The Sales Promotion - Article Example

The Sales PromotionAccording to the slides, a sales force is made up of sales people: individuals representing a company to customers or vice versa charged with responsibilities of prospecting, communicating, selling, servicing, information gathering and relationship building. They serve a significant connection between the company and customers with a key role of creating a long-term profitable relationship for the firm through value creation by meeting customer satisfactions. Slide (12) further notes that through interpersonal selling techniques such as face-to-face and telephone among others, the sales team works either individually or groups to ensure the firm generate business leads, arouse purchases, satisfying customers through quality products and gathering information on them: customer profile.

The task of analyzing, planning, implementing and controlling the activities involves a chain of interrelated steps. First, there is designing of sales force strategy and structure. The strategy is basically a workable and long-term game plan that will involve setting up of a mission, vision and operating procedures on sales forces developed to achieve the above goals. The sales force structure concerns how work is organized, discharged and evaluated. Depending on the workload, the sales force can be organized on the basis of territory, product, customer or a combination of two or more factors.

Secondly, there is recruitment and selection of sales people. Recruitment according to slide 22 is carefully carried out to enhance the ability of the firm to meet stated objectives of performance and minimizing cost. Several sources exist from which this pertinent process can be done. They include employment agencies, classified advertisements, web search and other employment placement service sites. The selection is based on key attributes like being self- motivated, having a disciplined work style, ability to close sale and lastly capability to build a solid customer relationship.

Next is training of the sales team which is done through various programs such as seminars and meetings on Products, Company and Service. Thirdly, there is sales force compensation which is achieved through salaries, commissions, vacations, pensions and even repays for well job-related expenses. Fourthly, there is sales force supervision and subsequent evaluation of their performance for further improvements. Selling is a complex process that involves several steps. First, there is prospecting and qualifying which briefly involves identifying potential customers, then a pre-approach stage which involves knowing more about the needs of customers.

Thirdly, there is meeting of customers for the first time. Then a sales person has to handle various objections to customer buying, asking the customer for order and finally making a follow-up. Relationship marketing, on the other hand, involves campaigns by aimed at customer satisfaction and retention The sales promotion program is developed through a number of steps. There is size of incentive determination and subsequent setting of conditions for participants. Then, a decision is made on promotion and distribution to the sales team.

There is also the determination of the length of time and finally program evaluation. This is to attest whether stated aims have been attained.Work Cited:Finch, J., Ogden, J. & Agden, D. CLEP Principles of Marketing: The Best Test Prep for the CLEP. New York: Research & Education Assoc., 2005