2. Introduction India’s growth story lies in the immense potential of its growing domestic consumption, its ‘demographic dividend’ and its burgeoning middle class, which is an opportunity for retail products and services. In this story, People Matters focuses on “providing a snapshot of current sales structures, talent challenges and opportunities in building successful sales teams in FMCG, Consumer Durables, Telecom, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) and Pharmaceutical industries”.

4. Telecom industry - Pick valuable market information and create a seamless feedback mechanism to create a compelling offering.

5. Pharma industries - Ensure that the process of sales complies with regulations and company policies as these products are designed to save lives, but has nothing to do with distribution.

7. The leaking pipes

8. Reward for variability in performance

9. Managing careers, not jobs

10. ‘Alexander or foot soldiers’ approach

11. Scalability and reach“Attrition, low productivity, and spiraling wage bills, are outcomes of a combination of factors from shrinking qualified talent pool, lack of measurement of talent performance and poaching within the industry and across industries.”

13. Induct and train right

14. Reward right

15. Manage career and expectations

16. Lead right

17. Alternative options (temporary staffing)“When people on the ground hold the key to business excellence and resultant increase in market share, managing sales talent is a business agenda that must be anchored by the top management.”

19. Organizations that will make right talent investments in sourcing the right talent, training and managing new talent aspirations, will stand to win.

20. Organizations that can introduce transparent incentive plan will see much higher gains in sales as more sales people will be able to identify the direct correlation between achievement and reward.

22. Expert comments The P&G model is to reach out through strategic partners The change in structure happened around 10 years back when we realized we needed better scale, reach and consistency, in our sales process to create cost efficiencies. Sonali Roychowdhury, Head – Human Resources, Focus on innovation, beyond target achievements Taking risks, exploring new channels and building new collaborations are the new metrics for the sales team. Prashant Deo Singh, Head- HR & Group Affairs, Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd.

23. Expert comments Sales is not a career of choice for many You have the seasoned sales people who are great performers and want to continue with it, and others who want to move to managerial roles to gain the status and a stable income. Judhajit Das, Chief HR, ICICI Prudential Compliance and governance is an integral part of insurance sales The sales teams in insurance must have an inclination towards financial products and understand what they sell and sell what is needed by the client. Anuraag Maini, Executive VP - HR and Training, DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Co Ltd

24. Expert comments In pharma sales, process and targets are equally important If you are a sales representative of a mass where your target customer are physicians, then strong process orientation is required as reach is the ‘mantra’to cover these markets. Varun Upadhyaya, Director and India HR Head, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories “Trust” is a crucial element for customers and employees Reinforcing the right behavior around trust and integrity in a sales process is the hallmark of a well designed incentive plan. Gautam Chainani, Chief People Officer, Aditya Birla Financial Services

25. Expert comments Determining sales potential is not an easy task Companies have to be creative in identifying the ‘Success Profile’. Those who are not your best sales people but have capabilities, can be groomed to take on managerial roles. Rajiv Krishnan, Managing Director, Development,DDI Today “command and control” model is replaced by the “lead and coach model” It is important to assess that an individual is a good fit for the organization and meets the requirement of the sales role. Y. V. Lakshminarayan Pandit, MD, SHL (India) Pvt. Ltd.

26. Expert comments Staffing companies can support in hiring job-ready candidates This enables organizations to have the right person for the right job and higher productivity at an affordable cost. Rituparna Chakraborty, Co-Founder and VP, TeamLease Services Pvt. Ltd. A strong variable component in pay is a natural selection mechanism Working with CEOs, our experience is that to build a successful sales force, companies need to hire for attitude and train for skills. Shiv Agarwal, CEO, ABC Consultants

27. Send us your feedback@peoplematters.in Website www.peoplematters.in To Subscribe email subscribe@peoplematters.in Online http://www.peoplematters.in/subscribe Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/PeopleMatters Twitter @peoplematters2 Presentations http://www.slideshare.net/peoplematters www.peoplematters.in