Contribution of personal selling towards promotional mix marketing essay

OFFERED BY INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGYINDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTUNIT 20: SALES PLANNING AND OPERATIONS. Y/601/1261ANUSHKA HARSHANA PILIMATALAWWEBABM/K/22/14ICBT KANDY CAMPUSSUBMITTED TO: MR. T. L SOORIARACHCHI. Date: 10/02/2013A. H. Pilimatalawwe. Student � ICBT Kandy Campus, BABM/K/22/14, 10/02/2013. Mr. T. L Sooriarachchi. Lecturer, ICBT Kandy Campus. Dear Sir, LETTER OF TRANSMITTALI hereby present you the individual assignment on unit, Sales planning and operations. Assignment mainly focuses on personnel selling in promotional mix. Sale strategies, target setting, budgeting, recruitment process of sales personnel, motivation, training and different selling environments are discussed through a management report. Also Buyer behaviour, role of sales team is discussed. Preparation and sales presentation is prepared as a power point presentation. Thank You. Yours Faithfully, A. H. PilimatalawweACKNOWLEDGMENTFirst of all I would like to convey my gratitude for those who contributed in various aspects, in order to make this assignment a success. I would like to thank my loving parents who brought up me to this stage by guiding and helping me in numerous ways. Also appreciate corporation given by my colleagues at Bio Foods during the assignment preparation period. Then I would be grateful to the ICBT Kandy Campus for providing this opportunity for me to follow the Higher National Diploma in Business (Management & HRM) programme. Then I would like to thank our lecturer of unit Sales Planning & Operations for giving his utmost support by guiding and encouraging me to carry on this assignment to a success. Finally I would like to thank all of my friends and batch mates in BABM/K/22 who helped me in various ways in order to accomplish this task. Thank youMAIN TABLE OF CONTENTS* Task 01 � Nations Fixed Deposit IX1. Sales presentation. X2. Contribution of �Personal Selling� towards promotional mix. XII3. Comparison of buyer behaviour. XIII4. Role of sales force in marketing strategy XV* Task 02 � Comprehensive Report On: Streamlining of Sales Department & Departmental Procedures. XVI* Appendix – 16TASK 01 � NATIONS FIXED DEPOSIT. 2. CONTRIBUTION OF PERSONAL SELLING TOWARDS PROMOTIONAL MIX. One of the key aspects of �marketing mix� is promotion. This consists of another major five elements as mentioned below.* Advertising* Sales promotion.* Public relation.* Personal selling.* Direct marketing. Above mentioned elements are called �Promotional Mix� or else the communications mix. Organization could employ one or more elements from the promotional mix depending on the product, type of customers, organizations status or reputation, etc�Nations fixed deposit is a service rendered by the Nations trust bank, which is a service that the demand is low. Demand is low because of the current financial difficulties that most of the Sri Lankan consumers facing. Potential customers are not willing to save their money since the cost of living is very high and because they are barely surviving. Because of above reasons Nations trust bank has to implement �PUSH� strategies when selling their service. Advertising of the service given can aware the potential customers about the Nations fixed deposit, but the persuasion of the customer towards purchasing is very low. Personal selling is much effective in making the awareness of the product towards a purchase. Personal selling enables to explain all the aspects regarding the product to the customers and also enables the bank to gather market information, feedbacks, etc� Most important advantage on personal selling is that even though the Nations fixed deposit is not purchased by the customer, the sales person gets to build a good relationship. 3. COMPARISON OF BUYER BEHAVIOUR. Customers of Nations fixed deposits can be divided in to two categories as Individual customers and Organizational customers. Buying behaviour and concerns when it comes to purchase decision varies according to the category the customer belongs and also according to the service. When considering two services available at Nations trust bank, buying behaviour of customers from both above mentioned categories (Individual & Organizational) differs according to the product that they are interested in. Buyer Behaviour in purchase decision making. Buyer Behaviour in purchase decision making. 4. ROLE OF SALES FORCE IN MARKETING STRATEGY. As any organization, Nations trust bank has its own corporate objectives in order to achieve their organizational vision & mission. In order to achieve the corporate objectives other functional objectives should be achieved such as marketing objectives. In order to attain marketing objectives strategies are to be generated and implemented. Role of sales force when generating, implementing & carrying out the marketing strategies are as follows.* Analysis of current market :- Sales force is the most proximate people to the customers or the market place. When conversing with a potential or existing customers sales force are in a position to gather information regarding the current trends, competitors, customer feedbacks on current service & most importantly the customers actual need. All above mentioned information can be utilized when conducting a successful market audit.* Sales forecasting:- When structuring the marketing strategies of the NTB determination of future sales are important. Since the allocation of the resources can only be done according to the forecast in order to achieve the set marketing objectives efficiently.* Selecting marketing strategies:- Being the front of tactical marketing sales team has a responsibility to consult the marketing team when preparing strategies. Since they are the once who understand the customer requirement and whether the strategies are realistic.* Budgeting, implementation and control:- Sales budgets should be prepared according to the sales forecasts. Forecasts should be achieved and expenses should be within the budgets otherwise the total marketing strategy might be a failure, by making less profit to the bank. Comprehensive Report on: Streamlining of Sales Department

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Departmental Procedures. SUBMITTED TO: R. T. RATHNAYAKE. MANAGER SALES, ARUNA AYURVEDIC MEDICINE (PVT) LTD. SUBMITTED ON: 10/02/2013A. H. Pilimatalawwe, Sales Department. 10/02/2013. Mr. R. T RathnayakeManager Sales, Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd, Galpihilla Road, Galle. Dear Sir, LETTER OF TRANSMITTALI hereby submit you the comprehensive report on Streamlining of sales department and its procedures. Analysis is conducted to find appropriate sales strategies to support the corporate objectives. Recruitment process for sales force in order to face future expansions is developed with selection criteria�s. Sales structure, territories, targets are re-defined in order to achieve newly set objectives of the organization. For further explanations kindly go through the report. Thank you. Yours Faithfully, A. H. PilimatalawweACKNOWLEDGMENTFirst of all I would like to thank Mr Rathnayake, Manager Sales of Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd for giving me the opportunity conduct a research and come up with a report. Then I would be grateful to all staff at Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd for providing their fullest cooperation when preparing the report and when conducting the research. Finally I appreciate the support and commitment given by sales team when preparing this report. Thank youTABLE OF CONTENTSEXECUTIVE SUMMARYXX1 INTRODUCTION. 12. SALES STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT CORPORATE OBJECTIVES. 23. TALENTED SALES FORCE. 33. 1 RECRUITMENT & SELECTION OF SALES PERSONNEL33. 1. 1 RECRUITMENT. 33. 1. 2 SELECTION PROCEDURE. 43. 2 RETENTION OF SALES FORCE. 53. 2. 1 MOTIVATION OF SALES FORCE. 53. 2. 2 BETTER REMUNERATION. 63. 2. 3 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT. 64. ORGANIZING SALES ACTIVITIES. 74. 1 SALES STRUCTURE. 74. 2 SALES TERRITORIES. 74. 3 SALES TARGETS. 84. 4 SALES RECORDS. 84. 5 CONTROLLING OF SALES ACTIVITIES. 95. IMPORTANCE OF A DATA BASE IN EFFECTIVE SALES MANAGEMENT. 106. SALES PLAN TO PROMOTE ELEPHANTIASIS MEDICINE. 117. OPPORTUNITIES TO SELL AYURVEDIC MEDICINE INTERNATIONALLY. 128. SELLING AYURVEDIC MEDICINE AT AN EXHIBITION. 129. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS. 1310 REFERENCES. 14EXECUTIVE SUMMARYExpansion opportunities that are available to Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd are massive, because of the recently discovered medicine to cure elephantiasis. In order to face the expansion successfully sale objectives should be taken in line with Aruna Ayurvedi Medicine (Pvt) Ltds� corporate objectives. Human resource planning identifies that the future demand for sales force exceeds the current employees. In order to cater the demand proper recruitment processes has to be followed and the selections should be taken place with advices from sales manager since it is vital to the futures sales forces. Sales structures should be revised according to the set sales objectives by proper allocation of resources in order to maximise the profits. Record keeping and controlling methods of sales should be monitored and followed in a day to day basis in order to face the transition successfully. 1 INTRODUCTION. Ayurvedic Medicine is becoming the world�s new trend, when it comes to diseases and illnesses that are hard or impossible to cure in western medicine. Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine has come up to this level through a rough patch from the initiation in 1990 in Galle. Now Aruna Ayurvedic (Pvt) Ltd is at a dawn of transition towards expansion. Newly discovered cure for Lymphatic Filariasis also known as �Elephantiasis� can be the success factor of expansion, if available resources are managed in efficiently and effectively. In order to attain corporate goals of Aruna Ayurvedic (Pvt) Ltd, set of �sales objectives� should be generated according to the marketing strategies. When achieving the sale objectives, the sale team should be talented and the operations in the sales department should be effective and efficient. Current sales objectives are not contributing to the marketing strategies of the organization, making it impossible to expand the business without streamlining the sales operation by integrating with marketing & corporate strategies, developing sales plans for the newly discovered medicine, organizing the sale operations such as sales visits, developing the skills of sales team, recruiting new blood to the sales team, etc�2. SALES STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT CORPORATE OBJECTIVES. Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltds� current sales strategies are not corresponding with the organizations corporate vision, mission and objectives. In order to attain above mentioned sales objectives, current strategies used in sales are not sufficient. Therefore the sales strategies should change as follows.* Currently employed �PUSH� strategy should be change in to a �PULL� strategy because of the demand for the new product. People just need to be aware that there is a cure for elephantiasis, they will be storming to outlets where the drug is available.* Personal selling should be done to sell all other products along with the elephantiasis cure to the pharmacies in order to make the drugs available all around the country.* Sales visits and logistics should be well planned in the most cost effective manner.* Advertisements should be done though internet media by using e-marketing tools such as e-banners, by using key words for websites, social websites such as facebook, twiter, etc�3. TALENTED SALES FORCE. In order to achieve objectives that are far from the current position of the organization Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd should have a talented sales force with the utmost commitment towards achieving both company and individual goals. 3. 1 RECRUITMENT & SELECTION OF SALES PERSONNEL. According to the Human resource plan of Aruna Ayurvedic, current sales force of will not be sufficient when pursuing greater sales target. Therefore current sales force should be expanded by recruiting new sales personnel & territory managers. 3. 1. 1 RECRUITMENT. Recruitment Process3. 1. 2 SELECTION PROCEDURE. Selection of the most suitable candidate is important in recruitment. When selecting candidates out from large number is difficult without proper selection criteria�s.�Sales managers find themselves in unaccustomed role. Instead of being a Seller s/he for once takes on the role of buyer. It is crucial that this transition is carried out effectively because the future success of the sales force depends upon the infusion of high-caliber personnel�.(Jobber and Lancaster 2008)Selection procedure should be as follows. 1. Initial step:- Collection of all applications receive via post, email & by hand. 2. Arranging of applications:- All applications should be arrange according to a descending order according to the required criteria�s. 3. Sorting of applications:- Sorting of the application in to three group such as possible, marginal & unsuitable. 4. Shortlisting of the applications:- Applications that are in the possible group should be reviewed in order to shortlist the candidates in order to call them for interviews. 5. Inviting for the interviews:- Applicants who are selected for the first round of interviews should be informed of interview days by telephone, email or post as soon as possible. 6. Structuring of the interview:- Whole interview should be planned prior to the interview, job descriptions, specifications and the applications should be studied before commencing the interviews. Also the interviewers should be informed earlier, giving them time to prepare. 7. Testing:- Applicants who are selected from the first interview should be recalled to an test, including role play. 8. Checking of references:- References given by candidates whose selected from the test should be contacted and should investigate the background of the potential recruit. 9. Agreements & Induction: Recruitment contracts should be signed after negotiating remuneration etc� Induction should be given before settling them in the sales department. 3. 2 RETENTION OF SALES FORCE. Same as the recruitment, retention is important since the sales force is highly valued when it comes to the future expansion of Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd. If necessary actions are not taken in order to retain the sales force, which may lead to high employee turnover. Competitive advantage will be thinned when the employee turnover is high. 3. 2. 1 MOTIVATION OF SALES FORCE. Being in the field with fewer facilities, constant rejections from potential buyers & feeling of isolation can gradually make a sales representative demotivated. In order to motivate these representatives motivator that can motivate individuals should be identified. When considering a sales representative according to the Maslow�s hierarchy, most of them are in need of fulfilling the basic needs. But it differs from one to other. Motivation of field sales representatives could be done according to the Maslow�s hierarchy as follows.* Physiological needs: By providing monetary rewards such as pay hikes, commissions, travel allowances, etc�* Safety needs: Can be fulfilled by absorbing in the permanent carder & appointing supervisors.* Belongingness: Monthly gathering of sales staff, annual trips & personal development workshops.* Esteem needs: By setting sales goals and giving recognition to the achievers and by promoting best representatives as supervisors. 3. 2. 2 BETTER REMUNERATION. Remuneration plays a major part, since most of the field representatives value the monetary rewards because of the level that they are at Maslow�s hierarchy. Remuneration package should be decided according to the following criteria�s.* Performance.* Qualifications.* Experience.* Skills.* Market rate (competitors pay, most importantly)Above criteria�s should be appraised by using proper appraisal techniques in order reward the best and train the people who are behind the margin. Expert opinion on appraisal is recommended even though it is expensive than supervisor opinion in order to maintain the transparency and accuracy. 3. 2. 3 TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT. As well as new recruits all the sale team should be supported with training programs to develop both their individual skills and career. Most importantly the new recruits and the sales representatives who are at the margin or below from the performance appraisal should be subjected to training programs in order to take them up to speed.* Personal Development1. Leadership training. 2. Outbound team building trainings. 3. Interpersonal skill development workshops.* Job Training (On the job/ Off the job)1. Demonstration. 2. Lectures & seminars. 3. Role playing & simulations. 4. In-the-field training. 5. Case studies. 6. Job rotation. After any training program there should be and comprehensive evaluation. 4. ORGANIZING SALES ACTIVITIES. All sales activities should be well planned in order to maximize the profits by effective & efficient planning of the available resources of the sales department in order to attain objectives of Aruna Ayurvedics. 4. 1 SALES STRUCTURE. Organizations sales structure can be determine by several factors such as geography, products, customers, etc�Well defined structures are important, in order to utilize available resources in an efficient manner. When considering Aruna Ayurvedic the sales structure can be determined by the geographical & customer distribution factors. Colombo sales team gets a higher number of sales personnel and a separate territory manager since the number of potential customers is higher than all other territories. It also clearly defines the reporting line within the sales force. 4. 2 SALES TERRITORIES. According to above sales structure there are three territories consisting seven sales teams with uneven numbers of sales representatives. Territories are mainly defined considering the workload between geographical areas. After analyzing sales potential and workload, In order to balance the work load the number of sales representatives and teams are decided. 4. 3 SALES TARGETS. In order to achieve objectives of Aruna Ayurvedic and to motivate the sales team towards achieving the sales objectives sales targets should be given to individual sales representative monthly. Monthly targets should be given to territory managers concerning their territory and for sales manager concerning the total sales per month. Achievers of sales targets should be rewarded and if there are people that fails to achieve the targets, below mentioned factors need to be analyzed.* Incapability of sales representative or manager.* Unavailability of resources.* Unavailability of products.* Lack of potential customers in respected territories.* Well established or growing competitors� product.* High workload. If the reason is incapability, training and development should be provided. If the reasons are high workload, lack of potential customers & unavailability of resources the territorial design should be re-structured. If the reason is unavailability of products, production department should be informed in order to take necessary actions. If the bottleneck is competitors me-too products new marketing strategies should be implemented in order to market Aruna Ayurvedics products in a persuasive manner. 4. 4 SALES RECORDS. Records are vital in any field in Aruna Ayurvedics. When considering sales force daily records from bottom, weekly reports from territorial level and monthly reports form the whole sales department is highly important. These record shows the current path of the sale force, past sales records, variation of sales in different locations, different months and the total sales per month can give a rough idea about the attainability of annual targets. Important fact is it is necessary to complete and submit the required records on time and accurately. As a method of financial control, expense reports are compulsory to each individual starting from top to bottom of the sales force. These records keep the sales force within the sales budget. 4. 5 CONTROLLING OF SALES ACTIVITIES. Controlling factors of sales activities in Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd are as follows.* Sales Objectives. o Sales Strategies* Sales forecasts.* Sales Structureo Territory designo Sales targets. o Sales records.* Sales budgets. o Expense reports. Sales objectives set the milestone that the sales team should reach and the sales strategies keep the sales team in the correct path. Sales forecasts could be used as the tool for analyzing the capability of reaching the said destination. Sales structure acts as the wheels that carry the sales team by using the minimum organizational resources. Sales budgets are the law enforcement that observe and restrict the consumption of money or the cost of sales. Strict monitoring of sales records and expense records could be helpful in monitoring and controlling of total sales activities within Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd. 5. IMPORTANCE OF A DATA BASE IN EFFECTIVE SALES MANAGEMENT. All personnel in the sales force should be able to access a database which has real time updates, Enables the sales representatives to carry out their day to day activities much more effectively. Data base with comprehensive data on the customers, potential customers, daily sales, daily stock of products, product data such as prices, availability, discount factors, etc� can be effective in sale management. Information that is required in an effective sales management program are as follows.* Information on existing and potential customers* Transactional information.* Promotional information.* Product information.* Geographic & demographic information. Having easy access to above mentioned information will help the sales representative in managing his or hers day to day sales management or sales operations by enabling them to perform below activities conveniently.* Communication with the customers by using the contact that are well organized.* Identifying of loyal customers and requesting/recommending/approving or discounts.* Sales campaign planning according to the sales variation in different geographic locations or according to the demography distribution.* Targeting the market according to previous sales records.* On time ordering and delivering of the product by using the manufacturing and stock information. Data bases and the information outputs could be supportive to both sales staff and management in effective monitoring of sales activities. 6. SALES PLAN TO PROMOTE ELEPHANTIASIS MEDICINE. Sales planning for the medicine for lymphatic filariasis (Elephantiasis) should be done after marketing plan, sales objectives should be formed and in order to achieve sales objectives, sales strategies or a plan should be developed. Sales objective:- Making a sale revenue of 50 million rupees from elephantiasis drug. Sales Structure:- Could be re-designed by changing one team from each territory in to selling only the elephantiasis drug. Making it easier to make higher number of visits at a less time. Sales Territories:- Could be changed according to the distribution densities of patients suffering from lymphatic filariasis. Allocating more sales staff for dense areas. Commissions given:- Commissions which are given to the pharmacies could be increase in order to increase the sales potential. Sales Team:- Selected sales teams could be trained in selling the elephantiasis drug making them specialized in that. Budgets:- Can be allocated, with a large portion for commissions for both retailers and sales representatives. Along with advertising expenses. After implementing the plan and re-structuring of the sales structure, continues monitoring should be conducted in order to verify the outcomes towards achieving the sales objectives. 7. OPPORTUNITIES TO SELL AYURVEDIC MEDICINE INTERNATIONALLY. When considering the current situation of Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd, it is advisable not to involve in a direct export activity which requires a huge investment, not to mention the difficulties that are to be faced when obtaining various approvals, certifications and licenses in importing countries. Direct selling though internet and couriering of the medicine could be realistic. Given the current situation doing international selling by staying within the country will reduce the cost and increase the profitability. 8. SELLING AYURVEDIC MEDICINE AT AN EXHIBITION. Selling medicine at an exhibition sounds ineffective. But the real value of participating in an exhibition is that the ability to aware the public about the high value ayurvedic medicine that can cure deceases that people were suffering for years. Also the opportunity of gathering information regarding the competitors, collection of contact information of distributors, customers, etc�In order to attract customers to the stall, below mentioned aspects should be considered when purchasing and developing stall layout.* Proximity to the entrance of the exhibition.* Stall size.* Attractiveness of the stall.* Products that are displayed.* Products that are promoted in the exhibition.* Exhibitors with extensive knowledge on the new products. When considering current situation of the Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd it is advisable to exhibit in local and international exhibitions developing the customer awareness on the product range available. 9. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS. Sales strategies of Aruna Ayurvedic Medicine (Pvt) Ltd should change according to the sales objectives derived from corporate objectives. Recruitment process should be followed according to the standard guild lines and selection should be done with the consultation of the sales manager since the new recruit will be the future caliber of the organizations sales force. In order to attain sales objectives, sales forces should be gradually motivated by providing training, commissions & other remuneration benefits. Sales structure, territorial design should be change if the effectiveness of them are not up to level. All sales data and other data collected by the sales representatives should be stored in the sales data base for effective management of sales. Expansion in to direct export business could be done after making a stance in local market. Internet marketing is advisable at the current situation. Selling at exhibitions can be productive if the stole is well arranged.