Introduction
Sales management involves the ability of sales managers and the sales force to attain set goals for the sales team. The goals are achieved through an effective sales plan, employee recruitment, and training and controlled resource utilization.
Sales management differs from marketing since it is a section within the marketing mix falling directly under personal selling. The goals of sales managers include improving the revenue realized by the firm from sales, the profits of the firm and market dominance.
To achieve these objectives, sales managers must be involved in the formulation of sales strategies, their implementation and monitoring. This paper examines sales management goals and process applied by different firms in different industries.
Sales Management
According to Calvin, sales management is the attainment of sales force goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, staffing, training, leading and controlling organizational resources (61). The responsibility of selling company products falls directly under the sales manager of an organization.
Many people perform personal selling. Personal selling is the process in which individuals are employed to sell company products directly to the clients. Personal selling is critical to quantity selling of an organization’s products and services.
It is commonly applied in the sale of major industrial products and durables. Through personal selling, the sales representative communicates directly to the customers of the company convincing them to purchase the company products and services. In addition, he/she enters into contracts with the customers on behalf of the organization.
Selling is one of the elements of the marketing mix. It can be related to the other elements of the marketing mix as indicated in the diagram below. According to Calvin, programs for marketing are usually designed behind the 4Ps of the marketing mix that include the company product, promotions, price and the channels that are used to distribute the product to the different market segments (76).
Sales people communicate directly to the clients while advertising and sales promotions from non-personal communication between the firm and its customers. Personal selling helps an organization increase its customers since sales representative get orders signed.
However, other forms of marketing promotions such as public relations only make customers perceive the message to be coming from the media rather than from the organization.
A sale representative of an organization is in a good position to meet individual needs of customers. It is the responsibility of the sales person to uncover the specific customer needs. The sales representative should remove any doubts on the part of the customers. Through effective establishment of a rapport with the customer, the sales person would determine the needs of the customer (Calvin 93).
The field manager usually conducts the management of the market segment of an organization. The line manager is responsible for daily management of sales representatives of an organization. Calvin argues that sales management has its focus on administration of personal selling in a given marketing mix of an organization (155).
Sales management is responsible for various functions in an organization such as the planning of sales programs, their management and control. In addition, the sales management section of the marketing mix is responsible for the recruitment of sales personnel, their training, compensation, motivation and evaluation.
The main goals of all managers in the sales management section are to surpass the company goals and the development of sales people that report to them directly. Due to various forces in the business environment, the marketing environment keeps changing. This has led to a need to the variation of the sales management strategies and objectives.
Goals of Sales Managers
Sales management is a major element in the marketing mix that helps an organization to achieve its set objectives. Most common objectives of an organization include maximization of the sales revenue while minimizing costs.
In order to achieve the maximum profit, an organization needs to set specific goals for its sales managers. The managers are responsible for monitoring and supervising sales activities of an organization. They are involved in setting various sales goals as described:
Sales: the sales representatives of an organization usually sell the products of an organization. The sales representatives report directly to the sales managers. It is the responsibility of the sales manager to allocate the sales persons different strategic market segments in order to maximize the sales made by the firm. In addition to sales management, the managers give the representatives targets that should be met for revenue maximization.
Revenues: this money flows into the organization from the sale of the products and services of an organization. According to Honeycutt Ford and Simintiras, the revenue realized from sales varies due to various factors (87).
Some of the factors include the size of an organization in an industry, environmental factors, products quality among other factors. In spite of these factors, it is the responsibility of the sales manager to ensure that the revenue realized by the firm is large compared to the competitors. The sales personnel report directly to the sales manager.
Through communication with the customers, the manager will be in a position to determine the specific customer needs hence influencing production of products that fit into the needs hence increased revenue.
Profits: an increase in the revenue realized from the sale of the products and services of an organization is related to the profit of the firm. The gross profit is obtained through the deduction of the cost of sales from the sales revenue.
A high level of revenue compared to the costs incurred in the sale could result in high gross profit. Similarly, a high level of revenue could also led to high level of net profit although there are other determinant expenses.
It is the duty of the sales manager to ensure that the sales revenue is high enough to offset the cost of sales and other expenses in order to increase the profit of the firm. Failure to this duty, the organization is likely to report a loss.
Market share: according to Calvin, a sales representative is in direct contact with the customers of an organization (121). Through them, the organization is able to know specific customer needs that need to be fulfilled.
Effective fulfillment of customer needs can lead to customer loyalty. It is therefore the duty of the sales manager to ensure that the company products meet the consumer needs. This can be established through feedback from the customers obtained through sales personnel.
Internal cost control: sales management is part of the marketing mix that receives funding from the firm for its operations. The activities of the sale personnel in the field are financed by the organization.
The sales manager manages these activities and therefore can directly control them. Through effective control of the activities of the sales representative, the sales manager can reduce operating costs of the firm. Thus, it is the goal of the sales manager to control the costs incurred in the selling process.
Activities of Sales Management
Sales management involves the monitoring of the selling process. In order to execute the above objectives of the section, sales management is involved in various activities such as:
Strategy formulation: the sales managers are responsible for developing the strategy that can be utilized by the firm to increase the sales revenue while reducing operating costs. The set strategy also aims at ensuring that eh firm maximizes the profit. The execution of the set strategies is achieved through the establishment of a sales plan (Honeycutt Ford and Simintiras 132).
Implementation: it is the duty of the sales managers to implement the formulated sales strategies. The implementation process begins early with the sales manager recruiting qualified sales representatives.
The recruited sales personnel are then trained on the specific selling skills in order to be able to sell company products, services and policies. The sale management team is also responsible for motivating the sales team through well-established compensation system. They set targets for the sales team in the field while supporting the teams to meet the set targets.
Lastly, the sales management team is responsible for developing and implementing sales performance. As the team operates, the sales management monitors and evaluates the progress. The evaluation ensures that the targets are met and any deviations are explained with efforts being made to overcome the challenges.
Sales Management Process
Sales management process involves various steps such as:
Planning: it is the initial step in every action undertaken by the sales management team. The planning process involves the determination of the goals of the sales team, the objectives and the strategies.
For instance, the goal of an organization could be to maximize sales through increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. The goals set by the firm should be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable and relevant). For instance, the targets set by the sales managers to the sales representatives should be attainable within a given period (Honeycutt Ford and Simintiras 143).
Staffing: employees are a vital resource to any organization since they help the firm attain its given objectives. Similarly, sales representatives are an important resource to sales management.
Staffing process involves the attraction, recruitment and development of sales personnel in the organization. The recruitment process should be through with individuals with academic qualifications and skills in sales being selected.
Training: this step aims at maintaining the sales personnel of an organization through increased knowledge and skills. Employee training enables employees develop job related culture, skills and attitudes that can lead to increased sales performance for the firm (Schwartz 56).
Leading: this is an important step in sales management since the management team provides the necessary leadership skills for the entire sales team. Leadership in sales management aims at attaining the set goals. Sales managers are expected to lead by example hence acting as role models to their field teams that would eventually develop professionalism.
Controlling: this step involves monitoring the activities sales personnel are involved in. the sales managers are directly in charge of selling activities and should therefore determine whether the firm is in the right direction towards the achievement of its set goals. In cases where the sales management team, realizes mistakes, corrective measures should be taken in time.
Sales Department Relationships
Relationship is an important aspect in sales management and in the entire organization. The relationship established in the sales management department is based on teamwork. Sales personnel in the department should be grouped into different groups that are assigned different tasks.
Individuals in the groups should work in harmony through cooperation. Schwartz notes that teamwork enhances learning through increased sharing of information and experiences.
In addition, working as a team could enable sales personnel develops various skills that could help them improve their productivity (65). For instance, conflict management skills could be developed hence helping the employees to cooperate further in their sales activities in the field.
In spite of the importance of teamwork, communication is a necessary tool for the development of binding, productive and lasting relationships in the department.
Thus, sales management should establish relationships with various other departments in t eh organization such as the financial department, the human resource department and the marketing department.
The finance department relationship is vital since the sales managers need funds to operate their daily activities and motivate sales personnel. The HR relationship is important for improved communication, recruitment, and training of sales force.
Sales Manager Skills
Various sales management competencies are vital for sales managers. Different people in different everyday life situations utilize the competencies as indicated in the figure below.
Strategic action skills: it is important that sales manager understand the required strategies and goals of an organization in order to ensure that the actions of the manager and subordinate sales staff are consistent with the set goals.
A sales manager endowed with strategic action competency understands the industry and the organization and therefore undertakes necessary strategies that can help the firm fit and excel in the industry.
Coaching Skills: according to Tanner, Honeycutt and Erffmeyer, a sales manager of any organization has an important role to play in the competitive industry the firm operates (91).
Coaching involves a sequence of activities and communication ongoing between the sales person and the sales manager.
Other activities involved include encouragement of the sales person and helping him/her attain set goals. Through coaching, a sales manager provides verbal feedback, acts as a role model and builds trust within the sales team he/she heads.
Team Building: this skill is necessary for the accomplishment of tasks through small groups of people that perform given duties collectively and interdependently. The sales manager could be of greater help to the firm if he/she is able to design teams properly, creates a supporting environment to the sales team and is able to manage the dynamics of the team appropriately (Tanner, Honeycutt and Erffmeyer 102).
Self-management skills: this skill requires that the sales manager is able to take responsibility of his/her own actions. Whenever issues arise, the manager should not blame others. This skill requires that the sales manager has integrity and ethical conduct, is able to manage personal drive and has self-awareness and development.
Technological skills: technology has advanced and has contributed greatly to globalization. A sales manager should understand the potential in technology that can be used to improve the efficiency of the sales force in the firm.
The manager should know the implementation and integration of technology into the sales force hence competency. Other leadership skills for a sales manager include continuous learning, listening and communication (Tanner, Honeycutt and Erffmeyer 112).
Conclusion
A sales plan is an important step in the sales management process. Through planning, the sales managers set SMART goals for the section that must coincide with organizational goals.
Set goals can be achieved through the implementation of various strategies. Sales personnel are the resources that are used to implement the strategies. It is the responsibility of the sales managers to motivate the sales force through better compensation, education and training.
For this to be realized, the sales management team must establish good relationships with other departments in the organization such as the department of finance and human resource. The success of sales management is based on many factors some of which include teamwork, leadership planning among others.
Works Cited
Calvin, Robert. Sales Management. 2 Ed. New Jersey, NJ: McGraw-Hill Professional. 2004.
Honeycutt, Earl, Ford John and Simintiras Antonis. Sales Management: A Global Perspective. London: Routledge. 2003.
Schwartz, Mathew. Fundamentals of sales management for the newly appointed sales manager. New York, NY: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. 2006.
Tanner, John, Honeycutt, Earl and Erffmeyer Robert. Sales Management: Shaping Future Sales Leaders. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. 2008.