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INITIAL STEPS OF SALES FORCE
MANAGEMENT
SALES JOB ANALYSIS Assembling and analyzing factual information on specific jobs.
Listing of activities to be performed
SALES JOB DESCRIPTION
It is the output of sales job analysis covering job objectives
component duties & responsibilities
performance criteria
reporting relationships.
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PREPARATION OF SALES JOB
SPECIFICATIONS
Focus on the duties & responsibilities portion of the job description
Determine qualifications needed to perform the job satisfactorily:
which ones all new recruits should possess personality
characteristics & qualifications
and which ones will be provided through training.
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RECRUITING & SELECTING SALES
PERSONNEL
Evaluate the sources from which sales personnel with good
potentials are available.
Tap the identified resources and build a supply of prospective
sales personnel.
Select those who have the highest probability of success.
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ORGANIZATION FOR RECRUITING &
SELECTION
Can be handled by the following departments in a company:
Sales department (if it has a personnel staff function under theSales Manager)
Company Personnel Manager (if sales force size is small)
Personnel Dept handles some aspects of recruitment & screeningactivities and the Sales Dept to handle other aspects and to makethe hiring decision
.
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Contd
THE PRE-RECRUITING RESERVOIR This is a file of individuals who can be recruited when needed.Names are collected from volunteer walk-ins, references etc. and
may have gone through a pre-interview evaluation. File should be
regularly updated.
SOURCES OF SALES FORCE RECRUITS
RECRUITING SOURCE EVALUATION
Analysis of each source should be done to reveal how many
were recruited and ratio of success to failures.
SOURCES WITHIN THE COMPANY
Individuals recommended by Company Sales Personnel
Recommendation of Company Executives
Internal Transfers from
Non-selling section of sales department
Other departments
RECRUITING & SELECTION
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Contd SOURCES OUTSIDE THE COMPANY
Direct Unsolicited Applications Walk-in or Write-in
Employment Agencies
Salespeople making calls on the Company Purchase Director
Employees of Customers with prior approval
Sales Executives Clubs placement Services
Sales Force of non-competing Companies
Sales Force of competing Companies require minimal training
Educational Institutions specially where educationalqualification is required
Older persons
RECRUITING & SELECTION
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ContdTHE RECRUITING EFFORT Differs mainly in respect of the source of recruits and the recruiting method.
Determined by selling style appropriate for the companies products &customers.
PERSONAL RECRUITING
College Recruiting Company-wide campus interviewing.
Recruiting Direct-to-Consumer sales personnel
Recruiting ConsultantsINDIRECT RECRUITING
Newspaper advertisements
Classified Ads (Situations wanted & Situations Vacant)
Display Ads
RECRUITING BROCHURES
Outlining sales career opportunities to applicants
Prospective candidates contacted through centers of influence i.e.people occupying positions where they regularly meet people who havehigh potential as possible sales people and who are often seeking jobs.
RECRUITING & SELECTION
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ContdSELECTING SALES PERSONNEL
Simple one-step informal personal interview.
Complex multi-step systems - incorporating diversemechanisms.
PRE-INTERVIEW SCREENING & PRELIMINARY INTERVIEW
It is the lowest cost step for eliminating obviously unqualifiedapplicants.
FORMAL APPLICATION FORM
Serves as a central record for all pertinent information collectedduring the selection process. Can also be considered as astandard written interview.
Objective Scoring of Personal History Items. The total profile
rather than any single item determines the predictive value.
RECRUITING & SELECTION
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ContdTHE INTERVIEW
Most widely used and sometimes the only step in the selection system. Who should do the interviewing?
How many interviews?
Interviewing the Spouse mainly to find acceptance of frequent over-nighttravel and being away for long periods.
Interviewing Techniques
Patterned interview
Non-directive interview Interaction (Stress) interview
Rating Scales to bring in objectivity.
REFERENCES
Present or former employers
Former customers Reputable citizens
Mutual Acquaintances
RECRUITING & SELECTION
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ContdCREDIT CHECKS
PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
Validation of Tests it measures what it purports to measure.
Basis for evaluation of Tests reliability, objectivity, cost, etc.
Types of Tests
Tests of ability intelligence; aptitude.
Tests of habitual characteristics attitude; personal.
Interest Tests basically assumes related to motivation.
Achievement Tests how much one knows about subject.
PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS
RECRUITING & SELECTION
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SALES TRAINING PROGRAMSSALES TRAINING PROGRAMS
Building a sales training program requires 5 major decisions:
A AIM
C CONTENT
M METHODS
E EXECUTION
E EVALUATION
DEFINING TRAINING AIMS
Defining specific training aims training needs to e identified.
IDENTIFYING INITIAL TRAINING NEEDS
Requires analysis of 3 main factors:
Job Specifications.
Trainees background and experience.
Sales-related marketing policies of the company.
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Contd
IDENTIFYING CONTINUING TRAINING NEEDS
Identification of specific training needs of experienced personnel.
Mainly arise due to:
Basic changes in products & markets.
Sales-related marketing policies, procedures & organization.
Changes in sales personnel specially their productivity.
DEFINING TRAINING AIMS
Defining specific training aims training needs to e identified.
IDENTIFYING INITIAL TRAINING NEEDS
Requires analysis of 3 main factors:
Job Specifications.
Trainees background and experience.
Sales-related marketing policies of the company.
RECRUITING & SELECTION
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Contd
IDENTIFYING CONTINUING TRAINING NEEDS
Identification of specific training needs of experiencedpersonnel.
Mainly arise due to:
Basic changes in products & markets.
Sales-related marketing policies, procedures & organization.
Changes in sales personnel specially their productivity.
RECRUITING & SELECTION
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TrainingORGANIZING THE SALES TRAINING (EXECUTION)
PHILOSOPHIES OF SALES TRAINING
Conditioned-Response Insight-Response
Who will be the Trainees?
Who will do the Training?
Initial Sales Training
Continuing Sales Training
Sales Training Staff Training the Sales Trainers
Outside Experts
When will the Training take place?
Timing group versus Individual Training
Timing Initial Sales Training Programs
Timing Continuous Sales Training Programs Where will the Training site be?
Instructional Materials & Training Aids:
Manuals
Other Printed Materials
Training Aids
Advance Assignments
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SALES TERRITORY CONCEPT
A Sales Territory is operationally defined as a grouping of customersand prospects assigned to an individual salesperson. The main criteriabeing that they can be called upon conveniently & economically by theindividual salesperson concerned.
Many refer to sales territories as geographic areas. In some companiesand in some peculiar selling situations geographically defined territoriesare meaningless:
E.g. where technical selling style is predominant salespersonsbecause of their specializations are assigned entire classes ofcustomers regardless of their location;
Small companies and companies introducing new products;
Salespeople selling to personal acquaintances;
Localized markets such as when selling real estate & propertyinsurance, investment securities & even automobiles.
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Contd
In most marketing situations it is advantageous to assign sales
personnel to territories in consideration of customers service
requirements and costs of providing service.
Establishing of Sales Territories:
Facilitates matching selling efforts with sales opportunities
Lends direction to planning & control of sales operations
Allows accumulation of knowledge on companys strengths &weaknesses in serving different markets
HOUSE ACCOUNTS
An account not assigned to any individual salesperson but
handled by sales executives or home office personnel. Theyare:
Extremely large customers who demand to deal with H.O.
Responsible for significant shares of companys total business
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Contd REASONS FOR ESTABLISHING OR REVISING SALES
TERRITORIES
PROVIDING PROPER MARKET COVERAGE
CONTROLLING SELLING EXPENSES
ASSISTING IN EVALUATING SALES PERSONNEL
CONTRIBUTING TO SALES FORCE MORALE
AIDING IN COORDINATING PERSONNEL SELLING &ADVERTISING
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PROCEDURES FOR SETTING UP OR
REVISING SALES TERRITORIES
SELECTING A BASIC GEOGRAPHICAL CONTROL UNIT Counties (Districts)
Zip Code Areas
Cities
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (Metropolitan Regions)
Trading Areas
States
DETERMINING SALES POTENTIAL IN EACH CONTROL UNIT
COMBINING CONTROL UNITS INTO TENTATIVE TERRITORIES
by combining contiguous control areas
each resulting territory containing approximately the same sales
potential. Based on how much % of the total sales potential the average sales
person should realize number of sales personnel units & thereforenumber of territories is decided.
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TERRITORY SHAPES
The shape of the territory affects selling expenses & ease of salescoverage.
3 shapes are generally used:
Wedge
Appropriate for territories containing both urban & non-urban areas.
It radiates out from a densely populated urban center.
Circle
Appropriate when accounts & prospects are evenly distributedthroughout the area.
Sales person assigned is based near the center.
Clover Leaf
Desirable when accounts are located randomly.
Each cloverleaf area is best designed if it can be covered in a week.
Home base is near the center.