1. Sales Management
SectionA:Objective Type (30marks)
Part One:
Multiple Choices:
1. Salesexecutiveshave responsibilitiesforcoordinationwhichinvolves
a. Individual
b. The organization
c. The company
d. None of the above
2. Who researchedbuyer-sellerDyadsinthe Life Insurance business
a. Hanri Tosi
b. McMurry
c. Arnold
d. FranklinEvans
3. Formulafor calculatingGrossMargin is
a. Sales– Cost of sales
b. Gross profit– Costof sales
c. Sales– Expenses
d. None of the above
4. Coach- and – pupil methodis
a. CompanyInformation
b. SalesTechnique
c. On – the – just Training
d. Both(a) & (c)
5. Term inwhichratio measuresthe effectivenessof salespersonnel insecuringorder
a. “LoweringAverage”
b. “BattingAverage”
c. “Multiple Average”
d. None of the average
6. Districtsalesmanagerand planningreportiscalled
a. Manager plan
b. Districtplan
c. Districtsalesplan
d. None of the above
7. Numerical expressionindicatingthe degreetowhichone ormore factor associatedwithagiven
productsdemandis
a. SalesIndex
b. ProductIndex
c. Market Index
d. CompanyIndex
8. Eventthat strengthensthe buyerstendencytomake a particularresponse iscalled
a. Reinforcement
2. b. Cue
c. Drives
d. Both(a) & (b)
9. 2 Typesof drive inlearningprocessare
a. Innate andlearneddrive
b. Mutual and learneddrive
c. Innate and mutual drive
d. None of the above
10. The weakstimuli whichdeterminewhenthe buyerwill respond
a. Cue
b. Response
c. Drive
d. None of the above
Part Two:
1. Write a shortnote on “SalesResistance”?
2. What is “ControllingSellingExpenses”?
3. Write shortnote on “ProductLine Policy”?
4. What do you understandby“Straight-CommissionPlan”?
END OF SECTION A
SectionB: Caselets(40marks)
Caselet1
AllenSpecialtyCompany,locatedinDetroit,Michigan,manufacturedaline of Ballpointpens,and
mechanical pencilsand,inthe pastfive years,hadaddedaline of stationary.Allenproductswere
soldto
stationaryandoffice supplywholesalersandretailers,aswell astodepartmentstores,discount
houses,
drugstores,varietystores,andsupermarkets.A fieldsalesforce of eighty-twopersonsoperatedout
of six
districtsalesoffices.Allenmanagementbelievedthatacritical factor in the company’ssalessuccess
was
the coordinationof itsnational advertisingandthe activitiesof Allensalespeople anddealers.
The salespromotionprogramwasthe responsibilityof the salespromotionmanager,Jack
Biggerstaff,
and hisstaff,inconjunctionwiththe salesplanningcommittee atAllenheadquartersinDetroit.The
sales
planningcommitteeconsistedof the managersof merchandising,advertising,andmarketing
research.
The salespromotionplan,forbothnewandexistingproducts,describedobjectives;rolesof
salespersons
and dealers;anticipatedsales;the national,local,andtrade advertising;andpoint-of-purchase
displays,
deals,premiums,andcontestoffers.
Withapproval of the salespromotionplanbythe salesplanningcommitteeand the salespromotion
3. manager,Jack Biggerstaff,the salespromotiondepartmentpreparedsalespromotionkitsforthe
Allen
salesstaff.The kitincludedadvertisingproofs,productssamples,illustrationsof the point-of-
purchase
displays,samplesof premiumsoffered,andadescriptionof the special dealorcontextfeaturedin
the
promotion.
The salespromotiondepartmentpreparedatimetableforeachpromotionplan,showingthe date
when
each advertisementappearedinvariousmedia.The timetablewasdistributedtothe salesforce and
dealerstoenable themtotime theirsale andadvertisingtocoincide withthe national advertising,
thereby
achievingfull impactfromthe advertising.
Whenthe salespromotionplanwasapprovedbyheadquarters,itwaspresentedtoAllensales
personnel
at meetingsineachof the six districtsalesoffices.The salespromotionmanagerandthe fieldsales
promotionmanager,whoreportedtothe formerandwhose jobwasto work withAllensalespeople
and
dealersonsalespromotionprojects,made the presentation.Followingthe meetings,the fieldsales
promotionmanagertrainedthe salespeople inproperpresentationof the promotionandcalledon
key
dealerstoenlisttheirsupport.
The salespromotionprogramusedwitha recentnew productintroductionwastypical of Allen’s
efforts.
In additiontothe objectivesandtimetables,the salespromotionprogramincluded(1) sellingtools
for
Allensalespeople- circularlettersdescribingthe promotion,avisual presentationportfoliofor
making
promotionpresentations,productsamples,reprintsof consumeradvertisements;(2) sellingtoolsfor
Alen
dealers- presentationkitsforsellingthe new producttoconsumers,mail circularsfordelearsto
sendto
consumers,mailingfoldersforuse bydealers,sample folders,andaconsiderable amountof prize
money
ExaminationPaperof SemesterIV
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IIBMInstitute of BusinessManagement
for dealerssalespersonnel;and(3) advertisingsupportforAllendealers- advertisinginnational
media
and sample folderstobe senttoconsumerswhorespondedtoacouponoffer.
The salespromotionprogramswere presentedone eachweekinthe districtofficesinlate
Novemberand
December.Whenthe schedulewasannounced,Mike Halloran,assistantsalesmanager incharge of
the
PacificNorthwestdistrictcalledJackBiggerstaff tocomplainthatthe salespromotionorientation
4. session
inhis districthadbeenscheduledforDecember27duringthe quietweekwhenmanyof his
salespeople
had foundextratime tospend withtheirfamiliesandwhenseveral hadcustomarilytakenshort
skiing
vacations,Biggerstaff explainedthatthe promotionplanwouldnotbe completedbyhome office
personnel inthe six salesregions,itwasnotpossible toschedule more thanone aweek.Itwas
tough,but
Halloran’sdistricthaddrawnthe bad weekthisyear.
Halloranrespondedthathe thoughtthe salespromotionsessionswere awaste of time anyhow.His
salespeople losttwoproductive daysinthese sessions,and,inhisopinion,knowledge of detailsof
the
AllenCompany’sadvertisingandpromotionplansdidn’tmake the salesrep’sjobof sellingto
wholesalersandretailersanyeasier.Anyhow,itwasthe responsibilityof the fieldsalepromotion
managerto workwiththe individual salespeopleandcall onkeydealers.He alsocomplainedthat
when
these sessionswere scheduledinmid-November,theyinterferedwithsalesproductivityinthe
busiest
seasonof the year.
1. Evaluate the AllenSpecialtyCompany’sorganizationandplanforcoordinatingsalesand
advertising?
2. How shouldBiggerstaff answerHalloram’scomplaint?
Caselet2
HoldenElectrical SuppliesCompany
Manufacturerof Electrical Equipment –RecruitingSalesPersonnel
HoldenElectrical SuppliesCompany,Cincinnati,Ohio,manufacturedawide lineof electrical
equipmentusedinbothhome andindustry.The salesforce calledonbothelectrical wholesalersand
industrial buyerswiththe greaterpartof theireffortsconcentratedoindustrybuyers.The industrial
productsrequired considerabletechnical expertise uponthe partof salespeople.Salesoffices
situated
intwentycitiesspreadoverthe countryhadtwo hundredsalespersonnel operatingoutof them.In
the
past eightyearssalesvolume increasedbymore than50 percent,toa level of nearly$150,000,000.
The fast rise insalesvolume andthe accompanyingplantexpansioncreatedaprobleminthatmore
salespersonnel were neededtokeepupwiththe new accountsand to make sure the additional
plant
capacitywas usedprofitably.
In addition,Holden’ssalesrecruitingproblemwascompoundedbyanoticeable decline inthe
numberof college seniorswantingasellingcareer.Holdenrecruitershadobservedthisatcolleges
and universitieswhere theywentsearchingforprospective salespeople.Anotherindicationof the
increaseddifficultyinattractinggoodyoungpeople intosellingwasaggressive recruitingbymore
and more companies.These factorscombinedtomake the personnel recruitingproblemseriousfor
Holden;consequently,managementorderedanevaluationof recruitingmethods.
5. Virtuallyall Holdensalespeoplewere recruitedfromtwenty-five engineer- ingcollegesby
districtsalesmanagers.Typically,Holdenrecruitersscreenedtwohundredcollege seniorstohire ten
qualifiedsalesengineers.ItwasestimatedtocostHolden$600 to recruita candidate.Management
believedthe college recruitingprogramwasdeficientinlightof the highcostand the fact that only5
percentof the candidatesinterviewedacceptedemploymentwithHolden.
ExaminationPaperof SemesterIV
5
IIBMInstitute of BusinessManagement
Evaluationof the college recruitingprogrambeganwiththe College RecruitingDivisionof the
companyaskingdistrictsalesmanagersfortheirappraisals.Some districtmanagersfeltthatHolden
shoulddiscontinue college recruitingforvariousreasons,includingthe time requiredforrecruiting,
the intense competition,andthe candidates’lackof experience.Otherdistrictmanagers,however,
felt
the program shouldcontinue withafew modifications,suchasrecruitingcollegejuniorsforsummer
employmentmore orlessona trial basis,concentratingonfewerschools,andgettingonfriendly
termswithplacementdirectorsandprofessors.
Holden’sgeneral salesmanagerfavoredabandoningthe collegerecruitingprogramandbelieved
the companyshouldadoptan active recruitingprogramutilizingothersources.He reasonedthat,
while engineeringgraduateshadafine technical background,theirlackof maturity,inabilityto cope
withbusiness-typeproblems,andtheirlackof experience precludedaneffective contributiontothe
Holdensellingoperation.
The general salesmanagerfeltthatthe twohundredsalesengineerscurrentlyworkingforHolden
were an excellentsource of newrecruits.Theyknew the requirementsforsellingthe Holdenline
and
were incontinual contactwithothersalespeople.Byenlistingthe supportof the salesforce,the
general managerforesawanendtoHolden’sdifficultyinobtainingsalesengineers.
The presidentpreferredinternal recruitingfromthe non-sellingdivision,suchasengineering,
design,andmanufacturing.He claimedthattheirfamiliaritywithHoldenandtheirprovenabilities
were importantindicatorsof potential successassalesengineers.
A complete analysisof Holden’sentire personnel recruitingprogramwasinorder,and, regardless
of the approachfinallydecidedupon,itwasparamountthatthe companyhave a continuous
program
to attract satisfactorypeople tothe salesorganization.
1. Evaluate Holden’srecruitingprogram, suggestingwhetheror not the company should have
continuedits college recruitingofsalesengineers?
2. Whatcriteria should a good salesengineershouldimplementtoupliftthe company sales?
END OF SECTION B
SectionC:AppliedTheory(30marks)
1. Write inbriefabout motivationof salespersonnel?
2. Write inbriefabout settingup a salesorganization?
END OF SECTION C