Position of a Sales Manager - Essay Example

Human Resource Case Study As a human resource manager it is my job to take a coherent and strategic approach to understand the needs of the people working at Perfect Juice, Inc.. Undeniably, the development of a business completely depends on the individual and the combined efforts of its employees. In my perspective, employees are not just robots. Instead, they are a priceless manpower and have certain individual, emotional and financial requirements. Hence, it my duty to promote an encouraging work culture in the company and motivate employees. In today’s global economy, business has become more and more complex. Employee selection and retention are crucial factors, thus the need of a streamlined recruitment and training process is vital. Also, it is my responsibility to work in co-ordination with all the departments of the company in order to examine and understand the needs of the employees (Human Resource Manager, n.d). I should act as a bridge between the top management and the staff. SALES MANAGER In order to bring change to the existing system, my first and foremost duty is find a sales manager as the previous two were not qualified for such an important and complex position. The position of a sales manager is considered to be one of the most imperative and celebrated jobs in the field of sales and marketing. The job of a sales manager is to coach, direct, and oversee his/her sales staff and take complete responsibility of the staff. He/she organizes the workings of the sales department by developing territories, goals, and quotas for the sales staff. Assessing the market analyses facilitates him/her to understand customer needs, the amount of sales, and pricing plan that will fulfill the organizational goals. At Perfect Juice Inc. a sales manager needs to have a Masters Degree in Business Administration with a specialization in marketing. A sales manager should have knowledge regarding mathematics and statistics and their application. Also he/she should be an expert at sales and marketing along with excellent computer skills and a complete understanding of the internet. Moreover, the sales manager should have knowledge of the structure and content of the English language. A sales manager should also possess strong administrative and managerial skills and should be proficient in handling customer and personal service. The basic skills and requirements for a sales manager are: The sales manager would lead the team that operates in the field and directly interacts with the customers. Therefore, it is his/her duty to develop the skills of the sales team. The sales manager would administer the sales. He/she would maintain the accounts of the team, product development and numerous other related responsibilities. The manager would examine all the direct reports related to accounting, shipping, production etc. He/she would monitor and assess his/her own performance and the performance of other individuals and also suggest the management regarding the improvements or the corrective actions that need to be undertaken. The sales manager has to be an active listener. At Perfect Juice Inc. a sales manager would be in charge for the administration his/her dales team and other sales representatives. They also have to carry out the duty of interviewing, recruiting and training new staff members related to the sales department. Also, the sales manager would be in charge of preparing work schedules and assigning sales team members to specific jobs. The main responsibility of a sales manager at Perfect Juice Inc. is to guarantee exceptional service and quality products to its customers. Also, he/she will be required to deal with complaints, answer questions, and occasionally look into budgeting, accounting, and purchasing issues. EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Another job opening that is present at Perfect Juice Inc. is that of an executive assistant. The position of an executive assistant is imperative in the management of an organization as he/she acts as a support and facilitator to the top management. The executive assistant has to take up various executive and administrative responsibilities. The minimal educational requirement for this position is a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Strong grasp of different computer software, internet, exceptional communication skills and ability to handle situations professionally is important. The best-suited candidate for the position of an executive assistant will be required to look after administrative responsibilities that have been dispensed by the management. The executive assistant is expected to operate with or without the administration of the management, in accordance with the task assigned. He/she should possess the ability of multi-tasking and should have the basic managerial skills. The executive assistant should be able to work in a team and have the skill to work together with employees at all levels at Perfect Juice Inc. Outstanding written and verbal communication skills are the fundamentals for the poistion of the executive assistant. The responsibilities of the executive assistant would require him/her to deal with broad range of managerial operations. The executive assistant responsibilities are: Maintaining the calendar plan for arranging and fixing meetings. Co-ordinate with the external or internal executives and managers in organizing meetings. Help the clients and managers in presentations, reports and documents. Administer and prioritize the numerous responsibilities that have been allocated. Respond to phone calls without any delay. Schedule the travel plans of the management. Act as a management’s representative in meetings, seminars and conferences. Should be prepared to assign responsibilities according to the management’s and should possess effective decision making ability. SALES TEAM MEMBERS Perfect Juice Inc. is need of hiring two sales team members who would assist the management team in providing exceptional customer service and increasing sales by utilizing their own inventiveness in a focused team environment. A sales team member has to sell the company’s products through brilliant presentations, professional conduct, and unmatched product awareness and turn customers into clients by developing and building relationship and establishing confidence and worth. He/she should always meet and go beyond the sales quota by providing an outstanding sales experience to each and every customer and symbolize the company’s values and beliefs in all areas of sales. The basic requirements for this position are that the candidates should be customer focused and should have excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Furthermore, he/she should have a vigorous personality and should be a team player who can also work independently. The position requires individuals who have the capacity to perform more than one task at a time in the constantly changing environment. Moreover, he/she should be an expert at computers and internet and should have the ability to expand sales through a constant use of selling skills. ACCOUNTING ASSISTANT Another job opening at Perfect Juice Inc. is that of an accounting assistant. At Perfect Juice Inc. the accounting assistant is a part of the team in charge for maintaining a well-organized and accurate accounting function. The basic functions and responsibilities of an accounting assistant are: To obtain and process bills, expenditure forms and needs for payment. Validate calculations and enter correct codes in to the accounts system. To look after everyday transactions for the petty cash and make sure that reconciliations are done on a weekly basis. To make certain that all record-keeping is done in a timely and precise manner. Arrange cheques for payment. To make sure that all post is sent daily. The basic requirement for an accounting assistant is to have previous experience in accounts. Also, accounting assistant is required to be an expert in Microsoft Word and Excel and should possess strong organization and administrative skills. Moreover, he/she should have an exceptional attention to detail. The minimal educational requirement for an accounting assistant is a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance. TRAINING All training starts with a transfer of information. Through incorporation, understanding, practice and enhancement, information is transferred into skill. Without a firm grasp of the sales process, it is not possible to build up high-quality selling skills. In order to train the newly hired employees the management at Perfect Juice Inc. needs to optimize employees’ capabilities through a flexible and appealing training system. To do this the management has to restructure employee training to make best use of resources and make certain that employees are appropriately qualified and skillful to perform the tasks. The first and foremost step in training the newly hired sales staff would be to give them an orientation where the operations of the firm will be fully explained and also introduce them to the company’s policies and procedures. Moreover, the newly hired staff would also be made aware of the managements’ expectations for each and every task and also the company-related issues. The orientation would also include providing sufficient product knowledge to the staff. The staff should be aware of the products offered by Perfect Juice, Inc. completely so that while dealing with the customers they have a positive mind-set. Furthermore, complete knowledge about the products would make the staff confident and prepared, and they would be able to explain the advantages of the product to the customer which would ultimately result in increased sales. All the tools such as product leaflets, books and manuals that give details about the products would be provided to the new employees. The sales staff would also be trained regarding the company’s policies and procedures. The staff would be made aware of the management’s expectations for every task and company-related issues. The staff would be further trained in enhancing their interpersonal and communication skills and working in teams as this is cornerstone of an effective sales employee (Maul, 2006). Moreover, the employees will be trained regarding handling of customer service and customer complaints. Even though, training employees is a tremendous burden on the time and resources of an organization but the benefits that are reaped from it are indisputable (Maul, 2006). Training employees not only benefits the employees but proves to be asset for the organization in the long-run. It is an on-going process where both the newly hired and the existing employees learn to work together and fulfill the organizational goals and also go beyond the customer expectations. Previously training programmes were only initiated when the need arose. But from now onwards continuous training programmes will take place where all the employees would be able to upgrade their skills in the changing nature of today’s economy. These training programmes would include skill training, interpersonal and communication skill training, workshops, seminars, on the job training, etc. This would not only increase productivity but also improve employees’ job satisfaction. REFERENCES Human Resource Manager. (n.d). Job profiles: Your guide careers and education. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from http://www.jobprofiles.org/bushrmanager.htm Maul, S. (2006). The importance of team-based training in sales organizations. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from http://www.infomentis.com/PDFs/WhitePapers/Training.pdf Read More