1. Chapter 17 Personal Selling and Sales Management
International Marketing
15th edition
Chapter 17
Personal Selling and
Sales Management
Philip R. Cateora, Mary C. Gilly, and John L. Graham

2. Overview Designing the sales force
Recruiting marketing and sales personnel
Selecting sales and marketing personnel
Training for international marketing
Motivating sales personnel
Designing compensation systems
Evaluating and controlling sales representatives
Preparing U.S. personnel for foreign assignments
Developing cultural awareness
The changing profile of the global manager
Foreign-language skills
Roy Philip

3. Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel (1 of 2)
The largest personnel requirement abroad for most companies is the sales force
Expatriates
Numbers are declining
Important for highly technical or involved products
High cost
Cultural and legal barriers
Limited number of high-caliber personnel willing to live abroad
Virtual expatriates
Manage operations in other countries but don’t live there
Roy Philip

4. Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel (2 of 2)
Local nationals
Transcend both cultural and legal barriers
Familiar with distribution systems and referral networks
Headquarters personnel may ignore their advice
Lack of availability
Sales positions viewed negatively
Third-country nationals
Expatriates working for a foreign company
Host-country nationals
Work restrictions
Roy Philip

5. Selecting Sales and Marketing Personnel
Management must define precisely what is expected of people
Prime requisites
Maturity
Emotional stability
Breadth of knowledge
Positive outlook
Flexibility
Cultural empathy
Energetic and enjoy travel
Mistakes can be costly
A manager’s culture affects personnel decisions
Roy Philip

6. Training for International Marketing
The nature of the training program depends on:
The home culture of the sales person
The culture of the business system and foreign market
Continual training is important in foreign markets
Companies should provide home-office personnel with cross-cultural training
The Internet now makes some kinds of sales training much more efficient
Roy Philip

7. Salespeople’s Distribution of 100 Points among Rewards in Terms of Their Importance
Exhibit 17.3
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8. Designing Compensation Systems for Expatriates
Fringe benefits
Compensations comparisons between the home office and abroad
Short-term assignment compensation
Using a compensation program to recruit, develop, motivate, or retain personnel
Roy Philip

9. Evaluating and Controlling Sales Representatives
In the U.S., emphasis is placed on individual performance; it can easily be measured by sales revenues generated
In many countries evaluation is more complex where teamwork is favored over individual effort
In the U.S., the primary tool used by sales managers is the incentive system
In other countries, corporate control and frequent interactions with peers and supervisors are the means of motivation and control
Roy Philip

10. Preparing U.S. Personnel for Foreign Assignments
Cost of foreign assignments
Typically from percent of the annual base salary
Cost increases if the expatriate returns home before completing the scheduled assignment
The planning process
Must begin prior to the selection of those going abroad
Must extend to their specific assignments after returning home
Roy Philip

11. Overcoming Reluctance to Accept a Foreign Assignment
Concerns for career
An absence will adversely affect opportunities for advancement
Concerns for family
Education of the children
Isolation from family and friends
Proper health care
The potential for violence
Special compensations packages deal with concerns
Roy Philip

12. Reducing the Rate of Early Returns
Evaluation of an employee’s family
75 percent of families sent abroad experience adjustment problems with children or marital discord
Cross-cultural training for families as well as the employee
Local ombudsmen
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13. Successful Expatriate Repatriation
Commit to reassigning expatriates to meaningful positions
Create a mentor program
Offer a written job guarantee stating what company is obligated to do for returning expatriate
Keep the expatriate in touch with headquarters through periodic briefings and headquarter visits
Prepare the expatriate and family for repatriation once a return date is set
Roy Philip

14. The Changing Profile of the Global Manager
Fewer companies today limit their search for senior-level executive talent to their home countries
Some companies believe
It is important to have international assignments early in a person’s career
International training is an integral part of their entry-level development programs
Many companies are active in making the foreign experience an integrated part of a successful corporate career
Roy Philip

15. Foreign-Language Skills
Many believe:
Learning a language improves cultural understanding and business relationships
To be taken seriously in the business community, the expatriate must be at least conversational in the host language
Many companies are making stronger efforts to recruit people who are bilingual or multilingual
Roy Philip