This chapter discusses international sales management, including the role of sales managers in international markets and the challenges they face. It covers opportunities in international sales and marketing, as well as strategic issues around adapting or standardizing the marketing mix across countries. The chapter also examines international sales techniques, structures for international sales organizations, and best practices for recruiting, training, and compensating international sales personnel.

1. Chapter 5
International
sales
management

2. In this chapter we will discuss:
• Role of the sales manager in the international
market
• International sales and marketing
opportunities
• Challenges in international sales
management
• Strategic issues for international sales and
marketing
• International sales techniques
• Structures for international sales
organizations
• International sales management practices

3. Role of the sales manager in the
international market
• Basic level functions
– Training
– Evaluating
– Planning
– Compensation
• Advanced level functions
– Strategic account management
– Conducting negotiations
– Arranging agreements with distributors
– Developing relations and network locally

4. International sales and marketing
opportunities
• Diversifying market base
– Strategies of Japanese companies
• Emulating the competition
– Imitating competitors
• Achieve economies of scale
– Air bus – 1 plane – 3,40,000 man hours
87th
plane – 78,000 man hours

5. Challenges in international sales
management
• Economic environment
–Tariff barriers
• Specific, ad – valorem, compound
–Non-tariff barriers
• Regulatory, industry, cultural
–Other economic factors
• Exchange rate fluctuations
• Restrictions on profit repatriation
• Credit control etc.

6. Continued ……
• Legal environment
– Partnership laws
– Anti Corruption laws
– Intellectual property rights
• Cultural environment
– Language
– Religion
– Education
– Social attitudes & behavior

7. Strategic issues for international
sales and marketing
• Marketing mix – adapt or standardize?
– Ethnocentric vs. geocentric
• Obtaining international information
– Internal company records
– Published sources
– Primary sources like surveys, observation studies etc.
• Entering overseas markets
– Exporting
– Licensing
– Franchising
– Joint ventures
– Wholly owned subsidiaries

8. International sales techniques
• Personal selling process
– Preliminary selling
• Identify prospects
• Approach
– Advanced selling
• Sales interview
• Flexible presentation
• Product demonstrations
• Handling objections
• Close
• After sales techniques
• Time and territory management
– Proper routing & scheduling

9. Structures for international sales
organizations
• Long-distance selling
– Common in highly specialized industries
like aircrafts, defense equipment etc.
• Manufacturer’s representatives
– Differences in MR & distributor
– High level of control
– Prerequisites for selection
– Legalities related to selection & termination
– Training aspects & support programs

10. • Piggybacking
– Low cost entry
– It involves a rider & a carrier
– Whirlpool & Sony, AT&T and Toshiba in Japan
– Some times it can be a reciprocal
• Intermediaries
– Merchants
– Independent agents
– Facilitating intermediaries
• Transporting & warehousing
• Market research / advertising
Continued…….

11. Continued…….
• Establishing direct sales force abroad
– Useful when grater commitment and
control is needed
– Sales force structure
(standard/customized)
– Size of sales force
– Market similarities
– Company operations

12. International sales management
practices
• Recruitment of sales personnel
– Selling approach
• Canada - no aggressive selling
• Mexico – personal relations
– Origin of sales personnel
• Home country people if the product is high value
technical product
• Host country people for quicker establishment
• Third country people where similarities exists
– Sources of recruitment

13. Selection of sales personnel
• Education
– In Germany Ph. D. holders are selected to sell
chemical equipment
– Pfizer selects MBBS candidates to promote their
specialty products in India
• Religion
– Muslim – Buddhist in Malaysia, Indonesia, Hindu
Muslim in India & Pakistan, Sunni – Shia in
middle east
• Ethnic composition

14. Continued…..
• Social stratification
– USA wealth based, India caste based,
seniority in Japan
– Different criterions for different products
& industries
• Socio-economic development
– Education, religion, nepotism, talent,
references, psychological tests plays
different roles in different countries

15. Training & development of sales
personnel
• Changing role, attitudes and perceptions
– Differences in selling approaches
– In Europe relations are more formal
– Business lunch & different protocols
• Flexibility in training content and
methodology
– Modifications to suit cultural &regional factors
– Length of training schedule
– Use of female sales persons in video modules
– Shaking hands & implications in various
countries

16. Sales incentives and compensation
• Uniform / Discriminating
• It needs to be tailor made
• Often Linked with organization
performance
• Weight age of incentive component
• Influence as motivating factor in different
countries
• Alignment of management practices with
other countries is needed