Page 8 - DMGT507_SALES AND PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT

Sales and Promotions Management
Notes
2 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY
Introduction
Before the industrial revolution the marketing task was relatively simple because the economic
scene was dominated by small scale enterprises. The only problem was to produce goods for
consumers which were sold out without any difficulty. Selling the goods was no problem. In fact
all phases of the business operations, including manufacturing and selling, were generally
supervised by one individual and more attention was paid to manufacturing problems rather
than the marketing problems.
The importance of marketing problems was realised only after the industrial revolution which
started in England in 1760 and immediately thereafter in United States. The American Revolution
necessitated the need for finding out untapped markets because the nearby markets were unable
to absorb the increased quantities of manufactured goods. This gave a lot of importance to
marketing activities. With the increase in production more land, labour and capital was required
which gave rise to corporate form of organisations. There were bigger organisations which
required more delegation of powers in manufacturing and administration. Thus the sales
department was given importance and it became a separate functional department.
As the business activity became more complex and dynamic, the term “sales management”
changed due to the changes in business operations. Earlier the sales management was solely
concerned with the direction of the sales force personnel. However, at present the term “sales
management” has a broader significance and includes all such marketing activities as advertising,
sales promotion, marketing research, physical distribution, pricing and product merchandising.
We can safely say that sales is the “cutting edge” of any business operations. It is that part of a
company, however big or small, that meets the firm’s customers, from whom the business is
derived. The people, who are engaged in this activity, meet customers and get information
about the products or services which are being sold and provide feedback to the firm. This
information is then understood and interpreted by the firm and the firm reacts accordingly.
It then translates the marketing plan into marketing performance and action. American Marketing
Association has defined sales management as “the planning, direction and control of selling
personnel including recruiting, selecting, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying
and motivating as these tasks apply to personnel sales force”.
1.1 Overview of Sales Management
Managing the sales function is a critical skill for the success of distributors and manufacturers in
the power transmission/motion control industry. Sales management entails:
1. Defining desired corporate results.
2. Working with business partners to ensure goals of both organizations complement one
another.
3. Determining the specific activities required to achieve company and partner objectives.
4. Implementing a compensation plan that motivates salespeople to achieve corporate
objectives.
5. Providing needed training and coaching to enable salespeople to meet their goals.
6. Establishing appropriate monitoring systems to ensure activities are taking place.
7. Measuring results.
Sales management is attainment of an organization’s sales goals in an effective & efficient
manner with the help of other management functions of planning, staffing, training, leading &