Sales Force Management
Proper training for a sales force is vital to the success of the individual as well as the team. According to Spiro, Stanton, and Rick, “The salesperson’s product knowledge, understanding of customer needs, and selling skills are directly related to the amount of training he or she receives” (2004, p. 190). This paper will discuss such instances encountered by Imaginative Staffing, Inc., summarize the case study presented in Management of a Sales Force, and answer questions regarding the case study. In addition, this paper will analyze the key elements and processes of selecting and recruiting a sales force, describe the appropriate training modality for both initial and recurrent training for Imaginative Staffing, and describe the different methods used to motivate the sales personnel.
Case Summary
Imaginative Staffing, Inc. (ISI) is a temporary-services firm in New York, NY, formed in 1990. Over the years, the company has grown to $17 million in revenues as well as adding staff to accommodate the company’s growth. Angie Roberts, CEO of ISI, is frustrated with the company’s current selling system and the amount of time it takes to close a prospect. While attending a party, Angie learns about team selling from a colleague. The concept of team selling intrigues Angie. After further investigation, Angie is curious if the concept of team selling will work within her organization. To satisfy her curiosity Angie appoints Susan Borland the sales director, with the task of preparing a plan for developing and training a sales team to present to the management group in one of the weekly meetings. Susan and her assistant, Judy Morgan, use investigative research to understand all aspects of team selling to determine if ISI should implement the team-selling system, who should be on the team, and the training required to develop their sales personnel.
Answers
Angie admits the current selling system in place at ISI is taking too long to close a sale with a good prospect. Should ISI adopt a team-selling system for selling to important accounts? In researching the success other firms have had with team selling, ISI should adopt the team-selling system. As cited in the case study, sales reps already utilize the services of the sales director when necessary. Therefore, the concept of team selling would not be a difficult adjustment for the sales reps.
Implementing a new sales system requires a plan for employee selection. Other than the sales rep, who should be on the team?
Comparing the breakeven orders, trade show option will need fewer orders to reach the break-even point than sales representative option. However, the two options both have some qualitative factors need to be considered. To go to trade shows, Kluger and Orol will have a long working day, which may decrease their morale and find it difficult to predict customers’. To hire sale representatives, Kluger and Orol will have conflict with the sales representatives on structuring the commission and Kluger and Orol will not know whether the representatives will prioritize Foxy business when thinking about personal
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The training and development of employees in William Hill is imperative for the performance or the company as they are in a competitive market. William Hill has to inform workers to be aware of surroundings in the area that they work. Training and Development Training Training is essential for both employees and employer if they want to be effective within the organisation and also for a company like William Hill to stay competitive within their market. The reason why training is important to employees is to enable them to achieve their maximum potential in their current position, it is needed also to develop them to create further opportunities within the organisation because employees are likely to be better educated and become multi-skilled. Training should be ongoing within William Hill in developing the employee’s skills within the business.
TQL can put a single sales supervisor into place and divide teams and appoint team leaders immediately. Due to the lack of managerial experience among the account executives the Executive Sales Managers may wish to hold the sales supervisor position until a manager can be placed and properly trained. During this time, non-montary methods of rewards should be discussed for the team leaders duties. TQL should start low and move up with rewards based on performance as a team leader. Some may currently act as an unofficial team leader and may not expect significant reimbursement and TQL should take advantage of these persons.
At nine fifteen there was a sales meeting, sales associates meet to discuss sales calls and sales revenue. Associates talk about different venues to sell to, states commission and also talk about different companies and corporation they sell to or try to sell to. Each sales associate spends about three to four minutes each discussing sales about previous week, commissions ranging from $40.00 to $8000.00.
Teams were composed of a leader, two guides, the eight clients, a lead Sherpa, and seven climbing Sherpas. Corporations are increasingly trading in their typical hierarchical dynamic for a team-oriented one, as th...
The newly appointed district sales manager, Larry Barr, faces the problem of allocating sales quotas among his various sales representatives. This decision will affect everyone's earnings including his own. This problem is compounded by the fact that different territories have, for a variety of reasons, different potentials. In addition, the territory that is known to be the toughest will soon require a new sales rep.
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More than just a sale promotion strategy Lisa and her team have built lasting relationships
Fred’s sales territory spanned across eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey, and as an added bonus for any sales role, he had a charming personality and used this skill in developing relationships with secretaries and nurses of medical institutions. He was very efficient in his work and would not waste the customer’s time when he would call on businesses. He also had a wealth of knowledge on the products he sold, and
Anderson, Erin. 1985. "The Salesperson as Outside Agent or Employee: A Transaction Cost Analysis." Marketing Science 4:234-254.
A sales manager has many responsibilities such as spreading product to customers, setting sales areas, goals, and analyzing sales data (“Sales Manager” What’s para. 1). Although a sales manager performs many duties, people in this position will also set a sales goal for the year, and will build a sales outlook on what they will do in the upcoming years (“Sales Manager” Sokanu para. 1).A person in this position will also manage where the goods and products their company will be distributing by giving certain sales area where a salesman will work and sell the product (“Sales Manager” Sokanu para. 2). During work time, a sales manager may be asked to hire and train a new salesman added to his team (“Sales Manager” Sokanu para. 3). Occasionally, a sales manager will interpret sales statistics in a specific area when looking where to assign certain salesman to a sales territory (“Sales Manager” Sokanu pa...
Over the past hundred years management has continuously been evolving. There have been a wide range of approaches in how to deal with management or better yet how to improve management practices in our ever changing environment. Some may define a manager as the person with responsibility for the work of others. However, in the book Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, and Practices by Peter F. Drucker, one learns that a manager’s real job is to take “responsibility for contributing to the results of the enterprise (233).” Parts IV and V of this book give great detail into the aspects of a managerial job as well as the practices a good manager should partake in. The mistakes, decisions, performance expectations, definitions, and the importance of management all play into the story of what management should really look like.
A very important part of operating a successful organization is ensuring that the employees are effectively trained. Employees that aren’t properly trained, especially in a service organization, can have a negative effect on the customers’ experience. It pays off for employers to spend the time and money on training their employees. In the article titled Importance of Employee Training: 6 Reasons Why It Saves You Money, the author, Brian Benton, says “Employees who feel inadequate, underachieving, or unsupported are unhappy. They aren’t satisfied in their work, which will cause them to underperform, make mistakes, and not care about their work product. That costs the business in lost time and money.” (Benton, 2014). This paper will illustrate