Routing and Scheduling Sales Personnel

Routing and scheduling plans aim to maintain the lines of communication, to optimize sales coverage and minimize wasted time. When management is informed at all times of salespersons’ whereabouts in the field—or at least knows where they should be—it is easy to contact them to provide needed information or last-minute instructions. Chances are good

The Sales Audit

A sales audit is a systematic and comprehensive appraisal of the total selling operation. It appraises integration of the individual inputs to the personal selling effort and identifies and evaluates assumptions under­lying the sales operation. More specifically, a sales audit is a systematic, critical, and unbiased review and appraisal of the basic objectives and

1 Comments

Sales Analysis

Sales analysis is a detailed study of sales volume performance to detect strengths and weaknesses. If sales management depends solely on sum­mary sales data, it will not be possible to evaluate its own activities and those of the sales force. The fact that sales increased by 2 percent over last year but profit decreased

1 Comments

Marketing Cost Analysis

Marketing cost analysis examines sales volume and selling expenses to determine the relative profitability of particular aspects of sales opera­tions. The first step in marketing cost analysis is sales analysis by territo­ries, sales personnel, products, class of account, size of order, marketing channels, and other categories. Having broken down sales volume, for instance, by

2 Comments

Martin Packaging Company, Inc.: Manufacturer of Packaging Products and Systems – Use of Standard Costs

George Hannibal, manager of the Sales Department of the Martin Pack­aging Company, Inc., faced the task of evaluating the marketing and sales strategy imputations of the proposed new method of using standard costs in budgeting sales costs. Because the averaging method currently in use provided very poor estimates for budgeting purposes, Grady Winkler, the

2 Comments

Driskill Manufacturing Company: Maintenance Equipment Manufacturer – Use of Sales Quotas

Jack Dixon, sales manager, and Henry Granger, director of marketing research, of the Driskill Manufacturing Company, were in complete dis­agreement about the current method of preparing sales quotas. The Driskill Manufacturing Company marketed a line of maintenance equipment used all over the country, in a variety of businesses, and had attained considerable prestige in

1 Comments

Allied Board and Carton Company: Manufacturers of Containers – Difficulties with Sales Targets

The Allied Board and Carton Company manufactured and distributed cardboard boxes, cartons, and other packaging materials. The sales force of twenty-five persons, assigned to territories thoughout the United States, made calls directly on purchasing agents of manufacturers of industrial and consumer products. During the previous eighteen months, operating losses had been experienced, and a

Goodtime Equipment Company: Manufacturer of Playground Equipment – Complaints About a Quota System and Proposal for a New Bonus System Based upon Quotas

The Goodtime Equipment Company, Minneapolis, was a medium-sized manufacturer of playground equipment. The company produced an exten­sive product line and marketed its products nationwide. The field sales force numbered thirty-five persons, who were paid on a salary basis. In addition to the salary plan, Goodtime Equipment Co. had a bonus program for its sales

1 Comments

McBride Electric Corporation: Manufacturer of Electric Equipment Accessories – Need for Revision of Sales Territories

McBride Electric Corporation, headquartered in Detroit, was a large pro­ducer of electrical equipment and accessories. Established in 1910, McBride grew steadily and became one of the major U.S. suppliers of electrical products. McBride sold some of its products direct to a few large accounts, but most of the product line was sold through a

1 Comments

Magnet Covet Barium Corporation: Producer of Oil Drilling Mud – Sales Region Ceases to Contribute Adequately to Profit

Magnet Covet Barium Corporation (Magcobar), a producer of oil drilling mud, was having trouble with the performance of its Midwest region. The products sold by Magcobar were used by oil producers to aid in drilling oil wells. The line consisted of over twenty-five mud products. On its role of customers were such big corporations

2 Comments

Arlington Paper Mills: Manufacturer of Paper Products – Decision to Discontinue Sales to Accounts with Unacceptable Profit Margins

John W. Ireland, sales manager for the Baby Products Division of Arlington Paper Mills, manufacturer of baby diapers and other baby products, faced a decision on what to do with a number of baby-diaper accounts that had fallen below the “acceptable” profit margin. Since most of the accounts in question returned some profit, he

2 Comments

Alderson Products, Inc.: Packaging Equipment Manufacturer – Control of the Sales Effort

Alderson Products, Inc., a $15 million company, had recently become a wholly owned subsidiary of National Beverage Corp. of Baltimore, Maryland. National had purchased 100 percent of Alderson stock. The acquisition brought with it a number of problems common to such ven­tures, with the most pressing problems centering around the control of the sales

1 Comments

Hair-N-Shine: Forecasting for a new product

Vishit Jain took over as the national sales manager of S&S India at the start of the new year. S&S plans to launch a brand extension of its “Hair-N- Shine” shampoo in India in a tube form. A successful product in other Asian countries, such as Singapore, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, it contributes 9

2 Comments

The Customer-Oriented Marketing Channel

Companies all over the globe are becoming more and more customer cen­tric by providing customers with the products they desire when and where they desire them. Companies are focusing on customers – existing and potential and adopting strategies to attract and retain them by using an appropriate combination of product, pricing, promotion, distribution, and

1 Comments

Sales Channel Members

The number of channel partners required for optimum market cover­age depends on factors like market potential, market share, frequency of product purchase, technical knowledge required to sell the product and competition. The key members of a marketing channel are marketers, intermediaries, and end users. The term ‘marketer’ refers to the producer of the product

Sales Channel Functions

Channel members execute different marketing and selling functions to increase the sales of the company in a designated area. Channel mem­bers perform many functions, including creating utility and facilitating exchange efficiencies. Channel functions play an important role in decid­ing the channel structure. As the product moves through various stages in the marketing channel, different

1 Comments

Designing Marketing Channels

Design of the marketing channel is critical for the success of a business. The important factors affecting the designing of a marketing channel are strategic objectives, product portfolio, target market, technological advancements, competition, channel structure, channel intensity, the type of intermediaries required at different levels and the costs involved in selecting a particular channel.

1 Comments

Selecting Sales Channel Partners

After designing the marketing channel, company can select the channel partners that meet its requirements. Some factors for selecting channel partners are sales potential, product portfolio, industry experience, finan­cial strength, market reputation, location, and the size of the channel member. Sales Potential. Sales potential of the channel member is a major factor in selecting

1 Comments

Sales Channel Intensity

Channel intensity denotes the number of intermediaries existing in a distri­bution or marketing channel. The degree of market coverage, product port­folio, and marketing strategy are important factors in deciding the channel policy and determining the number of intermediaries to be used. Compa­nies usually go for intensive, exclusive, or selective distribution depending on its marketing

1 Comments

Sales Channel Management for Rural Markets

C.K. Prahalad in his book “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid,” described the profits that can be generated by selling products to “Bottom of the Pyramid” customers.[1] Rural markets constitute an important part of the emerging economies like India with majority of the population liv­ing in villages. Rural markets have attained lot

1 Comments