SALES AND DISTRIBUTION

MANAGEMENT (4539213)

Module-I
 CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION TO SALES AND
DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT
WHAT IS SALES MANAGEMENT?

“Sales Management means the planning, direction and control of personal

selling, including recruiting, selecting, equipping, assigning, routing,
supervising, paying and motivating as these tasks apply to the personal sales
force.”

--American Marketing Association

EVOLUTION OF SALES MANAGEMENT

 Industrial Revolution – 1760

 Industrial Revolution in the UK and the American Revolution in the USA
 Small home industries – Large scale manufacturing –marketing – sales
and sales support.
 The modern day sales manager is both an administrator in-charge of
personal selling activity and a member of the group that makes marketing
decisions of all types.
 NATURE/CHARACTERISTICS OF SALES
MANAGEMENT
A) Integration with Marketing Management
 A company’s marketing team typically consist of two basic groups-
Field Selling or personal selling team, and head quarter marketing team.
 Head quarter marketing team help field selling teams with promotion,
marketing research, Market Logistics, customer service and co-
ordination
B) Relationship Selling
 Buyers and salespeople, who do business together have some type of
business or working relationships.
 Their relationships have a range or spectrum, as below:

1) Transactional Relationship/Selling (low sales and profit potential)

2) Value-Added Relationship/Selling (medium sales and profit potential)

3) Collaborative/Partnering Relationship/Selling (High sales and profit

potential)
C) Varying Sales Responsibilities/ Sales Positions
 The six key sales positions are as follows:

1) Deliverer or Delivery Salesperson (Response Selling)

2) Order Taker- Inside, Telemarketing and Outside (Response Selling)

3) A) Sales support people Missionary salespeople (Missionary Selling)-to

educate the decider not the purchaser- MR

B) Technical sales support/sales engineer, (Technical Selling)-consultancy

4) A) Demand Creator or Order getter- Sales maintenance and Sales

development (Creative selling)-

B) Solution Vendor (Business selling) or order-getter -problem solving

selling
IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL SELLING & SALES
MANAGEMENT
 A sales career is one of the fastest and surest route to the top management.
 Salespeople are among the best paid people in business.
 Sales management is the only function or department in an organization
that generates revenue.
 Hence, the financial results of an organization depend on the performance
of the sales management.
 Net profit or the bottom line of a company is considered as good, if the
sales revenue or the top line is good.
ROLE OF MODERN SALES MANAGERS
 Instead of the demanding, controlling, volume-oriented sales manager, the
modern and successful sales manager is a team leader rather than a boss to the
salespeople.
 Some of the important changes in the roles of the modern sales manager are as
follows:

1) Playing a strategic role

2) Working as a member of the corporate team

3) Working as a team leader

4) Managing multiple sales channels

5) Using latest technologies

6) Continually updating information and understanding the changes in marketing

environment
SKILLS OF MODERN SALES MANAGERS

 The skills that are critical for the success of a sales manager are:

1) People skills

2) Managing skills

3) Technical skills
TYPES OF SALES MANAGERS/SALES MANAGEMENT
POSITIONS

(1) Strategic/Top-level Sales

Leaders/Managers

(2) Tactical/Middle-level Sales

Managers

(3) Operational/First-level
Sales Managers
 TYPES OF SALES MANAGERS/SALES
MANAGEMENT POSITIONS
(4) Staff Sales Management Positions:
In most medium and large sized organizations, there are staff
managerial positions, which arrange assistance or help to the like
sales managers and the salespeople. Sales training manager,
customer service manager or sales co-ordination manager are some
of the examples of staff sales management positions. It is important
to understand that these staff managers have an advisory role and
that they do not have a line authority on line sales managers and the
salesforce.
o Sales as a career
 Rewards in Sales Career
 Salesperson to Sales Manager
o Changing Role of a Salesforce
 Value creation for customers
 Value addition to the organization
o Women in Sales
SALES OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES AND
TACTICS
 Objectives are the statements of intents and when they are quantified to
specific and measureable targets with respect to time periods, they are called
goals.
 The sales objectives and goals are derived from the company’s marketing
objectives and goals, which in turn depend on the company’s objectives and
goals.
 There is a relationship between objectives, strategies and tactics.
 Strategies include ways of achieving the objectives.
 Tactics are the activities or the actions that should be carried out in order to
implement the strategy.
 Example: Salesforce Objectives, Strategies and Tactics

Sales Marketing Salesforce Strategy Salesforce Tactics (Action Plans)

Objectives/ Strategy
Goals

Increase in sales Enter export •Indentify the countries and •Marketing or sales head to get
volume by 15% markets intermediaries relevant market information to decide
•Sign sales agreements with channel selection of countries and
members intermediaries.
•Negotiate and sign agreements in 3-5
months.
Penetrate •Review and improve Salesforce •Train each salesperson in deficient
existing training, motivation and sales areas.
domestic incentives •Effective supervision by field sales
markets •Ensure all market segments are managers.
covered •Link incentives to sales quotas on
sales volume and expenses.
Reduce selling Utilize Use “ABC Analysis” technique for Focus Salesforce selling to A class,
expenses by 10% existing sales customer segments and telemarketing high potential customers to increase
force resource business share.
optimally

Use effective Use internet (web) selling and B and C class customers to be served
and efficient telemarketing, in addition to company by agents, dealers, telemarketing,
channels sales force direct mail and online marketing
EMERGING TRENDS IN SALES MANAGEMENT

1. Global Perspective

2. Revolution in technology

3. Customer relationship management (CRM)

4. Salesforce Diversity

5. Team selling approach

6. Managing multi-channels

7. Ethical and social issues

8. Sales Professionalism

9. E-selling
 LINKING SALES AND DISTRIBUTION MANAGEMENT
Sales Management Task Distribution Management Role

Achievement of volume and market shares •Physical movement and storage of products closest
to the markets
•Ensuring High Shelf visibility
•Keeping high stock pressure at all selling points

Coverage of markets and outlets •Follow beat plan/call plan designed by sales
management using ‘milk-run’ principles
•Making each customer call productive
•Extending required level of credit
Width and depth of distribution •Push all products, brands, packs in each outlet
•Sell more than competition
•Ensure high visibility
•Focus on slow movers

Managing institutional business and key accounts •Getting orders and execution
•Extending credit as necessary
•Keeping high stock pressure to avoid entry of
competition
Competition tracking and action to protect market •Regular oral and confirmed reports
shares •Follow up on competition
•Promotions and sales incentives for corrective action
 Sales Management Task Distribution Management Role

Market feedback and reporting •Both for own products and competition
•Report on good practices of other non-competing
companies
Finished goods inventory management at C&FAs and •Retain stocks up-to norms
distributors •Order at the replenishment level
•Disposal of damaged stocks
Managing distribution channels- recruitment, •Each channel member has to manage his
development, evaluation and exit if necessary downstream channels
•Contracted channel members like distributors have a
special role
•Conducting training programmes and example
setting sessions
Handling customer and consumer complaints •First level of interface with the customers and hence
prompt action is expected
•Bring to the notice of sales management if problem
persists
•Quickly remove complaint/damaged stocks from the
market
Implementing marketing plans- product launches, •Ensure wide and equitable distribution
consumer and trade promotions, merchandising •Ensure high visibility
•Make every promotion a success in terms of set
objectives
•Ensure success of new product or pack launches
 Sales Management Task Distribution Management Role

Participation in promotional events •Organize and participate in exhibitions, fairs,

melas
•Take initiative to support sales management
•Spend on the event and then claim re-imbursement

Local advertising- wall sites, hoardings, shop •Direct responsibility of the distribution channels
boards •Productive use of rupee spends
•Spend on the task and then claim re-imbursement

Cost effective operations •Ensure each task assigned by sales gets maximum
results
Interface with other functions in the company •Through sales managers only

Recruitment, training, development and evaluation •Follow guidelines for own Salesforce management
of the Salesforce