* Directing Salespeople

* Directing Salespeople

To what extent should sales management be involved in helping salespeople manage their territories? It depends on everything from the company's size to the experience of its sales force. Consequently, companies vary widely in how closely they supervise their salespeople. Furthermore, what works for one company may not

work for another. 1 *

DEVELOPING CUSTOMKK TARGETS AND CALL NORMS. Many com­ panies help their salespeople in identifying customer targets and setting call

norms. They classify customers based on sales volume, profit and growth poten­ tial, and set call norms accordingly. Thus salespeople may call weekly on accounts with large sales or potential, but only infrequently on small accounts,

Beyond account size and potential, call norms may also depend on other factors such as competitive call activity and account development status.

Companies often specify how much time their sales force should spend prospecting for new accounts. Companies set up prospecting standards for several

Mtznaging the Safes Force • 857

reasons. If left alone, many salespeople will spend most of their time with current customers, which are better­known quantities. Moreover, whereas a prospect may never deliver any business, salespeople can depend on current accounts for some business. Therefore, unless salespeople are rewarded for opening new accounts, they may avoid new­account development.

USING SALES TIME EFFICIENTLY. Salespeople need to know how to use their time efficiently. One tool is the annual call schedule that shows which customers and prospects to call on in which months and which activities to carry out. Activities include taking part in trade shows, attending sales meetings and carrying out marketing research. Another tool is time­and­duty analysis. In ad­ dition to time spent selling, the salesperson spends time travelling, waiting, eating, taking breaks and doing administrative chores (see Marketing Highlight

20.1). Because of the tiny portion of the day most sales staff actually spend selling or negotiating and talking face­to­faee with potential customers, companies must look for ways to save time. This can be done by getting salespeople to use phones instead of travelling, simplifying record­keeping forms, finding better call and routing plans, and supplying more and better customer information.

Advances in information and computer technology, such as laptop computers, telecommunications, personal selling software, videodisc players and automatic dialers, have encouraged many firms to adopt sales force, automation systems, computerized sales operations for more efficient order­entry transactions, improved customer service and better salesperson decision­making support. Many sales forces have truly gone 'electronic'. A recent study of 100 large com­ panies found that 48 per cent are 'actively pursuing' sales force automation;

another 34 per cent are planning or considering it. 10 Salespeople use computers to

profile customers and prospects, analyze and forecast sales, manage accounts, schedule sales calls, enter orders, check inventories and order status, prepare sales and expense reports, process correspondence and carry out many other activities. Sales force automation not only lowers sales force calls and improves productivity; it also improves the quality of sales management decisions. Here are some examples of companies that have introduced computer and other sophisti­ cated technologies successfully into their sales force operations:

The Anglo­Dutch Shell Chemical Company developed a laptop computer package consisting of several applications. Although many salespeople initially resisted the computer ­ they couldn't type, or they didn't have

time to learn the software, or whatever ­ some applications had great appeal. Salespeople responded first to the automatic expense statement programme, which made it easier for them to record expenses and get reimbursed quickly. Soon, they discovered the sales inquiry function, which gave them immediate access to the latest account information, including phone numbers, addresses, recent developments and prices.

They no longer had to wait for the clerical staff to give them out­of­date information. Before long, salespeople were using the entire package. Electronic mail allowed them quickly to receive and send messages to others. Various corporate farms, such as territory work plans and sales call reports, could be filled out faster and sent electronically. Other useful applications included an appointment calendar, a 'to­do list'function.

a spreadsheet programme, and ^graphics package that helped salespeople prepare charts and graphs for customer presentations. Today, even salespeople who initially resisted the computer package wonder how they ever got along without it. 11

858 Chapter 20 Personal Selling and Sales Management