Chapter 10:

Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople

Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Evaluating the Performance
of Salespeople
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Learning Objectives
1. Discuss the different purposes of salesperson
performance evaluations.

2. Differentiate between an outcome-based and a
behavior-based perspective for evaluating and
controlling salesperson performance.

3. Describe the different types of criteria necessary for
comprehensive evaluations of salesperson
performance.
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Learning Objectives
4. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of
different methods of salesperson performance
evaluations.
5. Explain how salesperson performance information
can be used to identify problems, determine their
causes, and suggests sales management actions to
solve them.
6. Discuss the measurement Importance of
salesperson job satisfaction.
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Purposes of
Salesperson Performance Evaluations
1. To ensure that compensation and other reward
disbursements are consistent with actual
salesperson performance.

2. To identify salespeople that might be promoted.

3. To identify salespeople whose employment
should be terminated and to supply
evidence to support the need for
termination.
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Purposes of
Salesperson Performance Evaluations
4. To determine the specific training and
counseling needs of individual salespeople and
the overall salesforce.
5. To provide information for effective human
resource planning.
6. To identify criteria that can be used to recruit
and select salespeople in the future.
7. To advise salespeople of work
expectations.
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Purposes of
Salesperson Performance Evaluations
8. To motivate salespeople.
9. To help salespeople set career goals.
10. To relate salesperson performance to sales
organization goals.
11. To enhance communications between
salesperson and sales manager.
12. To improve salesperson
performance.
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Salesperson Performance
Evaluation Approaches
1. Most evaluate on an annual basis.

2. Most combine input and output criteria which are
evaluated using quantitative and qualitative
measures.

3. When used, performance standards or quotas are
set in collaboration with salespeople.

4. Many assign weights to different
objectives and incorporate
territory data.
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Salesperson Performance
Evaluation Approaches
5. Most use multiple sources of information.

6. Most are conducted by the field sales manager
who supervises the salesperson.

7. Most provide a written copy of the review and
personal discussion.
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Salesperson
360-Degree Feedback System
Salesperson is
evaluated by multiple
raters.

Helps salespeople
better understand
their ability to add
value to their
organization and
their customers.
Sales Manager
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Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Key Issues in Evaluating and
Controlling Salesperson Performance
Outcome-Based Perspective
Focuses on objective measures of results with little
monitoring or directing of salesperson behavior by sales
managers.

Behavior-Based Perspective
Incorporates complex and often subjective assessments
of salesperson characteristics and behaviors with
considerable monitoring and directing of salesperson
behavior by sales managers.
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Perspectives on Salesperson
Performance Evaluation
Little monitoring of people
Little managerial direction of salespeople
Straightforward objectives measures of results
Outcome-Based
Considerable monitoring of salespeople
High levels of managerial direction of salespeople
Subjective measures of salesperson characteristics,
activities, and strategies
Behavior-Based
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Dimensions of Salesperson
Performance Evaluation
Behavioral
Professional
Development
Results
Profitability
Salesperson
Performance
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Criteria for Performance Evaluation
Consists of criteria related to activities performed by individual
salespeople, including:
Sales calls
Customer Complaints
Required Reports Submitted
Training Meetings
Letters and Calls
Behavior
Should not only address
activities related to short-term
sales generation but should also
include non-selling activities
needed to ensure long-term
customer satisfaction.
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Criteria for Performance Evaluation
Assess improvements in certain characteristics of
salespeople that are related to successful performance
in the sales job
Characteristics include - Attitude, product knowledge,
initiative and aggressiveness, communication skills,
ethical behavior
Professional Development:
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Criteria for Performance Evaluation
Salespeople measured objectively based on results such as
sales, market share, and accounts
A sales quota represents a reasonable sales objective for a
territory, district, region, or zone
Some research shows that rewards for achieving results
have a negative effect on performance and satisfaction
Results
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Elements Important in
Assigning Sales Quotas
Concentration of businesses within the territory
Commitment by the sales manager to assist the
sales representative
Growth of businesses within the
territory
Geographic size of the territory
Complexity of products sold
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Elements Important in
Assigning Sales Quotas
Sales representatives past sales performance
Extent of product line
Financial support (e.g., compensation) a firm
provides
Relationship of product line
Amount of clerical support
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Criteria for Performance Evaluation
Salespeople have an impact on gross profits through
the specific products they sell and/or through the
prices they negotiate for final sale.
Salespeople affect net profits by the expenses they
incur in generating sales.
Criteria Examples
Net profit dollars
Gross margin per sale
Return on investment
Number of orders secured
Selling expenses versus budget
Profitability:
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Performance Evaluation Methods
Job Relatedness
Reliability
Validity
Standardization
Practicality
Comparability
Discriminability
Usefulness
Characteristics any method should include:
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Performance Evaluation Methods
Salespeople are evaluated using some type of
performance evaluation form
Especially useful in evaluating behavioral and
professional development criteria
May be filled out by customers
Disadvantage is providing evaluations that
discriminate sufficiently
Graphic Rating/Checklist Methods
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Performance Evaluation Methods
Rank all salespeople according to relative
performance on each performance criterion
These methods force discrimination as to the
performance of individual salespeople
May be complex
Rankings only reveal relative performance
evaluation
Ranking Methods
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Performance Evaluation Methods
Management By Objectives (MBO)
Mutual setting of well-defined and measurable goals
within a specified time period.
Managing activities within the specified time period
toward the accomplishment of the stated objectives.
Appraisal of performance against objectives.
Objective-Setting Methods
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Performance Evaluation Methods
Links behaviors to specific
results
Salespeople are used to
develop performance results
and critical behaviors
Positive feedback about
behaviors may be more
affective than positive output
feedback
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Performance Evaluation Bias
Occurs when a managers evaluation of a salesperson is
affected by considerations other
than the specified criteria
Common sources of bias:
Personal relationships
Perceived difficulty of territory
Outcomes (i.e., ends justifies
the means)

Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Evaluating Team Performance
Consider the criteria on which members will be
evaluated and the methods used to evaluate
performance.
Establish a link between team performance and
positive outcomes to promote individual and team
effort.
May be beneficial to allow team
to help develop goals and
evaluation criteria.
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Framework for Using
Performance Information
Evaluate Salespeople against Relevant
Performance Criteria
Compare Salesperson Evaluations to
Identify Problem Area
Investigate Problem Areas to Identify
Causes of Performance Problems
Determine Sales Management Actions to
Eliminate Causes of Future Problems and
to Solve Existing Problems
Chapter 10:
Evaluating the Performance of Salespeople
Ingram LaForge Avila
Schwepker Jr. Williams
Sales Management:
Analysis and Decision Making
Salesperson Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction related to turnover, absenteeism,
motivation, and organizational commitment.
Job satisfaction may be related to performance
(direction of relationship is unknown).
INDSALES may be used to measure
job satisfaction.
Results may identify areas where
manager may intervene to improve
job satisfaction.
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