Page 525 - Foundations of Marketing

492 Part 6 | Promotion Decisions

Sales objectives are usually developed for both the total sales force and individual sales-
people. Objectives for the entire force are normally stated in terms of sales volume, market
share, or profit. Volume objectives refer to dollar or unit sales. For example, the objective for
an electric drill producer’s sales force might be to sell $ 18 million worth of drills, or 600,000
drills annually. When sales goals are stated in terms of market share, they usually call for an
increase in the proportion of the firm’s sales relative to the total number of products sold by all
businesses in that industry. When sales objectives are based on profit, they are generally stated
in terms of dollar amounts or return on investment.
Sales objectives, or quotas, for individual salespeople are commonly stated in terms of
dollar or unit sales volume. Other bases used for individual sales objectives include average
order size, average number of calls per time period, and ratio of orders to calls.

Determining Sales Force Size
Sales force size is important, because it influences the company’s ability to generate sales and
profits. Moreover, size of the sales force affects the compensation methods used, salespeople’s
morale, and overall sales force management. Sales force size must be adjusted periodically,
because a firm’s marketing plans change along with markets and forces in the marketing
environment. One danger in cutting back the size of the sales force to increase profits is that
the sales organization may lose strength and resiliency, preventing it from rebounding when
growth occurs or better market conditions prevail.
Several analytical methods can help determine optimal sales force size. One method
involves determining how many sales calls per year are necessary for the organization to serve
customers effectively and then dividing this total by the average number of sales calls a sales-
person makes annually. A second method is based on marginal analysis, in which additional
salespeople are added to the sales force until the cost of an additional salesperson equals the
additional sales generated by that person. Although marketing managers may use one or sev-
eral analytical methods, they normally temper decisions with subjective judgments.

Recruiting and Selecting Salespeople
To create and maintain an effective sales force, sales managers must recruit the right type of
salespeople. In recruiting , the sales manager develops a list of qualified applicants for sales
positions. Effective recruiting efforts are a vital part of implementing the strategic sales force
plan and can help assure successful organizational performance. The costs of hiring and train-
ing a salesperson are soaring, reaching more than $ 60,000 in some industries. Thus, recruiting
errors are expensive.
To ensure that the recruiting process results in a pool of qualified applicants, a sales man-
ager establishes a set of qualifications before beginning to recruit. Although marketers have
tried for years to identify a set of traits characterizing effective salespeople, no set of gener-
ally accepted characteristics exists yet. Experts agree that good salespeople exhibit optimism,
flexibility, self-motivation, good time management skills, empathy, and the ability to network
and maintain long-term customer relationships. Today, companies are increasingly seeking
applicants capable of employing relationship-building and consultative approaches as well as
the ability to work effectively in team selling efforts.
A sales manager generally recruits applicants from several sources: departments within
the firm, other firms, employment agencies, educational institutions, respondents to advertise-
ments, websites (like Monster.com), and individuals recommended by current employees. The
specific sources depend on the type of salesperson required and the manager’s experiences
and successes with particular recruiting tactics.
The process of recruiting and selecting salespeople varies considerably from one com-
recruiting Developing a list pany to another. Companies intent on reducing sales force turnover are likely to have strict
of qualified applicants for sales recruiting and selection procedures. Sales management should design a selection procedure
positions that satisfies the company’s specific needs. Some organizations use the specialized services

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