The document provides an overview of sales and distribution management. It discusses the growing importance of sales and defines key concepts like personal selling, sales management, distribution management, and the relationship between sales objectives, strategies, and tactics. It also outlines the roles and skills of a sales manager, different sales positions, and emerging trends in the field. Distribution management plays a key supporting role in executing the plans developed by sales management.

1. Chapter
1
Introduction to Sales and
Distribution Management
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2. • “Everybody Lives by selling something
Robert Louis Stevenson
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3. • Selling is not just for sales people
• Personal selling -personal communication
of information to unselfishly persuade a
prospective customer to buy something a
good or a service or an idea
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4. Growing importance of Sales
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sales people are a dynamic power in any country’s economy
13% of the US workforce is in sales,more sales than marketing
managers !
In a developing economy such as India, companies are building and
maintaining large sales forces ( insurance, Telecom, Real Estate)
Selling generates revenue (top line)
Sales person is a professional manager building long term
relationships with customers
Sales persons role has become sophisticated, relationship building
focus,use of technology team selling
Goes by a variety of names Business Development Manager, Client
Relations manager, Customer Retention Manager ,Key Account
Manager
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5. Sales and Distribution Management
• Sales and Distribution Management are
both components of the marketing mix
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6. Sales and Distribution management
• Sales Managers are responsible for
generating sales, profits and customer
satisfaction levels that meet corporate
objectives
• Sales management is the attainment of
sales force goals in an effective and
efficient manner through planning, staffing
training and controlling organisational
resources
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7. Sales and Distribution Management
• Marketing channels are the pathways through which a
product or service is made available to consumers for
consumption
• Channel Management (Distribution management) is the
art and science of designing the channel, selecting and
motivating channel members and promoting the product
or service through the channel
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8. A career in sales
• Why choose a job in Sales?
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9. Why Sales ?
• Autonomy,freedom of action and
opportunities
• Job Variety,multifaceted
• Challenging role
• Career growth faster
• Financial rewards
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10. Salesmen who became CEOS
•
•
•
•
Sam Palismo IBM
Jeff Imelt of GE
Anne Mulcahy of Xerox
Dirubhai Ambani began his career as a
salesperson
• Sales person has an all round knowledge
of company’s products, customers,
competition
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11. Nature of Sales Management
• Its integration with marketing
management
HeadMarketing
ManagerPromotion
Manager –
Market
Research
Manager –
Sales
Manager –
Market
Logistics
Manager –
Customer
Service
• Relationship Selling
Transactional
Value – added Collaborative
Relationship / Relationship / Partnering
Selling
Selling
Relationship
Selling
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/
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12. • Varying Sales Responsibilities / Positions / Jobs
Sales Position
Brief Description
Examples
• Delivery salesperson
• Delivery of products to business • Milk, newspapers to households
customers or households.
• Also takes orders.
• Soft drinks, bread to retail stores.
• Order taker (Response selling)
• Inside order taker
• Sales support
• Missionary selling
• Technical selling
• Provide information, build • Medical reps. in pharma industry
goodwill, introduce new products
• Technical information, assistance • Steel, Chemical industries
• Behind counter in a garment shop
• Pharma products’ orders from
• Telemarketing salesperson takes nursing homes
orders over telephone
• Food, clothing products’ orders
• Outside order taker. Also from retailers
performs other tasks
• Order-getter (Creative, Problem- • Getting orders from existing and • Automobiles, refrigerators,
solving, Consultative selling)
new household consumers
insurance policies
• Getting orders from business • Software and business solutions
customers, by solving their
business and technology problems
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13. Importance of Personal Selling and Sales
Management
• The only function / department in a company
that generates revenue / income
• The financial results of a firm depend on the
performance of the sales department /
management
• Many salespeople are among the best paid
people in business
• It is one of the fastest and surest routes to the
top management
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14. Roles and Skills of a Modern Sales
Manager
Some of the important roles of the modern sales
manager are:
• A member of the strategic management team
• A member of the corporate team to achieve
objectives
• A team leader, working with salespeople
• Managing multiple sales / marketing channels
• Using latest technologies (like CRM) to build superior
buyer-seller relationships
• Continually updating information on changes in
marketing environment
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15. Skills of a Successful Sales Manager
• People skills include abilities to motivate, lead,
communicate,
coordinate,
team-oriented
relationship, and mentoring
• Managing skills consist of planning, organizing,
controlling and decision making
• Technical skills include training, selling,
negotiating, problem-solving, and use of
computers
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16. Types of Sales Managers / Levels of
Sales Management Positions
CEO /
President
V. P. Sales /
V. P. Marketing
Top-Level Sales Managers /
Leaders
National Sales Manager
Regional / Zonal / Divisional
Sales Managers
District / Branch / Area Sales Managers
Middle-Level Sales Managers
First / Lower Level Sales Managers
Sales Trainee / Sales Person / Sales Representative
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17. Sales Objectives, Strategies and
Tactics
The main components of planning in a company are
objectives, strategies and tactics. Their relationship
is shown below
Decide / Set
Objectives
Develop Strategies
Evolve Tactics /
Action Plans
E.G. A company wants to increase sales of electric
motors by 15 percent, as one of the sales
objectives. (see next slide)
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18. To illustrate the relationship between sales objectives,
strategies and tactics, consider:
Sales Goals /
Objectives
•
Increase
sales volume
by 15
percent
Marketing
Strategy
•
•
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Sales and Distribution Strategy
Tactics /
Action plans
Enter export •
markets
•
Identify the countries
•
Decide distribution channels
•
Penetrate
existing
domestic
markets
Review
and
improve •
salesforce training, motivation •
and compensation
Use effective and efficient •
channels
•
•
•
Marketing / sales head to get
relevant information
Negotiate
and
sign
agreements in 3-5 months
with intermediaries
Add channels and members
Train
salespeople
in
deficient areas
Train field salesmanagers in
effective supervision
Link sales volume quotas to
the incentive scheme of the
compensation plan
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19. Emerging Trends in Sales
Management
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•
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Global perspective
Revolution in technology
Customer relationship management (CRM)
Salesforce diversity
Team selling approach
Managing multi-channels
Ethical and social issues
Sales professionalism
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20. Linking Sales and Distribution
Management
• Either
sales
management
or
distribution
management cannot exist, operate or perform
without each other
• To achieve the sales goals of sales revenue and
growth, the sales management plans the strategy
and action plans (tactics), and the distribution
management has the role to execute these plans
• This will be illustrated by considering some sales
management actions and corresponding role of
distribution management (in the next slide), as well
as by discussing a few integrated cases given at
the end of the book
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21. Role of Distribution Management for some of
the Sales Management Actions / Tasks
Sales Management Actions /
Tasks
Distribution Management Role
• Strategy for effective coverage
of markets and outlets
• Follow call plan / beat plan
• Make customer call productive
• Use multi-channel approach
• Strategy for handling customer
complaints
• Prompt action at the customer interface level
• If the problem persists, involve senior sales
and service people
• Planning of local advertising
and sales promotion
• Co-ordination with distribution channels
• Responsibility of execution with distribution
channels
• Expenses are shared between the company and
intermediaries
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22. Key Learnings
• Sales management is defined as the management of the
personal selling part of a company’s marketing function
• Selling includes varying sales jobs like delivery
salesperson, order taker, sales support person, and
order getter
• Sales is the only function or department in an
organization that generates revenue / income
• Skills of a successful sales manager include managing,
technical and people
• Main components of sales planning are objectives,
strategies, and tactics (or action plan)
• Either sales management or distribution management
can not exist, operate or perform without each other
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