Sales Promotion,
Sales Management For Exporters, Export Sales Organization,
Export Salesman Characteristics,
Recruitment And Training,
Routing Of Salesman,
Foreign Language Skills,
Sales Promotion Restriction.

Sales Promotion Definition

Sales promotion is a marketing strategy where the product is promoted using short-term attractive initiatives to stimulate its demand and increase its sales.

This strategy is usually brought to use in the following cases –

to introduce new products,
sell out existing inventories,
attract more customers, and
to lift sales temporarily.

American Marketing Association defines sales promotion as –

“Media and nonmedia marketing pressure applied for a predetermined, limited period of time in order to stimulate trial, increase consumer demand, or improve product availability.”

Importance Of Sales Promotion

Sales promotion is a handy technique to fulfil the short term sales goals by persuading potential customers to buy the product. It is an important promotional strategy to –

Spread information about the brand to new customers or new market
Stabilize sales volume and fulfil short-term sales goals
Stimulate demand for a short term by making the product look like a great deal.

Objectives Of Sales Promotion

The answer to the question what is sales promotion? also gives a hint to sales promotion objectives, the main objective being lifting the sales temporarily.

Other objectives include but are not limited to –

To Create Market For New Products

It is sometimes hard to establish demand for a new product in a market of similar products. In such cases, the company opt for increasing some sales by using sales promotion strategies like penetration pricing, offers, discounts, and scarcity principle.

To Remain Competitive

Companies use temporary sales promotion techniques to compete with competitor’s short term marketing strategies.

To Gain Dealers Trust

Sales promotion techniques increase the sales of the products. This increases dealers’ income and results in them preferring the brand more.

To Take Products To New Markets

New markets are often hard to enter. Sales promotion increases traction and makes more customers try the new product.

Increase Brand Awareness

It includes attractive incentives which help increase brand awareness, which eventually leads to more sales.

Woo Existing Customers

Sales promotion is also used to tackle the poaching strategies of competitors and keep existing customers with the brand.

Sales Promotion Strategies

Sales promotion strategies can be divided into three broad types. These are –

Pull Strategy –

The pull strategy attempts to get the customers to ‘pull’ the products from the company. It involves making use of marketing communication and initiatives like seasonal discounts, financial schemes, etc.

Push Strategy

The push strategy attempts to push the product away from the company to the customers. It involves convincing the intermediary channels to push the product from the distribution channels to the final consumers using promotional and personal selling efforts. This strategy involves making use of tactics developed especially for resellers, merchants, dealers, distributors, and agents.

Hybrid Strategy

A hybrid sales promotion strategy makes use of both the pull and push strategy to sell the product with the least resistance possible. It involves attracting the customers using special coupons and also providing incentives to the merchants to sell the brand’s products.

Types Of Sales Promotions

Sales promotion can be broadly divided into two types according to whom the promotion is targeted to. These are –

Consumer Sales Promotion

When the sales promotion strategies are targeted to the end consumers, it is referred to as consumer sales promotion. An example would be offering 20% off on certain products to the customers. The main motive of consumer-oriented promotion is to increase sales directly by attracting new customers and wooing existing ones.

Sales Promotion Techniques Targeted To Consumers

Sales promotion tools used for consumer-oriented promotion are –

Free Samples

Distributing free samples increases brand awareness and triggers the psychology of ownership where the person chooses the promoted product if he liked the sample.

Free Gifts

Offering free gifts attract customers as they get more while paying for less.

Discounts/Discount Coupons

Discount coupons are a great method of increasing sales for the short term. People go for discount coupons as they let them buy the products they couldn’t afford otherwise.

Exchange Schemes

Exchange schemes attract many customers as they get some value even for their old product.

Finance Schemes

Finance schemes like no-cost EMI, low-interest EMI, etc. makes it easier for customers to purchase expensive products.

Shipping Schemes

Sometimes huge shipping costs discourage the customers from buying products. Such short term shipping schemes remove friction.

Bundle Discounts

These deals are a great way to reduce unsold inventory. It includes selling bundled products at a price lesser than when those number of products are bought separately.

Bulk Purchase Deals

This is a great sales promotion tactic to reduce unsold inventory. It includes providing discount to customers who buy in bulk.

Trade Sales Promotion

When the promotion activities are strategized keeping in mind the dealers, distributors, or agents, it is called trade sales promotion. In this type of sales promotion, offers are provided within the trade channels with an aim to woo retailers, wholesalers, agents, or distributors. This is done to get more shelf space as compared to competitors, motivate the dealers to sell more of the brand’s products and to increase the sales indirectly.

Sales Promotion Techniques Targeted To Traders

Point Of Purchase Displays – This includes providing free point of purchase (POP) display units to the retailers to increase their sales.
Trade Shows – Trade shows are a great sales promotion strategy where the business promotes its product to thousands of traders in the trade show. Trade shows also witness huge discounts as compared to when bought usually.
Push Money – Also known as spiffs, this technique includes extra payments to traders to motivate them to meet specified goals. For example, giving them a $50 bonus per unit for selling product A and $30 for selling product B for a specified time period.
Deal Loaders – These are the gifts provided to the traders (wholesalers and retailers) for ordering a certain quantity of product.
Trade Deals – These are special concessions provided to the merchants to encourage them to promote a specific product and increase its sales for a limited time period.
Buying Allowances – Special discounts provided to the sellers when they order a specified number of products.

Sales Promotion Examples

A product can be promoted for a limited time using innumerable tactics. Here are a few examples of sales promotion tactics that exist –

Black Friday Sale

Black Friday sale is a seasonal sale which occurs only once a year. It involves huge discounts and special offers which are limited to a day. As a result, it increases the sales manifold.

Buy One Get One

Buy One Get One (BOGO) is a popular type of sales promotion where two products are offered at a price of one. This works great to promote a new product or clear the inventory at the end of the season.

Referral Bonuses

Referral marketing is a great sales promotion strategy where the company pushes its own customers to bring in new customers. This is done by providing them with special discounts, offers, cashback, or actual monetary benefits.

Sales management for exporters :- What is sales management?

Sales management is the coordination of people and resources to effectively produce the desired goal. These long term goals can be wide ranging, however they are generally increased sales volume, contribution to profits, and continuous growth. To achieve these objectives, sales managers have vast responsibilities including, but not limited to: demand/sales forecasting, establishing quotas/objectives, budgeting, organization, recruitment, training, compensation, and sales performance evaluation. In the end of the day, however, the most important role of sales management is not to manage sales, but to manage the people who make the sales.

Functions:

(i) Sales research and planning.

(ii) Demand creation.

(iii) Sales costs and budget.

(iv) Price fixations.

(v) Development of products.

(vi) Establishing sales territories.

(vii) Co-ordination of sales.

These functions differ from company to company according to their size and the nature of their products.

Importance of Sales Management:

Sales management has gained importance to meet increasing competition and the need for improved methods of distribution to reduce cost and to increase profits. Sales management today is the most important function in a commercial and business enterprise.

The following are the other factors showing importance of the sales management:

(i) Introduction of new products in the market.

(ii) Increasing the production of existing products.

(iii) Reducing cost of sales and distribution.

(iv) Export market.

(v) Development in the means and communication of transportation within and outside the country.

(vi) Rise in per capita income and demand for more goods by the consumers.

sales management strategies for exporters

Identify goals and objectives of the sales team.

Be clear on your sales targets. Make sure the targets are realistic and achievable. Also assign a fixed timeline to achieve the targets.

Know your product well. Understand what benefits end-users would get from your brand.

The marketers must interact with customers to find out more about their expectations from the product as well as the organization. One would not be able to convince the customers unless and until he himself is clear with the benefits of the products.

Identify your target market

Selling techniques and strategies can’t be same for all individuals. Each audience has different needs, interests and requirements.

Hire the right individual for the sales team.

Remember the sales professionals have a major role in the success and failure of organizations. Recruit individuals who are aggressive, out of the box thinkers and nurture the dream of making it big in the corporate world. Make the sales representatives very clear about their roles and responsibilities in the team. Develop a lucrative incentive plan for them. Incentives and monetary benefits go a long way in motivating the sales team.

Challenges for exporters in sales management

Economic environment–Tariff barriers
• Specific, ad – valorem, compound–Non-tariff barriers
• Regulatory, industry, cultural–Other economic factors
• Exchange rate fluctuations
• Restrictions on profit repatriation
• Credit control etc.

• Legal environment– Partnership laws– Anti Corruption laws– Intellectual property rights

• Cultural environment– Language– Religion– Education– Social attitudes & behavior

Export Sales Organization

Sales organization is a part of the total business organization of a firm. This unit of the firm is concerned with the distribution of goods. These products may either be produced by the organization itself or may be purchased from manufacturers for resale.

The sales organization is concerned with planning, controlling of activities such of recruitment of employee, training the employees, equipping, assigning, rating, supervising, paying and motivating the sales force.

In short, sales organization is concerned with profitable and efficient distribution of goods and services to the ultimate consumer

Forms of sales organization

1. On The Basis Of Geographic Areas:

In the case of a large sized firm, sales organisation may be made on the basis of geographical area. In this case duplication of selling agents is eliminated. A single trader or salesman sells the products of a producer in a particular area or locality. Producers selling the production at a national or international level prepare their sales organisation on this basis.

2. On The Basis Of Products:

In such a form of sales organisation departments for the sale of different types of products are established. This is used in a firm which produces or sells different types of goods. Salesmen are given training for the sale of a particular product and they are specialists in that.

3. On The Basis Of Customers:

A company produces goods of specific nature such as special tastes, interest or fashions of the customers. Sales organisation should be made on the basis of customers. Personal and intimate relations between the salesmen and customers help in the utmost satisfaction of the individual customers and in increasing sales.

Salesmen should know the behaviour and personal likes and dislikes of each of their customers in order to serve them efficiently.

4. On The Basis Of Sales Activities:

For a large-sized enterprise that has succeeded in developing extensive sales both within and outside the country, the organisation chart given below portrays organisational arrangements of the marketing department.

Export Sales organisation in a business following functions:

(i) Study of distribution trends.

(ii) Research of markets.

(iii) Development of policies.

(iv) Investigation of sales methods.

(v) Analysis of operations.

(vi) Creation plans and programmes.

(vii) Sales promotion and advertisement.

(viii) Recruitment, selection, training and remuneration of sales force.

(ix) Sales control.

ELEMENTS OF SALES ORGANIZATIONS

1.To permit the development of specialist
2.To assure that all necessary activities are performed
3.To achieve coordination or balance
4.To define authority
5.To economize on executive time.

PRINCIPLES OF SALES ORGANIZATION

1.Span of control
2.Centralization & Decentralization
3.Integration & coordination of function.

FACTOR INFLUENCING SALES ORGANIZATION

1.Product & service related factor
2.Organization related factor
3.Marketing mix related factor
4.External factor

Organization Design

It refers to the formal in coordination task of assign territories & establishing flows of communication & responsibilities of sales group & individual to serve customer effectively.
It helps in-
a. Enhancing productivity
b. Reducing conflict
c. Improve an individual quality of work .

Export salesman characteristics

Their products and/or services are successful domestically
They have a solid domestic business plan with proven effectiveness
They have specific advantages over the competition
Their products and/or services are unique in one or more ways
Their products and/or services are competitively priced
They are willing to invest resources of time, people and capital without return for a period of time. Entry into new markets may require two or three years of effort before showing a profit
They are sensitive to and aware of the cultural differences of doing business in other countries.

Recruitment and training

Recruitment takes place from the point when a business decides that it needs to employ somebody up to the point where a pile of completed application forms has arrived in the post. Selection then involves choosing an appropriate candidate through a range of ways of sorting out suitable candidates leading to interviews and other tests. Training involves providing a range of planned activities that enable an employee to develop the skills, attitudes and knowledge required by the organisation and the work required.

Recruitment

Attracting the right candidates to apply for a job can be an expensive process. It is even more expensive when done badly because when unsuitable candidates apply for a job, then the post may need to be re-advertised – so it is best to get it right first time.

The starting point is to carry out job analysis to identify the sorts of skills, knowledge and essential requirements that someone needs to have to carry out a job. These details can be set out in a job specification, which is passed on to recruiters – it gives them a picture of the ideal candidate.

A job description is also helpful because it sets out:

the title of a post
when and where it will be carried out
principal and ancillary duties of the post holder
other details.

The job description can be sent out to potential candidates along with a person specification, which sets out the desirable and essential characteristics that someone will need to have to be appointed to the post.

A variety of media will be used to attract applications e.g. national newspapers for national jobs, and local papers and media for local posts.

Job advertisements set out such details as:

location of work
salary
closing date of application
how to apply
experience required
qualifications expected
duties and responsibilities.

Selection

Selection simply involves choosing the right person for the job. Effective selection requires that the organisation makes the right prediction from data available about the various candidates for a post.

Research indicates that the most valid form of selection method is the use of an assessment centre where candidates are subjected to a variety of test including interviews, group exercises, presentations, ‘in-tray’ exercises, and so on.

Psychometric (personality) tests have become increasingly popular in the UK in recent years and are often used alongside other tests. I

nterviews will be most successful when they are tightly related to job analysis, job description and the person specification.

In-tray exercises can be used for candidates to respond to work-related and other problems, which are presented to them in an in-tray to be processed.

Training

Training for employment is very important. In a modern economy like our own the nature of work is constantly changing. New technologies mean that new work skills are constantly required. To succeed in business or in a career, people will need to be very flexible about where they work and how they work, and to constantly change the range of skills they use at work.

There are basically two types of training:

On-the-job training

Employees develop and improve their work skills whilst actually doing the job in question. For example, word processor operators rapidly improve their skills by constant practice. A supermarket till operator quickly learn effective practice by working alongside a more skilled mentor.

Off-the-job training

Employers will often encourage their employees to develop their skills through off-the-job training courses. For example, a trainee may be allowed to attend a day-release course at the local college. This might apply to a wide range of different skills including hairdressing, banking, insurance, electrical work and plumbing.

Receiving applications from Salesperson
Applications are received from eligible candidates for the salesperson job. The candidates might have been asked to send their applications in a plain paper along with their bio-data.

Scrutinizing Applications of Salespersons
The applications received from all the candidates for the salesperson job will then have to be processed. Incomplete applications will be set aside. Applications of those candidates who fail to fulfill the eligibility criteria will be not be accepted for the salesperson job.

Written test for Salespersons
All the eligible candidates for the salesperson job may then be called for a written test. The test paper usually contains two parts, objective and descriptive questions. The objective questions may test the candidate’s knowledge of English, mathematics and also his level of general knowledge.

Interview of Salesperson
The candidates who have been successful in the written test during he salesperson selection process will then be called for an interview. Interview is a face-to-face oral examination of the candidate. The candidate may be asked questions on a wide range of subjects like politics, sports, marketing, banking and so on.

Checking references of Salespersons
Applicants for jobs of salesperson are usually asked to give the names of a couple of eminent persons in their applications. Such persons, who are called referees, may be contacted by the employer to know the conduct and character of the candidate.

Medical examination for Salespersons
Successful candidates for the salesperson job shall be medically examined to find out whether they are physically fit. The candidate’s height, weight, eyesight, etc., are checked. Physical fitness is important for any kind of job. It is even more important for a salesperson as he has to undertake lot of traveling.

Appointment of Salespersons
Candidates found to be medically fit may be appointed on probation for the salesperson job. Probation is the initial training period during which the salesperson has to learn his work and also perform to the satisfaction of the employer.

Routine of salesman

dentify and stick to your buyer personas
Use a measurable, repeatable sales process
Know your product
Review your pipeline objectively
Find shortcuts and hacks
Practice active listening
Work hard
Follow up
Personalize your message
Shadow your peers
Practice your people skills
Be a team player
Know when to walk away
Be honest
Always solve for the customer
Roll with rejection
Always ask for referrals
Stay Balanced
Take breaks
Get 8 or more hours of sleep
Believe in what you’re selling
Identify your strongest motivator
View your customer’s success as your own
Build personal relationships
Prepare ahead of time
Look for potential customers wherever you go
To obtain thorough coverage of the market.
To establish a salesperson’s responsibility.
To evaluate performance.
To improve customer relations.
To reduce sales expense.
To allow better matching of salesperson to customer.
To benefit salespeople and the company

ROUTING
Routing is a travel plan or pattern used by a sales person for making customers calls in a territory. Routing is a managerial activity .

PLAN FOR ROUTING:
Identify the present and potential customers on a territory map.
Classification of Customers in to High , Medium & Low Sales Potential.

ADVANTAGES OF ROUTING

Reduction in travel time and cost by excluding backtracking and criss-crossing by sales people in their territory.
Improvement in territory coverage.
Sales people reduce their travel time and increase selling time.

DISADVANTAGES OF ROUTING

Routing reducers the salespeople’s flexibility and initiative.

Foreign Language Skills

Advanced level language skills can be categorized according to four language skill areas. The guidelines below, adapted from the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages, provide concrete examples that demonstrate an advanced level of competence.

Speaking

You should be understood without difficulty by natives, and converse in a clear and participatory fashion.
You should be able to initiate, sustain, and bring closure to a wide variety of communicative tasks.
You should be able to narrate and describe concrete and abstract topics using sustained, connected discourse.

Reading

You should easily follow the essential points of written text.
You should be able to understand parts of texts which are conceptually abstract and linguistically complex.

Writing

You should be able to address a variety of topics with significant precision and detail.
You should be able to write competently about topics relating to particular interests and write clearly about special fields of competence.
You should be able to organize writings with a sense of theoretical structure.

Listening

You should understand the main ideas of most speech in a standard dialect.
You should demonstrate an emerging awareness of culturally implied meanings beyond the surface meanings of the text.
For further information about the ACTFL Guidelines, please consult their site.

Advantages of Having Foreign Language Skills

You become smarter. When you are multilingual your brain functionality is constantly challenged, thus it is able to communicate, recognize and negotiate meanings in dissimilar language systems particularly in areas of problem-solving. Foreign language students score better on standard tests especially in vocabulary, reading and maths.
You become a multitasker. Multilingual speakers, including children become skilled at switching between two methods of structure, writing and speech. It makes them better multitaskers and are able to juggle between different structures.
You keep dementia and Alzheimer’s at bay. There were already several studies made on the correlation of speaking different languages and onset of dementia. Those who are monolingual are likely to show signs of dementia at age 71 while the mean age for those who are multilingual is around 75.5 years. The studies that were conducted considered several factors, including physical health, gender, income level and education level and they got consistent results.
You improve your memory. The brain is comparable to a muscle that functions better when it gets exercise. Language learning strengthens the brain though the vocabulary building and memorizing rules of a new language. This mental exercise improves a person’s overall memory, which means that multilingual speakers become better at remembering things.
You improve your perception. The University of Pompeu Fabra in Spain conducted a study, which revealed that multilingual speakers observe their surroundings better. They have the ability to focus on what is important and set aside those that are not relevant. They can easily spot misleading information.
You improves your decision-making skills. In a study conducted by the University of Chicago, they found out that people speaking several languages make rational decisions and are more confident. The study results revealed that their confidence and decision-making are affected by the biases, nuances and implications of the vocabulary of the languages they speak, as they tend to think in several languages as well.
You improves your communication skills. Since learning a foreign language makes you focus on grammar, sentence structure and conjugations, it makes you better in speaking your mother tongue as well. You will be able to speak and communicate better and you will develop better listening skills.
You get to have better job opportunities. Last year CNN Money rated foreign language fluency as the hottest skill for job seekers. Multinational companies today not only rely on employees that are native speakers of any language, they are looking for job applicants that are fluent in other languages, which is highly beneficial in today’s business setting.

As a foreign language speaker, you will be able to bring new experiences and perspectives to your team. The team gets exposed to new vocabulary, new cultures and diverse outlooks that can trigger more creative outputs.

Sales promotion restrictions

It is short-run device:

Like a flash light, it flashes and disappears. It has the shortest life impact as promotion tool unlike advertising. It can be used as a tool to achieve short term marketing objectives by schematic means. It has the strongest ability of creating impulse buying but cannot work as a lasting dose.

2. It is dependent technique:

It is more of a supplementary device and has got to be blended well in right proportion with other two promotional ingredients namely, advertising and personal selling. That is why; it has been rightly described as the bridge between personal and impersonal selling. It makes up the gaps in the two and, therefore, is a plus ingredient.

3. It damages the brand image:

Advertising is the most powerful means of creating brand image which is a must in these days of segmented marketing practices. However, creating brand image through promotional ingredient is like praising too much of a thing. When the firm has already done much in this direction, this plus ingredient creates a doubt in the minds of consumers.

They are likely to feel that when too many incentives and concessions are given, there is something fishy about the product or a brand. Thus, instead of refining the image it is dismissed.

4. Under-valued by experts:

Sales-promotion, as tool of promotion mix, is undervalued by the experts from advertising agencies. They are of the opinion that sales-promotion as mix ingredient is not capable of fighting the intense competition.

These techniques of sales-promotion are so over that they are easily copied by the competitors and the original gap between the competitors is again maintained.

It is like increasing the dearness allowance to match the rising cost of living, so much so that, by the time authorities declare the dearness allowance, the prices have gone up again.