1. Setting Goals and Managing the Sales Force’s Performance
Chapter 11
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

2. Learning Objectives
Describe how sales managers use goals to guide and control the efforts of their sales forces
Summarize the elements of an effective goal
Distinguish when different outcomes and behavioral sales goals should be used
Identify different resources available to capture information used for making effective decisions on goals
Apply goal-setting theory in order to improve managerial and motivational practices
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

3. What’s Involved with Goal Setting?
Monitoring Salespeople
Market Conditions
Competitor Reactions
Following Up
Instituting Corrective Actions
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

4. Why Set Sales Goals (Quotas)?
Sales goal (quota): performance standard by which salespeople are measured
Sales goals are useful for several reasons
Synchronize direction and efforts of sales force with plans developed by top managers
Benchmark performance
Achievement of goals can be motivating and is usually tied to compensation
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

5. Using Goals to Guide and Manage Performance of a Sales Force
Motivate Sales Force
Achievable goals can help motivate the sales force
Goals serve as benchmarks to help gauge how reps are doing
Focus Selling Efforts
Goals help direct efforts toward certain sales activities
Example: growing markets
Assess ROI
Ensure the effort put into selling products earns good return
When sales are short of expectations, may need to revise marketing mix variables
Compare Results
Comparing results helps determine what factors cause sales to be lower or higher in one area than another
Example: competition, customer demographics, etc.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

6. Global Sales Management: Goals Are Goals, Right? Not Quite.
Most people agree on the big picture, but their implementation of sales management practices reflects nuances unique to their home cultures
Some researchers believe that globalization is causing sales management practices to converge
There is still variation
Short-term goals in US
Long-term goals in Japan
“God willing” in Middle East
Sources: Cravens, David W., Nigel F. Piercy, and George S. Low (2006). “Globalization of the Sales Organization: Management Control and Its Consequences,” Organizational Dynamics (35)3: 291–303; T. Garrison (2001). International Business Culture. 3rd ed. Cambridgeshire, England: ELM Publications; and Honeycutt, Earl D., John B. Ford, and Antonis C. Simintiras (2003). Sales Management: Global Perspective. London: Routledge.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

7. Different Types of Goals or Quotas
Input-Based Goals (Activity-Based Quotas)
Relate to the observable selling efforts a salesperson must make
Number of sales calls
Number of presentations
Number of proposals
Number of new clients contacted
Ensure the reps are performing core selling activities
Output-Based Goals (Outcome-Based Goals)
Selling results a rep is expected to achieve
Number of orders received
Revenue generated
Sales volumes
Profits
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

8. Using a Combination of Goals
Sales volume traditionally most frequent measure
Advantage: easily counted and analyzed
Advantage: reps understand these goals
Disadvantage: sole metric may not accurately provide complete picture
Input + output goals
Ensure certain customer service activities are performed
And certain amount of profitable sales are made
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

9. Pipeline Analysis
Pipeline analysis: how well rep maintains stream of customers at different stages in sales process
Broken into the list of the top 5 measurements in recent years
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

10. Typical Input and Output Goals
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

11. Where Should Your Salespeople Find Their Leads?
Source: CSO Insights
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

12. Metrics Related to Customer Service
<15% include customer retention and satisfaction metrics in their goals
Customer satisfaction can be difficult to measure
Sometimes easier to count number of customer complaints than gauge the service customers are getting
More accurate but time-consuming approach is to develop customer satisfaction measure consisting of a number of metrics
Example: student advising
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

13. Discussion Question
Customer service receives a lot of lip service and press, but when it comes down to using it as a sales goal, it presents some problems
Develop a possible customer service goal that could be used in a B2B setting
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

14. Expense Quotas
Keep the costs associated with rep’s sales in line with what the firm thinks the rep should spend in order to be successful
Often calculated as % of sales
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

15. Assigning Weights to Goals
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

16. Choosing the Right Metrics and Time Period to Track
Too many measures makes it more difficult to focus on the “critical few” metrics
More than 7-9 metrics becomes difficult to manage
Most sales organizations establish their sales goals on a yearly basis
Break down yearly figure into quarters and sometimes monthly units
Short or rapid sales cycles, such as in-bound call centers or retail establishments, might use weekly or hourly units
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

17. Self-Assessment Library
Go to
Access code came with your book
Click the following
Assessments
I. What About Me?
D. Decision-Making Insights
5. What’s My Decision-Making Style?
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

18. What About Almost Meeting a Goal?
All-or-nothing approach
vs.
Reward for reaching part of a goal
90% threshold goal
100% actual goal
110% stretch goal
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

19. Should Salespeople Be Involved in Setting Their Own Goals?
>60% solicit input from sales force about goals set for them
Helps improve rep morale because managers better understand obstacles
Disadvantage: reps have incentive to lowball goals
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

20. When Is a Sale a Sale?
Count the sale when the product is either shipped or paid for
Difficult with long sales cycle
Compromise: offer partial credit (30%) when order is placed, remainder (70%) when order ships
Must clearly communicate this info to reps
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

21. Reasons for Not Reaching Sales Goals
Flawed sales projections based on limited marketing research
Changes in marketing mix variables resulting in inferior products or services
Increase in cost of supplies passed on to buyers via higher product prices
Promotional campaigns don’t produce projected results
Delays or other problems with distribution of products
New competitors and competing products entering marketplace
Environmental factors affect customer demand and cause customers to postpone or cancel their purchases
Change in laws and regulations preventing or restricting use of products and services or making them more expensive
Changes in the way firms do business, for example, as a result of new technology
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

22. False Reporting of Activities
Recently 2 inside salespeople had erroneously reported the number of leads that they had counted as part of their goals; their manipulation of these reports cost the company over $100,000 in lost opportunity costs
Their sales manager found their reporting inaccuracies
If you were the sales manager what would you do?
In this case, they were fired on the spot. Do you think this was too harsh?
For more details see, “The Right Path,” Gwen Moran, Selling Power, Nov./Dec. (2008), 28/9,
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

23. Do Goals Ever Get Changed or Altered?
Most companies adjust goals yearly
Also common to adjust during the year
Shouldn’t adjust too many times through year
Confusion
Reps feel cheated
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

24. The Process of Setting Good Goals
SMART format for establishing goals S
pecific M
easurable A
chievable, yet challenging R
ealistic T
ime-based
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

25. The Process of Setting Good Goals
Difficult goals lead to higher levels of performance
Reps will put forth more effort when their goals are somewhat difficult vs. too easy or too difficult
Specific, difficult goals lead to higher levels of effort than general ones
Specific, difficult goals–for example, calling on 8 clients a day–will lead to higher levels of performance
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

26. Ethics in Sales Management: When Do Difficult Goals Become Too Difficult?
Setting quotas so high that the average rep thinks it’s unobtainable can result in unethical behavior
Example: dot-com ad sales, “just get the job done,” led to rep lying to customers
Example: Sears Automotive Centers, reps overcharged for repairs and recommended unnecessary repairs
Damages reputations, sometimes causes businesses to close
Sources: Strout, Erin (2002). “To Tell the Truth,” Sales & Marketing Management (154)7: 40–47; and
Mitchell, Carol Vallone, Patricia M. Schaeffer, and Katherine A. Nelson (2005). “Rewarding Ethical
Behavior,” workspan magazine (July), Vol. 48, No. 7.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

27. Goal-Setting Impacts Performance
Direct Efforts
Goals provide focus and direction
Direct attention and efforts toward goal-relevant behaviors and away from less relevant behaviors
Energize
Reps
Goals are energizing
Higher goals produce more effort than lower goals
Knowing what’s expected gives reps a target
Affect Persistence
Harder goals will prolong effort
Tight deadlines lead to meeting completion dates, which helps work get accomplished
Increase Problem- Solving
Goals affect problem-solving skills
People will seek new ways to accomplish difficult goals
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

28. Practical Guidelines for Setting Goals
Set goals that are easy for sales representatives to understand,
difficult to achieve, and have exact deadlines for completion 1
Important tasks not included as a goal may get ignored; if it’s important, then set a goal for its accomplishment 2
Having too many goals can create stress, keep the number of goals to a reasonable number; clarify importance for prioritization 3
Get reps to commit to their goals by explaining how they have been set 4
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

29. Practical Guidelines for Setting Goals
Clearly indicate how the sales performance will be measured and rewarded 5
Provide feedback as frequently as possible; encourage reps to use alternative approaches to sell if initial approaches don’t work 6
Make sure people know you have confidence in their ability to achieve their goals 7
Failing to achieve a goal should not be viewed as failure, it should be considered progress on the road to success 8
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

30. Role Play: Oval Track Promotions
OTP publishes magazine about NASCAR and other auto races
Offers 6 geographic versions of magazine
Each geographic area has own sales force
OTP has 7 years of growth, want next year to be better
Research indicates more will spend $$ on auto racing
Sales goals set by managers, agreed to give reps resources and expense accounts commensurate with goals
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

31. Role Play (continued): Assignment
Divide into pairs
1 person is sales rep KR
1 person is KR’s sales manager
Your district has the least interest in racing
Selling promotions here is harder than elsewhere
KR hired by previous mgr, works hard, driven by compensation, routinely meets goals, has abrasive personality
Clients generally pleased, struggles with winning new clients
KR , feels taken advantage of, goals are unrealistic
Conduct a goal-setting meeting with KR
Discuss the new goal from your character’s perspective
Explain why or why not you think it’s fair
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

32. Sales Manager’s Workshop
Your boss wants to incorporate more input from sales mgrs and reps before establishing goals
Rep territories vary by number of opportunities
You’ve always voiced concern about increasing goals by straight % across the board
Examine performance of your reps over last 24 months
Develop series of threshold, actual and stretch goals recommended for each rep for each product line
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

33. Caselet 11.1: All in a Day’s Work
“Helpful Hannah” sales manager
Hannah accidentally learns from a large client that rep Ella is using webcams to do half her sales calls instead of biweekly visits
Client isn’t sure she likes this system
Ella is doing her part environmentally, believes video visits are as effective as face-to-face, claims sales to prove it
Syd Vance needs to increase new accounts, improve “adequate” customer service ratings
Syd says he’s been very busy and really working hard
Syd would like Hannah’s help in establishing new goals to improve performance
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

34. Caselet 11.1 (continued): Questions
If you were Hannah, how would you handle your meeting with Ella?
If you were Hannah, how would you approach your session with Syd?
What specific goals would you suggest for Ella and Syd to improve their performance?
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

35. Caselet 11.2: Sandwiched In
Devin taking care of grandparents, children of his own (sandwich generation)
Devin’s not meeting his goal this quarter
Loyal customer could buy enough if he presses them to place large order
Seeking your advice
Could use the money, worried that he could upset client and lose account
Question: if you were Devin’s sales manager, what would you recommend?
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall.

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