Sales Management: A Comprehensive Guide

T1. Marketing and Sales Management

1. Marketing and Sales Management

• Customer Understanding and Satisfaction: The main premise of marketing is to “understand” consumers, the environment, and competitors to “meet” their needs with the best products/services. Philip Kotler summarizes this idea: “The aim of selling is to satisfy a customer need; the aim of marketing is to identify and satisfy that need profitably.”
• Evolution of the Sales Concept: The sales concept is constantly evolving and adapting to new forms and methods to meet customer needs.
• Marketing Process: Identify: Market research to identify needs. Win: Sales process to gain customers and leads. Loyalty: Build loyalty with faithful customers who provide volume, have a positive attitude towards new products, are less price-sensitive, and are effective sources of information and new ideas. Personal Selling: Personal presentation of a product or service to generate sales and develop customer relationships. Tools include sales presentations, trade shows, and employee incentive programs.

2. Sales Management Process

The personal sales process involves building customer relationships, identifying their needs, matching the offer to those needs, and communicating the benefits to the customer.
Stages of the Sales Management Process:
1) Establish the relationship and build trust.
2) Identify consumer needs.
3) Select the product or offer to present.
4) Present the offer.
5) Post-sale service.

3. The Seller in eCommerce

• New Tools: Utilizing new tools to create value relationships in eCommerce, aiming to turn “buyers” into “customers.”
• Infinite Loop of the Customer Journey: eCommerce has the same purpose as traditional commerce but with more sophisticated tools to manage the customer experience.

4. Sales Direction: Functions and Roles

• Strategic Functions: Selection, training, motivation, and remuneration of the sales force. It involves managing results, behaviors, costs, and profitability. Commercial Direction: Philosophy oriented towards customer needs, with objectives of expansion and sales. Sales Structure: Includes customer segmentation, sales forecasting, definition of sales zones/areas, and management functions.
• Sales Manager Functions: Recruitment and Selection: Starts with selecting and hiring good sales professionals, which can significantly increase the company’s commercial performance. Training: Includes training on the product or service and commercial skills, such as persuasion techniques and how to respond to possible objections. Evaluative Functions: Evaluating the performance of the sales force and making adjustments as necessary to ensure the objectives are met. How to Be a Successful Sales Manager: Requires analytical skills, organizational ability, and a deep understanding of the market and customer needs.

T2. Sales Force Structure

1. Sales Force Structure

• Organization of Activities: The structure organizes the company’s activities and affects a group of people, optimizing the achievement of objectives.
• Functions: Includes hierarchical levels, order and information routes, horizontal coordination, and integration of actions.
• Complexity in Large Companies: Large companies have complex structures, while new companies and startups tend to have simpler and more flexible structures to better adapt to changes.

2. Vertical Structures

The vertical structure is the most traditional form of division of labor, based on lines of authority and hierarchical levels.
• Pros: Clear definition of hierarchy. Ease of control. Stable and easy-to-understand structure.
• Cons: Slow decision-making. Difficulty in quickly adapting to changes. Complicated interdepartmental coordination.

3. Horizontal / Other Structures

Characteristics: Add dynamism and flexibility, considering the organization as a complex entity. Requires multidisciplinary teams and an individual development plan for each member.
Advantages: Agility in decision-making. Quick adaptation to changes. Promotes delegation of authority and group goal setting.
Disadvantages: Difficulty in individual control. Requires creativity and self-regulation.

4. Other Structures

a) Network Structures: Low level of formalization, non-hierarchical personal relationships, high employee participation, goal-oriented. More suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises; can be chaotic for larger companies.
b) Federal Structures: Typical of multinationals, high level of autonomy and responsibility in teams, requires fast and realistic information, challenging coordination.
c) Shamrock Organization: Maximum flexibility, high employee participation, goal-oriented, promotes innovation.
d) Circle Org Charts: The highest-ranking position is at the center, surrounded by concentric circles representing different hierarchical levels. Hierarchy becomes less important as you move away from the center.
e) Mixed / Matrix Structures: Combine vertical and horizontal charts, integrating functions and projects.

5. Sales Force Structure Design & Coordination

– Territorial: Geographic division of the sales force.
– Product: Division based on product lines.
– Customer: Division based on customer types or industries.
– Functions: Integration of various functions, creating mixed or complex structures.

6. Sales Manager and Sales Force Roles

– Sales Manager / Director: Organically depends on the Commercial Director, in small companies may be responsible for other areas. Needs organizational ability, analytical skills, and a broad general culture.
– Role of the Sales Force: Negotiation and strategy skills, adaptability, empathy, analytical and management skills.

T3. Business Marketing and Sales Plan

1. Business, Marketing, and Sales Plans

• Business Plan, Marketing Plan, Sales Plan: Define clear actions and objectives for each area, coordinating efforts to achieve organizational goals.

2. Sales Plan Content

• Sales Plan Content: Establishes sales objectives and defines strategies to achieve them.
• External and Internal Analysis: Includes consumer analysis, competitors, industry, PESTEL, results, organizational structure, costs, financial resources, technology, and innovation.

3. Sales Forecast

• Types of Forecasts:
– General: Market evolution and company share.
– Specific for each seller: Balanced distribution of sales among sellers.
• Forecast Methods: Mathematical (linear regression, time series, exponential smoothing) and market research-based (purchase intention, market tests) and expert opinions (Delphi Method).

4. Sales Shares

• Sales Quotas: Distribution of company sales among different units and sellers, providing a tool to evaluate and motivate the sales network.

T4. Territories and Zones

1. Territories and Zones

• Advantages of Territory Organization: Facilitates scheduling, improves sales force effectiveness, ensures better market coverage, facilitates control and supervision, eliminates duplications, and contributes to the company’s good image.
• Sales Territory Design: Involves dividing the customer base so that sellers can properly serve the accounts, considering size and location, homogeneity, balance, and clarity.

2. Sales Itineraries: The Routes

• Route Configuration: Optimizes the seller’s travel, minimizing time and space, maximizing the number of useful visits, and reducing seller fatigue.

3. Building Selling Routes

• Route Setting Methods: Include zigzag, daisy, and bonus track routes to optimize time and customer coverage.

T5. Sales Management Essentials

1. What is Sales Management?

• Sales Management: Leading, motivating, and influencing people to achieve sales objectives, including forecasting, budgeting, recruiting, selection, and performance evaluation.

2. What is a Sales Manager?

• Roles of the Sales Manager: Leader, coach, mentor, communicator, facilitator, goal setter, motivator, and numbers analyst.

3. Coaching for Peak Performance

• Coaching Strategy: Document performance issues, get agreement on the need for improvement, explore solutions, and get a commitment to action.

4. Training

• Effective Training Program: Theoretical and practical preparation, requires a change in attitude and behavior in the student, complemented with practice.

5. Salesperson Recruitment and Selection

• Recruitment and Selection Process: Includes pre-selection, interviews, tests, decision, and reception.

6. Sales Compensation Plan

• Sales Compensation Plan: Includes base salary, commission, and other monetary incentives to motivate sellers to meet or exceed their quota.

7. Assessing Sales Force Productivity

• Productivity Evaluation: Quantitative criteria (sales volume, new accounts) and qualitative criteria (attitude, product knowledge, communication skills).

T6. Sales Dashboard and Control

1. Sales Dashboard

• Definition: Synthetic document that allows periodic monitoring and control of the company’s sales activity.
• Components: Market delimitation, market share per seller, achievement of objectives, status by seller, product and customer analysis, control and evaluation of the sellers’ work.

2. Sales Control

• Sales Control: Not only involves the control of sales volume but also other indicators that indirectly influence the volume.

3. Sales Representative Behavior Evaluation

• Sales Representative Behavior Evaluation: Includes time spent on commercial activity, phone calls, promotional actions, information provided to the company, and quality of service provided.

T7. Seller Typology and Skills

1. Typology of Sellers

• Types of Sellers: Include dependents, store and trade sellers, promoters, technical sellers, trust service sellers, indirect or political sellers.

2. Seller Profile

• Seller Profile: Physical condition, character, intelligence, personality, knowledge, and skills.

3. Characteristics of a Good Communicator

• Good Communicator: Must enjoy communicating, genuinely care about others, have enthusiasm, imagination, kindness, and be approachable.

4. Establishment and Development of Client Relationships

• Client Relationships: Building relationships based on ethical values and responsibilities, providing value through the product, the company, and the seller.

T8. Sales Presentation Strategy

1. What is a Presentation Strategy?

• Well-conceived plan that includes:
– Setting objectives for the sales presentation.
– Developing the pre-sale presentation plan.
– Renewed commitment to provide outstanding customer service.

2. The Six-Step Presentation Plan

1) Approach:
– Establish rapport.
– Capture the customer’s full attention.
– Transition to the next stage of the sales process.

2) Need Discovery:
– Use of strategic questions to discover customer needs (SPIN Selling: Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff).

3) Presentation:
– Selection of informative, persuasive, or reminder presentation strategy.
– Customization of the presentation according to the customer’s needs.

4) Negotiation:
– Resolution of customer objections and concerns.
– Use of negotiation tactics and adaptation to the customer’s communication style.

5) Close:
– Identification of buying signals (verbal and non-verbal).
– Use of different closing methods (e.g., direct close, assumptive close, balance sheet close).

6) Servicing the Sale:
– Follow-up to ensure customer satisfaction and foster repeat sales.
– Implementation of strategies to strengthen the customer relationship.

T9. Negotiation

1. Negotiation Process

• Definition: Interaction process where the parties involved combine mechanisms of influence and persuasion to reach an agreement that satisfies their respective interests.
• Conditions for negotiation:
– There are two different positions on the same issue.
– Both parties want to reach an agreement.
– Mutual communication and concessions.

• Basic Elements of Negotiation:
– Communication process.
– Involves persuasion.
– Resolution of differences.
– Focused on achieving a result.
– Formal process with rules and regulations.

2. Handling Objections

• Identification and Response to Common Objections:
– “The price is too high”: Articulation of value.
– “I need to think about it”: Create comfort and provide evidence.
– “I need to consult with my boss”: Risk reduction.
– “I need more quotes”: Solutions and value.
– “I am satisfied with my current supplier”: Differentiation.
– “Past negative experience”: Proof of change.
• Methods of Negotiating Objections:
– Direct Denial: Refute the prospect’s opinion.
– Indirect Denial: Partially accept and correct.
– Questions: Clarify and delve deeper.
– Superior Benefit: Show significant advantages.
– Demonstration: Prove with evidence.
– Third-Party Testimony: Use of external testimonials.

3. Close the Deal

• Attitude towards Closing: See closing as helping the customer.
• Closing Methods:
– Trial Close: Attempt to close during the presentation to gauge the customer’s readiness.
– Direct Close: Ask for the order directly.
– Assumptive Close: Assume the customer’s decision and proceed.
– Balance Sheet Close: Compare pros and cons.
• Handling Yes and No:
– When the Customer Says Yes: Reaffirm the decision and express gratitude.
– When the Customer Says No: Analyze the situation and maintain the relationship for future opportunities.