Course Display

Sales Management Strategies & Tactics

Full Description

This course is meant for those who have either risen to the rank of Sales Managers or have all intentions of raising themselves to this level. The course intends to add to your managerial knowledge and skills in the context of the personal selling function, while making your attitude more flexible to make “out of the box thinking” a natural process. Emphasis will be on people and structural issues.

The text book prescribed for the course is: “Sales Management”, Robert J. Calvin, 2002, McGraw Hill, ISBN # 0-07-136434-X.

The course consists of five sessions, each lasting a week. Each session will involve reading 45 to 50 pages of the “Sales Management” book, in a week. The pages which are of more importance will be indicated in the weekly guideline to the students. The students will have to contribute to a discussion thread, on the topic of the week and also respond to a weekly online quiz. This will involve 10- 15 minutes of online work every day, apart from nearly two hours of reading, every week. Through the discussion board it will be attempted to connect the learning that the student has undertaken, to the real world of sales management.

Outcomes:

On completion of the course the students will be able to:
1. Understand the process of Sales Management.
2. Design and able to implement a recruitment process.
3. Train the sales force.
4. Design an effective compensation package for the sales force.
5. Organize the Sales Force architecture.
6. Forecast sales at the territory level and evolve plans to realize the forecast.
7. Motivate Sales people.
8. Design and implement a performance evaluation system for the sales persons.
9. Conceptualize the automation of the Sales Force.

Assessment:

1. Contributions to the discussion board: 60 %

2. Weekly online quiz: 40%

All the assessment exercises are aimed at evaluating understanding of conceptual knowledge and its application to real life situations. All the assessment exercises are aimed at evaluating understanding of conceptual knowledge and its application to real life situations.

Score of 80 % and above will earn the student A Grade, scores between 60 % and 80 % will earn B Grade, between 40% and 60 % the score will imply C Grade and between 20% and 40 % the score shall lead to D Grade.

Course Information (see above or below lessons, outlines, activities, etc.)

WEEK ONE: Participants prepare an introduction of themselves especially their professional positions and the career paths planned, and exchange it with other participants. The participants will be required to read selected portions of “Sales Management” Chapters 1 and 2.Chapter 1 deals with the process of Sales Management giving the students an overview of the course. Chapter 2 covers the foundation of effective people management that is the process of hiring ideal candidates for sales position. On the basis of their reading and personal experience they will contribute to discussion thread for Week 1 by participating in a brainstorming exercise on interview questions. They will also be required to respond to the weekly online quiz which has been designed to reinforce the learning that has taken place over the week.

WEEK TWO: The participants will be required to read selected portions of “Sales Management” Chapter 3.“Training for results” is the title of Chapter 3 and it will enable the students to understand the methods of empowering the sales person with appropriate skills, attitudes and methods required to achieve the desired sales results. On the basis of their reading and personal experience they will contribute to discussion thread for Week 2 by participating in fun story writing exercise about effective sales training program. They will also be required to respond to the weekly online quiz which has been designed to reinforce the learning that has taken place over the week.

WEEK THREE: The participants will be required to read selected portions of “Sales Management” Chapters 4 and 5.Chapter 4 is titled “Sales Force Compensation” and the issue of quantum and composition of sales person salary is discussed, while Chapter 5 deliberates on the issues involved in deciding organizational structure of the sales force. On the basis of their reading and personal experience they will contribute to discussion thread for Week 3 by participating in debate on a sales force organization issue. They will also be required to respond to the weekly online quiz which has been designed to reinforce the learning that has taken place over the week.

WEEK FOUR: The participants will be required to read selected portions of “Sales Management” Chapters 6 and 7.Sales Forecasting and Sales Planning are the topics of Chapter 6 which deal with forecasting demand and planning the sales effort at the territory level. Theme of Chapter 7 is Motivating Sales People and it covers the issue of creating a motivating climate to get the best effort from sales people. On the basis of their reading and personal experience they will contribute to discussion thread for Week 4 by sharing experiences of sales strategies. They will also be required to respond to the weekly online quiz which has been designed to reinforce the learning that has taken place over the week.

WEEK FIVE: The participants will be required to read selected portions of “Sales Management” Chapters 8 and 9.The process of Performance Appraisal is discussed in Chapter 8 and Automation of the Sales Force in Chapter 9. Contribute to discussion thread for Week 5 by discussing performance appraisal preparations with other participants, and respond to the weekly online quiz. They will also be required to respond to the weekly online quiz which has been designed to reinforce the learning that has taken place over the week.

Contact Hours: 24