A Guide to Sales Management

Book description


In many FMCG companies, the challenges for the sales function are to develop effective sales strategies and to deliver excellent sales operations in order to support the achievement of business targets. The purpose of this book is to provide a practical guide to sales management through the analysis of its key components: route to market, sales strategy, key performance indicators, organizational models, sales force management, customer business planning, order to cash, and sales and operations planning.
For each of these topics, the content of this book is a balance of theory, practical tips, and useful tools, keeping in mind not only the “what,” but also the “how” of the implementation. The reader will learn how to map sales channels, assess a customer base, design a sales strategy, build a sales scorecard, and organize a sales team’s frontline and back ofi ce. The book also covers how to structure trade category plans, customer business plans, and customer negotiation plans and how to optimize
the sales team’s contribution to the company’s key fundamental processes. It concludes with an overview of the future challenges of sales management.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title Page
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Abstract
  6. Contents
  7. List of Figures
  8. Figure Credits
  9. Foreword
  10. Preface
  11. Acknowledgments
  12. Chapter 1 Trade Structure and Route to Market
    1. Retail outlets and sales channels
    2. Trade accounts and route to market
    3. Trade account strategies and economics
    4. Trade account pre-evaluation model
    5. Takeaway points
  13. Chapter 2 The Sales Strategy
    1. Definitions of corporate strategy: a mini tour
    2. Sales strategy: definition, responsibility, and sources
    3. Market analysis: trade environment scan
    4. Responding to customers’ strategies
    5. Customer-satisfaction surveys as a strategic input and a monitoring tool
    6. Organization capabilities assessment and capability building program
    7. Corporate strategy: vision, strategic themes, and goals
    8. The definition of the sales strategy: strategic actions, targets, and activities
    9. Communication and outputs of the sales strategy
    10. Takeaway points
  14. Chapter 3 The Performance Indicators for Sales Management
    1. Why we need key performance indicators?
    2. Financial indicators
    3. Field sales efficacy indicators
    4. Customer-service indicators
    5. Point of purchase indicators
    6. Joint business planning and customer indicators
    7. Utilizing KPIs: the sales team scorecard
    8. Utilizing KPIs: identifying reasons and solutions
    9. Takeaway points
  15. Chapter 4 Organizational Roles and Responsibilities
    1. The pillars of the organization of the sales function
    2. The multilevel customer interface: an example
    3. The front office roles
    4. The back office roles
    5. Takeaway points
  16. Chapter 5 Organization Models, Recruitment, and Incentives
    1. The organization of the front office: alternative models
    2. The organization of the back office: alternative models
    3. Job descriptions
    4. Sizing, recruiting, training, and developing the sales team
    5. Incentives, variable pay, reward, and recognition
    6. Takeaway points
  17. Chapter 6 The Business Planning Process
    1. The business planning process in sales management
    2. Customer business plans: prerequisite and structure
    3. Trade category plans: prerequisite and structure
    4. Integrated business planning
    5. Customer audit
    6. Integration matrix
    7. The customer negotiation plan
    8. IT tools for business planning
    9. Takeaway points
  18. Chapter 7 The Order to Cash Process
    1. The definition of order to cash
    2. The phases of the O2C cycle
    3. The golden rule and the principles of O2C
    4. Roles and responsibilities of the O2C cycle
    5. The performance indicators of the O2C cycle
    6. IT tools for O2C
    7. O2C development and innovation
    8. Takeaway points
  19. Chapter 8 The Sales and Operations Planning Process
    1. The definition of sales and operations planning
    2. Why a sales director should care about S&OP?
    3. The phases of the S&OP cycle
    4. The principles of S&OP
    5. The prerequisites of S&OP
    6. Meetings supporting the S&OP process
    7. The S&OP performance indicators
    8. IT tools for S&OP
    9. Takeaway points
  20. Chapter 9 The Challenges of Sales Management
    1. Changes will happen
    2. Mergers and acquisitions
    3. An experience of merger
    4. Two theories on leading cultural change
    5. A change checklist for the sales director
    6. Customer consolidation and channels evolution
    7. Customer internationalization
    8. The future challenges of sales management
    9. Takeaway points
  21. References
  22. Index

Product information

  • Title: A Guide to Sales Management
  • Author(s): Massimo Parravicini
  • Release date: August 2015
  • Publisher(s): Business Expert Press
  • ISBN: 9781631572593