of prospective

sales personnel.

Select those who have the highest probability of success.


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ORGANIZATION FOR RECRUITING &

SELECTION

Can be handled by the following departments in a company:

Sales department (if it has a personnel staff function under theSales Manager)

Company Personnel Manager (if sales force size is small)

Personnel Dept handles some aspects of recruitment & screeningactivities and the Sales Dept to handle other aspects and to makethe hiring decision

.


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Contd

THE PRE-RECRUITING RESERVOIR This is a file of individuals who can be recruited when needed.Names are collected from volunteer walk-ins, references etc. and

may have gone through a pre-interview evaluation. File should be

regularly updated.

SOURCES OF SALES FORCE RECRUITS

RECRUITING SOURCE EVALUATION

Analysis of each source should be done to reveal how many

were recruited and ratio of success to failures.

SOURCES WITHIN THE COMPANY

Individuals recommended by Company Sales Personnel

Recommendation of Company Executives

Internal Transfers from

Non-selling section of sales department

Other departments

RECRUITING & SELECTION


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Contd SOURCES OUTSIDE THE COMPANY

Direct Unsolicited Applications Walk-in or Write-in

Employment Agencies

Salespeople making calls on the Company Purchase Director

Employees of Customers with prior approval

Sales Executives Clubs placement Services

Sales Force of non-competing Companies

Sales Force of competing Companies require minimal training

Educational Institutions specially where educationalqualification is required

Older persons



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ContdTHE RECRUITING EFFORT Differs mainly in respect of the source of recruits and the recruiting method.

Determined by selling style appropriate for the companies products &customers.

PERSONAL RECRUITING

College Recruiting Company-wide campus interviewing.

Recruiting Direct-to-Consumer sales personnel

Recruiting ConsultantsINDIRECT RECRUITING

Newspaper advertisements

Classified Ads (Situations wanted & Situations Vacant)

Display Ads

RECRUITING BROCHURES

Outlining sales career opportunities to applicants

Prospective candidates contacted through centers of influence i.e.people occupying positions where they regularly meet people who havehigh potential as possible sales people and who are often seeking jobs.



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ContdSELECTING SALES PERSONNEL

Simple one-step informal personal interview.

Complex multi-step systems - incorporating diversemechanisms.

PRE-INTERVIEW SCREENING & PRELIMINARY INTERVIEW

It is the lowest cost step for eliminating obviously unqualifiedapplicants.

FORMAL APPLICATION FORM

Serves as a central record for all pertinent information collectedduring the selection process. Can also be considered as astandard written interview.

Objective Scoring of Personal History Items. The total profile

rather than any single item determines the predictive value.



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ContdTHE INTERVIEW

Most widely used and sometimes the only step in the selection system. Who should do the interviewing?

How many interviews?

Interviewing the Spouse mainly to find acceptance of frequent over-nighttravel and being away for long periods.

Interviewing Techniques

Patterned interview

Non-directive interview Interaction (Stress) interview

Rating Scales to bring in objectivity.

REFERENCES

Present or former employers

Former customers Reputable citizens

Mutual Acquaintances



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ContdCREDIT CHECKS

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS

Validation of Tests it measures what it purports to measure.

Basis for evaluation of Tests reliability, objectivity, cost, etc.

Types of Tests

Tests of ability intelligence; aptitude.

Tests of habitual characteristics attitude; personal.

Interest Tests basically assumes related to motivation.

Achievement Tests how much one knows about subject.

PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS



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SALES TRAINING PROGRAMSSALES TRAINING PROGRAMS

Building a sales training program requires 5 major decisions:

A AIM

C CONTENT

M METHODS

E EXECUTION

E EVALUATION

DEFINING TRAINING AIMS

Defining specific training aims training needs to e identified.

IDENTIFYING INITIAL TRAINING NEEDS

Requires analysis of 3 main factors:

Job Specifications.

Trainees background and experience.

Sales-related marketing policies of the company.


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Contd

IDENTIFYING CONTINUING TRAINING NEEDS

Identification of specific training needs of experienced personnel.

Mainly arise due to:

Basic changes in products & markets.

Sales-related marketing policies, procedures & organization.

Changes in sales personnel specially their productivity.

DEFINING TRAINING AIMS

Defining specific training aims training needs to e identified.

IDENTIFYING INITIAL TRAINING NEEDS

Requires analysis of 3 main factors:

Job Specifications.

Trainees background and experience.

Sales-related marketing policies of the company.



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Contd

IDENTIFYING CONTINUING TRAINING NEEDS

Identification of specific training needs of experiencedpersonnel.

Mainly arise due to:

Basic changes in products & markets.

Sales-related marketing policies, procedures & organization.

Changes in sales personnel specially their productivity.



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TrainingORGANIZING THE SALES TRAINING (EXECUTION)

PHILOSOPHIES OF SALES TRAINING

Conditioned-Response Insight-Response

Who will be the Trainees?

Who will do the Training?

Initial Sales Training

Continuing Sales Training

Sales Training Staff Training the Sales Trainers

Outside Experts

When will the Training take place?

Timing group versus Individual Training

Timing Initial Sales Training Programs

Timing Continuous Sales Training Programs Where will the Training site be?

Instructional Materials & Training Aids:

Manuals

Other Printed Materials

Training Aids

Advance Assignments


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SALES TERRITORY CONCEPT

A Sales Territory is operationally defined as a grouping of customersand prospects assigned to an individual salesperson. The main criteriabeing that they can be called upon conveniently & economically by theindividual salesperson concerned.

Many refer to sales territories as geographic areas. In some companiesand in some peculiar selling situations geographically defined territoriesare meaningless:

E.g. where technical selling style is predominant salespersonsbecause of their specializations are assigned entire classes ofcustomers regardless of their location;

Small companies and companies introducing new products;

Salespeople selling to personal acquaintances;

Localized markets such as when selling real estate & propertyinsurance, investment securities & even automobiles.


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Contd

In most marketing situations it is advantageous to assign sales

personnel to territories in consideration of customers service

requirements and costs of providing service.

Establishing of Sales Territories:

Facilitates matching selling efforts with sales opportunities

Lends direction to planning & control of sales operations

Allows accumulation of knowledge on companys strengths &weaknesses in serving different markets

HOUSE ACCOUNTS

An account not assigned to any individual salesperson but

handled by sales executives or home office personnel. Theyare:

Extremely large customers who demand to deal with H.O.

Responsible for significant shares of companys total business


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Contd REASONS FOR ESTABLISHING OR REVISING SALES

TERRITORIES

PROVIDING PROPER MARKET COVERAGE

CONTROLLING SELLING EXPENSES

ASSISTING IN EVALUATING SALES PERSONNEL

CONTRIBUTING TO SALES FORCE MORALE

AIDING IN COORDINATING PERSONNEL SELLING &ADVERTISING


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PROCEDURES FOR SETTING UP OR

REVISING SALES TERRITORIES

SELECTING A BASIC GEOGRAPHICAL CONTROL UNIT Counties (Districts)

Zip Code Areas

Cities

Metropolitan Statistical Areas (Metropolitan Regions)

Trading Areas

States

DETERMINING SALES POTENTIAL IN EACH CONTROL UNIT

COMBINING CONTROL UNITS INTO TENTATIVE TERRITORIES

by combining contiguous control areas

each resulting territory containing approximately the same sales

potential. Based on how much % of the total sales potential the average sales

person should realize number of sales personnel units & thereforenumber of territories is decided.


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TERRITORY SHAPES

The shape of the territory affects selling expenses & ease of salescoverage.

3 shapes are generally used:

Wedge

Appropriate for territories containing both urban & non-urban areas.

It radiates out from a densely populated urban center.

Circle

Appropriate when accounts & prospects are evenly distributedthroughout the area.

Sales person assigned is based near the center.

Clover Leaf

Desirable when accounts are located randomly.

Each cloverleaf area is best designed if it can be covered in a week.

Home base is near the center.

staffing the sales force 1

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