ASSIGNMENT Course Code: MS - 62

Course Title: Sales Management Assignment

Code: MS-62 /TMA/SEM-I/2020
Coverage: All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment to the coordinator of your study
centre on or before 30th April, 2020.
1. a) Distinguish and discuss the term “Sales” and “Selling” with suitable examples.
What is a sales strategy? Explain the various activities/ tasks that a sales managers should
consider in designing a sales strategy for the firm. Discuss with a hypothetical example.
b) Why it is essential to possess a sound knowledge of computer system and its application
areas in sales management function? Discuss with an example.
2. a) What is Selling process? Discuss the various stages involved in Selling process in the
following situation.
i) Salesman selling computer systems for an educational institution.
ii) Salesman promoting banking products for individuals.
b) What do you understand by the term “Skill”? What are the various skills that a salesman
ought to possess in a sales profession? Illustrate with a suitable example.
3. a) What are Sales displays? Explain with examples the different types of displays available
to the retailer in effectively managing for customer pull.
b) Assume that you have been assigned the task of recruitment and selection of sales force.
What recruitment sources and selection tools would you employ and why in the following
situations?
i) Missionary Salesmen for Pharma company
ii) Engineering graduates for an automobile company
4. a) Elaborate the importance of training sales force at all the levels in an organization.
Discuss the steps involved in the training process in the following situations.
i) Management graduates joined as management trainee with a MNC firm.
ii) Product knowledge and its application areas (Technical) for Diploma holders.
b) As a sales manager, discuss the key considerations in the preparation of sales budget for
sales department so as to effectively plan, co-ordinate and control all the activities. Prepare an
essay by taking an hypothetical example of your choice.
 ASSIGNMENT Course Code: MS - 62
Course Title: Sales Management Assignment
Code: MS-62 /TMA/SEM-I/2020
Coverage: All Blocks
Note: Attempt all the questions and submit this assignment to the coordinator of your study
centre on or before 30th April, 2020.
Disclaimer/Special Note: The Sample Question Paper and their answers given here provide you just the approximate pattern
of the actual question paper. However, the actual question paper might somewhat vary in its contents, distribution of marks
and its level of difficulty. These Sample Answers/Solutions are prepared by the author for the help of the student to get an
idea of how he/she can answer the questions. Sample answers may be seen as the Guide/Reference Guide. Any Omission or
Error is highly regretted though every care has been taken while preparing these Sample Answers/Solutions. Please consult
you Teacher/Tutor or refer to the prescribed and recommended study material of the university, if you have any doubt or
confusion before appearing in the exam.

1. a) Distinguish and discuss the term “Sales” and “Selling” with suitable examples.
What is a sales strategy? Explain the various activities/ tasks that a sales managers
should consider in designing a sales strategy for the firm. Discuss with a hypothetical
example.
Ans. Selling is first and foremost a transaction between the seller and the prospective buyer
or buyers (the target market) where money (or something considered to have monetary value)
is exchanged for goods or services. So the best way to define selling is to focus on the sales
skills that are necessary to make that transaction happen. Defining selling as the art of closing
the deal encapsulates selling's essence.
Refining the Definition of Selling: However, that being said, there is a huge difference
between a basic sales exchange such as buying gas at a gas station for your car and buying a
car.
In the first instance, the exchange is built on simple need. Your car's gas tank is empty; you
need to fill it with gas. There may not be (and probably isn't) even a salesperson involved.
In the second, the exchange is built on manufactured need (created through marketing).
You think you need a new car because you have been persuaded to believe that. Enter the
salesperson to direct and meet your need.
So sales is actually a spectrum and most selling consists of performing the art of persuading
the consumer that buying the product or service will benefit him or her.
Some people excel at directing and persuading; these are the super salespeople that truly are
worth their weight in gold.
Whatever product or service you're selling, then, you need to focus your selling efforts on
communicating the benefits of your product or service to the consumer. The benefits may be
tangible or intangible, but unless the individual consumer is convinced that he or she will
personally experience the benefits, your product or service won't sell.
Think about it. Why do women smear color on their eyelids? Did anyone in the entire world
ever actually need a hula hoop? That's the art of selling.
• The ability to build long-term relationships with customers one at a time. Most good
salespeople think long-term and how they can leverage the current sale into more
business in future from the same customer or via referrals.
• The ability to listen and stay in tune with the needs of the customer. Too many
salespeople spend all their time attempting to talk the prospective customer into
purchasing the sale or service in question, without finding out what it is the customer
actually wants. The customer may not be interested in the product you are selling but
he/she may have a need for another product or service that you can fulfill now or in the
future. Learn how to become an active listener.
• Not promising what they can't deliver. Nothing turns off a customer faster than broken
sales promises.
• Tenacity. A good salesperson knows that it may take several attempts to make a sale and
never gives up on a potential customer. Somewhere down the line an email or phone call
reminder might close the deal. A good salesperson also knows where to draw the line
between pursuing a potential sale and pestering the customer.
• Self-motivation and a positive attitude. Successful salespeople have a high level of
initiative and don't need micro-management. They constantly look for new opportunities
and view setbacks as learning experiences. They hold themselves accountable for their
performance and don't blame others or current economic conditions for lack of success.
• Constantly looking for ways to promote products and services by handing
out business cards and other promotional materials to get the word out. This includes the
use of emails, website updates, and social media postings so customers can be kept up to
date with the latest product or service offerings via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter,
and Pinterest. (See How to Create a Social Media Plan.)
• Investing in his/her community. Giving back to the community you live in by donating
to charities, sponsoring community groups, and engaging in volunteer activities is not
only good for the soul, it is good for business. Investing where you live increases the
likelihood that customers will return the favor when they have a need for your products or
services.
Types of Selling Definitions: If you're interested in improving your sales skills, you'll find
that there are supposedly many kinds of selling that you should use or should avoid. Here are
some of the most common approaches:
1) Aggressive Selling a.k.a. high-pressure sales: The bottom line in this type of selling is
that if the prospect walks, the sale is lost. The style is hard driving; this is the salesperson
who won't take "no" for an answer.
2) Transactional Selling: This approach focuses on making quick sales; there is no attempt
to form a long-term relationship with the customer. While transactional selling tends to be
looked down on today, it does have its place. Looking at it from the customer's point of view,
sometimes a simple transaction is all the customer wants.
3) Consultative Selling a.k.a. relationship selling: Consultative selling depends on
developing a long-term relationship with the customer. The salesperson's goal is to get to
know the customer's needs and wants so he or she can do the best job of giving the customer
what they want.
4) Collaborative Selling: Collaborative selling takes relationship selling one step further;
this sales approach depends on a partnership mentality between buyer and seller. Learn more
about the difference between consultative and collaborative selling.
In truth, the type of selling approach you should use depends on your personality, your
industry and your customer. As a salesperson, you will be more comfortable with some styles
of selling rather than others, and probably more successful with that type of sales as a result.
And while there is a kernel of truth in the axiom that a good salesperson can sell anything,
particular approaches have become synonymous with particular industries. Used car
salespeople, for example, are infamous for using aggressive selling techniques. The best
selling approach though, is the one that results in a sale which is why the best salespeople are
able to successfully use different types of selling depending on who their customer is.
1.b) Why it is essential to possess a sound knowledge of computer system and its
application areas in sales management function? Discuss with an example.
Ans. The role of IT in sales management is very simple; it’s designed to make the life of
you and your field sales team easier while increasing productivity and performance. Every
piece of software from mobile CRM to ERP, email to Smartphone is built to serve that
purpose.
And it’s very good at it too.
Field sales teams that employ the help of technology see an increase in revenue by up to
(58%) sales opportunities by (54%) deal sizes (44%) and conversion rates up by (38%).
That’s not to mention noted improvements in opportunity pipeline management, territory
management and customer onboarding.
With this level of ROI it should come as no surprise then that enterprise companies in the US
pay up to $3000 per field sales rep just to implement this software and who can blame them?
Sales is arguably the fastest-paced, most competitively driven arm of any business forcing
sales managers to turn to technology for an edge.
What we are going to look at in this article is why the role of IT in sales management has
grown into the necessity, and the specific technologies used to aid each step of the sales
management process.
The Role of IT in Sales Management Broken Down
There are many roles of IT in sales management but the 4 key areas we are going focus on
today are:
• Salesforce Automation
• Data Quality
• Making Better Business Decisions
• Going Online
All major sales technologies serve at least one of these purposes.
Sales Force Automation: As a sales manager it’s your job to ensure your team sells enough to
hit target. That’s what you are measured against. And getting your team to work
as efficiently and productively as possible WILL lead to higher sales.
So the question becomes how.
How can we get our team working to this level of efficiency?
One way is to alleviate them of unnecessary tasks; those that do little towards helping them
sell, such as:
• Recording sales calls and emails
• Scheduling appointments
• Arranging follow-up visits
• Updating the CRM
This is all pure admin work and field reps spend hours completing this stuff. That’s not say
it’s not important, as it should be done and done well, but the role of IT in sales
management is to take this burden away from your team leaving them to focus on sales-
driving tasks.
IT sales software such as a mobile CRM with reverse reporting capabilities automatically
records activity your team has with clients.
Every email sent, phone call made and deal struck is immediately updated into the system.
This means the individual rep isn’t required to record this information down on a notepad or
forced to recall it at the end of the week, when the details are a little hazy and probably less
accurate.
It’s recorded and updated in real time.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Sales force automation is also carried out under the guise of AI.
Now you may normally associate the term with the analyses of streams of uncharted data.
While this is certainly true of the majority of AI sales systems, there are some specifically
designed to aid in the recording of data for reps working out in the field.
Personal sales assistant apps such as Cognitive work like digital PA’s, sat next to the driver
between visits. Using natural language processing (NLP) field sales reps are able to
communicate safely with the device while driving, asking it to pull up information regarding
an upcoming visit, what was discussed previously, leave a comment on a past visit or even
prompt the device to send an email or call.
This comes in especially handy considering drivers in the US alone we spend on
average 17,600 minutes a year driving. That equates to roughly 300 hours (or 12 days).
But the crazy thing is that’s your regular American driver – what about field sales reps?
They’re practically glued to the wheel.
Again, the role of IT in sales management is to make the lives of you and your sales team that
much easier while increasing productivity. By converting these lost hours into sales-driving
work, IT plays a massive role in preparing reps for their upcoming visits without eating into
precious working hours.
Geolocation: Another area where the role of IT in sales management is unmistakable is
via the use of geolocation technology. Some mobile CRM software is able to plot sales
opportunities on a localized map, based on the day’s agenda and then suggest the quickest,
most efficient route the rep should take.
Not only does this save the rep from having to jump from several different apps within their
smartphone, but it optimizes their time between visits. Time management is such an
underutilized tactic in sales management for maximizing the efficiency of field sales teams.
It’s not just route optimization that can be extracted from geolocation technology, but also the
contextual information a sales rep will see on their CRM dashboards. Using the rep’s real-
time location the system pulls up what it considers the most relevant information. For
example, if it detects the rep is close to an account or opportunity it might inform them of any
recent issues they’ve had with the company. Likewise, it could be that it’s been several weeks
since they were last contacted, therefore recommending the field rep makes a brief stop
between scheduled visits.
It’s little details like this that make a big difference in not just sales efficiency, but increasing
customer satisfaction too, demonstrating just how important the role of IT in sales
management has become.
Data Quality
In field sales the quality of data collected can be somewhat, debatable.
Because of the nature of their work, field reps spend most of their time on the move travelling
between sales calls.
The information they record is therefore done on the fly. When there’s an opportune moment
to jot down on a notepad the meeting’s details, they might do it. Though it’s highly likely it
will be stored to memory for recording later on (cough*cough*).
The problem is that this data is not only now scattered on various notes, scrawlings and
maybe the odd spreadsheet, but if it’s being uploaded to the CRM at the end of the week, then
it’s accuracy (especially if being recalled from memory) is going to be seriously questionable.
Just try recalling what you had for breakfast a couple of days ago, it’s tough!
The role of IT in sales management is to digitize this process and make it as transparent and
visible as possible.
It achieves this by providing field reps with a tool they can use when directly in front of a
client or prospect.
All data can therefore be collected in real time.
For example, if a client wishes to make a new purchase order it can be dialed into the mobile
CRM app in seconds. Likewise if they’re unhappy about the latest product delivery the sales
rep can enter that information straight into the system and immediately inform the customer
success team. They can then process the new order as quickly possible.
With a sales management system based around pen and paper this would be decidedly more
difficult to achieve.
User Adoption
Data quality can also be increased simply by improving user adoption rates.
Paying out for a sales management system won’t automatically solve your data quality issues.
It will, however, make it a damned sight better! But if the system is shunned because it’s too
difficult to use, a common issue for field sales teams, then the ROI will be minimal.
If they are not using the system, then there is no quality data left to analyze.
That’s why mobile CRM designers dedicate their time to building a product that field reps
want to use. Small details such as how they navigate the app, the colors, fonts, layouts,
feature positioning are all taken into account to maximize its usability.
Remember, the role of IT in sales management is to maximize efficiency by making their
lives (and yours) as easy as possible, not the other way around!
Make Better Business Decisions
Now that we’ve established how sales technology can deliver you quality data, it’s time to do
something with it.
There are several functions of a sales executive that require the analysis of data in order
to make accurate business decisions
And the first, and probably most important of those is sales forecasting.
It is so important
Because it’s tied to almost every single aspect of the business. Everything from the share
price, stock count, marketing/financial/operations planning, and manufacturing process are
affected by its accuracy.
Not to mention the impact it has on your sales team; the sales goals you set are directly
affected by your forecasted predictions and your reps would be none too happy if you’ve got
them shooting at some impossible targets.
The whole sales forecasting process is built around the usage of accurate data; every
single quantitative method of sales forecasting needs it in order to turn out any reasonably
useful insight.
So if you don’t have it, it becomes a case of garbage in, garbage out.
Feed the forecast inaccurate data and it will produce equally inaccurate forecasts.
This also holds true for sales reports.
The information you receive weekly from your CRM, that guides your decisions around
strategy and areas of focus is based purely on the data entered by your field sales team. So
again, if the data is of poor quality, entered as an afterthought by a team member at the end of
the week the decisions you make off the back of it are going to be of equally poor quality,
too.
Nothing highlights the importance and role of IT in sales management more so than its ability
to maximize the accuracy of data collected from the field.
Going Online
The final role of IT in sales management we will look at is the one it plays when delving into
sales online.
With the unrelenting rise of the internet, word-of-mouth has gone online. Forums, blogs,
Facebook, Twitter and other digital media have become the playground for consumers to
comment and share their experiences about your business.

People now have access to uncut, unedited reviews directly from their desktop or mobile
devices to help aid them with their buying choice. They don’t even need to move off the
couch.
What’s more, the growth of online and social media usage has completely altered the course
of a traditional buyer’s journey. Instead of picking up the phone and relying on the
salesperson to guide them through product inventory, there are now several interactions or
“digital touchpoints” experienced prior to their visit.
By the time a consumer has reached you it’s likely they’ve googled your brand site, visited a
forum, listened to a colleagues opinion, searched for a realistic quote as well as read a
professional publication review.
All these processes will have carved a perception of your brand prior to engaging you in any
form of sales activity as the social conversation gets under way.
So in order to remain relevant, you and your sales team must be ready to engage clients
online.
LinkedIn Navigator
Even field sales reps are required to do their own prospecting every now and again and one of
the most powerful online tools available is LinkedIn Navigator
The great thing about LinkedIn is that it’s a social media channel designed for doing
business. It’s not frowned upon to build connections and contact them directly if you see a
mutually beneficial relationship.
Now the navigator tool essentially gives you access to this giant database and allows you to
filter almost at will, segmenting by targeted sector, business size, age – whatever it might be
that interests your business.
And the more targeted your search is, the more successful your social selling strategy will be.
Once you’ve organized these contacts into lists, based upon your initial search, you can then
reach out to see if your product or service is a good fit.
As you can see, the role of IT in sales management is vast. Everything from sales force
automation to online customer engagement is supported by some type of digital sales
technology. But perhaps the most important role it plays, especially for field sales, is that of
accurate data collection. By increasing the user-adoption rates of front-line technology used
by field reps it simultaneously increases the amount of real-time data managers have with
which to make accurate business decisions.
2.a) What is Selling process? Discuss the various stages involved in Selling process in the
following situation.
i) Salesman selling computer systems for an educational institution.
Ans. Computer sales support staff are the key point of contact between an IT organisation and its
clients. They are responsible for answering queries, providing technical advice and introducing new
products. Typical tasks include:
Attracting new business through activities such as cold-calling, networking and meeting with
potential clients
Organising sales visits
Clarifying customers’ and clients’ requirements and recommending the appropriate products
Negotiating contracts
Undertaking relevant research
Maintaining sales records
Giving demonstrations
Making and giving presentations
Attending trade exhibitions, conferences and meetings
Preparing tenders and proposals
Reviewing sales performance
Writing reports and sales literature.
Travelling, tight deadlines and the need to meet sales targets can make the work pressurised
at times.
Typical employers of computer sales support staff
Computer sales support staff are employed by computer manufacturers, software/systems
houses, IT consultancies, IT services organisations, computer suppliers and IT solutions
providers.
Jobs are advertised online, by careers services and recruitment agencies, and in newspapers
and in relevant publications such as TARGET jobs IT & Technology, IS Opportunities,
Computing and Computer Weekly. It is also worth attending on-campus presentations given
by IT and technology employers and applying early for advertised positions during the first
term of your final year at university.
Qualifications and training required
There are routes into this profession for both school leavers and university graduates.
It is often possible to enter the profession with a degree or higher national diploma (HND) in
any subject. However, some employers may prefer graduates from relevant degree
backgrounds such as computer science, software engineering, electronic engineering, physics
or mathematics. For graduates without relevant qualifications and/or experience, a
postgraduate IT qualification can be helpful. It is worth noting that some graduate employers
require candidates to have at least a 2.1.
Relevant experience gained in any commercial/sales area involving contact with customers or
the general public is advantageous. You can also apply for IT and sales-related industrial
placements, summer internships and insight programmes.
Key skills for computer sales support
Strong technical and sales skills
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
Commercial awareness
A meticulous and logical approach to work
The ability to meet high standards in programming aptitude tests
The ability to work under pressure and meet sales quotas
ii) Salesman promoting banking products for individuals.
Ans. With the cost of acquiring new retail, small business or commercial customers being
five to ten times the cost of retaining an existing one, and with the average spend of a repeat
customer being 50% – 100% more than a new one, financial marketers need to remember that
the most efficient investment of marketing funds is to market to customers that already bank
with you. Here are seven relatively easy techniques to do just that.
1. Start With the Lowest Hanging Fruit: The Subscribe Today easiest sales that can be
made to current customers are engagement services that help a customer use an account they
already own. These ‘sticky services,’ that are also part of most financial institution on
boarding programs, include a debit card, online banking, mobile banking, direct deposit, bill
pay, automatic savings transfer, personal line of credit and security solutions such as privacy
protection.
These services help to ensure the customer will use the products they own more frequently,
will significantly improve retention, and will help to improve the overall customer
experience. Without customer engagement on the most basic product level, a relationship will
have a difficult time growing.
2. Stay Connected: A friend of mine once said, “I was very impressed with how much love
my bank gave me when I opened some new accounts, but amazed that I never really heard
from them again except to tell me about new fees.” While some banks have very successful
on boarding programs to help stay connected with new customers, a surprising number of
banks still rely on the customer to onboard themselves. And unless the customer expands
their relationship, their bank may never include them in a model-driven cross-sell program.
To succeed in cross-selling services to customers, a bank or credit union needs to keep the
conversation going. This should be through email, direct mail, statement messaging, SMS
texts and as part of the online and mobile banking platforms. Remember, however, that these
messages must be personalized and highly targeted.
3. Continually Evaluate Upsell Opportunities: Rather than using product-driven programs
that are done seasonally, consider funding more customer-focused programs that evaluate
each customer’s propensity to open one or more of the products and services you offer at the
time they would like to buy. At many financial institutions, each customer’s transactional,
product ownership and even behavioral characteristics are evaluated continuously. This is
done to determine the most likely next purchase at any given time and whether the propensity
to purchase is high enough to make an offer.
In some of most successful programs, this evaluation of opportunities is done monthly, with
smaller mailing universes, but much higher response rates. Some organizations are also using
advanced analytics to provide contextual messages in real time. Customers want to be
provided suggestions of services that will help them with their finances. Having the timing
right is part of a great customer experience.
4. Empower Your Customer-Facing Employees: For most customer contact employees,
their primary responsibility revolves around efficient processing of transactions and/or
customer service. To leverage the thousands of customer engagements these employees have
each year, you need to provide easy ways for them to extend their conversations to include
relationship expansion opportunities.
Many financial institutions provide prompts on their employee’s computer screen around
recent sales communications received by the customer, most likely products that may interest
the customer, and even special offers that can be made as part of their transaction or service
conversation.
The best programs don’t stop there, but include tools for the customer to take advantage of
the offer. This may be an immediately generated custom printed sales document, a follow-up
email, SMS text or sales call or a referral form. Adding to the power of branch-based sales is
the increasing use of tablet-assisted employees at the branch level who can have all of the
tools at their fingertips.
5. Ask for Referrals: One of the easiest ways to generate new business and increase loyalty
of current retail or business customers is to ask (and possibly incent) for referrals. If a
customer is happy with the way they are treated at your organization, they usually want
others to know.
This is especially true with satisfied small businesses, private banking customers and with
retail customers that are part of a bank-at-work program. And it doesn’t hurt if you provide
an incentive to your current customer in addition to the prospect.
At a time when new customer acquisition offers often exceed $100 and when the overall cost
of acquisition is more than $250, offering a ‘bounty’ of $50 would be far less expensive and
would most likely generate a more loyal customer. A referral program, supported throughout
the organization is a great way to engage employees as well.
6. Leverage Offline and Online Channels: Never assume that customers understand all that
your organization offers or absorb communication the same through all channels. Remind
your customers continuously that you know who they are, understand their needs, are looking
out for them and that you are willing to reward them for their loyalty.
Using as many direct channels as possible to reach out to your current customer base is part
of a strong multichannel marketing plan. This includes direct mail, email, statement inserts,
banner ads on your website, ATM messaging, outbound calling efforts, etc. And don’t forget
the use of the powerful online and mobile banking sites of the customer.
7. Measure and Reward What You Want Done: By providing ongoing measurement of the
cross-selling objectives you want to achieve and paying for this achievement of these
objectives, you have a much better chance of reaching your goals. This continuous
reinforcement of your cross-sell mission allows your team to be focused on what’s important.
You can also turbo charge your results by communicating how you are assisting in their
efforts. Provide “opportunity reports” of the customers where they may have the greatest
opportunity for success. As part of these reports, it is also helpful to provide background as to
why the customer is being selected for a specific offer.
Finally, remember that current customers like to be rewarded for their loyalty. One of the best
ways to do this is to remember to include an offer with any cross-sell or upsell message.
Without an offer, you may be perceived as simply ‘pushing product’ without leveraging the
relationship value already in place.
2.b) What do you understand by the term “Skill”? What are the various skills that a
salesman ought to possess in a sales profession? Illustrate with a suitable example.
Ans. A skill is the ability to carry out a task with determined results often within a given
amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-
specific skills. For example, in the domain of work, some general skills would include time
management, teamwork and leadership, self-motivation and others, whereas domain-specific
skills would be used only for a certain job. Skill usually requires certain environmental
stimuli and situations to assess the level of skill being shown and used.
People need a broad range of skills to contribute to the modern economy. A
joint ASTD and U.S. Department of Labor study showed that through technology, the
workplace is changing, and identified 16 basic skills that employees must have to be able to
change with it. Three broad categories of skills are suggested and these are technical, human,
and conceptual. The first two can be substituted with hard and soft skills, respectively.
Hard skills: Hard skills, also called technical skills, are any skills relating to a specific task
or situation. It involves both understanding and proficiency in such specific activity that
involves methods, processes, procedures, or techniques. These skills are easily quantifiable
unlike soft skills, which are related to one's personality. These are also skills that can be or
have been tested and may entail some professional, technical, or academic qualification.
Labor skills: Skilled workers have long had historical import (see Division of labor) as
electricians, masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, bakers, brewers, coopers, printers and other
occupations that are economically productive. Skilled workers were often politically active
through their craft guilds.
Life skills: An ability and capacity acquired through deliberate, systematic, and sustained
effort to smoothly and adaptively carryout complex activities or job functions involving ideas
(cognitive skills), things (technical skills), and/or people (interpersonal skills).
People skills: According to the Portland Business Journal, people skills are described as:
✓ understanding ourselves and moderating our responses
✓ talking effectively and empathizing accurately
✓ building relationships of trust, respect and productive interactions.
A British definition is "the ability to communicate effectively with people in a friendly way,
especially in business." The term is not listed yet in major US dictionaries.
The term people skills is used to include both psychological skills and social skills but is less
inclusive than life skills.
Social skills: Social skill is any skill facilitating interaction and communication with others.
Social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal
ways. The process of learning such skills is called socialization.
Soft skills: Soft skills are a combination of interpersonal people skills, social skills,
communication skills, character traits, attitudes, career attributes and emotional intelligence
quotient (EQ) among others.
Hierarchy of Skills: Skills can be categorized based on the level of expertise and motivation.
The highest level of engagement corresponds to the craftsman. About 2% of people reach the
highest level.
3.a) What are Sales displays? Explain with examples the different types of displays
available to The retailer in effectively managing for customer pull.
Ans. A point-of-sale display (POS display) is a specialized form of sales promotion that is
found near, on, or next to a checkout counter (the "point of sale"). They are intended to draw
the customers' attention to products, which may be new products, or on special offer, and are
also used to promote special events, e.g. seasonal or holiday-time sales. POS displays can
include free standing display units (FSDU), shelf edging, dummy packs, strut cards, standees,
hanging signs, counter display units (CDU), display packs, endcaps, display
stands, mobiles, posters, and banners. POS can also refer to systems used to record
transactions between the customer and the commerce.
Usually, in smaller retail outlets, POS displays are supplied by the manufacturer of the
products, and also sited, restocked and maintained by one of their regular salespersons.
However, this is less common in large supermarkets as they can control the activities of their
suppliers due to their large purchasing power, and prefer to use their own material designed
to be consistent with their corporate theming and store layout.
Common items that may appear in POS displays year-round are batteries, soft
drinks, candy, chewing gum, magazines, comics, tobacco, and writable CDs and DVDs.
These displays are also useful in outlets with limited floor space, as there tends to be much
wasted space around counters.
The displays are normally covered with branding for the product they are trying to sell, and
are made out of cardboard or foam board, and/or a covering over a plastic
or Perspex/Plexiglass stand, all intended to be easily replaceable and disposable. This allows
designers to make full use of color and printing to make the display visually appealing. Some
displays are fixed or non-disposable; these may include lighting to make the display more
visible and may also contain a cooler, e.g. for drinks or ice cream. Some are no more than a
metal basket, with no design on the outside, simply showing a price; these types of display
are easier to refill.
Lightboxes: In the field of POS displays, a "lightbox" is a display fixture (or a modular
component of a larger POS display structure) that contains a translucent graphic film with
lamps that transmit light through the graphic, thus "backlighting" the graphic message for
increased visibility, brightness and contrast relative to its surroundings. By definition, the
artwork or backlit graphic film (aka "duratrans") in a POS lightbox is replaceable without
discarding the lightbox or any of its other components.
Lightboxes have historically been lighted with fluorescent lamps due to their (a) cooler
operating temperature than incandescent; (b) relatively efficient power consumption; and (c)
inherent diffusive property. However, as in most commercial lighting applications, there has
been a significant industry-wide shift in the late 20th and early 21st century toward LED
lamps in POS lightboxes, for not just the universally-acknowledged benefit of economy but
also of practicality, as LED lamps are more durable and impact-resistant in shipping,
handling and public applications such as Point-of-Sale. Motion LED lightboxes are a
variation on traditional lightboxes, and use programmed LEDs behind a display to create the
impression of movement.
Note: the definition of "lightbox" as it relates to POS displays is similar to but distinct from
that of a lightbox in the Photography and Graphic Arts industries. The similarity is that they
both contain lamps whose light is diffused to uniformly backlight a translucent image; the
distinction is that a POS lightbox is a permanent or semi-permanent fixture used to display an
advertising message in a retail space, while a photography lightbox is usually a portable or
table-mounted appliance used for image quality analysis and/or tracing in a photography
studio, graphic design studio, graphic/print production shop or similar environment.
Free Standing Display Units (FSDU)
Free standing display units are designed to attract the attention of customers and promote key
retail products or messages. They are often placed strategically within the customer journey,
and utilise bright colours and graphics to stand out visually and encourage shoppers to buy.
FSDUs are generally made from cardboard. This reduces production costs, and makes them
easy to transport and assemble, at the same time as being robust enough for use in a busy
retail environment.
3.b) Assume that you have been assigned the task of recruitment and selection of sales
force. What recruitment sources and selection tools would you employ and why in the
following situations?
i) Missionary Salesmen for Pharma company
Ans. Missionary selling is a form of personal sales in which the salesperson provides
information to an individual who will influence the purchase decision. This is an indirect
sales technique; the goal is not to close a sale, but merely to get information into the hands of
a key decision-maker. Jobs in missionary sales are most common in technical, pharmaceutical
and textbook sales.
Systems Specialists: Technical organizations like IBM and Xerox rely on systems specialists
to be missionary sellers. Systems specialists work with customers to solve problems that are
technical or operational in nature. In the process of solving problems, the salespeople provide
information about technical products that offer solutions. For example, a technical specialist
helping a company to reduce shipping time for its products might recommend a software
program that streamlines the dispatch process.
Pharmaceutical Detailers: Pharmaceutical detailers are indirect salespeople. They do not
attempt to pitch their products to doctors, but simply provide them with informational
pamphlets and samples containing the product details physicians need to determine if they
should prescribe the drugs to their patients. Pharmaceutical detailers must also be
knowledgeable about the drugs themselves, and must be able to answer doctors' questions
about them.
Textbook Sales: Students purchase textbooks, but it is their professors who decide which
texts their students will use. Textbooks salespeople use missionary selling tactics to sell
textbooks to professors by providing them with free copies of texts as samples. Professors
then review the books and decide whether or not they are appropriate for their students.
Other Jobs: Although missionary selling is usually associated with technology,
pharmaceuticals and textbook sales, it is a technique that can be applied to any product sold
to a person other than the end user. Missionary selling is usually used along with other sales
techniques, to varying degrees depending on the product. According to Pierce College, for
example, missionary selling is common for technical products but less so for retail items.
ii) Engineering graduates for an automobile company
Ans. Automotive engineering is a branch of engineering which deals with designing,
manufacturing and operating automobiles. This also includes working on their mechanical,
electrical, electronic, software and safety aspects. It is a segment of vehicle engineering
which deals with motorcycles, busses, etc.
Automobiles! From cars to trucks to the amazing Harley Davidson, this is a thing of interest
to many. Automotive engineering takes things to another level. It analyses questions like:
How can we teach cars to drive themselves? How would we get around on the surface of
Mars? Etc.
There are mainly three types of automotive engineers:
Design Engineers: They are responsible for the design aspect of a vehicle. Simply put, they
make the vehicle look good. Design engineers primarily work toward developing the visual
appearance of a vehicle and also are involved in the concept design. A familiarity with the
intricate details of the hydraulic, electrical, and mechanical systems inside a vehicle is a must.
Development Engineers: They work toward improving efficiency of existing vehicles and
developing new ones. Among other things they organize tasks like automobile level testing,
its validation and certification. They mainly research and find solutions to engineering
problems.
Production Engineers: Their responsibilities include making sure the process of manufacture
goes smoothly. This means that they are involved in the design, development,
implementation, operation, maintenance, and control of all processes in the manufacture of
vehicles.
Note: We can also inform that Automobile Engineering can be pursued in Bachelors or may
be directly in Masters.
4.a) Elaborate the importance of training sales force at all the levels in an organization.
Discuss the steps involved in the training process in the following situations.
i) Management graduates joined as management trainee with a MNC firm.
Ans. Gains knowledge and experience required for promotion to management positions under
direction of experienced personnel by performing the following duties.
Essential Job Functions
1. Receives training and performs duties in several departments such as Finance, Client
Services, Sales, Operations, Healthcare Data Solutions and IT.
2. Learns line and staff functions, operations, management viewpoints and company
policies and practices that affect each phase of business.
3. Sets performance goals and objectives with upper management.
4. Monitors performance progress with management and key trainers.
5. Observes experienced workers to acquire knowledge of methods, procedures, and
standards required for performance of departmental duties.
6. Receives training in functions and operations of related departments to facilitate
subsequent transferability between departments and to provide greater promotional
opportunities.
Other Duties
While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the requirements of the
position, management reserves the right to add or remove duties when circumstances dictate.
Minimum Requirements
Strong written, verbal, analytical and presentation skills. Ability to interact effectively with a
wide range of staff throughout the company. Position requires proficiency in Word, Excel,
Access and PowerPoint. Extensive travel may be required depending upon the position.
ii) Product knowledge and its application areas (Technical) for Diploma holders.
Ans. Product knowledge is the most important tool for closing sales. It instills faith, trust, and
respect in the customer, which creates a positive customer experience. The importance of
product knowledge represents itself the most in these situations:
Answering Difficult Questions: Many customers will have answered just about every
question on your product or service before they even call you. But, there are usually a couple
questions which don’t have answers online, and normally they are difficult questions like: “I
have read some mixed reviews on your customer service. Can you tell me what I can expect
if I have problems down the road?” This is where product knowledge training is crucial. If
your team is educated on these negative perceptions ahead of time and have prepared
responses for them, the answer the customer receives will be very powerful and concise. If
they are caught off guard, they might become defensive, stumble over their response, or
completely ignore the question, which will result in all faith being lost with the customer
because the one question they couldn’t find an answer for ahead of time, was answered
insufficiently.
Building Trust: Customers have to trust the product, company, and person they interact with
before they make a purchase, and by now, you probably know that the person they interact
with is weighed much more heavily than the other two sources. This makes it vital for your
sales team to be seen as trustworthy sources of information. As mentioned earlier, customers
enter conversations armed with information about your product. Imagine what it says to your
customer if what they hear from the salesperson is not the same as what they have taken from
your website or marketing releases. It eliminates all trust in not only the company, but also in
the salesperson, because they don’t know who to believe. This makes it crucial that not only
your sales team has enough product knowledge, but that they also have the most current
product knowledge.
Making Lasting Impressions: One of the reasons that customers are doing so much research
on your products and services is that tremendous competition has driven consumers to
believe that all products are similar. With such a small margin of difference in the product
itself, companies are realizing that they can make up for the difference in other areas. One
easy area that you can make a difference is in the buying experience, but it requires an in-
depth knowledge of your product to do so. For example, a customer starts the conversation by
asking about one product, but your salesperson recognizes that this customer is actually a
better fit for a different product (or even an add-on product.) Your salesperson then proceeds
to explain the reasons why, and in doing so, has now taught the customer something and
shown that the salesperson has the customer’s best interest in mind. With so many “order
takers” in the sales industry right now, this is sure to create a lasting impression.
Benefits of Product Knowledge: Knowledge is power and for your sales force, product
knowledge can be the vehicle to increased sales. We have already discussed the reasons why
product knowledge is important to your business, but the list below highlights the benefits of
product knowledge—as they directly relate to your sale team.

• Strengthen Communication Skills – A thorough and wider understanding of a product

enables a salesperson to use different techniques and methods of presenting a product to
various types of customers. Stronger communication skills empower a salesperson to
suitably adapt a sales presentation for greater impact.
• Boosts Enthusiasm – Armed with deep product knowledge, a display of enthusiasm and
belief in the product may generate excitement among your customers and alleviate
uncertainty about the solution that the product provides for the customer.
• Grows Confidence – If a customer isn’t fully committed to completing a sale, the
difference may simply be the presence (or lack) of credibility or confidence a salesperson
has towards the product. Becoming educated in the product and its uses will help cement
that confidence.
• Assists in Overcoming Objections – Factual information gained from product knowledge,
may be used to strike down objections voiced by customers. Solid knowledge about your
product coupled with parallel information about similar products sold by your
competitors—gives you that added advantage to easily counter objections.
4.b) As a sales manager, discuss the key considerations in the preparation of sales
budget for sales department so as to effectively plan, co-ordinate and control all the
activities. Prepare an essay by taking an hypothetical example of your choice.
Ans. When you're running a business, it's easy to get bogged down in day-to-day problems
and forget the bigger picture. However, successful businesses invest time to create and
manage budgets, prepare and review business plans and regularly monitor finance and
performance.
Structured planning can make all the difference to the growth of your business. It will enable
you to concentrate resources on improving profits, reducing costs and increasing returns on
investment.
In fact, even without a formal process, many businesses carry out the majority of the
activities associated with business planning, such as thinking about growth areas,
competitors, cashflow and profit.
Converting this into a cohesive process to manage your business' development doesn't have to
be difficult or time-consuming. The most important thing is that plans are made, they are
dynamic and are communicated to everyone involved. See the page in this guide on what to
include in your annual plan.
Benefits: The key benefit of business planning is that it allows you to create a focus for the
direction of your business and provides targets that will help your business grow. It will also
give you the opportunity to stand back and review your performance and the factors affecting
your business. Business planning can give you:
• a greater ability to make continuous improvements and anticipate problems
• sound financial information on which to base decisions
• improved clarity and focus
• a greater confidence in your decision-making
Include in your annual plan:
The main aim of your annual business plan is to set out the strategy and action plan for your
business. This should include a clear financial picture of where you stand - and expect to
stand - over the coming year. Your annual business plan should include:
• an outline of changes that you want to make to your business
• potential changes to your market, customers and competition
• your objectives and goals for the year
• your key performance indicators
• any issues or problems
• any operational changes
• information about your management and people
• your financial performance and forecasts
• details of investment in the business
Business planning is most effective when it's an ongoing process. This allows you to act
quickly where necessary, rather than simply reacting to events after they've happened.
A typical business planning cycle
1. Review your current performance against last year/current year targets.
2. Work out your opportunities and threats.
3. Analyse your successes and failures during the previous year.
4. Look at your key objectives for the coming year and change or re-establish your longer-
term planning.
5. Identify and refine the resource implications of your review and build a budget.
6. Define the new financial year's profit-and-loss and balance-sheet targets.
7. Conclude the plan.
8. Review it regularly - for example, on a monthly basis - by monitoring performance,
reviewing progress and achieving objectives.
Budgets and business planning
New small business owners may run their businesses in a relaxed way and may not see the
need to budget. However, if you are planning for your business' future, you will need to fund
your plans. Budgeting is the most effective way to control your cashflow, allowing you to
invest in new opportunities at the appropriate time.
If your business is growing, you may not always be able to be hands-on with every part of it.
You may have to split your budget up between different areas such as sales, production,
marketing etc. You'll find that money starts to move in many different directions through
your organisation - budgets are a vital tool in ensuring that you stay in control of expenditure.
A budget is a plan to:
• control your finances
• ensure you can continue to fund your current commitments
• enable you to make confident financial decisions and meet your objectives
• ensure you have enough money for your future projects
It outlines what you will spend your money on and how that spending will be financed.
However, it is not a forecast. A forecast is a prediction of the future whereas a budget is
a planned outcome of the future - defined by your plan that your business wants to achieve.
Benefits of a business budget
There are a number of benefits of drawing up a business budget, including being better able
to:
• manage your money effectively
• allocate appropriate resources to projects
• monitor performance
• meet your objectives
• improve decision-making
• identify problems before they occur - such as the need to raise finance or cash flow
difficulties
• plan for the future
• increase staff motivation
Creating a budget
Creating, monitoring and managing a budget is key to business success. It should help you
allocate resources where they are needed, so that your business remains profitable and
successful. It need not be complicated. You simply need to work out what you are likely to
earn and spend in the budget period.
Begin by asking these questions:
• What are the projected sales for the budget period? Be realistic - if you overestimate, it
will cause you problems in the future.
• What are the direct costs of sales – i.e. costs of materials, components or subcontractors
to make the product or supply the service?
• What are the fixed costs or overheads?
You should break down the fixed costs and overheads by type, e.g.:
• cost of premises, including rent, municipal taxes and service charges
• staff costs –e.g. wages, benefits, Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) premiums,
contributions to the Québec Pension Plan (QPP) and to the financing of the Commission
des normes du travail (CNT)
• utilities – e.g. heating, lighting, telephone
• printing, postage and stationery
• vehicle expenses
• equipment costs
• advertising and promotion
• travel and subsistence expenses
• legal and professional costs, including insurance
Your business may have different types of expenses, and you may need to divide up the
budget by department. Don't forget to add in how much you need to pay yourself, and include
an allowance for tax.
Your business plan should help in establishing projected sales, cost of sales, fixed costs and
overheads, so it would be worthwhile preparing this first. See the page in this guide on
planning for business success.
Once you've got figures for income and expenditure, you can work out how much money
you're making. You can look at costs and work out ways to reduce them. You can see if you
are likely to have cash flow problems, giving yourself time to do something about them.
When you've made a budget, you should stick to it as far as possible, but review and revise it
as needed. Successful businesses often have a rolling budget, so that they are continually
budgeting, e.g. for a year in advance.
Key steps in drawing up a budget: There are a number of key steps you should follow to
make sure your budgets and plans are as realistic and useful as possible.
Make time for budgeting: If you invest some time in creating a comprehensive and realistic
budget, it will be easier to manage and ultimately more effective.
Use last year's figures - but only as a guide: Collect historical information on sales and
costs if they are available - these could give you a good indication of likely sales and costs.
But it's also essential to consider what your sales plans are, how your sales resources will be
used and any changes in the competitive environment.
Create realistic budgets: Use historical information, your business plan and any changes in
operations or priorities to budget for overheads and other fixed costs.
It's useful to work out the relationship between variable costs and sales and then use your
sales forecast to project variable costs. For example, if your unit costs reduce by 10 per cent
for each additional 20 per cent of sales, how much will your unit costs decrease if you have a
33 per cent rise in sales?
Make sure your budgets contain enough information for you to easily monitor the key drivers
of your business such as sales, costs and working capital. Accounting software can help you
manage your accounts.
Involve the right people: It's best to ask staff with financial responsibilities to provide you
with estimates of figures for your budget - for example, sales targets, production costs or
specific project control. If you balance their estimates against your own, you will achieve a
more realistic budget. This involvement will also give them greater commitment to meeting
the budget.
Your budget should cover: Decide how many budgets you really need. Many small
businesses have one overall operating budget which sets out how much money is needed to
run the business over the coming period - usually a year. As your business grows, your total
operating budget is likely to be made up of several individual budgets such as your marketing
or sales budgets.
Your budget will need to include:
Projected cash flow -your cash budget projects your future cash position on a month-by-
month basis. Budgeting in this way is vital for small businesses as it can pinpoint any
difficulties you might be having. It should be reviewed at least monthly.
Costs - typically, your business will have three kinds of costs:
• fixed costs - items such as rent, salaries and financing costs
• variable costs - including raw materials and overtime
• one-off capital costs - purchases of computer equipment or premises, for example
To forecast your costs, it can help to look at last year's records and contact your suppliers for
quotes.
Revenues - sales or revenue forecasts are typically based on a combination of your sales
history and how effective you expect your future efforts to be.
Using your sales and expenditure forecasts, you can prepare projected profits for the next 12
months. This will enable you to analyse your margins and other key ratios such as your return
on investment.
Use your budget to measure performance
If you base your budget on your business plan, you will be creating a financial action plan.
This can serve several useful functions, particularly if you review your budgets regularly as
part of your annual planning cycle.
Your budget can serve as:
• an indicator of the costs and revenues linked to each of your activities
• a way of providing information and supporting management decisions throughout the
year
• a means of monitoring and controlling your business, particularly if you analyse the
differences between your actual and budgeted income
Benchmarking performance
Comparing your budget year on year can be an excellent way of benchmarking your business'
performance - you can compare your projected figures, for example, with previous years to
measure your performance.
You can also compare your figures for projected margins and growth with those of other
companies in the same sector, or across different parts of your business.
Key performance indicators
To boost your business' performance you need to understand and monitor the key "drivers" of
your business - a driver is something that has a major impact on your business. There are
many factors affecting every business' performance, so it is vital to focus on a handful of
these and monitor them carefully.
The three key drivers for most businesses are:
• Sales
• Costs
• Working Capital
Any trends towards cash flow problems or falling profitability will show up in these figures
when measured against your budgets and forecasts. They can help you spot problems early on
if they are calculated on a consistent basis.

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