The Sales Organization

Introduction

• Effective sales executives insist upon sound organization.

• Sales organization must achieve both qualitative and qualitative personal-selling objectives.

• The effective sales executive builds both sales-mindedness and profit-mindedness into the sales organization.

Definition

• A sales organization is both an orienting point for cooperative endeavor and a structure of human relationship.

• It is a group of individuals striving jointly to reach qualitative and quantitative objectives, and bearing informal and formal relations to one another.

Purposes of Sales Organization

• To permit the development of specialists.• To assure that all necessary activities are performed.• To achieve Coordination or Balance.• To define authority.• To Economize on Executive Time.

Setting up a Sales Organization

• Define the objectives.• Delineating the necessary activities.• Grouping activities into “jobs” or “positions”.• Assigning personnel to positions.• Providing for coordination and control.

Basic types of sales organizational structure

• Line sales Organization.• Line and Staff sales organization.• Functional sales organization.• Committee sales organization.

Line sales Organization

• The line organization is the oldest and simplest organization structure.

• It is widely used in smaller firms and in firms with small numbers of selling personnel

• In line organization, the chief executive – usually the president – does the decision making for the firm. The president has complete authority.

Line Sales Department Organization

General Manager

Sales Manager

Assistant Sales Manager Division 1

Sales People

Assistant Sales Manager Division 2

Sales People

Assistant Sales Manager Division 3

Sales People

Assistant Sales Manager Office

Office Staff

Line and Staff Sales Organization

• The line and staff sales department is often found in large and medium-sized firms, employing substantial numbers of sales personnel, and selling diversified product line over wide geographic area.

Line and Staff Department OrganizationPresident

Vice-President in charge of Marketing

Advertising Manager General Sales Manager

Director of

Sales

Training

Sales

Persona

l Director

Assistan

t General Sale

s Manager

District Sales Manager(6)

Branch Sales Manager(32)

Sales

Personnel(450)

Sales

Promotion Manager

Assistant to General Sale

s Manager

Director of Dealer and Distributor Relations

Manager of Marketing Research

Functional Sales Organization

• Derived from the management theory developed by Frederic W. Taylor, is based upon the premise that each individual in an organization, executive and employees, should have as few distinct duties as possible.

• The principle of specialization is utilized to the fullest extent.

• Duty assignment and delegation of authority are made according to function.

Functional Sales Organization

Director of Sales Administration

Installation & service manager

Manager of sales

training

Manager of sales

supervision

Manager of sales

promotion

Manager of dealer and distributor relations

Manager of sales

personnel

Salesperson Salesperson Salesperson Salesperson Salesperson Salesperson

Committee Sales Organization

• It is a method of organizing the executive group for planning and policy formulation while leaving actual operations, including implementation of plans and policies to individual executives.

• Some committees found in sales organizations include customer relations, operations, personnel, training, merchandising and new product.