Hello,

This is a two part questions. First I will need the discussion question answer which will be below in bold, 300 words APA format. For those response I will need three responses of at least 150 words each.

Is the key to developing an effective sales force selection or training? Explain your choice.

Part two

Student one:

An effective sales force is all about training. I agree that a certain individual must have certain traits to be an effective salesperson, such as outgoing, friendly and likable, but ultimately it is the training that will help sell the product. A good salesperson will know all the ins and outs of the product they are selling. Not only will they know and understand that product, but they will know what to look for in order to upsell other additional products. An example is a salesperson selling a cell phone. It is not just about the phone anymore now they can sell a certain type of plan, a cover for the phone, a glass protector, and much more.

“A well-trained salesperson can easily influence a potential customer.” (7 Reasons why Sales Training is a necessary investment 2019, p.2) Having a well-trained person that can consistently deliver will increase revenue tremendously. They are representing the company and they must be trained on what the company’s values are. A salesperson can easily break the bond between buyer and seller and sometimes it can take years for the buyer to trust that company again. There are a lot of options for a company to choose where they buy their products from. Sometimes it is the salesperson that can make the difference in where they buy from.

A salesperson needs specialized training as their skills are not all about selling. They need to be able to use certain software programs that keep track of customer accounts. Some of these software programs have calendars and let the salesperson know of when the company may have an expiring contract, or equipment that is getting older, or the last time they went out and talked to the manager about if they need anything.

Effective training is what makes a great salesperson. In today’s world, it not all about fast, smooth-talking skills. Managers will most likely see right through that as managers have a lot more tools as well as products to choose from.

7 Reasons why Sales Training is a necessary investment. (2019, May 13). Retrieved from https://sales-academy.net/7-reasons-sales-training…

Student two:

Many industrial companies, like Allstate, Avon, Tupperware, Mary Kay, etc., rely on a professional sales force, representatives, or agents. This sales force is very critical to these businesses because without them they would be nonexistent (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p.642).

The key to developing an effective sales force is a combination of the recruiting/selection and training. First the appropriate representatives should be selected because the company will lose money if they hire the wrong people. Also, it could lead to losing sales, extra expenses to hire and train the replacements, and the existing sales force could be pressured to pick up the slack (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p.647).

As for training the sales force, these people have to have a deep knowledge and understanding of the company and their products and/or services; provide any feedback or ideas so that the operations can be improved; and these sales reps have to be reliable and efficient. Due to these demands, companies have started investing more in the sales training (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p.647). Would you want to purchase a product or service from a sales rep that knew little to nothing about it? I sure would not. In fact, I had an experience with this about six months ago. A woman came to our door trying to sell us a Kirby. I let her do her demonstration, and then asked a few questions. She hesitated quite a bit. She was a new rep, but could not answer the questions I had. Long story short, we did not buy the product and to be honest, some of it had to do with the sales rep. I was quite shocked by how little she knew. I would rather buy from someone who can answer all my questions and is very knowledgeable and understanding. Therefore, I do believe that spending more on training would definitely help the sales force perform well in the field and meet their quota. This also allows companies to be able to identify which sales reps would be beneficial to the company and which ones would not be. That is just my opinion.

Reference

Kotler, P. & K. L. Keller. (2016). Marketing Management (15th ed.). Boston, etc.: Pearson.

Student three:

Is the key to developing an effective sales force, selection or training?

This is the question every human resource or manager asks. Everyone probably gets a different idea based on different experiences. When it comes to a sufficient sales force, it boils down more to who the manager is and what incentives versus what the individual should produce. I have been in sales for close to 20 years, and I have seen some unrealistic goals, and I have seen realistic goals. I have also seen good and bad managers as well. The sales force is smart and knows when they are being fooled. I live by the saying, “employees do not quit jobs, they quit bosses.”

Having said all that, I believe that developing a capable sales force boils down to proper, motivating training. I say this because anyone can be training, but it takes a particular person to be able to fight through the many “NO’s” they will hear while selling. According to Darlington (2016), “It is believed 95% of your emotions are determined by the way you talk to yourself as you go through your day (Positive Affirmations).” Meaning if you can handle things better due to controlling your affirmation emotions, imagine how much more a person could accomplish in life.

On the other hand, say sales training “The median training period is 28 weeks in industrial-products companies, 12 in service companies, and 4 in consumer-products companies (Kotler & Keller, 2016, p. 647).” It also builds confidence in an individual’s self and the product. This is accurate, but a mind is so powerful, we tend to fool ourselves, and I have seen many well-trained sales representatives fail and quit because first of their boss, but also because they got frustrated with the sales not being there or hearing NO all of the time. In the end, selecting the right people is a game-changer and the better rout when in interviews because if you make people comfortable enough, they will show their true selves, and that’s how you select the right people.

References:

Darlington, H. (2016, July 26). A positive attitude equals more sales. Retrieved February 16, 2020, from https://www.supplyht.com/articles/99631-a-positive…

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Marketing management (15th ed., p. 5). Boston, etc.: Pearson.