NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF

SALES MANAGEMENT
 Marketing Management
Definition: Sales management can be seen Integration: Marketing is a broader
as a segment of the concept; marketing management
organization’s marketing mix. It deals with includes all the activities related to
the formation of sales strategies; product sales management.
merchandising and pricing; sales promotion  Different Sales or Job Position: It is
activities; distribution function; and the combined efforts of the whole
planning, staffing, supervising, motivating sales team, including salesperson,
and controlling of sales personnel to attain sales executive, sales head, sales
the desired sales objectives. manager and after-sales service
personnel.
It was initially limited to the guiding,  Pervasive Function: It is a
directing and controlling of the sales universally applicable concept which
personnel. But today, it has a significant role has been adopted and tested by every
in organizational success. kind of business organizations.

Nature of Sales Management Key Aspects

To understand the concept of sales

management clearly, we must go through its
following characteristics:

 Goal-Oriented: Similar to other

management activities, sales
management also have a specific
purpose and intended for the
achievement of specified goals or
objectives.
 Continuous Process: The sales
manager needs to perform sales A sales manager needs to concentrate on the
management functions regularly, and three crucial elements of sales management.
this process is never-ending. Getting these three right can bring
 Systematic Approach: It is an optimization of the sales management.
organized way of handling the sales
function of the company where every Let us now discuss each one of these in
problem has a defined and proven detail below:
solution.
 Relationship Selling: The salespeople Sales Operations – Team Building
make efforts to build a strong
customer relationship to sell the Building an efficient sales team is the
products or services effectively. primary focus of a sales manager. He/she
needs to ensure that team members are
handed over the responsibilities, which
matches their skills and knowledge.
Moreover, they have been provided with the performance. The sales manager, however,
required training to execute their duties in needs to take charge when the salesperson
the desired manner. fails to achieve the desired results.

The sales manager then needs to:

Sales Analysis – Reporting

Analyzing or reporting the performance of

the sales team helps everyone to better-off
their tasks and efforts. Thus, it is one of the
essential components of sales management.

The team becomes aware of where it stands,

by going through the sales metrics,
 Determine challenging and realistic performance index and other quantifiable
sales targets; indicators. Hence, it can find out the
 Allot a particular area or territory to loopholes and rectify the mistakes made
each salesperson; earlier to ensure optimal results next time.
 Set objectives and sales quota for the
sales team. Using the standard sales pipeline, one can
find out the following metrics:
The sales manager have to continually
motivate his/her team and provide feedback  Number of deals
on their performance.  The average size of each deal
 The average percentage of deals
cracked
Sales Strategy – Sales Process  The average time that is taken to close
the deals
When the team is ready for sales
performance, it requires proper guidance and Sales Management Scope
support.
Sales management is a field which has
Therefore, the sales manager needs to emerged from marketing management;
prepare a sales pipeline which provides a however, the latter is a broader concept.
sequential presentation of the steps involved
in the sales process, right from lead Let us now learn about the extent to which
generation to cracking the deal successfully. sales management is applicable in business
organizations:
There are varying strategies for different
types of sales activities like customer Sales Planning or Forecasting: The sales-
acquisition, customer retention, personal related activities need to be planned well in
selling, distribution, advance through anticipation of future sales
prospective.
A sales funnel or pipeline guides the
salespeople and proves to be a useful tool
for monitoring and controlling self-
Sales Budgeting: The sales manager needs Determining Sales Territories: Every sales
to determine or estimate the sales budget, team or salesperson is given a particular
i.e., the expenses which will be incurred in region or area as a target market, where they
carrying out the sales activities. need to penetrate for selling products or
services.
Determining Structure and Size of Sales
Organization: The department of a Motivating Sales Personnel: It also
company which is solely responsible for all emphasizes on reviewing the work of
the sales-related functions is termed as a salespeople and driving them frequently to
sales organization. perform better.

Sales management provides for determining Compensation and Remuneration of

the size, composition and structure of a sales Salespeople: It ascertains appropriate salary,
organization. remuneration, allowance, commission and
other benefits to the salespeople.
Human Resource Planning: The sales
management ensures a proper estimation of Controlling Salesforce: Exercising
sales personnel requirement in the sufficient control by monitoring the
organization. performance of the sales personnel is also a
crucial function of sales management.
Hiring Sales Personnel: It initiates the
recruitment and selection of efficient and Branding, Labelling and Packaging: The
suitable candidates for various vacant sales sales personnel gathers customer feedback
positions. on the acceptability of the product
packaging, presentation, branding and
Training and Development of labelling.
Salespeople: It also includes providing
training and orientation to the selected Managing Distribution Channel: It also
candidates to develop their skills and ensures keeping track of the marketing
knowledge to match those required for the channels and filling the loopholes if any.
job position.
Sales Promotion: The product
Developing Salesperson’s Objectives: The advertisements and other promotional tactics
sales manager set up achievable objectives are also determined through sales
or goals for the salespeople appointed under management functions.
him/her.
Organizing and Support Service: It
Fixing Sales Quotas: Also, the sales quota includes handling of queries and solving
(monthly, quarterly or yearly) is fixed, either problems of the sales personnel through
in terms of volume or value of sales to set proper guidance and support service.
targets for the sales team.
After-Sale Services: The customer
recognizes a company mostly through the
effectiveness and efficiency of the after-sale
services it provides, which is the concern of
sales management
Importance of Sales Management Aids Top Management Decision Making:
It comprises of the comparison between the
Why is sales management considered to be desired and actual result and thus, supports
an inevitable part of business organizations? the top-level management or directors to
make crucial decisions (such as business
The following benefits of sales management expansion and closure).
will enlighten you over the above question:
Improves Profitability: The most critical
Realizes Organizational Objectives: Sales concerns of top-level management is profit
management is practiced to attain the pre- maximization, which is, therefore, passed on
defined organizational goals or objectives as a primary objective of the sales
which can be increasing profitability, management.
customer satisfaction, market acquisition,
and so on. Develops Personnel: In the process of sales
management, the sales personnel is provided
Manages Sales Force: The sales team sufficient training, growth opportunities and
includes personnel performing various sales- support to ensure their overall development.
related tasks; the activities of the sales force
are hence monitored and regulated through Product Development: The sales team are
sales management. in constant touch with the clients or
customers, which helps the management to
Better Planning: Planning is an essential know about their preference and taste.
function of sales management; it includes
the formulation of goals, strategies, Thus, leading to new product
programs and budget. development or improving the existing
products or services.
Sales Maximization: It also helps the
management in setting sales target, which
are tough higher than the previous goals but Conclusion
are possibly attainable.
Sales management is a vital part of any
Builds Strong Relationship: The sales business organization. It not only makes the
personnel emphasize on building up strong products or services available to the
interpersonal relations with the customers, customers but also supports the organization
as their primary motive. Since it ultimately to sustain competition in the long run.
drives the sales and profit maximization.

Optimizes Distribution: It provides for

maximum utilization of the marketing
channels by identifying the key problem
areas and finding a solution to these issues.