Page 110 - DMGT205_SALES_MANAGEMENT

Sales Management

Notes 8.1.1 Preparation

For the sales person the emphasis should be on orientation and training. He should know about
the environment in which he has to function and given information about the company and the
products he has to sell. Selling instructions and basic selling techniques are all important at this
stage. Sometimes experienced sales persons new to the company must also be acquainted with
the policies and practices of the company.

8.1.2 Development

This is the second stage when the salesman becomes productive. He should be supervised and
provided field coaching. He should be able to identify the problems and be kept away from
acquiring bad habits.

8.1.3 Maturity

In maturity stage, the productivity of the sales person levels off. He works "smarter than harder".
Sometimes refresher training is required to be given to him to retrain and acquaint him with
new concepts and techniques. They can also be given new challenges and transferred to new
areas, new territories or can be promoted to more responsible positions. Sometimes due to
inadequate training career plateauing takes place. Lack of relevant training hampers growth
and development.
8.1.4 Decline

In this stage the sales person is a problem for the management. A lot of motivational retraining
is required. The productivity of the salesman decreases considerably and is difficult to avert.

Training imparted at proper time develops right working habits and offsets the effect of
detraining.

Did u know? Selling is done by the salesforce either directly to customers, such as in case
of industrial salesmen or to retailers, as in case of salesmen merely supplying shopkeepers
and inducing them to stock the goods.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
1. Training of the sales person will never become ....................... .

2. ....................... training involves the continuous development of sales people.
3. Sales person's career cycle is a conceptual framework which describes the stages through
which a sales person passes in his ....................... cycle.

4. The ....................... between the qualifications in the job specifications and those a trainee
already has represents the nature and amount of training needed.
5. The analysis of sales related marketing policies is also necessary to determine initial sales
training ....................... .
6. The ....................... of training is not the same for all the sales training programmes.

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