Page 153 - DMGT205_SALES_MANAGEMENT

Unit 10: Managing Sales Personnel

3. Orderliness: He should have a neat and pleasing appearance and must be one who keeps Notes
things clean and in good working condition.
4. Friendliness: Perhaps friendliness is one of the most important qualities. He must be
sociable and must get along well with people, as otherwise he will not be able to sell at all.
5. Self-control: He should be able to handle difficult people and not lose his temper or
become upset.
6. Good Handwriting: He should be able to write legibly, as salesmen often have to write
orders and complete report forms.

The above are a few qualities. In addition, many more are given by different people like courtesy,
industriousness, initiative, judgement, persuasiveness, resourcefulness and so on.
We now come to the preparation of an Application Blank listing questions required to be
answered by the applicant. From the man specification, we have realised the qualities we are
looking for in the salesman. Appropriate questions have to be now drafted so that the answer to
these questions will indicate the suitability of the applicant who will thereafter be considered.
How we are ready to get people to apply for the job, as we are clear regarding what we want and
the application blank is ready. Now the question of locating the appropriate person arises.
Following are some of the sources from which recruitment can be made, namely:
1. Internal, i.e. from inside your own staff as well as through recommendations from existing
salesmen or customers.
2. External, like (a) advertisements, (b) employment exchanges, (c) educational institutions,
(d) from competitor's staff and (e) placement services.
Advertisement is the commonest source from which recruits are obtained. However, the
advertisement should be sufficiently detailed so that you are not deluged with a large number
of undesirable or inappropriate applicants.
It is common knowledge in India that, even when the advertisement states specifically that
"Chartered Accountants need only apply", in practice even B. Corm's apply because they feel
that they know accountancy. Therefore, if such a qualification was not mentioned, you can well
imagine how many more unsuitable applications would have been received.
Now that we have got a number of applications, we must go through them and weed out those
which are obviously undesirable or inappropriate for our requirements. Then comes the
important step with which you, as a manager, would very likely be concerned, namely, the
personal interview when you come face to face with the applicant and have to determine his
suitability for the job. You may indulge in one or a number of interviews as you may deem
appropriate.

The greatest advantage of the interview is that you can now see what he looks like and check if
he has any undesirable expressions. We have mentioned that certain qualities are required. By
asking appropriate questions, you can judge whether he has those qualities from his answers
during the interview.
Some organisations indulge in psychological and personality tests. It should be mentioned here
that it is difficult to devise proper psychological test that can predict a good salesman with high
degree of accuracy. Hence it is not given great importance.

Now that we have almost arrived at a final decision, we must check the references given by him
regarding his character, educational background and previous experience. This is an important
step and should not be neglected.

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