Sales and managment

Sales Management

DefinitionThe planning, organizing, leading & controlling of personnel contact, programmed designed to achieve the sale, profit & objectives of firm

OR“The planning, direction and control of personnel selling, including recruiting, selecting, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying and motivating as these tasks apply to the personal sales force”.

“Sale management is also defined as business discipline which focused on the practical application of sale techniques & management of firm sale operations.”

Sales Management refers the management of overall marketing activities such as advertising, sales promotion, marketing research, physical distribution, pricing and product merchandising.

Objectives :

• SALES VOLUME• PROFITS• GROWTH

Who is a Sales Manager?

A sales manager is the person responsible for leading and guiding a team of sales people.Sales manager must have the abilities to utilize the talent of others in an accurate way.The biggest and most challenging task of a sales manager is to prepare the sales team for the constantly changing marketplace.Great sales managers are the arch role model for change

“Every organization has to prepare for the abandonment of everything it does."

Peter Drucker

Roles of sales manager

1. Sales planning: A sales plan is a strategy that sets out sales targets and tactics for your business, and identifies the steps you will take to meet your targets.

It include;– Defining of area– Comparison with Competitors– Training of personals– Work on product

2. Talent Development: it is a function of human resource management concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in organizational settings.• That can be performed through;

– Workshop– Seminars

3. Human resources development: is a function in organizations designed to maximize employee performance in service of an employer's strategic objectives.• It include:– Hiring– Staffing– Training– Rewards

4. Leading: ”Leading is the use of influence to motivate employees to achieve organizational goals“– Make decision– To guide the employees

5. Control of resources:Ideas such as making sure one has enough physical resources for one's business, but not an overabundance so that products won't get used, or making sure that people are assigned to tasks that will keep them busy and not have too much downtime

Personnel Management

According to Brech, “Personnel Management is that part which is primarily concerned with human resource of organization.”Personnel management is an extension to general management. It is concerned with promoting and stimulating competent work force to make their fullest contribution to the concern.Functions– Future oriented: that is company oriented– Action oriented: that is employee oriented

Personnel selling

“It is a strategy that salespeople use to convince customers to purchase a product. The salesperson uses a personalized approach, tailored to meet the individual needs of the customer, to demonstrate the ways that the product will benefit him.”US department of labor bureau of labor statistics shows that about 12 million people belong to this profession & about 10% of total work force in United State are working in this department.

Concept Of Marketing Mix

The marketing mix refers to the “set of actions, or tactics, that a company uses to promote its brand or product in the market.”The marketing mix is a business tool used in marketing and by marketers. The marketing mix is often crucial when determining a product or brand's offer, and is often associated with the four P's:1) price,2) product,3) promotion,4) place.

Customer services

“Customer services is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction.”Customer service is the act of taking care of the customer's needs by providing and delivering professional, helpful, high quality service and assistance before, during, and after the customer's requirements are met.

Characteristics • Promptness: Promises for delivery of products

must be on time. Delays and cancellations of products should be avoided.

• Politeness: Politeness is almost a lost art. Saying 'hello,' 'good afternoon,' 'sir', and 'thank you very much' are a part of good customer service..

• Professionalism: All customers should be treated professionally, which means the use of competence or skill expected of the professional. Professionalism shows the customer they're cared for.

• Personalization: Using the customer's name is very effective in producing loyalty. Customers like the idea that whom they do business with knows them on a personal level.

• There should be the counter desk for the easy access of customer .

• As customer want to report such type of difficulties – Returns – Exchange– Complaints

Sales promotion

It is one level or type of marketing aimed either at the consumer or at the distribution channel (in the form of sales-incentives). It is used to introduce new product, clear out inventories, attract traffic, and to lift sales temporarily.Sales Promotion Strategies:There are three types of sales promotion strategies

– Pull – Push – Combination of both

• Sales promotion is the most short-term of the promotion mix tools. Whereas advertising or personal selling says “buy,” sales promotions say “buy now.”

Sales promotion tools are used by most organizations, including manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and not-for-profit institutions. They are targeted toward final buyers (consumer promotions), retailers and wholesalers (trade promotions),business customers (business promotions), and members of the business customers (business promotions), and members of the sales force (sales force promotions).

A push promotional strategy involves taking the product directly to the customer via whatever means, ensuring the customer is aware of your brand at the point of purchase."Taking the product to the customer“e.g.• Trade show promotions to encourage retailer demand• Direct selling to customers in showrooms or face to face• Negotiation with retailers to stock your product• Efficient supply chain allowing retailers an efficient

supply• Packaging design to encourage purchase• Point of sale displays

Pull strategy involves motivating customers to seek out your brand in an active process."Getting the customer to come to you"Examples of pull tactics• Advertising and mass media promotion• Word of mouth referrals• Customer relationship management• Sales promotions and discounts

Examples of sales promotion Some popular sale promotion examples Buy-One-Get-One-Free: buy one thing and you ll get other free of cost.Customer Relationship Management: incentives such as bonus points or money off coupons.New Media : Websites and mobile phones that support a sales promotionMerchandising: additions such as dump bins, point-of-sale materials and product demonstrations.Free gifts: e.g. Subway gave away a card with six spaces for stickers with each sandwich purchase. Once the card was full the consumer was given a free sandwich

Discounted prices: decreases the price of the product

Joint promotions between brands owned by a company, or with another company's brands. For example fast food restaurant soften run sales promotions where toys, relating to a specific movie release, are given away with promoted meals

• Bonus points: certain retail shops will have a scheme which will require the customer to be a member of the shop and to acquire membership card for the same. And every time the customer makes a purchase bonus points are added to the card and at the end of the year gifts are given for the points earned. Example – coffee day bonus points card

• Money Back offer: Under this scheme customers are given assurance that full value of the product will be returned to them if they are not satisfied after using the product

• Scratch and win offer: To induce the customer to buy a particular product 'scratch and win' scheme is also offered. Under this scheme a customer scratch a specific marked area on the package of the product and gets the benefit according to the message written there.