5 per cent sales elite apart from the rest is 'an astounding 60 per cent [are] just there for the

5 per cent sales elite apart from the rest is 'an astounding 60 per cent [are] just there for the

charisma in a sales situation. Arguably, charisma beer'. The study claimed that many of the sales

is elusive. However, there are other prime qual­ reps 'drifted into the profession, attracted by the

ities to be found in a successful salesperson: a freedom, ear and expense account'.

sense of humour; good planning and preparation In terms of how salespeople spend their time,

skills; the ability to take initiatives (nearly all of Kinnairci found that out of the average salesper­

the time, since sales reps are on their own); a son's day, 42 per cent of the time is spent in the

belief in their company and their products or car, while 26 per cent is spent at home, planning,

services (if they don't, why should their cus­

Managing the Rales Force • 859

tomers?); a trust in their colleagues (that is, those viding marketing and advertising support for the in marketing, accounting find distribution); and a

sales force. Salespeople are front­line troops. They belief in themselves. Other observers add to that

are the valuable bridge between the business and list physical energy, tenacity and resilience in the

its customers, they aet as information and intelli­ face of rejection.

gence satellites, and they can make or break the

sale. Where selling is a key activity, businesses people, but for the rest, training is absolutely

There are always going to be 'natural 1 sales­

must learn to utilize this valuable marketing tool, essential for developing sales professionalism and

the salesperson. The unloved ranks of salespeople to overcome some of the deficiencies in personal

must be loved again.

skills. Another area that must be emphasized

SoWifira: Adapu.fl from Diane Summers. 'Unloved and incompeteru',

continually is management's commitment to pro­

Fiminc'iat Times (25 August 1994). p. '>­

Computers have also changed the way commercial insurance company Sun Alliance International (SAI) uses information to support sales staff and to forge long­term relationships with customers and intermediaries.

SAI deploys a PC­based sales system called ADAM ­ Agency Development and Management — among its 170­strong sales force, including 26 home workers known as 'on the road sales staff (OTRs). Over 80 per cent of its business is generated by a network of agents, supported by a sales force of

140 across the UK. Their job is to build relationships with brokers and other intermediaries (some 4.000 agencies). According to SAI, paper­ based systems were sketchy: salespeople's natural instinct is not to complete records; frequently the paperwork is incomplete or their reports

do not tell the whole story. ADAM is developed from the view of field­ based sales staff who need to share data with office­based colleagues.

Customer information is accessible by anyone — all view the same record. which is synchronised in an overnight update. Arguably, the beauty of a distributed database is that you can share the information across a wide

range of people. Gone are the days of relying on a dusty set ot' papers in someone's car 100 miles away. Steve (iinn, an SAI sales development

manager, stresses that 'One of the fundamentals of selling is an understanding of customers' needs. Once we know the customer sectors,

we can work more closely in partnership with brokers and the customer sees a far more professional approach.' lie has been using his Toshiba laptop to access a menu, which shows a task organizer, in­tray, electronic

mail and standard user reports and inquiries. The system offers him a far more structured way to analyze information on current sales campaigns and see instantly how long" it is since he contacted clients. He can also append notes to the agency records for his account 'caretakers', something paper­based card systems could not do. One salesperson whose performance once gave concern has become an OTR and an enthusiastic and highly effective ADAM user. According" to a senior marketing executive, and supporter of the system at SAI, 'you have got to open people's eyes to what the technology can do for them', but 'you can't do it overnight. The company trained total novices on the keyboard, and worked to put at rest the fears of those expelled from the cosy support of their office. The vast majority of staff, now they have seen it in action, see myriad advantages. ADAM converts task response into customer care, and that is what the technology can help us do.' 12

860 • Chapter 20 Personal Selling and Sales Management

Perhaps the fastest­growing sales force technology tool is the Internet. As more and more organizations and individuals embrace Internet technology, sales­ people are beginning to use the Internet regularly in their daily selling activities. The most common uses include gathering competitive information, monitoring customer Web sites and researching industries and specific customers. While the

inclusion of this technology in die salesperson's selling armoury is still in its infancy, as more and more companies provide their salespeople with Web access,

experts expect explosive growth in sales force Internet usage in the coming

decade. 13