COURSE TITLE: SALES MANAGEMENT

COURSE DURATION: 2 hours per week for 10 weeks

COURSE CREDITS: 02

INDICATIVE LIST OF TOPICS

1. OVERVIEW OF SALES MANAGEMENT (4 HRS)

• Marketing and sales: Meaning and linkages; selling, salesmanship and personal selling :
Comparison and contrasts; myths about selling ;characteristics of a sales job
• Selling theories; buyer-seller dyads

1.1 PERSONAL SELLING

• Types of selling jobs (development, maintenance); sales force objectives

• Sales force strategies: Market access; account relationship
• Theories of personal selling
• Approaches to personal selling: stimulus response approach, need satisfaction approach,
problem situation approach
• Process of personal selling :Prospecting , preapproach ,approach, presentation ,handling
objectives/resistance, close, post sales follow up

2. PLANNING THE SALES EFFORT -1: SALES PLANNING (4 HRS)

• Need for planning; sales manager as planner

• Sales planning process: Selling objectives, determining operations to meet objectives ,
organizing for action, implementing ,measurement of results ,reevaluating and control
• Unsuccessful sales planning and reasons thereof (viz, absence of proper planning ,lack of
systematic communication ,absence of sales force involvement ..)

2.1 PLANNING THE SALES EFFORT - 2: SALES BUDGET

• Purpose, benefits, and principles of setting sales budget

• Various types of sales budgets :sales, expenses, administrative ,profit budgets
• Methods of budgeting for sales force
• Requirements for successful budgeting
• Developing a sales budget ,from situation analysis till actual preparation
3. PLANNING THE SALES EFFORT - 3 : SALES POTENTIAL AND FORECAST (4
HRS)

• Market potential and assessment: importance ,need and analysis of potential

• Sales forecasts: Significance, qualitative methods , quantitative methods
• Selection of a forecast method for accuracy and effectiveness
• Difficulties associated with forecasting

3.1 PLANNING THE SALES EFFORT - 4: SALES QUOTA

• Purpose and importance ;characteristics of a good sales quota

• Types of sales quota
• Methods of setting sales quota
• Administering sales quota

3.2 PLANNING THE SALES EFFORT - 4: SALES AND COST ANALYSIS

• Sales controls: Objectives; process and difficulties

• Sales analysis: Steps, problems in analysis, sales audits
• Cost analysis :Types ;procedure
• Marketing audit: Meaning; procedure; components

4. ORGANISING AND DIRECTING THE SALES EFFORT -1: HIRING AND

TRAINING (4 HRS)

• Recruitment: Setting requirements; selection process (upto making offer)

• Sales training :Importance; types :initial ,follow up
• Kinds: Manufacturer to distributor’s sales force ;manufacturer to customer
• Sales training: Designing a program ;implementation; evaluation

4.1 ORGANISING AND DIRECTING - 2: TIME AND TERRITORY

MANAGEMENT

• Importance of time management

• Territory management :Importance; criteria for territory design ;methods for design ;
• procedure for developing territories ; assigning sales force
• Operating territory management :Routing ;scheduling

4.2 ORGANISING AND DIRECTING - 3: COMPENSATING

• Compensation plans and their purpose ;characteristics ;types

• Designing of compensation plan
 • Implementation of plan

5. ORGANISING AND DIRECTING - 4: MOTIVATING (4 HRS)

• Concept and theories of motivation ;link between motivation and productivity

• Motivating the sales force at different stages of their career ,right upto disengagement
stage

5.1 ORGANISING AND DIRECTING - 5: LEADING

• Leadership: Characteristics of an effective sales team leader

• Leadership styles
• Skills needed foe effective leadership

5.2 CONTROLLING THE EFFORT: EVALUATION

• Performance and its determinants

• Performance evaluation :Why, who, when, how to evaluate
• Monitoring and reviewing performance

BASIC TEXTS

• Sales & Distribution Management (by) S L Gupta (Excel: Latest Edition)

• Sales Management (by) R. Venugopal (Response Books: Latest Edition)