The document discusses the process of recruiting and selecting a sales force. It explains that the sales manager is responsible for recruiting, selecting, training, motivating and managing the sales team. The hiring process involves analyzing strategic needs, developing job descriptions, identifying recruitment sources, evaluating candidates, selecting candidates, and socializing new hires. Challenges in selection include matching personality types to jobs and assessing motivation levels. Effective recruitment sources include both internal options like referrals as well as external options like educational institutions. The selection process involves applications, interviews, testing, reference checks and orientation.

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Chapter 9
Recruitment and
Selection of the Sales
Force

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Learning Objectives
• Discuss the hiring and planning process
• Understand the recruitment, selection, and socialization processes
• Explain the concepts of job description and man specifications
• Know the sources and methods of recruitment
• Examine the methods of interview and apply these techniques in
different situations

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Roles of a Sales Manager
• performs sales management +HR management !
• recruits, selects, trains, motivates, leads, controls, and
compensates sales teams
• selection and recruitment of efficient sales people is always a
process of building competitive advantage for an organization

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The Hiring Process
Strategic position
analysis Job qualification
Decide on the number of
salespeople to hire
Job description
Identify best sources of recruitment
• Internal source of recruitment
• External source of recruitment
Organizational
characteristics
Company image climate
Styles of supervision,
compensation, and
motivation plan of the
company
Salesperson’s
desirable
characteristics
Generate database of
candidates
Evaluate candidates
Select and induce candidates to
accept position
Socialize
Turnover
Establish hiring
objectives

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Challenges in Sales Force Selection
• personality types matching to job profiles
• one of the measures that the organization looks in an employee is:
- the ability to perform by an employee
= ability x motivation
• level of motivation

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Planning for Recruitment
1. Strategic position analysis
2. Turnover
3. Job analysis
 gathering and organization of information
 concerning the tasks, duties and responsibilities of a
specific job
4. Task inventory analysis and KSA matrix
 job qualification
 job description

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Sales Force Recruitment
• recruitment is an act of inducing qualified and appropriate people
to get interested in and apply for a salesperson’s position within a
sales organization
Internal sources
 existing employees
 lateral and upward moves
 interns and cooperative students
 employee referral programmes

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Sales Force Recruitment
External sources
 industry sources
 educational institutions and
campus
 recruitments
 employment exchanges
 placement consultants
 walk in interviews
 networking referrals
 web consultants
 responses to direct open
advertisements

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Sales Force Recruitment
Selection procedure
 inviting application forms
 personal interviews
 reference checks
 physical examinations
 psychological tests
 intelligence
 personality
 aptitude and skills
 determination of terms of service
 appointment
 initial orientation

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Selection of a Salesperson
Selection Procedure:
 Inviting a blank application
 Personal Interviews
 Reference checks
 Physical Examinations
 Psychological tests
 Intelligence
 Personality
 Aptitude and skills
 Determination of terms of service
 Appointment
 Initial orientation

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Socialization process
• Process of orienting a new salesperson to the sales organization,
territory, or division in which he or she will be working.
• Three stages of Socialization
Anticipatory stage
Encounter stage
Settling in

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Critical thinking?
• Many companies recruit competitor’s sales
force. The sales managers of these companies
have a feeling that let the competitor do the
training and they can hire the trained sales
force by paying an additional salary. Is this
ethical? Does this make good business sense?