Page 168 - Marketing the Basics 2nd
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160 Marketing: the Basics
COMPENSATING PEOPLE
Due to the physical and mental demands placed on a salesperson, those aspects must be reflected in the compensation package offered to the salesperson. Depending on the working conditions, the salary could be simply a fixed salary, or a salary plus commission or a salary plus bonuses. Management must decide on which combina- tion or mix will motivate the salesperson and focus their activities to realize the corporation’s objectives.
MOTIVATING SALESPEOPLE
Due to the day-to-day stress placed on the salesperson, morale can quickly plummet. Astute managers can boost morale and commitment, and consequently, boost performance through various means of positive reinforcement or by changing the compensation structure. For many salespeople, compensation – money – is big motivator, though often the motivation comes from the mark of success that the money brings. At IBM the sales force would largely act like a school of fish that moves as one: when we heard there was a bonus for a particular product we would all go out and try very hard to sell that particular product. At a deeper level this suggests that many salespeople have a particularly high need for achievement and just find pleasure in the act of succeeding on a regular basis.
EVALUATING SALESPEOPLE
While the simplest way to evaluate a salesperson is to compare her sales results with the metrics utilized to evaluate performance, how does a manager evaluate a salesperson during the selling process?
One method is to receive progress reports from each salesperson, detailing their completed activities, calls they’ve made, expenses they’ve accrued to date. With this information the manager remains informed as to which companies have been contacted, and the status of each account. The manager now has at his or her disposal the needed information to compare the progress of each account, and can intervene directly if a sale is taking too long to close. In sales, results are the ultimate long-term measure.
