Page 11 - DMGT205_SALES_MANAGEMENT

Unit 1: Introduction to Sales Management

4. To keep personal expenses within specified limits. Notes
5. To secure targeted percentage of certain accounts of business.
Qualitative Objectives (Long-term)
1. To do the entire selling job.

2. To service existing accounts, (customers).
3. To search and maintain customer cooperation.
4. To assist the dealer in selling the product line.
5. To provide technical advice wherever necessary.

6. To assist in training of middleman’s sales personnel.
7. To provide advice and assist the middlemen.
8. To collect and report market information of interest and use to the company management.

1.3 Exchange Process

“Customer is the boss—yesterday, today and tomorrow”.

“Customer is profit—everyone else is overhead”.
These thoughts reflect the marketing concept of today.
Sales and distribution management is the most important part of marketing management.
Exchange is the core aspect of marketing and sales and distribution management facilitates it.
Sales management is defined as the management of the firm’s personal selling functions while
distribution management is the indirect selling effort or selling through extra corporate
organisations. Sales management tasks include analysis, planning, organising, directing and
controlling of a company’s sales efforts.

Ways by which Exchange can take Place

 Directly (through its own sales force)
 Indirectly (through middlemen, retailers, wholesalers)
 Jointly.

The nature of the exchange process will depend upon the nature of the product, target market,
consumer density and dispersion and competition practices of the other companies. For example,
if the consumer density is less in a particular area, we can’t use personal selling. Mail order
companies like Reader’s Digest work on this principle only. However, companies dealing in
industrial equipment, computers, machine tools (like lathes, presses) use personal selling as the
goods they are dealing in are of high value.
In personal selling there is a two way communication. We also try to tell the customer how to
use the product and remove his doubts. We see that there is a feedback from the customer. In
selling we are only exchanging.
1. Contacting: To find and communicate with the prospective buyers.

2. Prospecting: To bring together the offering of the market and of the customer.
3. Negotiating and Transaction: There can be certain negotiations in prices. For example,
lump-sum, installments, etc. Transactions also mean ownership transfer.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 5