Planning, Staffing, and Training Successful Salespeople

1. Planning, Staffing, and Training Successful Salespeople Chapter 16

2. 16 Chapter 16-2

3. Main Topics • The Tree of Business Life: Management • Transition from Salesperson to Sales Manager • Technology Is Needed in the Job • Being a First-Line Sales Manager Is a Challenging Job • What Is the Salary for Management?

4. Main Topics • Overview of the Job • Sales Management Functions • Sales Force Planning • Staffing: Having the Right People to Sell • Training the Sales Force

5. The Tree of Business Life: Management Guided by The Golden Rule: • Recognize that the characteristics needed to be a sales manager are the same as those needed to be a salesperson • Remember that just as there is a Golden Rule of sales, there is also a Golden Rule of sales management • As a sales manager, treat others as you would like to be treated T T T Service Ethical T T T T T T T T Builds T r u e Relationships T C I

6. Personal Characteristics Needed for Managing Today’s Salespeople Joy in work Care for people Harmony in relationships Self-control in emotions Patience with people Sales Leader Fairness in relationships Kindness to people Faithfulness to word Morality in decisions

7. Transition From Salesperson to Sales Manager • What changes occur? • Perspectives change • Goals change • Responsibilities change • Satisfaction changes • Job skill requirements change • Relationships change

8. Transition From Salesperson to Sales Manager, cont… • The experience of being promoted • Seven phases • Immobilization • Minimizing or denial of change • Depression • Acceptance of reality • Testing • Searching for meanings • Internalization

9. Transition From Salesperson to Sales Manager, cont… • Problems experienced by new managers • Lack of preparation for the job • Expected to function effectively immediately • Lack of an immediate peer group • The key to making a successful transition • Learning attitude • Realistic expectations • Learning new job responsibilities • Need to make the initial adjustments

10. Technology Is Needed in the Job • You need technology to be an effective manager in the 21st century • The computer is a powerful leadership tool

11. Being a First-Line Manager Is a Challenging Job • The district sales manager is the link between the salespeople and the manager’s immediate boss • A manager must be effective in managing salespeople and influencing the boss

12. Exhibit 16-2: The District Sales Manager Links Salespeople to the Company

13. What Is the Salary for Management? • Salary is usually related to: • Annual sales volume of units managed • Number of salespeople supervised • Length of experience in sales • Annual sales volume of the firm • Salary is just one part of compensation • The higher the sales position, the greater the benefits offered

14. Overview of the Job • A sales manager’s main goal is to achieve the levels of sales, volume, profits, and sales growth desired by higher levels of management • The factor underlying success in achieving the goal is the ability to influence the behavior of all parties involved

15. Sales Management Functions • Planning • Staffing • Training • Directing • Evaluating

16. Exhibit 16-3: The Basic Sales Management Functions

17. Sales Force Planning • Sales forecasting – uses of sales forecasts • The sales manager’s budget – methods of developing sales force budgets • Organizing the sales force • Organizational design • Organizational structure

18. Exhibit 16-5: Operating Costs for the Sales Force

19. Exhibit 16-6: Multiple Factors Determine the Design of the Sales Force

20. Exhibit 16-7: Activities Involved in Managing the Human Resources of a Sales Force

21. Staffing: Having the Right People to Sell • Staffing • First Element – People Planning • Sales force size • Type of people • Job analysis • Job descriptions • Job specifications

22. Staffing: Having the Right People to Sell, cont… • Job specifications for successful salespeople • Education • Personality • Experience • Physical attributes

23. Exhibit 16-8: Selected Characteristics of Successful Salespeople―Which are Most Important?

24. Staffing: Having the Right People to Sell, cont… • Second Element – Employment planning • Legal framework for employment • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • Diversity of the sales force • Diversity of buyers • The multicultural sales organization

25. Exhibit 16-9: The Sales Force is Becoming Diverse

26. Staffing: Having the Right People to Sell, cont… • Recruitment – finding the right people • Selection – choose the best available! • Application • Initial interview • In-depth interviews • Testing • Reference checks • Physical examination

27. Exhibit 16-10: Major Steps in Sales Personnel Selection Process Not all companiestake every step

28. Staffing: Having the Right People to Sell, cont… • A sales manager’s view of the recruit • Is sales the right job for the applicant? • What recruiters look for • The application letter • The resume • The interview • Applicant: create a performance portfolio

29. Staffing: Having the Right People to Sell, cont… • Interview follow-up • The second interview • Job offers • No job offer

30. Training the Sales Force • Sales training • Purposes of training • Training methods: • Discussion • Role playing • On-the-job training • Where does training take place? • Centralized training programs • Decentralized training

31. Training the Sales Force, cont… • When does training occur? • Who is involved in training? • Corporate staff trainers • Sales force personnel • Outside training specialists • Combination of training sources

32. Exhibit 16-13: Basic Sources of Sales Training

33. Summary of Major Selling Issues • A salesperson who is promoted to sales manager becomes involved in sales planning, staffing, training, directing, and evaluating sales force activities • Today, firms structure their organizations to best serve their customers • Sales managers are frequently involved in forecasting their firm’s sales

34. Summary of Major Selling Issues, cont… • The contemporary sales manager is knowledgeable in personnel practices involving the recruiting and hiring of salespeople • Government laws need to be considered • Once hiring is done, the sales manager becomes involved in training salespeople • The sales manager is a salesperson first but is also something of a jack-of-all trades