SALES MANAGEMENT Overview and Introduction MRS ADWOA YEBOAH

What is sales management? Originally, the term ‘sales management’ referred to the direction of sales force personnel Now, sales management relates to coordinating of certain marketing activities, including advertising, sales promotion, marketing research, physical distribution, pricing, and product merchandising Sales management is the process of establishing, directing, and coordinating the sales development activities for the company’s products. Simply put, it is a socio-scientific process, involving ’group-effort’

Objectives of Sales Management from the Company View point There are three general objectives of Sales Management Sales Volume Contribution to Profits Continuing growth

Objectives to customers and society Customers (most often, wholesalers, retailers or industrial user) expect -easily resalable products, supporting activities (help in doing training dealer salesforce, local advertising, credit) and assurance that products are wise investments. Society- delivery of goods & services • that final buyers want good price • of increasing importance • to market products whose potential for damaging the environment is minimal.

Nature of sales management and the marketing concept The nature of selling and sales management is a general move towards the marketing orientation. Sales efforts influence, and are influenced by, decisions taken on the ingredients of a company’s marketing mix, which in turn affects its overall marketing efforts.

Relationship Between sales and marketing Marketing is the process of identifying, anticipating and then meeting the needs and requirements of consumers in order to make a profit. Selling involves persuading customers that your products or services provide the benefits that they are looking for.

Sales Management in the 21st Century Building long-term relationships with customers Creating sales organizational structures that are more nimble and adaptable Gaining greater job ownership and commitment from salespeople by removing functional barriers within the organization Moving sales management style from commanding to coaching Leveraging available technology for sales success

Modern selling Selling has become more professional, so too has the nature and role of sales management. Increasingly, those involved in management are being called upon to exercise in a professional way the key duties of all managers, namely: planning, organizing and controlling. A sales manager is expected to play a much more strategic role in the company and is required to make a key input into the formulation of company plans.

Characteristics of modern selling Customer retention : Many companies found out that 80% of their sales came from 20 per cent of their customers and thus are engaging in key account management. Database and knowledge management: The modern sales force needs to be trained in the use and creation of customer databases, and how to use the internet to aid the sales task. Problem solving and system selling: This approach is fundamentally different from the traditional view of the salesperson being a smooth fast-talker who breezes in to see a customer, persuades the customer to buy and walks away with an order. Customers are increasingly looking for a systems solution rather than the buying of an individual product

Characteristics of modern selling Satisfying needs and adding value: Modern salesperson must have the ability to identify and satisfy customer needs. Some customers do not recognize they have a need. It is the salesperson’s job in such situations to stimulate need recognition.

Sales Manager: Duties and Responsibilities Determining sales force objectives and goals. Forecasting and budgeting sales force organization, sales force size, territory design and planning. Sales force selection, recruitment and training. Motivating the sales force. Sales force evaluation and control

Functions of sales personnel Salespeople generate revenue Salespeople provide market research and customer feedback Salespeople provide solutions to problems Salespeople provide expertise and serve as information resources Salespeople serve as advocates for the customer when dealing with the selling organization

Environmental forces that impact sales Customers: Customer expectations are increasing in relation to salesperson’s knowledge, speed of response, and the breadth and depth of information on product/service offerings. Indeed, customer expectations change, often faster than organizations can effectively respond Competitors Typical markets today can be described as hypercompetitive. At the same time, the squeeze between revenue and profit targets and the cost to serve customers places great pressure on salespeople to produce under intense competition.

Environmental forces that impact sales Technology: Critical to salespeople in meeting rapidly changing customer expectations. It enables salespeople to store, retrieve, and analyze customer data and make specific recommendations that are customized for long- term business solutions Ethical and Legal Environment: The ethical and legal environment can constrain the sales organization’s ability to effectively pursue certain marketing activities. As corporate scandals fill the pages of the business press and class-action lawsuits become commonplace, the public demands greater transparency in corporate operations.

Managerial forces that impact sales Communication Flow in Management: To effectively serve customers’ needs with increasingly sophisticated products, services, and applications, salespeople must become capable orchestrators of organizational resources. Thus, a decentralized flow of information and decision making is deemed necessary. Managerial Synergy: Management must be able to appeal to and coordinate the efforts of technical experts and executives in their organizations to assist in efforts to sell and provide service to customers over long periods of time

Managerial forces that impact sales Internal relations : Salespeople must also deal with a greater number and variety of individuals within the organizations. Understanding influence dynamics and corporate decision-making processes makes the whole sales team and other functional members tighten their relationship ties.

Mistakes in sales Not selling the solution Too dependent on the ‘sales presentation’ Not asking the hard questions Believing ‘price’ will solve your clients' problem Presenting without the intention to close Waiting until the end of the presentation to share the price Using a free trial to close a deal Not practicing urgency

THANK YOU. MRS. ADWOA YEBOAH