Setting Up A Sales Organization

Not often is a sales organization built entirely from scratch, as some struc­ture usually exists. Most problems of sales organization, in other words, are problems of reorganization—the sales organization exists and the goal is to make it more effective. It is appropriate, nevertheless, for the sales execu­tive to approach the organizational problem, each time

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Basic Types of Sales Organizational Structures

If sound practices are followed in setting up the sales department, the result­ing structure takes on features of one or more of four basic types: line, line and staff, and functional, and committee. The grouping of activities into posi­tions and the charting of relationships of positions causes the organization to take on structural form.

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Field Organization of the Sales Department

Sooner or later, every growing company faces the necessity for establishing a field sales organization. The sales manager can personally supervise field selling operations when a company is young, when only a few salespeople are employed, when the sales force travels out of the home office, and when the marketing area is small. As

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Centralization Versus Decentralization in Sales Force Management

In the centralized sales organization almost all activities, including sales force management, are administered from a central headquarters. The cen­tral sales office has full responsibility for recruiting, selecting, training, compensating, supervising, motivating, controlling, and evaluating the sales force. In the decentralized organization, in theory at least, all these activities are handled by field sales

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Schemes for Dividing Line Authority in the Sales Organization

As marketing operations expand, line authority and responsibility eventu­ally become excessively burdensome for the top sales executive. There is an increasing number of people to supervise. Ordinarily, the first remedial step taken is to add a general line assistant, for example, an assistant general sales manager. As the burden of line administrative work continues

Interdepartmental Relations and Coordination of Sales Department

Coordinating the activities of all departments so that maximum prog­ress is made towards overall company objectives is top management’s responsibility. Department heads, in addition to implementing top man­agement’s directives, harmonize their activities so that the tasks of all departments are accomplished effectively. Each understands the functions of other departments, and each is responsible for

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Coordination of Personal Selling with Other Marketing Activities

1. Sales and Advertising The sales and advertising departments work toward the same objective— the stimulation of demand—but they use different approaches. Personal selling techniques are the province of the sales department and nonper­sonal selling techniques that of the advertising department. The two types of selling effort need skillful blending to achieve an “optimum

Coordination of Personal-Selling with Other Departments

1. Sales and Production Coordination of sales and production activities is essential. Whereas at one time production was started only after orders were on hand, today most production is in anticipation of future sales. Similarly, although some products, such as defense materials for the armed forces, are man­ufactured to specifications established by buyers, most

Sales Departments External Relations

The sales department has important contact with six main external publics. In the remainder of this chapter, relations with five of these publics are analyzed: final buyers, industry and trade associations, governmental agen­cies, educational institutions, and the press. Because of the uniqueness of the sales department’s relations with intermediaries, discussion of distribu­tive network relations

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Donaldson Manufacturing Company: Electrical Products Manufacturer – Selecting a Top Sales Executive

The president of the Donaldson Manufacturing Company of Chicago faced the problem of selecting a new general sales manager. The company had annual sales in excess of $75 million and more than forty years of experi­ence in manufacturing electrical safety switches, circuit breakers, regula­tors, manual and magnetic starters, and related products. These products, which

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Frito-Lay, Inc.: Manufacturer of Corn Chips – Reorganization of Executive Structure

Frito-Lay, Inc., had recently undergone an extensive reorganization of marketing-related activities to provide more effective control in regional and district offices. Arch C. West, the vice-president of marketing, found it neces­sary to reevaluate his role and responsibilities under the new organizational structure, which had redefined his formal relationships with other executives. Frito-Lay, Inc., with

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Monrovia Oil Company: Petroleum Company – Decentralization of the National Account Department

Monrovia Oil Company, with head offices in New York City, was one of the largest producers of petroleum products in the United States. In his monthly meeting with Frank Spriegel, marketing vice-president, Jeff Gasden, vice-president of sales, recommended a reorganization to decen­tralize the national account department and bring its salespeople under the regional sales

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Liberal Software Solutions: Salvaging Jeopardized Deal

Cassandra Anderson works as a sales training manager in Liberal Software Solutions, a renowned provider of accounting softwares. Amber Smith, a new sales representative, is taking support from Cassandra during on-the- job training phase. An important client meeting is scheduled with Judy Investment Company, one of Liberal’s key customers. On stake is a poten-

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Lindsay Sportswear: Manufacturer of Sportswear – Sales Department Reorganization

Although the current sales organization of Lindsay Sportswear had been effective for a number of years, recent changes in the marketing and distribution of sportswear, as well as changes in Lindsay policies and practices, indicated that a revision of the present sales organization was required. Arthur Lindsay, president of Lindsay Sportswear, was con­cerned with

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Allen Specialty Company: Manufacturer of Writing Supplies – Coordination of Advertising, Sales Promotion, and Selling

Allen Specialty Company, located in Detroit, Michigan, manufactured a line of ballpoint pens, and mechanical pencils and, in the past five years, had added a line of stationery. Allen products were sold to stationery and office supply wholesalers and retailers, as well as to department stores, discount houses, drugstores, variety stores, and supermarkets. A

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Morris Machine Works: Manufacturer of Centrifugal Pumps – Relations with Dealers

Morris Machine Works, Baldwinsville, New York, was established in 1864 and was the first American company to manufacture centrifugal pumps. Morris pumps were sold to industrial users throughout the United States by thirty-two manufacturers representatives, each of whom operated in an exclusive territory. Three representatives in Canada handled sales in that country, but all

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Vibpure Water Purifiers: The sales demonstration

Vibpure Private Limited (Vibpure) is a growing organization with a wide range of water purifiers, air purifiers, vacuum cleaners, and water dispensers. The company was facing acute competition and had achieved 91 percent of its sales target for the first 6 months of 2017. July-December is going to be a crucial period for the

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Sales Personnel Management

Sales force management is a specialized type of personnel management. It is not possible to exercise close and constant supervision over sales personnel—at least not in the sense that one can supervise production and office workers. Furthermore, sales personnel work away from their cowork­ers and immediate superiors, so it is difficult to develop a

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Sales Job Analysis

Job analysis—assembling and analyzing factual information on specific jobs—is the basis for professional personnel management. Job analyses provide the data required for preparing written job descriptions, which, in turn, are used to derive job specifications (the qualifications and characteristics individuals need to perform given jobs). The job analysis, then, and its two derivatives, the

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Organization for Recruitment and Selection of Sales Force

The organization for recruiting and selection of sales personnel varies from company to company. Company size, executives’ personalities, and depart­mental structure all influence the organization used. Companies with small sales forces sometimes assign sole responsibility for recruiting and selec­tion of sales personnel to the company personnel manager, but this is unusual. It is more

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