Ignou.de

December, 2011

Ms-62 : Sales Management

SECTION – A

1. (a)  Discuss the qualities of a good salesperson citing suitable examples. Explain how

would you convert a suspect into a prospect ?

(b)  Explain the stages involved in the  execution of a sales order.

2. Why are sales territories required ? Discuss the various stages to Scientific territory planning and suggest what type of territory planning is appropriate in the following cases  :

(a)  A company selling bulk drugs to large pharma companies.

(b) A company selling food supplements.

(c) A company selling holiday packages.

3. (a)  What are the different components of a suitable compensation plan for salesmen ?

Suggest a suitable compensation plan for a salesman selling encylopedias.

(b)  Discuss the Key steps in preparation of a Sales Budget.

4. Write short notes on any  three  of the following :

(a) Setting sales objectives

(b) Non - verbal communication

(c) Principles of negotiation

(d) Learning style.

(e) Contents of sales reports.

SECTION – B

5.  Read the case given below and answer the questions at the end of the case :

"To say that I am exceedingly upset by what I  witnessed in one of our dealer's offices, the other day would be a gross understatement. I saw one of our sales representatives trying to sell to a dealer and he did not know what he was talking about. He could not answer some of the simplest questions of the dealer about our product and kept saying that he would find out the answer from the head office. Needless to say he didn't make the sale," opined Mr. Khurana, President of the Innova Computer Company. Mr. Roy, the newly hired sales manager for the company, decided to take note of this and asked "Is this representative of the entire sales force or an isolated case ?" "Mr. Roy that's what I am paying you to find out and do something about." Said Mr. khurana As Roy, walked back to his new office to deal with a multitude of other sales operation problems, he saw his task unfolding as two major activities.

(a) To determine how much the present sales force really knew about the computer products and how they are used.

(b) To develop an effective programme to equip the sales force with the required product

knowledge.

On reaching his desk, Roy, called his assistant Vinod. Vinod had been with the company since its inception eight years ago. Vinod started as a part time worker, while he studied for his graduation, and when he graduated, joined the company full time. He was a little frustrated that he hadn't been promoted to Sales Manager When Roy was brought in from outside by Mr. Khurana. Roy asked Vinod, "I've just been in a meeting with Mr. Khurana and he has rather firm conviction that the product knowledge of our representatives isn't what it should be. He wants us to do something about it. How do you feel about this ?"

"Oh, don't pay too much attention to the old man. He's been on that trip ever since he started the company. As far as he is concerned, no sales representative ever knows enough about the product or knows enough about the customer's problems. It doesn't make any difference to him that we are selling fairly well and sometimes exceeding quotas. In his eyes, that's just because the product is so good. He thinks he is the only one in the company who really knows about the product. It doesn't matter what you do, he'll still be saying the same things to you, every time he sees one of the representatives making a presentation," replied Vinod. Roy thanked Vinod for his opinions but couldn't help wondering whether he could afford to ignore Mr. Khurana's comments.

Questions  :

(a) How can Roy determine how much the sales representatives know about the product and its applications ?

(b) How should he plan to develop the desired degree of expertise among sales people ?