Sales management is a

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

discipline which is focused on the practical application of

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...

techniques and the management of a firm's

sales operations Sales operations is a set of business activities and processes that help a sales organization run effectively, efficiently and in support of business strategies and objectives. Sales operations may also be referred to as sales, sales support, or b ...

. It is an important business function as net sales, through the sale of products and services 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. 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.

Sales planning

Sales planning involves strategy, setting profit-based sales targets, quotas, sales

forecasting Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared with what actually happens. For example, a company might Estimation, estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the ...

, 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,

strategic planning Strategic planning is the activity undertaken by an organization through which it seeks to define its future direction and makes decisions such as resource allocation aimed at achieving its intended goals. "Strategy" has many definitions, but it ...

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. Additionally, there should be a set of hiring attributes that is associated with each sales job that is within a company. If an individual does not excel in their assigned territory, it could be due to external factors relating to that person's environment. A company should be careful not to submit to discrimination in regards to employment. A number of qualifications (ethnic background, age, etc.) can not be used in the selection process of hiring.

Sales reporting

The sales reporting includes the key performance indicators 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 Sales process engineering is the systematic design of sales processes done in order to make sales more effective and efficient.. It can be applied in functions including sales, marketing, and customer service. History As early as 1900–1915, ...

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 policy, policies, business process, 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 organizati ...

should have advanced reporting capabilities to satisfy the needs of different stakeholders.

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* {{Authority control Business terms Promotion and marketing communications Retail processes and techniques Sales Managers

Sales planning

Recruitment of sales staff

Sales reporting

See also

References

External links