SALES MANAGEMENT

Session 6: Recruitment and selection

Sales Management
 RECRUITMENT & SELECTION
• Selection is the process of picking individuals who
have relevant qualifications to fill jobs in an
organization
• Recruitment is at the centre of an effective sales
force.
– One approach in the selection is asking a customer what
characteristics they look for in a sales representative.
Companies develop selection procedure where behavioral
and management skills are tested.

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 IMPORTANCE OF
RECRUITMENT & SELECTION
• There is wide variability in the effectiveness of
sales people
• Sales people are very costly
• Other important determinants of success are
heavily dependent on the intrinsic qualities of
the recruit

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 1ST YEAR COST OF A
SALESPERSON IN THE USA
Compensation
(trainee average) $35,500
Benefits (approx.21.5% of
compensation) 7,600
Field Expense 16,000

Direct Expense $59,100

Training Costs 7,100

Total Costs $66,200

Source: Dartnell’s 30th Sales Force Compensation Survey (2009), p.187.

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 RECRUITMENT PROCESS

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 9.1

Recruitment
process

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 SELECTION CRITERIA
Hard Skills Soft Skills Team Culture

What we do NOT want:

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 IMPORTANT
QUALITIES OF SALES
PEOPLE

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 JOB DESCRIPTION
• Title of the job
• Duties and responsibilities
• To whom they will report
• Technical requirements
• Location and geographical area to be covered
• Degree of autonomy

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 JD OF A SALES
Responsibilities
MANAGER
•Managing organizational sales by developing a business plan that
covers sales, revenue and expense controls.
•Meeting planned sales goals.
•Setting individual sales targets with the sales team.
•Tracking sales goals and reporting results as necessary.
•Overseeing the activities and performance of the sales team.
•Coordinating with marketing on lead generation.
•The ongoing training of your salespeople.
•Developing your sales team through motivation, counseling and
product knowledge education.
•Promoting the organization and products.
•Understand our ideal customers and how they relate to our products

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 JD OF A SALES
MANAGER
Requirements
• Bachelor’s degree in business or related field.
• Experience in planning and implementing sales strategies.
• Experience in customer relationship management.
• Experience managing and directing a sales team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Dedication to providing great customer service.
• Ability to lead a sale team.

Marjolaine Matray - 11

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 APPLICANT SOURCES
Internal External
• Staff within the company • Referrals from other firms
– Salespeople
– Customers
• Advertisements
• Employment agencies
• Educational institutions
• Internet

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 INTERNAL SOURCES
• Advantages
– Candidate is familiar to company
– Candidate’s character is known
• Disadvantage:
- No fresh talent
- Lack of performance due to promotion

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 EXTERNAL SOURCES
• Advertisement in newspaper, Magazine or
trade journals
– Advantages:
• Produce large number of applicants
• Short span of time
• Low cost
– Disadvantages:
• Application screening is time consuming
• Applicants may be questionable character

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 EXTERNAL SOURCES
• Recruitment agencies
- Advantages
- Provide bio-data of potential candidates for a fee
- Screen applicants on various parameters
- Disadvantages:
- Some applicant may be irrelevant
- High cost

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Sales Management
 EXTERNAL SOURCES
• Educational institutions:
• Used for placement at entry level
– Advantages
• Freshers are more adaptable than experienced
• Candidates are intelligent
• Possess required technical qualifications
• Easily trained
– Disadvantages:
• Lack of experience

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Sales Management
 EXTERNAL SOURCES
• Hiring from competitors and other industries:
Common: insurance, stock broker, office equipment, clothing
– Advantages:
• Salesperson knows the market and its customers
• Recruiting company knows the ability of candidate
• Candidate is acquainted with market trends and
customers
– Disadvantages:
• Legal & ethical issues

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 6 STEPS OF THE INTERVIEW

1.Welcome and small talk

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 STAR SYSTEM TO DESCRIBE
SUCCESS
Situation: Ask the candidate about a recent
challenge and a situation in which they
found themselves.
Task: What were they required to achieve? The
interviewer will be looking to see what the
candidate was trying to achieve from the
situation.
Action: What did they do? The interviewer will be
looking for information on what the
candidate did, why they did it and what
the alternatives were.
Results: What was the outcome of their actions?
What did they achieve through their
actions and did they meet their objectives?
What did they learn from this experience
and have they used this learning since?

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 SELECTION TOOLS &
PROCEDURES
• Weighted Application blanks
• Personal interviews
• Reference checks
• Physical examinations
• Psychological tests
– intelligence
– personality
– aptitude/skills

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Sales Management