Case study from Rural Marketing by C. S. G. Krishnamacharyulu and Lalitha Ramakrishnan

1. Case Study : Trials of rural
sales trainee
GROUP 1(PGDABM 2013-15)
Abheri Biswas
Ajit Kumar Prasad
Akash Deep Sharma
Ankit Shukla
Anu Peter V
Suruchi Kumari
CCS NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING, JAIPUR

2. Trials of a rural Sales Trainee
 Bhalla, a women sales trainee in the largest consumer durables company of India.
 She was overwhelmed by enthusiasm of giving rural and serving nation- but did not
size up the challenges to face.
Superiors proclaimed- “ Single most definitive thing about sales is that it is a man’s
world”
Battled to find a foothold in the male dominated distribution chain and retail world
Bhalla counsels about strong positive attitude for facing life ahead.
She tried for 1 year “ to be one of the boys”
Discovered how to turn her handicap of being a women into an advantage :-
accessed into family and their womenfolk.
Smart bonding :- factor provided the much needed edge over her male colleagues.
CCS NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING, JAIPUR

3. Problems and challenges faced by sales
trainees
1) Difficulty in reaching rural consumers due to :-
Lack of adequate transport facilities
Large distance between villages
Lack of Proper Infrastructure ( pucca roads connecting villages to nearest
townships, Inadequate power supply and poor telecom facilities )
Lack of proper retail outlets
2) Rural people are more price sensitive: buys small packs
3) Low credibility for urban sales trainee by rural mass
4) Linguistic and socio cultural differences
5) Low level of literacy rate makes communication difficult
6) Low rate of product acceptance
7) Intense criticism on failure of a product
8) Selective attention as per their interest and ignores others
CCS NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING, JAIPUR

4. Problems and challenges faced by
female sales trainees particularly
Prejudiced and patronizing attitude of distributors and
shop keepers
Security problem while late night travels
Neglectance of consumers (especially males) and showing
disrespect as a female approaches for marketing job
CCS NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING, JAIPUR

5. Educational Institutions: Steps to develop
effective rural sales skills
 Rural marketing related courses included in
the course curriculum
 Rural Area Work Experience to study about
the rural environment
 Summer Internships and live projects
CCS NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING, JAIPUR

6. Recruiting companies : Steps to
develop effective rural sales skills
 Motivational speech by executives and experts
 On the job coaching to study the rural market
 Building a friendly learning environment for the sales trainee
during workshops
 Trainings on territory management
 Provide proper compensation for their sales target achievement
and appreciation
 Provide basic amenities to sales trainees
 Performance evaluation
CCS NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING, JAIPUR

7. Career aspirants : Steps to
develop effective rural sales skills
Management Student aspiring for rewarding career should have
1) Motivation:- staying in rural areas (being a rural native), serving the
nation (patriotic spirit), helping poor to change their lives (service
challenge), and expecting acceptable rewards (salary and benefits good
enough)
2) Knowledge:- The geographical spread of rural villages, demographics,
culture & language, lifestyles & preferences, competition, political and
caste affiliations & rivalries, administration, development plans &
progresses and other related information
3) Skills:- Rural people won’t easily trust urban people. So develop skills
and attributes like social skills, respect & humility, patience, courtesy &
concern
CCS NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING, JAIPUR

8. THANK YOU
CCS NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL MARKETING, JAIPUR