The Interview of Sales Force Recruits

The interview is the most widely used selection step and in some compa­nies it comprises the entire selection system. Some personnel experts criti­cize the interview as an unreliable tool, but it is an effective way to obtain certain information. No other method is quite so satisfactory in judging an individual as to ability in

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Building Sales Training Programs

There are several types of sales training programs. The most comprehensive and longest is the training program for newly recruited sales personnel. More intensive and shorter programs on specialized topics, as well as peri­odic refresher courses (collectively known as continuing sales training), are presented for experienced sales personnel. In addition, many compa­nies offer sales

Defining Sales Training Aims

Regardless of the type of sales training program, defining its specific aims is the first step in its planning. Defining the general aim is not sufficient. Although, for example we may want to increase the sales force’s produc­tivity through training, we must identify what must be done to achieve increased productivity. General aims are

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Deciding Sales Training Content

The content of a sales training program, whether an initial or continuing program, derives from the specific aims that management, after analyzing its training needs, formulates. Initial sales training programs are broader in scope and coverage than are continuing programs. Initial programs pro­vide instruction covering all important aspects of performance of the sales­person’s job;

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Selecting Sales Training Methods

The planners next select training methods. There is a wide variety of meth­ods, but the program content often limits those that are appropriate. It is important to select those training methods that most effectively convey the desired content. 1. The Lecture This ancient instructional method is used extensively in sales training. Effective training managers

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Executing the Sales Training Program

Effective program execution depends upon instructional skills as well as coordination of planning and housekeeping details. Program administra­tion involves doing what can be done to produce a training atmosphere conducive to learning. The execution step requires four key organizational decisions: (1) Who will be the trainees? (2) Who will do the training? (3) When

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Evaluation of the Training Programs

The evaluation step focuses upon measuring program effectiveness. A sales training program represents investments of time, money, and effort—sales management expects returns commensurate with the investment. However, measuring sales training effectiveness is not easy, but it is possible to gauge, somewhat roughly, program effectiveness. The starting point is to com­pare the program’s aims with

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Meaning of Motivation in sales

Motivation is goal-directed behavior, underlying which are certain needs or desires. The term “needs” suggests a lack of something that reaching the goal could satisfy, while the term “desires” suggests positive ardor and strength of feeling. The complex of needs and desires stemming from within individuals leads them to act so as to satisfy

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Motivational “Help” for sales force from Management

Most sales personnel require motivational “help” from management to reach and maintain acceptable performance levels. They require motiva­tion as individuals and as group members. As individuals, they are tar­gets for personalized motivational efforts by their superiors. As members of the sales force, they are targets for sales management efforts aimed toward welding them into

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Need Gratification and Motivation of sales force

Behavioral research studies show that all human activity—including the salesperson’s job behavior—is directed toward satisfying certain needs (that is, reaching certain goals). Patterns of individual behavior differ because individuals seek to fulfill different sets of needs in different ways. Some salespersons, in other words, are more successful than others because of the differing motivational

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Interdependence and Motivation of sales force

In the formal organizational plan, each salesperson reports to someone higher up in the structure, a sales supervisor, a district sales manager, or, as in most small companies, to the chief sales executive. According to tradi­tional theory, the superior has the authority to require that the salesperson take action, and the salesperson is obligated

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Motivation and Leadership in sales management

Effective sales executives are leaders, rather than drivers, of sales personnel. They earn the voluntary cooperation of members of the sales organization, motivating them, individually and as a group, to reach the sales depart­ment’s goals. They know the motivations, desires, and ambitions of those they lead, and they use this knowledge to guide their

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Motivation and Communications in sales management

It is important that good communications exist between each salesperson and his or her superior—unless it does, there is depressed morale and low productivity. The salesperson with pent-up grievances, real or imagined, displays both low morale and unsatisfactory performance. Similarly, the salesperson, like everyone else, comes up against personal problems, such as sickness in

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Unionization of Sales Personnel

There are several reasons why unions have made little progress in orga­nizing sales personnel. First, it is difficult to develop strong group identi­fication in most sales departments because each person works alone and sees other members of the sales force infrequently. Little opportunity exists for mutual exchange of grievances. Second, in contrast to most

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Requirements of a Good Sales Compensation Plan

A good sales compensation plan meets seven requirements. First, it provides a living wage, preferably in the form of a secure income. Individuals worried about money matters do not concentrate on doing their jobs well. Second, the plan fits with the rest of the motivational program—it does not conflict with other motivational factors, such

Devising a Sales Compensation Plan

Whether contemplating major or minor changes or drafting a completely new sales compensation plan, the sales executive approaches the project systematically. Good compensation plans are built on solid foundations. A systematic approach assures that no essential step is overlooked. 1. Define the Sales Job The first step is to reexamine the nature of the

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Types of Sales Compensation Plans

The four elements of compensation are combined into hundreds of dif­ferent plans, each more or less unique. But if we disregard the “fringe benefit” and “expense reimbursement” elements—as is entirely reason­able, since they are never used alone—there are only three basic types of compensation plans: straight salary, straight commission, and a combina­tion of salary

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Use of Bonuses in Sales Compensation

Bonuses are different from commissions—a bonus is an amount paid for accomplishing a specific sales task; a commission varies in amount with sales volume or other commission base. Bonuses are paid for reaching a sales quota, performing promotional activities, obtaining new accounts, following up leads, setting up displays, or carrying out other assigned tasks.

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Fringe Benefits in Sales Compensation

Fringe benefits, which do not bear direct relationships to job performance, range from 25 to 40 percent of the total sales compensation package. Some are required by federal and state law—for example, payments for social security premiums, unemployment compensation, and worker’s compensation. Most, however, the company provides for other reasons: to be competitive with

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Reimbursement of Sales Expenses – Policies and Practices

The two general policy alternatives on reimbursing sales expenses are (1) have sales personnel pay their own expenses or (2) reimburse sales personnel for all or part of their expenses. The first alternative is the simpler by far, but few companies choose it. Those that do are organizations, by and large, that regard sales

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