Sales management, quarter 1
Week 1 – role of selling & sales strategies
Importance of sales management, sales planning and selling:
- Increasing global competition
- Abundance of products and services
- Complex and changing environment
- Increasing power of buyers
- Tighter margins -> tighter budgets-> controlling risks
Selling = to make sale
Characteristics of modern selling:
- Customer retention and deletion: Pareto Principle
- Database and knowledge management
- Customer Relation Management: sales force focuses on the long term, win-
win situations
- Marketing the product
- Problem solving & system selling
- Satisfying needs and adding value
Salespeople need sales skills!
Types of selling:
1. Order-takers: inside order-takers, delivery sales people, outside order-takers
2. Order-creators: missionary salespeople
3. Order getters: technical support salespeople and merchandisers
,Sales management, quarter 1
Sales team:
Sales/Commercial Manager
Frontoffice
• Sales representatives
• Account Managers (Jr. + Sr.)
• Key Account Managers (KAM)
• National Account Managers
• Area (Account) Managers
• Business Development Managers
Backoffice
• Order-entry
• Customer service (on- and offline)
Sales managers: planning > staffing > training > leading > controlling
Duties & responsibilities:
- Determining sales forces objectives and goals
- Forecasting and budgeting
- Sales force organization, sales forces size, territory design and planning
- Sales force selection, recruitment and training
- Motivating sales force
- Sales force evaluation and control
Sales efforts influence and/or are influenced by marketing decisions such as for
example:
• segmentation
• target market choice
• marketing mix elements
• marketing decision based on product life cycle
• differential advantage (competitive advantage)
, Sales management, quarter 1
To be effective, sales activities need to take place within the context of an overall
strategic plan. Only than a company can ensure that the sales effort complement,
rather than compete with other marketing activities
A strategic plan is a used to communicate with the organization the organization’s
goals, the actions needed to achieve those goals and all of the other critical elements
developed during the planning exercise.
Marketing plans are all about identifying the business' target market and creating
strategies for reaching those customers.
Sales plans detail the strategies the business will use to sell products and services
and increase revenue. The sales plan therefore often forms part of the larger
marketing strategy.
Influence and contribution of sales to marketing planning:
1. Analysis of current market situation (marketing audit)
• e.g. knowledge about competitors, current customers, potential
customers, changing wants & needs etc.
2. Determining sales potential / sales forecasting
• Short, medium and long term forecasts in order to allocate
company’s resources properly
3. Generating and selecting strategies
• e.g. sales manager can be consulted in order to choose the
correct marketing strategy, sales manager can asses how the
target market will respond to marketing initiatives as they are
front-line people who advise and influence customers
4. Budgeting, implementation and control
• e.g. preparation of sales budget
Week 1 – role of selling & sales strategies
Importance of sales management, sales planning and selling:
- Increasing global competition
- Abundance of products and services
- Complex and changing environment
- Increasing power of buyers
- Tighter margins -> tighter budgets-> controlling risks
Selling = to make sale
Characteristics of modern selling:
- Customer retention and deletion: Pareto Principle
- Database and knowledge management
- Customer Relation Management: sales force focuses on the long term, win-
win situations
- Marketing the product
- Problem solving & system selling
- Satisfying needs and adding value
Salespeople need sales skills!
Types of selling:
1. Order-takers: inside order-takers, delivery sales people, outside order-takers
2. Order-creators: missionary salespeople
3. Order getters: technical support salespeople and merchandisers
,Sales management, quarter 1
Sales team:
Sales/Commercial Manager
Frontoffice
• Sales representatives
• Account Managers (Jr. + Sr.)
• Key Account Managers (KAM)
• National Account Managers
• Area (Account) Managers
• Business Development Managers
Backoffice
• Order-entry
• Customer service (on- and offline)
Sales managers: planning > staffing > training > leading > controlling
Duties & responsibilities:
- Determining sales forces objectives and goals
- Forecasting and budgeting
- Sales force organization, sales forces size, territory design and planning
- Sales force selection, recruitment and training
- Motivating sales force
- Sales force evaluation and control
Sales efforts influence and/or are influenced by marketing decisions such as for
example:
• segmentation
• target market choice
• marketing mix elements
• marketing decision based on product life cycle
• differential advantage (competitive advantage)
, Sales management, quarter 1
To be effective, sales activities need to take place within the context of an overall
strategic plan. Only than a company can ensure that the sales effort complement,
rather than compete with other marketing activities
A strategic plan is a used to communicate with the organization the organization’s
goals, the actions needed to achieve those goals and all of the other critical elements
developed during the planning exercise.
Marketing plans are all about identifying the business' target market and creating
strategies for reaching those customers.
Sales plans detail the strategies the business will use to sell products and services
and increase revenue. The sales plan therefore often forms part of the larger
marketing strategy.
Influence and contribution of sales to marketing planning:
1. Analysis of current market situation (marketing audit)
• e.g. knowledge about competitors, current customers, potential
customers, changing wants & needs etc.
2. Determining sales potential / sales forecasting
• Short, medium and long term forecasts in order to allocate
company’s resources properly
3. Generating and selecting strategies
• e.g. sales manager can be consulted in order to choose the
correct marketing strategy, sales manager can asses how the
target market will respond to marketing initiatives as they are
front-line people who advise and influence customers
4. Budgeting, implementation and control
• e.g. preparation of sales budget
