Sales management is a
business discipline which is focused on the practical application of
sales techniques and the management of a firm's
sales operations. It is an important business function as
net sales
In bookkeeping, accounting, and financial accounting, net sales are operating revenues earned by a company for selling its products or rendering its services. Also referred to as revenue, they are reported directly on the income statement as ''Sal ...
through the sale of
product
Product may refer to:
Business
* Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem.
* Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution
Mathematics
* Produ ...
s and
services
Service may refer to:
Activities
* Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty
* Civil service, the body of employees of a government
* Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...
and resulting
profit drive most commercial business. These are also typically the goals and
performance indicators of sales management.
Sales manager is the typical title of someone whose role is sales management. The role typically involves
talent development
Training and development involve improving the effectiveness of organizations and the individuals and teams within them. Training may be viewed as related to immediate changes in organizational effectiveness via organized instruction, while dev ...
.
Churchill mentioned that the antecedents of sales performance are based on the meta-analysis for the period 1918- 1982 (76 years of previous research work).
He suggested five factors that influence a salesperson’s job behaviour and performance along with different categories like skill level, role perceptions, motivation, aptitude, personal factors, and organizational factors with three moderators.
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Sales planning
Sales planning involves strategy, setting profit-based sales targets, quotas, sales forecasting, demand management and the execution of a sales plan.
A sales plan is a strategic document that outlines the business targets, resources and sales activities. It typically follows the lead of the marketing plan
A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan so that goals may be achieved. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, without a sound strategic founda ...
, strategic planning and the business plan
A business plan is a formal written document containing the goals of a business, the methods for attaining those goals, and the time-frame for the achievement of the goals. It also describes the nature of the business, background information on ...
with more specific detail on how the objectives can be achieved through the actual sale of products and services. Sales is a recurring and periodical process (maybe 'daily'), hence, this can not be called as a project. Sales is a process and ideally a periodical activity.
Recruitment of sales staff
The three recruitment tasks used in sales management are job analysis; job description and job qualifications.[Spiro, Rosann L., Gregory A. Rich, and William J. Stanton (2008), Management of a Sales Force, 12th Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, Boston, pp. 134-137.]
Job analysis is performed to specify the certain tasks that a salesperson is responsible for on a daily basis. It should identify what activities are deemed as being vital to the success of the company. Any person associated with the sales organization or the human resources department could carry out the analysis, or it could be done by an outside specialist (Spiro, pp. 134-137). The person that is responsible for completing a job analysis should have an in-depth comprehension of the daily activities of the salespeople.
This job analysis is then written in an explicit manner as a job description. The general information consists of:[
# Title of job
# Organizational relationship
# Types of products and services sold
# Types of customers called on
# Duties and responsibilities related to the job
# Job demands.
An effective job description will identify compensation plans, size of workload, and the salespeople's duties. It is also primarily responsible for hiring tools such as application forms and psychological tests.][
The most difficult part of this process is the determination of job qualifications. A reason for this difficulty is because hiring affects a company's competitive advantage in the market as well as the amount of revenue.][
]
Sales reporting
The sales reporting includes the key performance indicators
A performance indicator or key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity (such as projects, programs, products and other initiatives) in which it en ...
of the sales force.
The Key Performance Indicators indicate whether or not the sales process is being operated effectively and achieves the results as set forth in sales planning. It should enable the sales managers to take timely corrective action deviate from projected values. It also allows senior management to evaluate the sales manager.
More "results related" than "process related" are information regarding the sales funnel and the hit rate.
Sales reporting can provide metrics for sales management compensation. Rewarding the best managers without accurate and reliable sales reports is not objective.
Also, sales reports are made for internal use for top management. If other divisions’ compensation plan depends on final results, it is needed to present results of sales department's work to other departments.
Finally, sales reports are required for investors, partners and government, so the sales management system
A management system is a set of policies, processes and procedures used by an organization to ensure that it can fulfill the tasks required to achieve its objectives. These objectives cover many aspects of the organization's operations (includin ...
should have advanced reporting capabilities to satisfy the needs of different stakeholders.
See also
* Economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with ...
* Good (economics)
In economics, goods are items that satisfy human wants
and provide utility, for example, to a consumer making a purchase of a satisfying product. A common distinction is made between goods which are transferable, and services, which are not tra ...
* Marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
* Merchandise
Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more ...
* Personal selling
Personal selling occurs when a sales representative meets with a potential client for the purpose of transacting a sale. Many sales representatives rely on a sequential sales process that typically includes nine steps. Some sales representative ...
* Promotional mix
* Sales
* Sales operations
* Sales force management
* ''''
References
{{Management
Business terms
Promotion and marketing communications
Retail processes and techniques
Sales