Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in ...

techniques and the management of a firm's

sales operations Sales operations is a set of business activities and processes that help a sales organization run effectively, efficiently and in support of business strategies and objectives. Sales operations may also be referred to as sales, sales support, or ...

. It is an important business function as net sales through the sale of products and services and resulting

profit Profit may refer to: Business and law * Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market * Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit * Profit (real property), a nonpossessory inter ...

drive most commercial business. These are also typically the goals and

performance indicator A performance indicator or key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity (such as projects, programs, products and other initiatives) in which it en ...

s of sales management. Sales manager is the typical title of someone whose role is sales management. The role typically involves talent development. Churchill mentioned that the antecedents of sales performance are based on the meta-analysis for the period 1918- 1982 (76 years of previous research work). He suggested five factors that influence a salesperson’s job behaviour and performance along with different categories like skill level, role perceptions, motivation, aptitude, personal factors, and organizational factors with three moderators.

Sales planning

Sales planning involves strategy, setting profit-based sales targets, quotas, sales

forecasting Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared (resolved) against what happens. For example, a company might estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the actual ...

, demand management and the execution of a sales plan. A sales plan is a strategic document that outlines the business targets, resources and sales activities. It typically follows the lead of the

marketing plan A marketing plan may be part of an overall business plan. Solid marketing strategy is the foundation of a well-written marketing plan so that goals may be achieved. While a marketing plan contains a list of actions, without a sound strategic foun ...

strategic planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to attain strategic goals. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the s ...

and the

business plan A business plan is a formal written document containing the goals of a business, the methods for attaining those goals, and the time-frame for the achievement of the goals. It also describes the nature of the business, background information on ...

with more specific detail on how the objectives can be achieved through the actual sale of products and services. Sales is a recurring and periodical process (maybe 'daily'), hence, this can not be called as a project. Sales is a process and ideally a periodical activity.

Recruitment of sales staff

The three recruitment tasks used in sales management are job analysis; job description and job qualifications.Spiro, Rosann L., Gregory A. Rich, and William J. Stanton (2008), Management of a Sales Force, 12th Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, Boston, pp. 134-137. Job analysis is performed to specify the certain tasks that a salesperson is responsible for on a daily basis. It should identify what activities are deemed as being vital to the success of the company. Any person associated with the sales organization or the human resources department could carry out the analysis, or it could be done by an outside specialist (Spiro, pp. 134-137). The person that is responsible for completing a job analysis should have an in-depth comprehension of the daily activities of the salespeople. This job analysis is then written in an explicit manner as a job description. The general information consists of: # Title of job # Organizational relationship # Types of products and services sold # Types of customers called on # Duties and responsibilities related to the job # Job demands. An effective job description will identify compensation plans, size of workload, and the salespeople's duties. It is also primarily responsible for hiring tools such as application forms and psychological tests. The most difficult part of this process is the determination of job qualifications. A reason for this difficulty is because hiring affects a company's competitive advantage in the market as well as the amount of revenue. Additionally, there should be a set of hiring attributes that is associated with each sales job that is within a company. If an individual does not excel in their assigned territory, it could be due to external factors relating to that person's environment. A company should be careful not to submit to discrimination in regards to employment. A number of qualifications (ethnic background, age, etc.) can not be used in the selection process of hiring.

Sales reporting

The sales reporting includes the

key performance indicators A performance indicator or key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity (such as projects, programs, products and other initiatives) in which it en ...

of the sales force. The Key Performance Indicators indicate whether or not the sales process is being operated effectively and achieves the results as set forth in sales planning. It should enable the sales managers to take timely corrective action deviate from projected values. It also allows senior management to evaluate the sales manager. More "results related" than "process related" are information regarding the

sales funnel Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in ...

and the

hit rate Hit rate is a metric or measure of business performance traditionally associated with sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also c ...

. Sales reporting can provide metrics for sales management compensation. Rewarding the best managers without accurate and reliable sales reports is not objective. Also, sales reports are made for internal use for top management. If other divisions’ compensation plan depends on final results, it is needed to present results of sales department's work to other departments. Finally, sales reports are required for investors, partners and government, so the sales

management system A management system is a set of policies, processes and procedures used by an organization to ensure that it can fulfill the tasks required to achieve its objectives. These objectives cover many aspects of the organization's operations (including ...

should have advanced reporting capabilities to satisfy the needs of different stakeholders.

References

{{Management Business terms Promotion and marketing communications Retail processes and techniques Sales

Sales planning

Recruitment of sales staff

Sales reporting

See also

References