Selection of Sales Representatives

1
Selection of Sales Representatives

• Internal search
• Competitor salesmen
• From the staff of your distributors
• From the institutes
• From employment exchanges/agencies
• From the staff of other companies
• By advertising in newspapers

2
Selection of Sales Representatives- Contd..

• Selection procedure involves two different
  activities (a) preparing job description and
  personnel specification (b) short listing and
  interview.
• PREPARATION OF JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSONNEL
  SPECIFICATION
• Preparation of job description will involve the
  following
• activities
• Deciding the duties and responsibilities.
• To whom the person will report
• Technical requirements of the job e.g. travel for
  20 days a month
• Location of the job i.e., place of work.
• Degree of autonomy e.g., limits of authority.

3
Selection of Sales Representatives-Contd..

• (b) Personnel specifications change from selector
  to selector. They can be
• Physical requirement e.g., strong physique to
  withstand traveling strain.
• Attainments e.g., education experience
• Aptitudes and qualities e.g., communication
  skills, motivation levels
• Deposition e.g., maturity, sense of
  responsibility
• Interests e.g., hobbies etc.
• Personal status e.g., married/unmarried.

4
Short Listing and Interviews

• Short listing and interview become easy once you
  have a clear job description and personnel
  specification all those who do not fit the
  description and specifications are not
  considered. These short listed candidates are
  then interviewed to find the best suitable
  candidates for your consideration and
  appointment.
• The next step is training the selected candidate
  for job responsibilities. The training is again
  of two types (a) Induction training and (b) On
  job training. We will look into both aspects
  separately.

5
Short Listing and Interviews-Contd..

• Induction Training
• This type of training is given to a person who is
  joining the company from outside.
• It consists of
• Company profile
• Position in hierarchy and job responsibilities
• Introduction to the administrative staff and
  accounts staff
• Reporting procedures and standards of reporting
• Knowledge of products, their features and
  benefits
• Knowledge of manufacturing units
• Handing over stationery and kit etc.
• The induction training is done at the sales
  office itself. Some companies arrange a visit to
  the manufacturing unit also to give assurance
  about the Quality standards. In pharmaceutical
  companies, induction training is very important
  as all the companies have different formulations
  and detailing
• procedures.

6
Short Listing and Interviews

• On Job Training (Field Training)
• On job training is a very important aspect of the
  sales managers job. This is an ongoing and
  continuous process for both the sales manager and
  his subordinates. It is directed towards
  improving job related skills and alongwith it the
  personality of the sales staff as these are the
  people who improve or spoil the image of the
  company by way of responsible or irresponsible
  behavior in the minds of the trade. The company
  image in the trade circle is very important in
  getting good channel members and their
  whole-hearted support.

7
Training Skill Development

• The skill development training, though similar in
  both
• industrial and consumer products, differs in
  emphasis on
• different aspects.
• Consumer Sales
• Consumer sales are generally divided into steps
  of a sales
• call. They are
• Planning and preparation
• Approach
• Objection handling
• Close

8
Planning and Preparation

• This is the most important aspect of
  salesmanship. In fact, planning and preparation
  is the most important aspect of everyones life.
  This is the time when you decide your
  objective-where you want to go, how you want to
  go, what is the help you will need for achieving
  your objective, what are the difficulties you are
  likely to face, how you will overcome them, what
  are the contingency plans etc.
• To take care of all the above aspects, a salesman
  is required to take the following checklist into
  consideration
• Prepare the day, target, in line with months
  target
• Decide the route/market you want to cover as per
  your pre-journey planning.
• Check the daily sales report for the previous
  visit which was executed, whether all the
  complaints and replacements were taken care of.

9
Planning and Preparation-Contd.

• Check the available stock and the transit stock
• If you are operating ready delivery arrangements
  then check the condition of vehicle, the
  accompanying staff, the loading of proper stocks
  (to take care of targeted sales), POP materials,
  posters etc.
• Check the manufacturing dates on stock and the
  MRP on it.
• Check price list and carry the current and
  previous price lists.
• Check the sales bag and kit
• Collect samples (important in case of new product
  launch).
• Confirm that the route/market you are covering is
  open.

10
Approach

• Approach is a technique by which you attract the
  customer towards you and create a good impression
  of yourself. There are two aspects of approach.
• Personality
• Method
• Personality is in the hands of the person
  himself. How he grooms himself, how he dresses,
  how he present himself etc. The other aspects of
  personality like communication skills etc. also
  play a very vital role so they become a separate
  aspect of on job training and not a part of
  selling skill training.
• Method of approach keeps changing from area to
  area, but one thing is common-you should have a
  pleasant outlook and greet the person in such a
  way that he appreciates it.

11
Approach

• Following are the common techniques of greeting
  people that are accepted by all.
• Common to all (present generation) Hi,
  Hello, Good morning/evening
• Sikhs Sat Sir Akal
• North Namaste/Jai Siyaram
• Muslim Salam
• Parsi Sahebji
• Bengal Nomaskar
• South Namaskara
• Marathi Ram Ram
• Gujarathi Jai Sri Krishn Kem Choo
• Jains Jai Jeenendra
• When you get to know each other, you should start
  calling the customer by name only which
• brings you closer to the customer. Try to
  make him call you by your name so that he gets
• convinced of your close relation. This
  closeness gives you better access t the customer
  and
• hence better business.

12
Objection Handling

• The salesman may do anything to convince the
  customer but still the customer will always have
  objections (queries) before he makes the buying
  decision. What should a salesman do? Should he
  ignore the objections? Should he avoid answering
  them? The answer is a big No.
• A salesman should never ignore or avoid the
  objections. The customer raises objections only
  when he wants to clarify his doubts (before
  making the purchase decisions). So all the
  importance should be given to handling objections.

13
Objection Handling-Contd.

• There are many different ways of handling
  objections. The important
• ones are as follows
• Listen and do not interrupts While the customer
  is making a complaint, listen carefully to
  understand what he wants to say. The customer
  may get pleased to find someone listening to him.
  Answer only when the customer has finished
  talking.
• Agree and counter Agree to what the customer
  wants to say and counter the argument to prove
  how it is wrong.
• Question the objection Question the objection by
  saying Do you mean to say that ------ and
  restate the objection in such a way that it is
  answered all by itself.
• Trial close In this method the objection is
  turned into trail close like If I clarify the
  point will you buy-----. This way if the
  objection is true the customer agrees to buy and
  if it is false he rejects. In case the
  objection is false you need not answer it.

14
Objection Handling-Contd.

1. Hidden objections Sometimes the customer may not
   come out with the objections clearly, in such a
   case the salesman should probe and ask Do you
   have any doubt about ----- then be assured that
   it is not true this clarifies any doubts in the
   minds of customer.
2. Forestall the objection If you feel that the
   customer may raise the objections for particular
   aspects of the product then clarify that point to
   avoid the objection.
3. Straight denial This is not an advisable method
   but sometimes you are required to deny the
   objection clearly.

15
Close

• Close of call is securing the order and making
  the sale. A salesman should see every
  opportunity to close the sale immediately after
  he has checked the stock to decide the need.
• Remember that the salesman is visiting the
  customer to get a sale and not to give him
  information about the product. Brand talk and
  objection handling are tools to get a sale. If
  one gets a sale without using the tools, nothing
  like it. Following methods are used to close the
  sale
• Ask for the order you can explain the stock
  situation to the customer and tell him (if you
  are seasoned salesman) how much you are giving to
  him or ask him how much you should give him.
• Summarize and ask summarize the discussions you
  had with the customer and tell/ask him to order.
• The alternate close In this, the salesman uses
  sentences like Shall I send you ten units or
  five? or Shall I deliver stocks in the morning
  or in the evening?
• Action agreement In this the salesman agrees to
  something and says I will do this and send you
  so much stocks.
• The concession close In this the salesman
  offers extra concession to finalize the order.

16
Industrial Sale

• S Survey of customers
• P Prospecting the customer
• A Approach the customer
• N Need development/negotiations
• C Close (order booking)
• O Order processing

17
Training in Personality Development

• In this part of training, the sales manager
  explains the
• following things
• Dress code
• Personal grooming
• Body language
• Communications skills (a) written (b) oral
• Listening skills
• Manners and etiquette
• A good understanding of each of the above will
  help one
• become a better salesman.