Recruitment, Selection and

UNIT 7 RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND Training of the Sales Force

TRAINING OF THE SALES FORCE

Objectives
After reading this unit you should be able to:
 identify the issues relating to managing the sales force
 understand the importance of job analysis for managing the sales force
 identify, evaluate and prepare lists of recruitment sources
 design the selection process for hiring salesmen for a company
 frame application form and conduct interviews for screening the
candidates
 select and administer psychological tests in the selection process.
 understand the importance of training for the sales personnel
 identify the need and the areas for training the field sales personnel
 plan how to conduct training sessions

Structure
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Nature of the Sales Job
7.3 Sales Job Analysis
7.4 Introduction to Recruitment
7.5 Recruitment Sources: Traditional and Contemporary
7.6 Selection Process
7.7 Selection Tools
7.8 Training of the Sales Force: An Introduction
7.9 Logic of Training
7.10 Training Process
7.11 Areas of Sales Training
7.12 Process of Identifying Training Needs
7.13 Methods of Identifying Training Needs
7.13.1 Self-Observation
7.13.2 Reports
7.13.3 Survey of Questionnaires
7.13.4 Face-to-Face Interviews
7.13.5 Focus Group
7.14 Learning Styles
7.15 Designing and Conducting the Programme
7.15.1 Self-Learning Modules 121
Managing The Sales Force 7.15.2 Class Room Training
7.15.3 On the Job Training
7.16 Trainer’s Abilities
7.16.1 Analytical Abilities
7.16.2 Basic Educational Ability
7.16.3 Training Techniques
7.16.4 Ensuring Participants’ Participation
7.16.5 Course Organization
7.17 Training Follow-Up and Future Course of Action
7.18 Summary
7.19 Key Words
7.20 Self-Assessment Questions
7.21 References/Further Readings

7.1 INTRODUCTION
Having identified the need for a new bunch of sales personnel by the firm
the task of a Sales Managers commences by way of attracting and selecting
new sales team for the firm. This unit will take you through the journey from
the stage of recruitment, selection and training of salespersons. Each stage
involved in this process is task oriented and highly challenging in the face of
competition prevailing in the job market. As you progress in reading and
understanding the contents of each these key aspects you will appreciate and
acknowledge the fact that the employees of the firm in general and salespersons
in specific are indispensable for the business to be successful. The policies
and procedures, the guidelines form the crux of the unit clearly detailing every
aspect that goes into the development and retention of most successful sales
team that a company should be proud off.

7.2 NATURE OF THE SALES JOB

All sales-related jobs, irrespective of the type of industry, have very distinctive
characteristics. Some of the characteristics are as follows:
i) As sales personnel works in the field, away from the head offices,
they are responsible for managing their territories or accounts.
Therefore, sales personnel are expected to take their own decisions
for planning and executing their activities.
ii) Hitherto most sales persons, while on their journey cycle, get fewer
opportunities for interactions in person with their supervisors. Most
of the time they provide feedback or receive instructions, telephonically
or through fax in their hotel. But today, the scenario is different they
are all well connected with a push of a button where ever they are
located irrespective of time and location. Thanks to ICT and the
continuous development into newer tools and technologies specific
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 to communication and information is unparallel and incredible and Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
there seems to be no stopping.
iii) Another key characteristic of the field sales job is that the sales
personnel remain away from their home and family for days together.
This is a regular feature. In some consumer product companies sales
people travel for as many as 21 days in month.
iv) Another important aspect of the sales job is the job monotony. Each
sales person is doing the same work, repetitively with different
customers. For example, a medical representative makes the same
presentation to all the medical doctors, day after day.
Lastly, success in a sales call doesn’t depend on an individual’s effort. It may
so happen that the customer doesn’t need your product or the customer was
not happy with his previous experience, on delivery or after-sales service or
spares. All field sales jobs create, therefore, a normal tendency to get
disheartened or discouraged.
Each of the above characteristics has specific implications for recruitment and
selection, and therefore, it is recommended while you are developing your
recruitment and selection policies, you should not overlook these key concerns.

7.3 SALES JOB ANALYSIS

Sales force management is a personnel function in the marketing department
of an organization. The issues related to sales force management are similar
to those that of personnel management. However, these issues relate to only,
those personnel who work in the sales department.
The starting point of all sales force management activities is the Job Analysis,
as shown in figure below:

Fig. 1 : Activities Involved in Managing the Sales Force

In fact, the job analysis relates to the identification of job objectives, duties
and responsibilities, analysis of working conditions, performance norms and
the position in the organization hierarchy to identify the reporting relations. 123
Managing The Sales Force Typically, a job analysis helps in three distinct ways. Most importantly, it helps
in the Job Description, i.e., in identifying various activities-major and trivial;
to be performed under the job it also helps in identifying the qualifications,
and individual’s characteristics, in relation to the job, which are called job
specifications.
A good approach to developing job description is to use a checklist of various
activities relating to a sales personnel job. Some of these responsibilities are
as follows:
Besides the points mentioned above at times it is also seen that the sales person
does the indirect selling or the pre sales job. A detailed account of basic
responsibilities of a sales person helps in the identification of qualifications
and individual characteristics, in relation to the job. The process, by which
qualifications and personality characteristics are identified, is called Job
Specifications which the person may have at the time of joining or they are
imparted to the sales person, through training.
Once the job specifications are laid down, it becomes easier for a company
to initiate the process of recruitment and selection. Besides, training can help
a sales person to fulfill job responsibilities more effectively.
It is a general belief that recruitment and selection process should be such,
that it should help you to handpick those sales persons with “just right” kind
of personality, since it is difficult to develop personality through the training
programmes. Job Analysis also helps in clearly identifying the job performance
norms based on which the job evaluation can be done. Such an exercise provides
good bases for compensation management.

7.4 INTRODUCTION TO RECRUITMENT

Once a company has determined the number and kind of salesmen it requires,
the next step in the selection is to get the right applications, in sufficient
numbers, for the positions. All the activities involved in securing the applications
for the sales positions are referred to as Recruitment. It does not include but
is followed the selection process to evaluate and screen the applicants. The
nature of recruitment efforts for sales personnel differs from one company to
another, mainly concerning their recruitment sources. The recruitment policy
of a company is influenced by its selling style, products, customers, financial
resources, and sales management policies. Different companies call for
individuals with widely varying abilities, skills, education, training, and
experience. The scope of the recruitment effort is influenced by the number
of recruits desired, which in turn, is influenced by the size of the sales
organization, rate of turnover, and the forecasted sales volume distribution
channels and promotional strategy.
Planning for Recruitment
The preliminary step should be an analysis of:
a) personnel needs,
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 b) relevant job qualification Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
c) job description

d) job analysis

e) fitment to the company’s culture

Personnel needs:

Assessing the salesperson turnover in an organization is also important to

understand the requirement. For example if there are 200 employees in an
organization and 40 people leave every year.

The attrition rate = People leaving every year/ Number of people in the
organization = 40/200 =20%

Salespersons often operate independently and are at great distances from the
company’s management. Now if you have most of the high performers in this
20% leaving then you have a problem in hand. The attrition or turnover is
not something that can be controlled. Thus it becomes essential and imperative
for the firm to closely observe, monitor and control the rate of turnover to
the minimum. While turnover or attrition ensures that new members are added
to the team along with new excitement and growth for the sales force. One
would not want the company’s top salesperson to leave.

Company’s work culture

Companies whose recruiting strategies are linked to their core values help to
retain and attract high-performing people and talent. On the contrary companies
whose recruitment is knee-jerk based and disconnected from their culture. If
a new recruits cultural values and needs do not jell well with that of the
company; the potential for attrition goes up. Some recruits find comfort in a
very competitive environment while others dislike it. The company’s culture
varies from one branch to the other. Having a culture that fits the organization
with the employees breeds a mutually sustaining ethos having wide positive
ramifications within the organization. In the Indian context, the Tata group is
widely admired for its good work culture.

Analysis of the job

A clear and detailed job analysis is mandatory. Job analysis is a systematic

process to describe the way a job should be performed including the tasks
that make up each of the jobs. Job analysis also looks at the tasks performed
by high-performance salespeople and compares them with that of the low-
performing salesperson. This can help the management to fine-tune the tasks
which results in a high throughput job output. Another aspect is synergy
between the jobs expected of a prospective new recruit with the actual job
work. This ensures the bridging of the gap between the two. Further, each
job should detail the pleasant and unpleasant aspects of the actual job. This
gives the new recruit a realistic deep down clarity of what to expect in the
new job.
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Managing The Sales Force Job description
This is a written document that details the requirements for each sales position.
A job description has the following components:
I. The tasks to be done routinely
II. The outcomes desired from the job and the measurements of those
outcomes: both quantitative and qualitative
III. The direct and the indirect reporting / reportees
IV. The physical and the mental demands of the job described
V. Nature of products to be sold
For example, a sales trainee in a paint company is expected to have and do
the following:
 Good product knowledge about the products of the company
 Types of retail outlets selling paints in the assigned territory
 Accounting details of the retail outlets catered by the company
 Competitor profile and presence in the territory
 The growth potential of the territory
Let’s look at a Sample JD (Job Description) of a Sales Representative:
Sales Representative Job Responsibilities Incivdes the following :
 Serve customers by selling products and meeting customer needs.
 Servicing existing accounts, obtains orders, and establishes new
accounts by planning and
 Organizing a daily work schedule to call on existing or potential sales
outlets and other trade factors.
 Adjusts content of sales presentations by studying the type of sales
outlet or trade factor.
 Focuses sales efforts by studying existing and potential volume of
dealers.
 Submits orders by referring to price lists and product literature.
 Keeps management informed by submitting activity and results reports,
such as daily call reports,
 Weekly work plans, and monthly and annual territory analyses.
 Monitors competition by gathering current marketplace information
on pricing, products,
 New products, delivery schedules, and merchandising techniques.
 Recommends changes in products, services, and policy by evaluating
126 results and competitive developments.
  Resolves customer complaints by investigating the problems, Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
developing solutions, preparing reports, and
 Making recommendations to management.
 Maintains professional and technical knowledge by attending
educational workshops, reviewing
 Professional publications, establishing personal networks, and
participating in professional societies.
 Provides historical records by maintaining records on area and customer
sales.
 Contributes to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.
Job Qualifications
A job description focuses on the activities and responsibilities of the job while
job qualification refers to the skills, knowledge, aptitude, and personality traits
required to perform the job successfully. A statement of job qualification detail
includes educational qualification, prior work experience, technical expertise,
interest, and aptitude. This in turn helps the sales managers to choose the
best profile from amongst the people who apply for positions in the organization.
With increased emphasis on building long-term customer relationships, customer
satisfaction, and solution selling; each company needs to access the specific
traits, skills, and behavior of its high-performance individuals in their
organizations.
The purpose of recruitment is to find the most suitable applicants for sales
profiles. The employee count required to meet the hiring requirements must
be higher than the recruitment headcount.
Number of people applying (A) = Number of people to be hired (H) / (% of
recruits selected(S) X % of those selected who accept the offer (O))

For ex. A = H /(S X O)

For H = 20, S= 10%, O: 50%, we have A= 20/ (10% X 50%)
= 20/ (0.10 X 0.5) = 20/ 0.05 = 400

Thus a company requiring to reduce (A) can do so by increasing S and O.

One way to increase the acceptance rate is by ensuring that besides salary;
attention is also given to job satisfaction, advancement opportunity, employee
morale, and job security. Finding adequate employees is easier said than done.
Typically various options like an advertisement in newspapers/online
newspapers, job portals, employee referrals, internal job postings, etc. are used
to generate a prospective pool of employees for a job profile. Each source is
likely to produce employees of different backgrounds and characteristics.
Sources of applicants can depend on the job to be filled and the past success
rate of hiring. Typically referrals are the sources for sales trainees or middle
management, job portals are for all options from trainee to senior management.
Organizations typically do not use anyone’s source to hire but keep their options
open based on the requirements and the past hiring experience
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Managing The Sales Force
7.5 RECRUITMENT SOURCES: TRADITIONAL
AND CONTEMPORARY
Advertisements as a Traditional Source
Advertisements are both a source of recruits and a method of reaching them.
Newspapers, magazines, and trade journals are the most widely used media
for advertisements. Advertisements ordinarily produce a large number of
applicants in a very short time and at a low cost.
Recruitment advertisements usually include information about the company,
nature of the job, specific qualifications required, and compensation. The specific
details in the advertisement vary with the company and its situation. The quality
of prospects recruited by advertisement may be increased by careful selection
of media and by proper statements of information in the advertisement. For
example, by advertising in a trade journal rather than in a daily newspaper, a
firm is being more selective in its search. An advertisement in a trade journal
assures responses from people who are already in the profession and would
be interested in selling. The amount and type of information given in the
advertisement affect the quality and quantity of the applicants. The more the
information is given in the advertisement, the more it serves as a qualitative
screening device. A firm, by stating minimum qualifications rather than optimum
requirements can generate a large number of applications, requiring more careful
screening. Further, on the mechanics of advertising, management must decide
on such points as the day of the week to insert the advertisement, where to
locate it in the medium and what size it should be. For instance, Sunday papers
are read more leisurely and thoroughly, but-in a week-day edition, a company’s
advertisement stands out more because these are fewer such other
advertisements.
Employment Agencies
Traditionally, many companies used employment agencies to get the recruits
for the sales positions. Whenever an agency is used, it should have a clear’
understanding of the job’s objective, job specifications, and the literature about
the company. If the agency is selected carefully and good long-term relations
are established with it, the dividends can be satisfying.
These agencies have a pool of resumes in their database. They save the sales
managers time and money by screening resumes, interviewing prospects, and
presenting the shortlisted resumes to the company. Such agencies are paid only
when the person is hired. Agencies that charge the employer the fees are more
likely to provide the exact fit of the prospective recruit. Agencies that charge
the placement fees from the applicants have to be specifically instructed by
employers on the stringent requirements for the job profile.
Newspaper, Job Portal, and Online Advertising: The Present Day Sources
In India newspaper is the most preferred option with the following leading
the fields:
(a) Accent Times: (Part of Times of India newspaper): https://
128 timesascent.com/
 (b) www.naukri.com Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
(c) www.monsterindia.com
(d) In.indeed.com
(e) www.shine.com
(f) In.linkedin.com
(g) www.timesjobs.com
The benefit of such ads is that they attract a large number of applicants for a
low cost. The drawback is that it may attract prospects not actively looking
for a job change. This often burdens or overwhelms the HR of the organization
with under qualified applicants. This results in the screening process becoming
costly and time taking. The irony is that the cost per hire becomes high though
the cost per applicant is low.
Companies should be precise in detailing the requirements of the job clearly
specifying the essential and minimum qualification criterion. The details of
the job, product or services to be sold, travelling required, leaves/off days,
working hours, work environment, experience required of candidates, pay range,
and compensation( fixed + variable + commission + ESOP, etc.). For print
ads targeting a specific newspaper or a trade, a journal would be a good idea
for getting people with specific skills. But the drawback is that the lead times
are usually higher. Many newspapers also have a web-based version of jobs
classified. Many organizations advertise job openings on their websites also.
This provides detailed information about the company along with the job.
Candidates apply online on the web page or email their resumes. Posting a
job on a portal online is in general 1/10th of the price of posting in a weekend
newspaper.
Campus and College Hires
Today, the widespread method to select sales trainee’s fresh from the college/
campus. Typically companies connect with the placement cells of colleges.
Placement cells filter and provide the resume of applicants, schedule interviews,
and provide facilities for the conduct of the interview. Colleges also provide
access to job openings to their alumni through the alumni portal. College
campuses also participate in job fairs where many students are introduced to
the new sales position openings and opportunities.
College hires are mostly a good source of entry-level positions and tend to
be easily trained. College students typically have a fair idea and perseverance
needed to get the job done. However, they lack sales experience and need
higher training before they become more productive. Often sales internship
or summer internship is used as a testing ground by the organizations to look
at in detail the skill and the cultural fit of the intern as a prospective employee.
Often organizations give PPO (Pre Placement Offers) to sales interns/ trainees
whom they find fit their prospective employee requirements. The PPO is
confirmed consequently to the students passing the course and clearing the
medical round for the position. 129
Managing The Sales Force Salesmen of Non-competing Companies
Individuals currently employed as salesmen for non-competing companies are
often attractive recruiting prospects. Such people already have selling
experience, some of which may be readily transferable. For those, who have
worked for companies in related industries-there are an additional attraction
to be considered. Recruits from this source presumably have some selling skills
and thus reduce the amount of training required. A firm that hires salesmen
from other companies should be especially careful to determine, why the man
is interested in changing jobs and why he wants to work for the hiring company.
People hired from other companies may not have the same degree of loyalty
that recruits possess when promoted from within.
Salesmen of Competing Companies, Customers, and Suppliers
They are a good source of recruits as being in a particular industry they have
a reasonably good idea about the working capabilities of salespeople and their
fitment. This is useful when the bandwidth of an organization is limited and
they do not have an existing training department. Hiring a competitor
salesperson is also useful when you want that person to hit the ground running
without any hand-holding.
On the other hand, competitor employees hired often have a problem with
the selling style, cultural fit, communication style, unlearning existing habits
of sales, and adapting to the new habits. There can be legal and ethical issues
for disgruntled salespeople sharing the company’s sales secrets outside for
monetary consideration. The question of whether to hire competitors’ salesmen
is argued on ethical grounds and from an economic standpoint. It is considered
unethical to recruit the competitors’ salesmen actively after he has spent the
money on hiring and training them. Furthermore, these salesmen may be able
to divulge company secrets to their competitors. It is also seen as an attempt
to take away competitors’ customers.
From an economic point of view, these are mixed feelings regarding this source.
On one hand, they know the product, customers, and competitors. They also
are experienced sellers and, therefore, no money is required to be spent on
their training. On the other hand, it is a costly source as generally, higher pay
must be offered to them to leave their organizations. Some sales managers,
as a matter of policy, refrain from hiring competitors’ salespersons, as their
loyalty towards the company is questionable. They feel that an individual hired
away from one organization for higher pay or other enticements may be similarly
tempted in the future.
In considering the recruitment of individuals currently working for competitors,
a key question to answer is why does this person want to leave his present
position? When the new job will not improve the applicant’s pay, status, or
prospects, the desire to change the company may be traced to personality
conflicts or instability.
But the dissatisfaction with the present job does not always mean that the fault
is that of an applicant. If the applicant has sound reasons for switching
companies, the opportunity maybe presented to obtain a‘ promising person,
who is ready for productive always.
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Internal Transfers Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
The persons working in other departments of the company may be transferred
as salesmen to the sales department. This is generally used along with the
other recruitment sources. Transfers are good prospects for sales positions,
whenever product knowledge makes up a substantial portion of sales training.
They are also familiar with the company’s objectives, policies, and programmes.
The accuracy of evaluating these men is more, as the management can observe
and evaluate their potential as a salesperson before they are transferred to the
sales department. Factory and office employees may consider the transfer as
positive growth for their careers.
Employee Referral
This is one of the important modes of recommendation by the existing company
employees. It has come up as a major and effective tool for recruitment
nowadays. More often the referral candidates have a fair understanding of the
work culture of the organization, cultural fit, and business issues. Salespeople
and managers often have a wide social network and often have a good
understanding of the pressures of the job and the prospective candidate’s fit.
They also have an informal idea when people are looking for a job change.
Many organizations also provide a lump sum incentive to the employees for
a new hire joining and staying in the organization for a certain period. A
company’s sales force is a good source of leads to recruits. Salesmen typically
have wide circles of acquaintances, since both on and off the job; they
continually meet new people and generally have many friends with similar
interests. Their contacts may yield good salespeople because of their
understanding of the job and the kind of salesmen required by the company.
However, management faces the risk that the salesmen may recommend friends
or business associates based on personal feelings rather than on an impartial
evaluation of prospects’ qualifications. The firm should be able to weed them
out through its selection process. When an applicant recommended by a
salesman is to be turned down, management should explain clearly but
diplomatically to the salesman why his recruit is not being accepted. Sales
people are a valuable source of recommendations when the job must be filled
in remote territories because sales personnel in the same or adjacent areas may
know considerably more about unique territorial requirements and local sources
of personnel than home-office executives.
Activity 1
Suggest suitable recruitment sources for the following:
a. Salesmen for selling a range of FMCG products in a rural market.
b. Salesmen for missionary selling for a pharmaceutical company.
c. Salesmen for selling banking products for Individuals.
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7.6 SELECTION PROCESS

After a company has determined the type and number of salesmen it needs
and the applications for the job have been received, the management is ready
for the third and final stage of the selection system, i.e. selection process. It
involves processing the applicants to select the individuals who best fit the
needs of a particular company. The sales force selection process refers to the
steps, the sales management goes through to staff the sales organization.
Specifically, the process involves:
i) Critical analysis and evaluation of each tool and procedure.
ii) Development of a system for measuring the applicants against the
predetermined requirements.
The basic objective of the selection process is to gather information about
the applicants for sales jobs, which is used for predicting their success/failure
probabilities. A selection system can be visualized as a set of successive screens
at any of which an applicant may be dropped from further consideration. It
can range from a simple one-step system consisting perhaps of nothing more
than an informal personal interview to a complex multiple-step system. The
following figure shows an example of a selection system consisting of seven
steps.

Fig. 1 : A Seven Step Selection System

Selection Policy Decision

i) Which tools should be used?
ii) In what order should the tools be used?
The type of selection tools and their order of arrangement vary from company
to company. Each company must design its selection system to fit its information
needs and budgetary limitations. The factors like the size of the company, type
of industry, the type of selling job, and the financial condition of the company,
affect the selection policy decisions. the firm. Management must compare the
cost of each tool with its ability to predict success/ failure probability (i.e. its
helpfulness in hiring decisions) for deciding the type of tools to be used for
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the selection process. For sequencing the tools, the principle that is generally Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
followed is to use inexpensive and brief tools like a short application form,
brief interview, or a simple test, in the initial stages of the selection process.
The purpose of initial screens is to eliminate, as soon as possible, the unqualified/
undesirable recruits at the least cost. The more expensive and time-consuming
tools are used in the later stages of the selection process.

7.7 SELECTION TOOLS

The commonly used tools for selection are as follows:
(a) Application form
(b) Personal interviews
(c) Follow up
(d) Background check
(e) Testing
(f) Physical examination
Application Form
It is one of the two most widely used selection tools (the other is the interview).
Generally, the application forms used by most companies fall under two
categories: Short Application Forms and Detailed Application Forms.
The short application form is ordinarily used as an initial screening device.
It asks for factual information about the candidate, in brief, to serve its purpose
of eliminating the unqualified applicants at the least cost and quickly. It includes
items such as personal background, education, and experience. This form can
either be provided by the company or in the alternative, the applicants are
asked to apply by sending their bio-data in brief.
The detailed application form is more exhaustive and covers each topic in
depth. It is designed by each company according to its information requirements.
It varies widely from one company to another, for the design depends upon
the detailed description of the sales job. For example; a detailed application
for a sales engineer will be quite different from the detailed application form
for a medical representative. This form may be used as the only application
form or along with the short application form. A longer form may be used as
an initial screen if it is used to the exclusion of the short form. The facts stated
on the form can be the basis for probing in an interview, for instance, by asking
several questions related to the job experience as stated on the form. Also, if
the applicant passes through the initial screens, management may need to refer,
many times to the information stated on the form. This form is also used as a
source of information to study the backgrounds of its good and poor salesmen
and to establish scores and weights on specific requirements.
Objective scoring of application form: Each company, according to its job
requirements, decides the ideal personal history requirements that would make
the person successful on the sales job. Individuals possessing all the personal
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Managing The Sales Force history requirements are the ones most likely to succeed on the job. However,
many potentially successful salespeople do not possess all the requirements.
One company found that most of its best salespeople were of the age group
of 30-35 years at the time of hiring, yet there were some as young as 19 and
others as old as 48. Although the age group of 30-35 years may be the preferred
age range, applicants outside this age range should still receive consideration,
since other factors in their backgrounds may more than offset the fact that
they are outside the desired age range. One of the ways to determine the total
value of candidate is by using application form, on which an objective score
has been assigned to each item. The maximum possible score for each of the
item depends upon its importance in sales success. A higher score is allocated
for the requirements which are more essential than those which are not so
important. The points are assigned to an individual, for each of the item,
according to its proximity to the ideal.
Example: Education Maximum Score - 8
High School - 5
Diploma - 6
Graduate - 8
Job Experience Maximum Score - 10
1-2 years - 4
3-5 years - 10
5-7 years - 7
For example, in an application form of a firm, 12 personal history items are
used as selection factors. A maximum value is assigned to each of them
according to its relative value on the form. The maximum total score is 150
points and the cut off score is 100. All the successful salespersons in this
company scored over 100 when hired and the company automatically
disqualifies all applications with score under 100.
Information on the application form: Some of the factors that affect the
type and amount of information requested on an application form, may be
i) The objective, the company has in using the application form-if it serves
as an initial screen, it is shorter than one that will be used for complete
personal history record.
ii) The other selection tools and records used often influence the design
of the application form. Use of patterned inter-view, for instance, may
enable a concern to shorten its form. On the other hand, a firm may
want to duplicate its questions in order to check on a recruit’s honesty,
by seeing, if his answers on the form coincide with those obtained
from other sources.
iii) The nature of the job is another factor that influences the questions
asked on the application form, because different sales jobs call for
different qualifications. A firm trying to hire men with 5-10 years of
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 sales experience, for example, is not so concerned about a recruit’s Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
activities in school and college. The information required on the
application form., for hiring a salesman, for sales engineer’s job to
sell the technical product will be different from the information for
hiring door-to-door salesman for selling low priced consumer product.
iv) Another factor is the degree to which the selection function is
decentralized. If home executives take part in the hiring of salesmen,
the application form, probably, is detailed. But if territorial managers
do the hiring, the form may be short because the other tools, especially
the interviews, can be used more extensively.
Ideally each company should prepare its own formal application form, since
no two companies have precisely the same information requirements. But, if
a company has only a small sales force and recruits relatively few people,
the time and cost of preparing its own application from may warrant the choice
of a standard form. Certain items of information, which are almost always
relevant to selection decisions, make the standard form. The information that
is typically requested on standard form includes personal background, education
and employment record company using standard application form can obtain
the additional information required, during the interview.
Activity2
Frame questions that you would ask on the application form to determine
whether an applicant possesses any of the following undesirable traits:
a) Has a history of not staying in one job for very long.
b) Have domestic problems.
c) Does not get along well with other people, is the lone wolf type.
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Interview or Face to Face Interview

The interview is the most widely used selection tool and in some companies,
it comprises the entire selection system. This tool may be used as preliminary
interview for initial screening of applicants and plays an important part in the
subsequent stages of the hiring process as final interview. This is the most
satisfactory tool to find out something about conversational ability, general
appearance, personal impact on others and certain behavioural aspects.
Personality traits like initiative, imagination, aggressiveness, tactfulness;
enthusiasm can ‘Come out, when an applicant is talking. Another purpose of
interviewing is to verify and supplement the information obtained through other
tools. Unusual ommited references on the application form can be discussed, 135
Managing The Sales Force or more details about personality, attitudes and previous work experience can
be explored.
For example, the applicant might have stated that he was a district sales manager
in some previous job. The prospective employer might ask: What were the
main responsibilities? How many employees did he supervise? What were his
administrative duties? It is important that the interview serve as a two-way
channel of communication. The interview is not only a means by which a
company judges an applicant’s fitness for the job; it also offers the employer
an opportunity to answer the recruit’s questions about the company and the
job. He can be told about such things as the nature of the job, the physical
and social conditions involved, the compensation, the nature of training and
supervision and the opportunities for the future. The nearer a firm is to hiring
a man, the more information it gives to an interviewee.
This primarily tests the interpersonal behavior of the person. Typically the
1st stage of an interview is a preliminary hygiene check that is likely to reject
a candidate on the grounds of speech issues, basic maturity, unacceptable
appearance, etc. If a candidate crosses the 1st stage then the second stage of
an interview is likely to occur. The 2nd stage is likely to have an interview
session with the sales manager or typically the reporting manager. Some
companies typically have additional stages of interviews with Regional
Managers or CEOs at times. The other benefit is that the sales manager typically
can ask about any gaps in education, career, etc. provided in the application
form. Also, they might access the prospective candidate’s interests and desires
for the job. A candidate’s conversational and social skills are also checked.
A common bias that the sales manager should avoid in the interview process
is to access how easy the candidate would be to manage instead of how effective
the candidate would be in selling. The recruited should also avoid asking
questions that discriminate based on their behaviour or preference. Common
interview questions are:
(a) Why should we hire you?
(b) Where do you see yourself five years from now?
(c) Your strength and weaknesses and how they shall affect your would-
be job?
(d) How do you handle the stressful situation in selling?
(e) What is your idea of an ideal job?
(f) Your short and long-term goals?
(g) If you are not selected for this job then what is your plan B (alternate
plan)?
Interviewing decisions: The following important decisions are arrived at, by
the management regarding interviews:
Who and where: Persons to do the interviewing and place for interviewing
depends upon the size and degree of decentralization of sales organization.
In large and highly decentralized organizations, it is done at local and regional
136 level by district/branch/regional sales managers. e.g. New India Assurance
Company. In medium size organizations with less degree of decentralization Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
initial interviewing is handled at the branch level and final interviewing at
the head office. Interviewing is the responsibility of top personnel of sales
and marketing department in small and centralized organizations.
How many: Number of formal interviews may vary with the selling style of
the company. One large steel company which needs salespeople do the highly
specialized selling to important customers, puts the applicants through three
interviews, involving regional sales managers, the general sales manager and
marketing vice-president. An office supply manufacturer, which requires sales
personnel for routine trade selling, may hire applicants after two interviews.
In another situation, where salesmen are required for door-to-door selling of
simple products, one interview is enough together the necessary information.
When: The interview may be used at the initial stage of screening process as
preliminary interview and it also usually plays an important part in the
subsequent stage of the hiring process, as final interview. At the initial stage,
its main purpose is to quickly eliminate the applicants whose qualifications
do not meet the job’s basic requirements. For example, a few of the company
executives visit the college campus to do the initial screening of people, who
have responded to the company’s advertisement in the college. The detailed/
depth interview is used at the later stage of the selection process. It is more
time consuming and requires people with expert skills to probe the personality
traits of the candidate in depth.
Techniques of Interviewing
i) Patterned/structured interview: It is totally guided and highly
standardized technique of interviewing. The interviewers are given a
specific list of questions or an outline of questions, designed to elicit
a basic core of information. Each person interviewed is asked these
questions and answers are recorded on standardized form. Since all
the applicants are queried on the same points, different persons can
do the interviewing at different places and the results will still be
comparable. The reasons for using this technique of interviewing can
be attributed to the situations, where the interviewing is to be done
at different regions/ branches simultaneously or where the interviewers
may not know in detail about what the job entails and what are the
necessary qualifications, or, they may know what qualifications are
necessary for the job but they may not know what questions will bring
forth the information about the applicant’s possession of these
characteristics, or interviewers may be unable to interpret the answers
in non-structured type of interviews.
ii) Non-directed/non-structured interview: This method does not follow
a set format; instead it involves a relaxed discussion. The candidate
is urged to talk freely about his business experiences, home life, school
activities, future plans and on certain outwardly irrelevant topics. The
interviewer asks few questions and says only enough to keep the
conversation rolling along the desired line. The theory for this type
of interview is that it produces truthful answers and thus draws out
the real person. This technique yields maximum insight into an 137
Managing The Sales Force individual’s attitudes, interests and personality traits. The interviewer
is allowed maximum freedom in determining what will be discussed
during the interview to probe an individual’s personality in depth.
Obviously, the major problem is that it requires skilled and experienced
people for administering and interpreting it. Also the value of
standardization is lost in the non-structured type.
iii) Semi-structured interview: Most firms today use interview that falls
somewhere between the two extremes discussed above. Usually the
interviewer has in mind a prepared outline of topics to be covered
during the interview and also has the freedom to deviate from the plan
and to determine the depth to which a topic will be pursued for each
candidate, at the time of interview itself.
iv) Stress interview: It is a more complex and sophisticated technique
of interviewing. The interviewers create stressful environment for the
candidate through interruptions, criticism, by asking him for solutions
for tricky situations, by rapidly firing questions. While interviewing,
the interviewer may hand the applicant an object and say, “Here, sell
this to me,” and may then raise unreasonable objections during his
sales presentation.
This technique is used for selecting the sales personnel who are
supposed to work under stressful conditions in actual selling situations.
The stress interview needs to be planned, administered and interpreted
by well-trained interviewers.
v) Rating scales: One shortcoming of the interview is its tendency to
lack objectivity, a defect that can be reduced through rating scales.
These are so constructed that interviewer’s ratings are channeled into
limited choice of responses. For instance, in evaluating an applicant’s
general appearance, an interviewer is forced to choose one of the three
answers nicely dressed, presentable, untidy. It results in more
comparable ratings of the same individual by different interviewers.
One drawback of the rating scale is the lack of precise description of
many personal qualities. It is a good practice, therefore, to encourage
interviewers’ to explain ratings in writing whenever they feel that the
comments are needed. Examples:
Enthusiasm: Bored, somewhat indifferent, normal enthusiasm, sparkling
effervescence.
Judgment: Jumps to conclusions, less than sound reasons for opinions; sound
opinions and reasons, excellent judgment and uses reasons as problem solving
device.
Sales drive: Low, normal, above average, pushes himself.
Attitude: Negative and complaining, pessimistic, positive and healthy, strong
loyalty.
Guidelines for interviewing: Some general guidelines that will assist one in
doing the effective interviewing are suggested below:
i) Prepare for the interview: Effective interviewing requires adequate
138 pre- planning to be done prior to the interview. This involves renewing
 the job description, the company’s personnel policies and procedures Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
and existing data about the candidate. The review will enable the
interviewer to determine exactly what he wants to know about the
candidate and prepare the topics for discussion.
ii) Established rapport: A pleasant relaxed atmosphere must be established
during the interview. The interviewee must be made to feel at ease
by asking general questions about his family, education, experience
that is the subjects about which most people feel free to talk about. A
quick review of the interviewee’s application form may suggest a
suitable opening for it. A pleasant rapport between interviewer and
applicant must be maintained throughout the interview.
iii) Listen and observe: It is important for a successful interviewer to be
a good listener and good at observation. He begins to learn about the
candidate, as soon as, he enters the room-Is the applicant dressed
appropriately? Is he/she poised and confident? Alert? Observation
provides many a clues about the personality of the applicant. For
instance, clasping and unclasping of hands, fidgeting, not maintaining
eye contact are sighs of nervousness, uncertainty and lack of confidence.
iv) Taking few notes: Most interviewers will need to refer to notes about
the performance of the candidate at the time of the, interview, for
evaluating him, for selection decision. However, taking notes during
an interview distracts the applicant and slows down the tempo of the
interview. So, in most of the situations, candidate should be marked
on the evaluation sheet after he/she has left the room.
v) Select a suitable environment: The interviewer must make sure that
the setting is appropriate and conducive for interviewing and there
are no interruptions during the interview.
Psychological Tests
Use of psychological tests as selection tool, is increasing for the reasons like-
greater importance being given to selection as the sales management is becoming
more formalised, rising cost of selection and training, increased size of sales
force and increased knowledge of psychological tests and their applications.
Psychological testing refers to having the recruit answer a series of written
questions, the proper answers to which have been previously determined. The
major purpose of testing is to identify and measure more accurately, the various
aspects of person’s behaviour such as intelligence, achievements, interest’s
aptitude, personality traits, etc. It requires trained specialists for designing,
administering and interpreting the psychological tests
Factors conducive to successful testing: The existence of following conditions
is conducive to, a successful testing programme:
i) The firm hires a relatively large number of men and its cost of training
per person is quite high.
ii) The firm is hiring young inexperienced men about whom little is known.
iii) The persons being selected are not likely to be test wise, i.e. danger
of faking is minimized. 139
Managing The Sales Force iv) The executives responsible for interviewing the recruits are not adept
at discovering personality traits and selling aptitude.
v) In companies, where the cost of a man’s future development is high,
the expense of testing may be a small insurance premium, just to be
more accurate in judging a candidate.
Broadly 3 types of psychological tests are administered:
Types of Psychological Tests
i) Tests of Ability -Tests of mental ability, Tests of special abilities
ii) Tests of Habitual, Attitude tests Characteristics, Personality tests and
Interest tests
iii) Achievement Tests
Tests of mental ability: Give the administrator some idea of the man’s present
abstract intelligence. These tests are designed to show how well a person
reasons, thinks, and understands and thus measure the abilities like problem
solving and learning. Beyond a minimum level, this type of intelligence is
seldom of vital importance in selling. In the alternate, if the sales job requires
a man with higher than average intelligence, because of its being a complex
job, then probably such intelligence tests should be made a part of the selection
process.
Tests of special abilities: These tests measure the sales aptitude and the special
abilities required for a person to be successful in sales position. Sales aptitude
tests are designed to find out the recruit’s behaviour in certain common selling
and social situations. One such test asks, “You are a sales clerk. The best of
your response to the customer’s objection, `It is not exactly what I want’, would
be:
a) Do let me show you another style that is very popular this season.
b) This is the latest style.
c) I am sorry you didn’t like what we have.
d) We expect another shipment of articles next month.
Many sales managers administer their own informal aptitude tests by way of
a situation in which they give a product to the recruit and say, “Here, sell
this to me.” General sales aptitude tests are used for measuring the basic qualities
of a good salesman and specially designed sales aptitude tests are used for
measuring special qualities required for a particular type of sales job of a
company.
Tests of habitual characteristics: These tests gauge how the prospective
employee would normally act in his daily work, i.e. when he is not at his best
behaviour.
Attitude tests: Are more appropriate as morale measuring techniques. They
are used to ascertain employee’s feelings towards working conditions, pay,
and advancement opportunities and like. Used as sales personnel selection
140
device, they make limited contribution by identifying abnormal attitudes on Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
general subjects.
Personality tests: Success in selling depends mainly on the multitude of
behaviour traits called personality. By adroitly asking many questions concerning
what the test taker would do in certain situations, how he feels about certain
things and what his attitudes are towards various occurrences, the test hopes
to uncover specific personality traits.
These tests attempt to identify and measure the traits like stability, tact and
diplomacy, self-sufficiency, self-control, dominance,-initiative, etc. The obvious
difficulties in using these tests are first in stating precisely what aspects of
personality are true job qualifications and then finding and designing tests
which would measure these aspects correctly. These tests need to be
administered and interpreted by skilled testers.
Interest tests: The basic assumption implicit in the use of interest tests are
that a relationship exists between interest and motivation. Hence, if two persons
have equal ability the one with greater interest in a particular job will be more
successful salesman. Interest tests measure the extent to which one’s interests
are similar to those of successful people in a given occupation: Probably, a
person who scores low on an interest test will not make a good salesman. These
tests are relatively easy and inexpensive to administer.
Achievement tests: Provide an assessment of expertise, an applicant possesses
in such areas as customer relations, marketing channels product, etc. These
tests seek to determine how much an individual has learned from his education,
training and his knowledge about certain subjects.
Evaluation of Psychological Tests
Tests to be used for selection of salesmen are evaluated on the basis of following
criteria
i) Validity: A test is valid if it actually measures what it is supposed
to measure. Following are the three ways to check the validity of a
test: A test is given to the present sales force and test score of
successful salesmen is compared with the score of unsuccessful
salesmen. If there is close correlation between the score and job
performance, the test is a valid test. A test is given to all the applicants,
but the test scores are withheld from the persons making the selection
decision. After the new salesman has begun work, their performance
is compared with their test scores. Again the degree of correlation
will reveal the validity of test. Another way to validate a test is through
the use of control groups. One group of salesman is chosen by making,
use of tests along with other tools in the selection process, while a
control group is hired without the benefit of testing. The job
performance of both the groups is compared, after a period of time
to determine the validity of test.
ii) Test reliability: It refers to the consistency of test results. A test has
reliability, if an individual gets approximately the same score on
141
Managing The Sales Force subsequent retesting in the same type of tests. Perfect reliability is
given the maximum score of 1. The tests having the reliability near
one are considered as reliable tests for use in selection process.

Reliability

Example: Social intelligence test .85

Numerical ability test .95

Vocabulary test .75

iii) Test objectivity: If the scorer’s opinion does not affect the test score,
it is an objective test. For a good test, it is important to have high
objectivity.

iv) Time effort and cost: Of administering the tests must be compared
with their benefits.

Usage of psychological tests: Any test should be used only as an aid to

judgment, and definitely should not be the deciding factor in determining who
should be hired. It is a mistake to automatically accept or reject a given applicant
on the basis of his test scores. They are a tool to assist the sales executive in
selecting the right kind of salesmen, but they should not relied upon the
exclusion of other tool.

Test results may help in avoiding a serious error, but they must not make the
selection decision for the manager. Sales executives need to recognise the fact
that psychological testing, although capable of making a valuable contribution,
is but one step in the selection system. The sales manager should not believe
that the best score on a test means that the man is the best prospective employee.
All that can be said is that a man does or does not fall within a range and all
those’ who do fall within that range should be judged as being equally qualified
for the job.

Test results should be used to probe deeper into any questionable areas.

Some of the popular personality tests are:

MBTI: Myers Briggs Type Indicator (Most popular): to help people understand
personality differences in the general population. While there are no “better”
or “worse” personality preferences, the MBTI assessment can help people
understand their strengths and blind spots and how they might differ from others.
This test gives a personality type. There are no correct or wrong answers. MBTI
has a minimum of 93 questions, people can find out which category they fit
in. Each type is comprised of four pairs of personality factors: introversion
(I) and extroversion (E), intuition (N) and sensing (S), thinking (T) and feeling
(F), and Judging (J) and perceiving (P). These factors are represented by a
letter, and the combination of the four letters is your type as shown in Figure
7 mentioned below:
142
 Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force

Figure 7 : MBTI test interpretation for E / I, S / N, T / F, J / P

Once you’ve taken the test, you can find out how much each personality factor
affects your disposition. In the sales profession, some people may think only
certain personalities can be successful; for example, it’s a common belief that
only extroverts can close deals and relate to customers. According to research,
however, introversion is slightly more common than extroversion overall, and
it takes both extroverts and introverts to build a successful sales team.
Use your personality profile to your advantage. No matter if you’re an INTJ
or an ESFP, you can reach and convert customers. Learn more about your
personality type, and how to use it to your advantage. When it comes to sales,
this test helps the buyer and seller understand each other.
Background check: All references given by the candidate and the details of
information shared in the application may be checked. Jobs involving cash
handling and high integrity demand that a background check has to be done.
If a candidate has misrepresented any facts same may be checked independently
with the organizations. At times people misrepresent their salary and might
end up being an overpaid hire. It could also result in hiring an under qualified
salesperson. A background check is also done by directly mailing to the
organization where the person has claimed to have worked. A background
check also helps to find out any criminal case which might affect the job role
of the person. A CIBIL (Credit Information Bureau of India Ltd.), EQUIFAX,
etc. check the credit history of a person before issuing a loan.
References
Names of references are sometimes requested on the application form by the
company. As a selection tool, the basic purpose of the reference is to verify
the facts such as the dates of employment, earnings, sales volume, absenteeism
and the nature of the past selling job. The typical procedure is to check the
references by personal visit, telephone or letter.
143
Managing The Sales Force Physical Examination
Many sales jobs are very demanding physically and/or mentally. So, near the
end of the selection process, some companies require a physical examination
to eliminate the candidates who do not meet the minimum physical qualifications
deemed necessary for the job.
Activity 3
Given some specific examples of how each of these following factors can
influence a company’s choice of selection tools for its sales force:
a) Caliber of the salespeople
b) Nature of the job
c) Financial condition of the company.
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7.8 TRAINING OF THE SALES FORCE: AN

INTRODUCTION
Ask any sales person or a sales manager about how they learned their selling
skills, the majority of them will answer, ‘by experience’. The statement,
however, is really useful when we learn the correct things by experience and
more importantly when we can use the lessons successfully. But what happens
when we make mistakes? Next time we don’t do the same mistake and we
say, “I learned it all the hard way.” It is suggested that, as a training manager,
you should be sure to check what he learned the hard way.
You may also come across that a few of the salesmen have never learned the
art of closing their sales. While a good number of them has talked too much
for all the years they were in selling. There are still many more that never ever
discovered the best way to sell or manage their time. Experience alone is perhaps
never sufficient. We all have to learn from the knowledge and experience of
others. This is where the right training can make a difference. Training can help
transform a below-average salesman into an average salesman, or the average
salesman to sell higher and the top salesman to reach newer heights.
In a competitive market, sales training can bridge the gap between success
and failure. Customers generally evaluate a company’s product based on the
salesman’s performance, confidence or lack of confidence, inability to fully
explain the product benefits, etc. When the market is competitive the customer
may place an order with the salesman who performs better than the other in
a sales situation.

7.9 LOGIC OF TRAINING

It must be understood that a training programme is just a small segment of
the total learning experience of any participant. Before any participant attends
144
a training programme, the trainer must identify a specific area of knowledge, Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
skills, or attitude in the participant that needs to be improved. (A detailed account
of these points is given in 7.5). After the training programme, it is expected
that the participants have gained the required knowledge, skills, or attitudinal
change.
Total Value
Before the Training Training After the Training
of Training

However, the more important part is when the participant uses this new
knowledge, skills, and attitude at his workplace to get better results than he
was getting before training. These results will benefit the organization and
will add more value to the organization. Thus to consider the total value of
any training, it is important to consider the sequence of training activity in
its totality, i.e., before the training, the training event/experience, and after
the training.

7.10 TRAINING PROCESS

Training can be defined as learning to change the performance of people, doing
certain tasks. From this definition we observe that training revolves around
helping people to learn so as to improve their performance. The training process
can be broken down into four major steps, for easy understanding. These steps
are, identifying training need, designing the programme, conducting the
programme, training follow up. Apart from the above distinctive steps, a trainer
must have knowledge about adult learning styles, so that the programme can
be tailored as per requirements. Diagrammatically, the training process can
be represented in the following manner:

The training approach is best explained and summed up by the ACMEE

approach
145
Managing The Sales Force Who?
When?
Why? What? How? Where?

AIM(s) Content Method(s) Execution Evaluation

(Recycle, Redesign, Modify and so forth)

Fig. 9 : ACMEE approach to sales training

7.11 AREAS OF SALES TRAINING

The purpose of a sales training programme is to impart training in the following
broad areas mentioned below:
 Company’s knowledge - nature of industry to which the organization
is related. The organizational place in its industry and industrial
practices
 Product knowledge and applications
 Sales techniques - the selling process, negotiation skills, sales
presentation, handling complaints, post sales follow-ups, etc.
 Reporting systems
 Analysis of sales data and market intelligence.
Depending upon the contents of training programme the training methods or
technique is selected. These methods are discussed, in following section.

7.12 PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING TRAINING

NEEDS
A training need can be defined as a gap between the desired level and the
actual level of knowledge, skills or performance that can be bridged by training.
The starting point for organizing and conducting an effective training programme
for the salesmen is the careful and precise identification of training needs.
Well intentioned, but general sales training may not yield good results. To
the salesmen it may not appear to be tailored to their needs, or it failed to
take account of the special selling situations they generally face.
Thus it is very important to perceive and identify the individual’s training needs
and then decide about the objectives and contents of the training programme.
The identification the sales training needs is a rational undertaking and it has
to be done in proper sequence, which is as follows:
First: The first step in the identification of the training needs is to define the
jobs, to be done, the specific tasks involved and the performance standards
required .This involves writing of the jobs description.

146
Secondly, specifying what knowledge, skills and attitudes are needed to achieve Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
the standards set for the job. Based on the job description, training needs analysis
can be done setting out the knowledge, skills and attitudes. Some examples
of such an exercise is given below:

Job description : Keep Technically and Commercially Up-to-date

Task Knowledge Skills Attitudes
(a) Read Journals What knowledge Ability to : self Training is not a
and skills are train, learn, classroom
(b) Attend relevant operation. Good
needed as defined interpret and
Meeting and training is self-
by the job and apply, informaton
events inspired
the company and use initiative
(c) Assess own continuous and
training needs accumulative
with manager
on a continuous
basis

Job description : Liase with Companies and Organisations

Task Knowledge Skills Attitudes
(a) Make contact Who they are Establish mutual We all need all
with Where they respect, the extra
Representatives operate Sell one self, ‘salesmen’ we
Who they know Establish mutual can get
(b) Maintain contact
Who knows them benefits
for mutual
advantages

Job Description : Sales Planning

Task Knowledge Skills Attitudes
(a) Idenfify traget Number of unit Ability to select Time, effort and
sizes priorities, good thought given to
Location administration planning make the
Present whole job easier,
situation/usage more enjoyable
Future needs and more effective
Finance
(b) Draw up action Company Good An agreed plan of
plans activities communication action makes
Competitor with managers sucess more
activities and distributors likely
Distributor Ability to set
involvement realistic
timing objectives in a
Management reasonable
assistance scale
available
Own time
available
147
Managing The Sales Force
(c) Plan with Distributor Motivation of Liaison is
distributors coverage distributor essential for
Distributors representatives success
representatives
Credit problems
Distributor needs

Job Description : Make Effective Sales Contact

Task Knowledge Skills Attitudes
(a) Plan journeys Geography Ability to assess Time and effort
Market timing of saved, makes
days/events individual calls work easier
Whether Ability to plan enjoyable and
appointments journeys effictive
are needed
(b) Plan calls Customer needs Ability to identify
products available customer needs
Distributor Communication
involvement with distributors
(c) Make Products and How to open an Professional
effective sales system knowledge interview selling is essential
presentations Economics How to create in a competitive
Customer needs interest market
Selling How to present
techniques/negoti benefits
ation how to overcome
Sales benefit objections
Nature of Negotiation
objectives How to close
Alternative positively
methods of
closing
(d) Involve Own limitations Communication A term works
management of authority with management better than a
when Customer needs and distributors collection of
necessary Price limitations individual

Job Description : Motivate and Train Distributors

Task Knowledge Skills Attitudes
(a) Identify needs Priority 'gap' to be Distinguish Efficient profitable
for each filled between between distribution is
distribution company needs knowledge, skills esential to Co's
and each individual needs and attitudes and own prosperity
representative customer's needs establesh
priorities
Distinguish
between 'lack of
and 'need for'
(b) Agree what Methods of training Liase with It is our
should be done Other facilities management responsibility to
and by whom available 'Sell' training to eqip our
Other personnel distributors and distributors with
Own limitations representatives the knowledge and
Own slills Setting of skills to sell
148
 Recruitment, Selection and
objectives products and Training of the Sales Force
Planning and services
preparation
(c) Carry out Methods : On-the Applying the Training is not only
training job Off the job right a classroom
Product knowledge Method operation. Use of
Sales knowledge Translating the right method
Use of training knowledge to and careful
techniques sult audience preparation is
Preparation of aids techniques and essential
Appropriate aids
location
(d) Evaluation on Gap in the Interpret reasons All good training is
a Continuous objectives set for gap continuous and
basis Objectives Take appropriate accumulative
achieved steps i.e. change
objectives,
change training
methods and
change training
contents.

Job Description : Investigate Quality Complaints

Task Knowledge Skills Attitudes
(a) Investigate the Character of Look at problems A quality
situation customer objectively complaint is an
Distributor Assess likely opportunity to
involved causes tactfully build customer
Representative and accurately confidence and
involved Establish rapport loyalty
Methods of : with the customer
reporting,
handling and
delivery
complaint factors
Product
knowledge
(b) Report back to In addition to Accurate report The customer
Managemnt above checks, Writing should neither
place of orgin Accurate check not gain if
Date of delivery interpretation of the complaint is
and manufacture facts, people and handled correctly
Interpretation of circumstances
situation Empathetic
Recommendations presentation of
for action information
(c) Conclued Laboratory report Selling skills in The customer
Complaint Interpretation of presenting should feel that
satisfactorily report information his complaint has
Character of Obtaining been handled
customer agreement without fairly, speedly
Relation between haggling and
loss and views of Positive closing sympathetically
Co.
149
Managing The Sales Force Job Description : Provide After Sales Service
Task Knowledge Skills Attitudes

(a) Identify what Priorities Ablity to select

is needed : Customer needs and priorities
i) For personal Customer attitude Ability to delegate
action Distributor
ii) For coverage
distributor Representative's
action abilities
iii) For
individual
customers

(b) Keep personal As above Tactful delegation

involvement to to distributor
a minimum representatives
Training of
representatives

(c) Provide first- Technical Ability to provide Service is a tool to

class knowledge service effectively be used in gaining
personal Product Use service as a and maintaining
services where knowledge sales aid business not an
necessary Management end in itself
of finance and
economics

Job Description : Support Promotional Activities and

Participate in Meeting/Demonstrations
Task Knowledge Skills Attitudes

(a) Apply Company plans Selling of Use Distributors

promotional Area plan promotion to: and Distributors
Plans in own District plans distributors Representatives to
district Distributor needs distributor sell
Consumer needs representatives
(b) Take part in Suitable venues Public speaking We are
meetings and Meeting Discussion professional
demonstrations organizations leading
Products/systems Chairmanship
Company policy Report writing

Job Description : Internal Communication

Task Knowledge Skills Attitudes
Report competitor Competitors Accurate Report Effective action
Activities to representatives writing depends on
management Competitors Objective accurate and
Suitable speakers customers interpretation balanced
Competitors Communication reportage
products and with third parties
Policies
150
Thirdly, define what knowledge, skills and attitudes each salesman has, how Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
and what performance standards each are achieving. The collection of this
information requires the setting up and constant use of an effective salesman
performance appraisal system. It also involves agreement on measurement
standards and techniques.
Fourthly, identifying the training gaps in the areas of knowledge, skills and
attitudes.
Fifthly, define what additional training needs arise as a result of changes
external to the salesman’s past achievements and standards. This necessitates
checking on a systematic and continuous basis the directions and future plans
for the company’s marketing planning, sales planning and recruitment
functions. For example; a decision to add a couple of products to the existing
product line could involve every salesman in revising his method of working,
route planning and scheduling, thus giving rise to a new training need in
the field. It is therefore, necessary to relate the company’s future plans to
its current sales force needs.
Lastly, define the training priorities for the current period, i.e., to identify what
are the training needs in the immediate future, in the mid-term and in the long
term, and accordingly prioritise the training activity.
Activity 4
As a sales manager for a Kashmir carpet manufacturer. You have a vacancy
in your sales force in the Maharashtra region. You want to recruit only
that person who is fully familiar to the product. What type of training
objectives you would propose, if you wish to prepare your sales personnel
fully for the field job?
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7.13 METHODS OF IDENTIFYING TRAINING

NEED
For the success of any training it is of utmost importance that the training
needs are identified, objectively and correctly. Training need analysis will help
in identifying employees who need training and also you can set specific
criteria’s to measure the results of training. Some of the methods used for
identifying training needs are:

7.13.1 Self-Observation
Observations can work only when a salesman is observed doing his job,
continuously for a specific period, by an observer. 151
Managing The Sales Force Advantages: Observation gives you an idea about the actual working of a
salesman. It is a low cost technique with minimum disruption to the work.
Also, in this technique you yourself observe the salesman and thus the bias
is avoided, in the observations.
Disadvantages: The major disadvantage of this technique is that the salesperson
may not act normally when someone is with him as he feels scrutinized. Also
you may not observe all the attributes due to infrequency of occurrence of
some attributes. Another disadvantage of this technique is that sometimes it
is difficult to record the observed data.

7.13.2 Reports
Any organization will have number of reports that record different aspects of
job performance regularly, like, work records, sales output, sales trend, PJP
(Permanent Journey Plan) etc. A careful study of these reports and trends can
help in identifying training needs. Report frequency can be daily, weekly,
fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, half yearly, and yearly.
Advantages: You have a long track record of performance which can be used.
The salesman is not aware that you are watching him. In this method, you do
not incur any additional cost.
Disadvantages: As the quantum of information available through the sales
reports is large, this method is time consuming.

7.13.3 Surveys and Questionnaires

These are the written forms that are completed and returned either by the
salesperson himself or by his manager, after filling them up.
Advantages: These forms bring out opinions and facts about a current situation
by questioning the people involved. These are useful in getting information
from a large or geographically dispersed people. The respondents can complete
them at their convenience, without any distraction.
Disadvantages: If the questions are not framed in a simple language, the
respondents may not understand the questions. Secondly, only those people,
who are interested, will generally send their reply to a survey.

7.13.4 Face to Face Interviews

A face to face interview is the process of meeting a salesperson individually
to discuss issues that concerns him the most.
Advantages: These interviews are helpful when you are dealing with sensitive
issues that require explanatory answers. Another advantage of this process is
that you can clarify things by asking questions and also you can observe the
non-verbal clues.
Disadvantages: The salesperson may not like such interviews where you are
making notes. Face to face interview is also a time consuming process.

7.13.5 Focus Groups

152 In a focus group, 10-15 salespersons meet to discuss a topic and exchange
views, attitudes to give suggestions. Such discussions are useful when handling Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
an undefined issue.
Advantages: Focus groups offer valuable but general data. With the help of
focus group discussions you can identify questions and issues that can be used
to conduct specific surveys.
Disadvantages: A focus group has to be followed by other types of surveys
for getting specific information. A focus group is time consuming and in such
studies it is difficult to quantify results.
As you must have observed, you can use any or all of the above methods
for identifying training needs. Once the data is collected, you need to analyze
data for prioritizing different needs that may emerge. One important point
that should be kept in mind is that during these surveys certain needs can
emerge that cannot be handled by training. These may include pay increases,
incentives, work conditions, etc.Therefore; the suggestion is that when you
are analyzing data you must focus only on those needs that can be addressed
by training.

7.14 LEARNING STYLES

When you are designing a training programme, you must keep in mind that
different people, learn easily from different learning styles. Therefore, you
should be able to identify the best learning style. Broadly speaking any person
has one of the following as dominant learning style: Activist, Reflector, Theorist
or Pragmatist. You must appreciate the fact that these are the learning styles
and need not reflect the personality of any individual.
Activist: An activist involves himself fully and without bias in new experiences.
He is open minded, riot skeptical and is enthusiastic about anything new. He
is happy to take problems by brainstorming. Thus, if you are designing a
programme for an activist, be sure to include situations of his participation’s
like, games, simulation exercises, etc.
Reflector: He likes to stand back to ponder experiences and observe them
from varied perspectives. He will collect data, himself and from others, and
prefer to think it thoroughly before coming to any conclusion. He prefers to
take a back seat in meetings and discussions and enjoys observing other people
in action. He tends to adopt a low profile. While designing a programme for
a reflector, be sure to include actual case studies and experiences and guide
him to make his own decisions.
Theorist: He integrates observations into complex but logically sound theories.
He thinks problems through in a step by step way. He likes to analyze and
synthesize. He tends to be detached, analytical and dedicated to rational
objectives rather than anything subjective or ambiguous. His approach to
problems is consistently logical.
Pragmatists: He is keen on trying out ideas, theories and techniques to see
if they work in practice. He is the sort of person who will return from training
brimming with new ideas that he wants to try out in practice.
153
Managing The Sales Force
7.15 DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING THE
PROGRAMME
For training of sales force, you can use one of the three major types of
programmes. These methods are self-study modules, class-room training, on
the job training. However for all the programmes, the planning must be done
comprehensively to ensure effectiveness of the training.

7.15.1 Self-Learning Modules

In this programme, the participants are given the course material which they
are required to study themselves. Written notes can be sent, and if needed audio
and CD can be used. Now a day’s many interactive videos on training are
available with inbuilt questions and MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) .They
might have a built in feature which makes it mandatory for them to completely
watch each module/answer questions before they are allowed to move forward.
Paper reading material is progressively getting replaced by E-learning material
with proper feedback mechanism.

7.15.2 Class Room Training

Each training programme needs to be individually planned based on the pre-
decided objectives decided for the programme. However the following are the
important areas that can be covered in a typical sales related programme:
 Company knowledge - history and future plans
 Product information
 Marketing strategies for various products
 Learning the features, advantages, benefits of products
 How to obtain interview with prospective customers
 The sales presentation
 Different ways of finding customer’s needs
 Answering objections
 Closing the sales presentation
 Planning geographical territory and planning each day
 Time management
 Administrative responsibilities
 Communication abilities
 Writing reports
The objective of a class room based refresher course is to reinforce some aspects
in the salesmen which they are likely to forget and also to add new knowledge
and skills to the salesmen. Thus, as the name suggests a refresher and
154 development course must refresh the memory and develop the true potential
of the salesmen. To truly meet its objective, a refresher course must be based Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
on factual information. Thus complete information on salesmen’s behaviour,
weaknesses and general morale must be available before designing any refresher
course. The information can either be obtained through a questionnaire sent
to participants or through personal interviews, or any other methods. Some
of the questions that need to be answered for running an effective refresher
course are:
Planning Does a salesman prepare and work his plan Does
he keep up to date records Does he call regularly
on his customers
Appearance Is his appearance professional Does he keep his
presentation material neat and clean
Attitude Does he have a positive or a negative attitude How
is his response to official communication How
much is he influenced by outside influences
Selling Skills How good is his product knowledge How updated
are his selling skills Does he have knowledge of
any special techniques

Once all the information is gathered, the trainer can plan different session of
refresher course which can include case studies, role plays, syndicate
presentations, simulations etc.

7.15.3 on the Job Training

One of the very important ways of teaching new skills to sales people is through
on the job field training. The important advantage of this method offers is
that the skills are demonstrated to the salesmen in the real life situation and
thus the impact on the salesmen is expected to be much stronger. Also the
individual salesman’s needs can be identified and attended to. In on-the-job
or field training, the trainer can either make a sales call himself which the
salesman observes and learns. In the other method of on-the-job training the
trainer gives feedback to the salesman after observing him during his sales
call. The salesman, thereafter, practices the recommendations in the future calls

Activity 5
To better identify the training needs of your sales personnel, you circulated
a questionnaire. An analysis of the questionnaires revealed that your sales
personnel need to learn handling of difficult customer or complaining
customers. What type of training method you would use, and why?
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Managing The Sales Force
7.16 TRAINER’S ABILITIES
A successful trainer needs to possess various skills to do a good job of training.
Some of the basic things without which a trainer cannot be successful are
thorough job knowledge and an ability to relate to the actual situations the
salesman experiences. The other main abilities which a trainer must possess
are:

7.16.1 Analytical ability

A good trainer is able to analyze the situations and identify the exact training
needs for salespersons. The analytical ability will help the trainer to focus on
issues of prime importance rather than touching superficial issues.

7.16.2 Basic Educational Abilities

A trainer needs to have the knowledge about the jobs the salespersons perform.
He should also know the principles of communication and presentation skills
and approaches. It would be still better if the trainer has some knowledge about
the adult learning.

7.16.3 Training Techniques

A successful trainer needs to understand what makes people learn and accept
new things. He should have clear knowledge about the different techniques
of training. He should be able to employ such techniques which are appropriate,
relevant and contemporary in nature to match with the requirement of new
businesses.

7.16.4 Ensuring Participants’ Participation

To ensure effective learning, the training session must be interactive where
participants should voluntarily participate. Some of the methods employed for
ensuring trainee participation are:

 Discussion Groups: Trainees are divided into groups and given various
topics, issues etc. which they have to discuss amongst themselves and
come up with probable solutions.

 Questions and answers session, after each session.

 Decision making exercises, e.g. finding product benefits and converting
them into sales presentations for various types of customers.

 Demonstrations: These can be either trainees acting out certain role

plays or video demonstrations or demonstrations by the trainer.

 Case studies: Participate attempt to find the best possible solution for
a real life problem.

7.16.5 Course Organization

Once the total written material for a course is ready, the session can be put
156
into practice. A good trainer will always keep in mind some basic rules of Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
organizing a training session, like:
 Punctuality is essential.
 All material related to training like, slides, demonstration pieces,
samples, etc., must be carefully checked before the programme.
 The room where the: training is to be held must be checked for adequate
lighting and seating arrangements and all other ICT equipment and
gadgets are in place.

7.17 TRAINING FOLLOW-UP AND FUTURE

COURSE OF ACTION
Training follow up refers to the time immediately following the training. This
may vary from, the time when learners are still a captive audience, to possibly
months or years after the training. What happens after training is vital to any
training session. After any training session you must gather and analyze feedback
to review training. Measure and analyze results especially in relation to job
performance. Provide additional inputs, if these have been a shortfall, of similar
training programmes are organized in future.
Sales training is an investment by the company and there is a natural expectation
to have returns commensurate with investment made. The starting point is
with matching the A (Aim) with the E (Evaluation) of the ACMEE framework.
The following serves as a checklist:
a. Improved selling performance which does not show up immediately
b. Comparing the time taken by the new salespersons that have undergone
training to have similar productivity of experienced salespersons.
c. Comparing with the training history of best and worst performers.
d. Comparing the current market share with the future market share after
the training.
e. Written tests to compare before and after training results
f. Though expensive some companies send field observers to observe
the salespersons in the market who have undergone the training.
g. Taking feedback from the customers regularly also helps
h. Performance of trainees in role-play assignments, and discussions
i. Asking trainees to rate each trainer independently and on some defined
parameters
j. Asking sales trainees to report back improvement in their sales
territories after they have attended the training.

7.18 SUMMARY
The recruitment and selection of sales people constitute one of the primary
responsibilities of sales management. After a thorough analysis of each sales 157
Managing The Sales Force job, the sales manager prepares a list is of qualifications to be used in recruiting.
Depending upon the type of job to be filled and company policy, the sales manager
then seeks applicants through various sources-educational institutions, other
departments within the company, employment agencies, advertising and even
competing or non- competing firms. Managers must evaluate the pool of applicants
in order to select the most promising candidates. The selection process involves
the use of application forms, interviews references and psychological tests in
order to identify those persons meeting the job qualifications. The final step in
the hiring programme requires that the sales manager decide which, if any, of
the candidates should be offered selling positions.
In order to meet the sales and marketing objectives successfully, it is necessary
for each organization to train their sales personnel, as objectively as possible.
The training activities should be tailored to the specific needs of the sales personnel
and the typical market situations they face. Therefore, it becomes mandatory
to identify the training needs. Once the training needs have been identified, then
commences the process of executing the training programme. Activities, such
as identification of teaching material, appropriate trainer and training methods,
all should be decided, as carefully as possible. Lastly, one should learn from
one’s experience and therefore, evaluation and review of a training programme
is also an important and integral component of any training activity.

7.19 KEY WORDS

Patterned interview : Also called guided interview, this
method employs a list of prepared
questions that the interviewer asks in
order to obtain the required
information.
Unstructured interview : Also called a non-directed interview,
this method has no set format or plan.
It involves a relaxed discussion in
which the interviewee is encouraged
to talk.
Semi-structured interview : Also called an outline interview, this
interview format combines the
characteristics of both structured and
unstructured interviews.
Stress interviewing : An interview technique in which stress
is placed on an applicant through
interruption, criticism or silence.
Rating scales : A widely used sales evaluation
method that uses specific desired
traits, behaviour factors or
performance criteria.
Psychological testing : Tests designed a measure a person’s
behaviour and to attempt to predict
employment success.
158
Test validity : The authenticity of the test as a Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
measure of behaviour.
Test reliability : The quality of the test related to
consistency of test results.
Training : Training can be defined as learning to
change the performance of people
doing certain tasks. Training revolves
around helping people to learn so as
to improve their performance.
Training Needs : A training need can be defined as a
gap between the desired level and the
actual level of knowledge, skills or
performance that can be bridged by
training.
Self-Learner Module : The participants are given the course
material which they are required to
study themselves. Written notes can
be sent, and if needed audio and video
cassettes can also be used.
On Job Training or : In on the job or field training the
Field Training trainer can make a sales call himself
which the salesman observes and
learns. In the other method, the trainer
gives feedback to the salesman after
observing him during his sales call.
The salesman, in the future calls
thereafter, practices the
recommendations.

7.20 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

1) One sale executive claims he knows a good man when he sees one, and
therefore, he does not like to be bothered by so called scientific selection
process. What can you offer to refute this claim? Would your answer be
any different if you knew that the sales manager who made the statement
had a low rate of turnover in his sales force and was running a highly
profitable operation?
2) “Careful selection is important, but not essential, in building an effective
sales force. Improper selection of sales people can be overcome by a good
training programme, sound supervision and an excellent compensation
programme.” Do you agree? Discuss.
3) When selecting salesmen many companies have adopted a policy of hiring
only experienced salesmen and preferably men who have had experience
of selling similar or directly competitive products. What are the merits
or demerits of such a system?
159
Managing The Sales Force 4) The following firms want to hire salesmen, and as recruiting sources, the
executives are considering-other departments of the company, competitor’s
salesmen and educational institutions. Evaluate each of these three as
sources of salesmen for each company:
a. Manufacturer of paper and paper products
b. Manufacturer of office furniture and equipment
c. Manufacturer of breakfast cereal
5) How an applicant, before accepting a job, could appraise himself the quality
of training that will be provided to him?
6) Why are sales training a continual managerial activity?
7) Why is product knowledge also considered to be a sales related training
need?
8) Why do sales trainers rely so much on role-play in teaching sales
techniques? Discuss its advantages over other training methods?

7.21 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

a) Sales Management concepts and cases by William L.Cron and Thomas
E.Decarlo; Wiley Publication
b) Sales Management: A Global perspective by Earl D.Honeycutt, John B.Ford,
Antonis C.Simintiras; Routledge publication
c) Sales Management: Decision, Strategy, and Cases by Richard R.Still,
Edward W.Cundiff, Norman A.P.Govoni; Pearson Publication
d) SalesForce Management: A contemporary approach by Tony Carter
e) Sales Forecasting Management: A demand management approach by John
T.Mentzer, Mark A. Moon; Response Books (A division of Sage
Publications)
f) Anderson, B. Robert, 198 1. Professional Sales Management, Prentice Hall,
Inc.
g) Dalrymple, J. Douglas, 1982. Sales Management Concepts and Cases, John
Willey and Sons, Inc.
h) Smit, Roger F, 1987 Sales Management A Practitioner’s Guide, Prentice
Hall, Inc.
Video links:
a) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHz592Kc9GU
b) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orsI4Kzi008:
c) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrEcSpm4RJM
d) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ckznkqZ7B0
160
e) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTVcJNQG-eg Recruitment, Selection and
Training of the Sales Force
f) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhUgaKb0s5A How do we hire in
Google?
g) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEq_k0ccYLU: Sell me this pen!!!
h) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqz-hvkOkHw 7 steps for hiring…..
i) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCCg9FkNBt4: Recruitment, selection,
training…
j) https://www.123test.com/assessment-training/wonderlic/

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