Many large companies are highly developed in their sales management and sales training structures and programmes.

• Internal search is the mental activity associated with retrieval of information from memory. After an individual has recognized a problem, the first step in solving it is a memory scan to determine if he or she has enough experience and information to know what to do. The information stored in the memory may have come from previous purchase, advertising, friends or other experiences.
• External search is the gathering of information from sources other than memory, may require the expenditure of time, effort and money. External search is most likely in high-involvement situations and tends to be quite limited in low involvement situations. Consumers usually gather external information from experience, personal sources, public media, and marketer dominated sources (i.e. magazine advertisements).

3. Evaluation of Alternatives quite obviously is self-explanatory. This stage is when consumers look for the best alternative. Often alternative solutions are directly competitive products. E.g. When looking for a suit, for instance in the House of Fraser, there is such a wide variety of choice that the individual may choose from. The individual is most likely to look for a suit, which has a reasonable price, is of good quality and possibly is a brand. Many buyers do not want to evaluate too many factors when choosing among alternatives. The average person looking for a suit will want simple facts, i.e. the suit looks good, it is a well known brand, I like the colour, its up-to-date and it’s a fashion statement.
4. Purchase decision; eventually the buyer must make a purchase decision. It is possible for the individual to make a decision of not to buy any of the alternatives available. Maybe the problem that drove the person to begin the decision-making process has disappeared. However, this is where the individual males their purchase decision – yes, I want the Canali suit rather than the Versace suit.
5. Purchase; this may differ from the decision. Once again, this stage is self-explanatory; the product is bought.
6. Post-Purchase Evaluation; outcome: Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction. Cognitive Dissonance – ‘the negative feelings that may occur after a commitment to purchase has been made. It describes the tension that results from holding two conflicting ideas or beliefs at the same time, have you made the right decision. This can be reduced by warranties, after sales communication etc.

What Are The Key Factors That Drive Sales Of Designer Men’s Wear? See next page, extracted from the Mintel Directory, September 2001.

3.1.7   Types Of Consumer Buying Behaviour

Types of consumer buying behaviour are determined by:

• Level of Involvement in the purchase decision and the importance and intensity of interest in a product in a particular situation.
• Buyers’ level of involvement determines why they are motivated to seek information about certain products and brands but virtually ignores others.

High involvement purchases; high priced goods, products visible to others, and the higher the risk the higher the involvement. Types of risk are Personal risk, Social risk and Economic risk.

High involvement – occurs when the decision to be made involves a high interest product that is significant and relevant to the individual.

The products price may also be a factor in high involvement. A person who is highly involved with a product will exert more energy in decision-making than a person whose involvement is low. The diagram below shows the steps taken in a high involvement situation, a situation involving extensive problem solving. It also shows a low-involvement situation, which requires only a limited information search and no evaluation.

The diagrams below illustrate the six stages of the consumer buying process in both a high involvement situation and a low involvement situation.

↓ The Consumer Decision-Making Process

Source: ‘Introduction To Consumer Behaviour’ – Matthew D.Shank

HIGH INVOLVEMENT

Extensive problem solving

                                  DON’T BUY                                                    BUY

                

Return to step 1             stop                Dissatisfaction/                              Satisfaction

                                                Frustration: possible                  process

        return to step 1                           complete

The five step process does not necessarily have to be completed, even if has begun; buyers do not always reach the purchase stage.

3.1.8   Categories Affecting The Decision Making Process

Personal selling requires understanding human behaviour; each sales person must be concerned with the prospective customer’s motivations, perceptions, learning, attitudes and personality. The sales person must also be aware of the different types of behaviour that affects or influence the customers purchase decision. Taking a decision making perspective can help to understand a great deal about consumers’ problem solving behaviour.

People are motivated by needs and wants, which build up internally creating desire for a product – a new suit. Needs result from a lack of something desirable and wants are needs recognised by the individual. E.g. people need clothing, but some may want a Canali suit or specifically Boss clothing. This example illustrates both practical or rational reasons (the need for a suit) and emotional or psychological reasons (the desire for owning a Canali suit), which influence the buying decision. The sales person must analyse and determine the individuals’ needs and then match the products benefits to the particular needs and want of the individual. However, some people’s purchase is based primarily on economic needs e.g. the most satisfying product for the money, quality, price, durability, convenience of buying and service.

The consumer making the decision for purchase of a product will be affected by the three following aspects; personal, physiological and social factors. Each affects the individual in different ways.

• Personal Factors

These are factors, which are unique to the individual e.g. age, sex, race. These factors tend to be demographic. E.g. of a personal factor - an older person who is working full time in a office, possibly in their late 30’s may buy the Canali suit for casual daily wear for the office, whereas a younger male who is working part time in a retail outlet may buy the Canali suit to wear on special occasions only.

• Psychological Factors

Psychological factors cover various aspects within one. All of the following are psychological factors that influence the consumers’ decision making process:

• Motives--

• A Motive is an internal energising force, which familiarises a person's activities toward satisfying a need or achieving a goal. Actions are effected by a set of motives, not just one. Once motives are determined, the marketer can then create an efficient marketing mix. Here the theory of Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs plays a big part.

Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, believed even though each person is unique and has their individuality, all humans have certain common needs. He believed that individuals first, fulfil their basic needs then other needs. After lower level needs are met, individuals move on to fulfilling higher level needs.

• Perception--

• Perception is the process of selecting, organising and interpreting information inputs to produce meaning, it is reality seen in different ways. E.g. everyone might not see a product or an advertisement in exactly the same way. Information inputs are the sensations received through sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch. Really without knowing it, we choose how to perceive a product or situation ourselves. Perception is the interpretation of reality, and each individual views reality from a different perspective. Interpreting information is based on what is already familiar, on knowledge that is stored in the memory

Products distinctions usually exist in the minds of consumers and not in the products themselves – brand image. Brand image can be the key factor in a buying decision. Brands, which are often well, know or ‘in’ tend to attract attention for that moment in time. E.g. recently the major trend for young and mature males and females in the UK was wearing Fisherman hats. However, if a shop was selling these hats, for instance, some of the hats were famous designer brands (i.e. Ellesse) whereas the others were not, plus the designer hats cost £20.00 and the non-designer cost £15.00. It is most likely that the individual is willing to spend £20 on the Ellesse hat rather than save £5 and buy the non-designer hat. As said, it’s all a matter of perception. It is essential that Canali becomes a well established company as well as a brand.

• Learning - to understand an individual’s ability to learn. Learning is changes in a person's behaviour caused by information and experience. Therefore, to change consumers' behaviour about a product, it is vital to give them new information about the product i.e. a free sample etc. For instance, if a person sees a colouring agent for whites in the shop, which attracts attention, the shopper may decide to try the whitener. If the whitener works to the customer’s satisfaction then this means they have learned through experience that this colouring agent for whites is an acceptable product. If it does not, the buyer learns the fact instead. This knowledge becomes information in the consumer’s memory.

• Social Factors

Consumers interact with each other therefore their behaviour can be affected by sociological factors such as culture, subculture, social class, reference groups, family and role.

• Culture refers to the set of values, ideas, and attitudes that are accepted by a homogenous group of people and passed on to the next generation. Culture also determines what is acceptable with product advertising. Culture effects what people buy, how they buy and when they buy. E.g. different societies have different levels of needs due to different cultural values. Culture can be divided into subcultures: geographic regions and human characteristics such as age and ethnic background. For instance (geographic regions culture), people living in middle eastern countries, where the weather is usually extreme, will prefer to buy clothing of thin material, whereas people living in colder countries will tend to buy thick clothing to keep themselves warm.

• Social class is a group of people with similar levels of status, power and wealth who also share related beliefs, attitudes and values in their thinking and behaviour. In the UK, there is a social class ranking system; A, B1, B2, C1, C2 etc. The impact of social class on consumer behaviour is usually indirect. E.g. people prefer to live in areas made up of people from their social class. In the upper class, products such as classy cars and big houses and top of the class education signify achievements and money.
• Reference groups, family & role these influence individuals buyer behaviour. The extent to which a reference group will affect a purchase decision depends on the individual’s vulnerability to reference group influences and the strength of their involvement within the group. Role is things you should do based on the expectations of yourself from your position within a group. People have many roles; husband, father, son, mother, employer, employee etc.

3.1.9   Influences Upon The Ultimate Consumers Buying Decision For The Canali Suit

The future of designer wear seems to be very positive. Demand for men’s designer brands have been fuelled through the high level of awareness, coupled with wider availability of clothing. Although, an economic downturn could have a negative impact upon this market. Currently, the UK is weathering the slowdown in the US and in other parts of Europe. The lowered interest rates have maintained levels of consumer spending. Unemployment in financial sectors and the well paid IT jobs, will mean the designer men’s wear market will surely suffer, because the main consumers of designer goods are usually men who work in these sectors.

↓ The UK Male Population, By Age Group, 1995 – 2004

Source: Mintel Directory January ‘01

‘Numbers of 45-54 year olds will stabilise at around 3.9 million while the number of men aged 55+ will continue to grow. There will be an increase need for retailers to address this growing portion of the population. Many consumers in these older age bands have high levels of disposable income, having paid off mortgages, become free of family commitments and taken retirement. Commentators are saying that the ‘50 is the new 30’ in other words many people aged in these age bands act in a younger way, respond to fashion and style trends and lead interesting, active lives. Men in their 50’s and 60’s have more money and time to play sports, travel and have leisure pursuits. Growth in this age bracket favours those retailers that target the older consumers, including department stores and variety stores’.

‘During the latter half of the 1990’s the economy was strong. Following a mini boom in 1997, when windfalls from building society payouts fuelled growth in consumer expenditure, the rate of personal disposable income (PDI) began to slow. Between 1997 and 2000 PDI grew by 5.5% excluding inflation, consumer confidence was high, and expenditure continued growing by 9.8% during this period. Consumers felt good about security of employment and prospects for the economy and continued to spend freely.

2001 is projected to be a year of further growth, although PDI will grow faster than consumer expenditure, as increasing caution will cause more consumers to place money in savings and investments’.

Source: Mintel Directory - January ‘01

The high level of consumer confidence is good for retail markets, although growth in spends on high-tech items, home decoration and holidays continue to compete with clothing for the pound in the consumers pocket.

Growth in this market will vary to some extent over the years – depending on the rate of advance of technology, the level of investment and the discovery of raw materials. In some years, there will be a high rate of growth; the country experiences a boom, and in some years, there will be low or even negative growth; the country experiences a recession. Big companies with a portfolio of brands will be affected if recessionary times return. In order for the recession to have less impact on their brands, the big companies will probably have to liberate a brand by saturating the market with that brand, to maintain sales in order to survive through this recession.

Recently the fashion emphasis has changed and returned to formal wear. The formal suit has returned as a fashion statement, and should continue for several years, if traditional fashion cycles are a suitable model to follow. The return to a period of smarter dressing could be due to over-casualisation of work wear in the recent years. The third wardrobe, which combines sharp casual wear within the formal market, should drive add-on purchases for shirts and accessories. Therefore, the new fashion trend should have a positive impact upon the men’s designer wear market, for a few years to come.

The availability of suitably trained staff could be a problem in the future. The demand for suitably trained staff will become even more intense due to the increased number of stand alone stores, franchise designer shops and wider availability of brands within department stores and independents. The key to driving sales to the top end of the market is customer service. There is already a shortage of appropriate staff. It is possible that a group of superior sales staff will emerge, with product knowledge, especially of fabrics and manufacture.

Buying the Canali suit will involve extensive problem solving, meaning high involvement purchase. This is particularly because Canali is a brand, which is not well established throughout the UK just yet. However, this high involvement problem can be overcome by offering a very reasonable price for both organisational consumers and the public in general. It is essential that the sales force are knowledgeable about the Canali suit and have the appropriate skills to sell the suit. In order to successfully sell we need an exceptionally talented sales force (discussed later).

Shopping trends of men – where do they prefer to buy from? The following information was also extracted from the Mintel Directory – January ’01. (See next page).

3.1.10   Decision Making Units

Many roles have to be carried out during the decision to purchase a product or service. E.g.

It is unlikely for one person to take on all these roles in any buying situation. The decision making process will involve the stages which the decision making unit (DMU) will go through in making a decision. E.g. of the purchase of the Canali suit:

1. Identification Of Need – I need a new suit as this old one is loosing its touch – its old fashioned
2. Finance – how much money do I have available?
3. Evaluation Of Assertiveness – which suits are within my range? What preferences and requirements do I have?
4. Trial – try out the suit by wearing it, see if it looks good
5. Negotiate – what discounts are available? Is there some sort of guarantee?
6. Purchase - conduct the transaction
7. Evaluate The Purchase – did I make the right decision? Am I happy with the purchase?

Combined, the DMU and the DMP in every individual situation should enable the sales person to successfully handle and complete the sale.

3.1.11   Buyers' Product Adoption Process

An extension of the decision making process is the adoption stage, which provides a generic framework for the first time purchasing. Although this is usually applied to the fast moving consumer markets, but can also be applied to all types of buying. The adoption process can be illustrated as follows:

The rate of adoption depends on consumer traits as well as the product and the firm's marketing efforts. In the awareness stage, individuals become aware of the product. They then move into the interest stage when they seek more information about the product. In the evaluation stage, people decide whether the product will meet certain criteria that are crucial to satisfying their needs. The individual then tries out the product through trialing it. At the adoption stage, the consumer decides to use the product on a regular basis, although rejection of the product may occur at any stage. The post adoption confirmation occurs as the buyer seeks confirmation that they have made the right decision.

3.2   The Role & Organisation Of The Sales Force

3.2.1  Organisation Of The Sales Force

Before even explaining what the Sales function does I would like to illustrate a typical structure of a corporate organisation; the functions that contribute to the smooth running of it are;

↓ A typical corporate organisation (PLC)

The Sales function can be combined with Marketing, but due to being, such a big organisation Canali have these two functions working completely separately, carrying out various distinctive tasks. It is customary in the larger fast moving consumer goods companies for the Sales and Marketing functions to be separated. The Sales function at Canali is ultimately responsible for achieving and dealing with factors, which help:

• Forecasting potential sales volumes and prices incorporating marketing and promotional activity for existing and new products
• Develop new strategies to achieve sales forecasts
• Develop a sales force organisation and structure to achieve the planned forecasts and put into practice the strategies
• Convert divisional plans and forecasts into specific sales targets, programmes and tactics for subordinate personnel

In order to effectively carry out these tasks it is essential that all the functions or most of the functions interact efficiently. Functional areas cannot operate in isolation because the input of one function is often the output of another. E.g. Sales cannot operate without production, whilst Production cannot operate without Purchasing / Sales. They are linked together and must co-operate with each other to enable the organisation to achieve its objectives. Sales heavily interacts with the Marketing department, in most companies marketing and sales are actually one department. However, if the company is quite large like Canali, and operates on an international basis then these two functions are best separated. The organisational structure will vary according to the market and distribution structure and service needs of an industry. Canali performs the marketing division separately form the sales division.

Assuming that within each function the necessary lower management and clerical support will be assigned and developed according to workloads, the structure of Canali can be illustrated as follows:

↓  Organisational Structure Of Canali; With

Emphasis To The Marketing & Sales Departments

 

Other than being broken down into manageable team sizes, sales forces need to be divided in to appropriate territories, of which there are three; geographical area, customers types and product types.

• Geographically Based Sales Territories

Sales personnel are normally assigned to particular geographical sales territories. District sales managers and regional managers are referred to as field sales managers because of their direct concern for sales people ‘out in the field’. Their primary concern is management of the field sales personnel who report to them.

• Organisation By Customer Type

When two or more sales people cover the same geographical area. E.g. Canali currently has one store in London, it could be possible that one sales representative calls on suit wearers and other clothing, whilst the other focuses on the shoe buyers aspect. Here, notice that one representative of the same company may call on a single organisation and the representatives may call on different individuals within these organisations.

• Organisation By Product Line

Within large companies who have a portfolio of brands, it is common for each corporate division or product line to have its own sales force. Once again, like organisation by customer type, the emphasis again is on specialisation.

• The National Accounts

The national accounts management function within the sales organisation is accountable to develop sales through major retail groups or large industrial product users. Some key accounts may be only regional in coverage, and have direct impact on the sales volume only over a limited geographical area covered by the manufacturers sales organisation. In cases as such, a specialist position of regional accounts manager might effectively service the account.

However, over the recent years, there has been a trend towards more concentration of retailing in most industry sectors, including food, pharmaceuticals and associated products, furniture supplies, clothing, travel services etc. The growth may have resulted from mergers of existing but smaller retail groups seeking economies of scale and greater profit potential. The size of the national accounts function depends on the number of key multiple retail accounts or industrial buying groups that represent potential markets and the supporting workload to service those accounts effectively as sales develop.

3.2.2  Levels Of Selling In The Sales Force

The functions of the sales department within the company organisation – Canali, leads to a more detailed perspective of a sales force. The sales force consists of, briefly, the sales managers/directors, field sales managers, key account managers and territory sales persons. The typical sales persons role, functions and personal qualities shall be defined in order to analyse what it is that a sales person, is responsible for in this industry and especially for Canali as an organisation. There are various types of sales persons ranging from order takers to order getters and so on. At the bottom of the sales force pyramid is the person who makes the calls on each individual account or customer and presents the company’s products and programmes. Before discussing what his functions are likely to include, it is vital to define the various types of sales persons. Most sales forces have a range of selling levels. Regardless of the basis of structuring the sales force, there is a common factor which applies, which is, the higher the level of the sales person, the higher the expectation in terms of profitable return to the organisation.

                        Sales managers/directors

                        Field sales managers

                        Key account managers

                        Territory sales persons

2. Types Of Sales Persons & Their Main Functions

The various types of sales persons are:

• Order Takers; they seek repeat sales, make certain that customers have sufficient product quantities where and when they need it. However, they do not require extensive sales effort. They are also liable to arrange displays, restock them and answer phone calls. Low compensation, little training required. There are two types of order takers:

• Inside Order Takers receive orders by mail/phone, sales person in a retail store.
• Field Order Takers travel to customers. Use laptop computers to improve tracking of inventory etc.

• Order Getters; Sell to new customers and increase sales to present customers, sometimes called creative selling. Generate customer leads, provide information, persuading customers and closing sales. Required for high priced, complex and/or new products. High pressure requires expensive, time consuming training.

• Support Personnel; Facilitate the selling function. Primarily business to business products.

• Missionary Salespeople Distribute information regarding new goods or services, describes attributes and leaves materials, does not close sales. Assist producers' customers in selling to their own customers, e.g. call on retailers and persuade them to carry the product. Canali sales persons may go to Harvey Nichols to persuade them to sell Canali clothing in their stores.
• Trade Salespeople May perform order taking function as well. Spend much time helping customers, especially retail stores, to promote the product. Restock the shelves, set up displays. Technical Salespersons Offer technical assistance to current customers.
• Service Salespeople interacts with customers after sale is complete. 

• Team selling; entire team of selling professionals in selling to and servicing major customers, especially when specialised knowledge is needed to satisfy different interests in customers' buying centres.

The functions of a typical sales persons working for Canali, depending on the type of salesperson are along the lines of the following:

• Converting the company’s sales and marketing programmes to specific and relevant objectives at the level of each individual account or customer
• Agreeing with superior sales managers the individual customer and territory objectives, targets and programmes on a product-by-product basis
• Maintaining planned call coverage
• Maintaining full and accurate customer account data (including stock and sales history, calls made, orders received, products presented etc)
• Avoiding out-of-stock situations at all accounts or customers within his/her area of responsibility
• Developing professional customer relations with all buyers and other personnel within the customer or account organisations who can influence the purchase and/or use of the company’s products
• Identifying potential outlets for existing and new products
• Achieving maximum levels of distribution in current and potential worthwhile outlets
• Achieving optimum levels of product display at key sites in wholesaler trade or retail stockists
• Providing feedback on competitive activity, promotions, prices and products.

3. Characteristics Of An Effective Sales Person

Before going into detail about the qualities required in a sales person working for Canali, it seems appropriate to summarise some of the key personal qualities for a sales person an any level of selling, such as:

• Being a good communicator with colleagues, subordinates, customers and trade contacts at all levels.
• Being a good organiser and administrator in order to ensure that plans and programmes are developed, implemented and monitored
• Being demonstrably decisive, in so doing, inspiring colleagues and subordinates with a sense of leadership, direction and confidence.
• Being fair, objective and independent in allocating objectives and targets, handling issues and disputes, and dealing with colleagues, subordinates and trade contacts.
• Having a high level of initiative to identify and take advantage of opportunities, and develop corrective action programmes when performance moves away from plans.
• Providing leadership, an often intangible quality that inspires others to follow or take instruction.

The key characteristic qualities and attributes needed by a sales person working for Canali, or even, possibly for other companies in other industries etc, include:

• Integrity; the person must have high standards of personal reliability with their employer, their customers and colleagues if they are to build business based upon mutual respect and trust and professionalism.
• Reliability; managers must know that their subordinates are reliable in performing the tasks assigned to them, and customers must know that the sales person is reliable in fulfilling commitments, obligations and promises.
• Sincerity; customers need to feel the sales person calling on them is sincere in their motives and approach and will give priority consideration to the customers’ interest.
• Empathy; the ability of the sales person to project themselves into the role of the customer and their environment is fundamental in gaining respect and building good relations.

• Interpersonal skills; every sales person must have the ability to communicate efficiently. Selling is fundamentally about influencing and inspiring people to buy, in order to do this it is vital to communicate. This relies on the ability to extract, receive and understand information before applying it in outward communications, which assist in trust, empathy and persuasion.
• Speed of thought; sometimes sales people must act spontaneously this is mainly due to diverse consumer behaviour. Consumer behaviour differs in each different selling situation, and this sometimes requires the sales person to think quickly.
•  Adaptability and flexibility; the behaviour of people is varied and diverse, therefore every selling situation is different. It is due to all this that a sales person must be flexible in their approach and be able to adapt to the variables, which may arise in their environment. The degree of flexibility and adaptability required will vary from one type of selling to another.
• Strength of character; all types of selling carry out a factor of rejection, some more than others. Every sales person must have the spirit and strength of character to absorb the level of rejection in their environment.

All of the above are core qualities required in any sales person at all levels, and not just for one that is working for Canali. The characteristic attributes and personal qualities most required by a sales person will depend on the type of selling. The three types of selling are; teleselling, field selling and retail selling. 

• Teleselling

As a selling medium, using the telephone introduces a whole new set of qualities. It is essential for the sales person to have a very clear voice and must have the ability to listen well. The sales person is also required to have an enthusiastic voice and must be vibrant. Visual qualities are restricted purely to the verbal, and youthful looks which sometimes fail to gain respect from more mature buyers are eliminated from this selling field. The lack of body language and physical factors, leads to faster verbal exchange between the buyer and seller. Therefore, speed of thought and issues of pace, tone and clearness become additional considerations.

•  Field Selling

Since there are many types of field selling, depending on the type of customer involved, this takes us into a wider domain. The sales person is likely to work remotely and must be self motivated, self disciplined, well organised and a good time manager. Visual issues are very important. As mentioned before age is a vital aspects, additionally so is personal appearance, such as appropriate dress, politeness, confident attitude etc.

• Retail Selling

This is usually presents in a face-to-face situation. Therefore, many of the factors mentioned in field selling may also apply to retail selling. The full range of communication skills and visual issues will particularly apply. The main consideration in retail selling is that the sales person does not have to find the customer, the customer usually finds the sales person. Therefore, less rejection is faced and possibly, a less forceful character will be required. Important qualities here, will relate to putting the customer at ease, being attentive to their needs and creating a comfortable environment for both, themselves and the customer.

With regard to all types of selling, it would be an advantage if the sales person has the ability to adjust to a variety of personality types. Again, an admirable quality which the sales person must posses is the ability to adapt to a wide range of customers in terms of communication and mutual respect.

4. How Sales People Spend Their Time; Canali

The following information was acquired from the actual company – Canali. This is how their sales people spend most of their time, on various aspects.

5. The Decision Making Process

The decisions a sales person makes may not be as large compared to those a sales manager may make, therefore may not have as much impact upon the overall company business. Whether the decision required simply concerns for re-routing for the day to take account of a particular traffic problem resulting from road works, or whether it involves possibly offering a special price or promotion to a customer to prevent loss of an order, the basic decision making process should consist of:

• Identifying objectives; what the company aims to achieve, sales up or down, number of workers – skills required?
• Collecting information and needs; the higher the value of the purchase, the more agents involved in the DMP.
• Analysing information and data; evaluate each alternative and any limiting aspects, existing or new knowledge, which course of action best meets the company strategy and corporate objectives.
• Decision is made; decide on the best solution, implement the action. It is vital that the right decision is made, as wrong decisions can have a very negative affect.
• Communication; should be aware and informed of any changes made within the organisation
• Outcome; assess and evaluate the decision outcome – is it positive or negative? Assessing and evaluating decisions can stop mistakes from being repeated e.g. the Millennium Dome.
• Evaluating the results; helps analyse any points or aspects, which can be adjusted for future decisions.

Specific training in decision making may be considered as a constructive extension to the regular sales training programme, particularly at more advanced stages of ongoing training and refresher courses. Canali feel that it is comparatively easier to develop a number of case studies, both relevant to the job and more neutral, and have trainees develop decisions and action plans within the above frame work. Individual decisions are then reviewed within the group training situation to arrive at go-ahead decisions and action plans. The model on the next page is classed as a ‘normative’ model; this describes, in theory, how a decision should be made. However, not how they may be made in real life situations.

↓  A Normative Decision Making Model 

Source: Mr Tetley

6. Sales Personnel – Recruitment, Selection & Training

Good recruitment decisions lead to the creation of a good sales work force. Every individual in the sales force must be developed in line with the needs of the organisation and its customers. With change being constant, this development or training must be an ongoing process. Final decisions and responsibility for subordinate selection should always remain with the line manager. The personnel department, however, can be of great assistance in areas like:

• Preparing job specifications
• Preparing job holder profiles
• Placing recruitment advertising and preparing advertising copy
• Screening written applications from CV and application forms
• Conducting initial interviews
• Preparing shortlists of the most suitable candidates
• Job evaluations/grading's
• Performance appraisal systems
• Designing and implementing training programmes
• Industrial relations
• Training managers in counselling skills.

The basic role of sales personnel is to assist department managers recruit appropriate staff for the job that is available. The process of recruiting the appropriate sales people depend on the various documents used to advertise the vacancy, as well as the selection process, which involves sourcing candidates, screening applications, interviewing and selecting the candidates, providing induction training, delivering training and finally evaluating training. There are three examples of a job description, for sales staff required to work for Canali, they are as follows;

• National Sales Manager
• Area Sales Manager
• Territory Sales Manager

The recruitment process used at Canali can be seen on the next page. The step by step process helps personnel recruit and select carefully the appropriate people with the appropriate skills. Then later on, after recruiting the persons, any training required will also be given. This is also a major duty of the personnel department, to arrange adequate training for the new staff.

↓ The Recruitment & Selection Process Flow Chart

2. Planning To Sell

A good sale is well researched, planned and prepared. Within some organisations the selling function, operates as the so-called marketing arm of the organisation. Sales people do carry out research, in order to prepare for their presentation. However, this area is double sided. It firstly involves research specifically carried out for the sales force, with the overriding objective of achieving efficient performance i.e. an increase in profitable sales. Secondly, the sales force can provide valuable input into the marketing research process by gathering primary data from customers and potential customers. In addition, they could conduct secondary research to support their product/company through sources such as newspapers (Financial Times, The Times), directories (Mintel, Kompass) marketing lists, databases (government statistics) etc. Researching, does not necessarily mean research about the company or product, if the sale presentation is planned, then some background information can be done on the customer. This can be done by looking through past financial records, or even using primary research by talking to the customer over the phone too find out any relevant information.

Planning and preparing plays a big part in the selling process. This aspect is illustrated and defined as the Sales Process.

3. The Sales Process Cycle

There are ten steps to the sales cycle involves many processes which must be carried out by the sales person in order to conduct they sale. However, it is not essential that all steps of the cycle are carried out. Below is a diagram of The Sales Cycle ↓

The above 10 points all make up the sales process, though it is not necessary that all ten points have to be carried out in order to complete the sales process. The above points shall now be discussed in a bit more detail, concerning how a sales person working for Canali will use each point.

• Prospecting

In a sense, this could also be said to be researching to find potential customers. The sales person needs to check his customer call records to establish the business history and buying habits, identify the buyers and other key people involved in the purchasing decisions, and in setting call objectives prior to entering the call. There are many methods, which can help identify potential customers; which may consist of:

• A prospect list; a list of people or organisations who are likely to buy the suit(s)
• Customers of Canali’s competitors
• Media; any articles or press releases in newspapers, magazines etc
• Existing clients from the company database

• Appointment Making

It is first essential to establish who the appointment must be made with. In a domestic selling situation identifying the actual decision maker is less complex than identifying a decision maker in a trade buyer situation. This is due to the many people influencing the decision making unit when trying to sell to trade buyers. After identifying with whom it is that the sales person wishes to meet, he must make contact and arrange an appointment to see them.

• Preparation

After making contact with the potential customer, the sales person must then prepare for the sales presentation. Many factors make up the preparation of a sales presentation. The sales person must be very clear in terms of planning their route e.g. how to get there, how long it will take, where to park etc. It is vital that the sales person goes to meet the potential customer in the right state of mind, and must be focused.

• Ice-break

This is where the sales person first meets the prospect. The sales person and prospect should try to feel at ease at this point, as the next part of the process should smoothly flow in without a problem.

• Need/problem Identification

This is possibly one of the most important factors in any selling situation. It is here that the sales person must identify what the prospect wants and needs. The sales person needs to use his sly skills here, as he must help the prospect identify their need for the product, and convert it into a problem. In order to do this the sales person must ask the prospect various questions, this way the sales person can pick up information of the needs of the prospect. However, another important issue is that the sales person must equally listen to the prospect. This quite naturally links in with the next stage.

• Presentation

After defining the needs and wants of he prospect, the sales person must present the product using the features and benefits (FAB) system. When the sales person states the FAB, he must not state the features, which satisfy the prospects needs, instead he should follow up with a statement of how it will satisfy a need, benefit the prospect. The sales person, after defining the general FAB must introduce he USP – unique selling proposition. The USP is the one aspect of your product that makes you different from all other products it becomes the rationale that the prospect uses it to defend their choice of buying the product instead of Canali competitors'. The sales person must summarise the presentation after demonstrating how the product satisfies the prospects needs.

• Negotiation & Handling Objections

It is normal for a prospect to raise objections in any sales presentation. For some sales people, the raising of objections indicates that the prospect is considering to buy. Objections need to be handled carefully. The objections are usually handled by the sales person repeating points already defied in the presentation. This is why it is essential for the sales person to have good product knowledge, so objections can be handled without a problem. If the prospect seems a bit unclear and is not ready to proceed, then it is best that the sales person tries to close the sale.

• Closing The Sale

This stage has a quite self-explanatory title; this is where he sales person should close the sale. If the sales process has been followed in a close and well managed way then this stage will just flow in. the sales presentation must be closed according to the mood or atmosphere, this helps sum everything up in a smooth manner.

• Processing the order

If the sales presentation went as planned and the sales person was very persuasive, then a sale should have been made. Therefore, when the sales person returns to his office he must prepare to process the order. Here the sales person will carry out any administrative tasks, possibly with the help of personnel.

• Follow Up

After the customer has received the product, the sales person should make a follow up call, it is their duty to enquire about the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the product. The customer will portray a good image of the company and the sales person, as they will feel as though they are cared about.

1. Selling Situations

After completing all this the sales process has been completed, meaning the sale has been made. No matter what the method of selling in all sales situations, the sale of the product will follow the sales cycle process. Since there are various types of selling situations, the sales processes will differ. The various selling situations are as follows:

• Telesales; the telephone can be used as a medium for selling the actual product. This is more effective in repeat selling, but can be used in new selling situations.
• Public relations; e.g. exhibitions, presentations etc – PR and publicity tend to support the sales effort in similar ways to informative advertising. A long term and planned approach develops an organisation’s identity with customers, which enhance the sincerity of a sales person.
• Advertising; in its supporting role, informative corporate advertising supports the selling process. It can generate general enquiries, as opposed to creating demand for the product or service, and can reassure the customer with general name awareness and a particular corporate identity.

Regardless of the selling situation, every sales person working for Canali must produce weekly sales plans, daily activity reports, and number of sales made per week etc. It is vital for the sales people to provide this information in order for the sales administration to store any relevant information and support the sales staff to present it when necessary. Administration basically backs up the sales people in paper work administering.

(Discussed further - 3.5.1 Administration & Their Responsibilities)

5. Sales Administration & Support

The Sales function at Canali can be divided into three categories; management, administration and planning, each split with different aspects concerning them.

↓ Principal Sales Functional Responsibilities

The previously mentioned aspects all make up the sales function, (explained in a bit more detail) the aspects concerning management and administration for Canali are responsible for the following functions to be well managed in order to run smoothly:

• Sales volume; once a target or forecast is set or agreed under the broad planning function, the sales manager is responsible for its achievement. A large amount of other interrelated company plans and programmes are dependent on the achievement of the plan of volumes and prices.

• Distribution; a distribution target by product may be set independently of volume targets, but achievement of any distribution target is usually related to volume targets i.e. higher sales volume is a function of increased distribution. Volume and distribution are both variable factors in the marketing and sales programme that have impact on the total marketing mix, including pricing policies, advertising and promotional activities plus product design, most of which are traditionally responsibilities of the marketing department.

• Product display & merchandising; the marketing department usually designs display aids and promotions aimed at improving display at sales points, the sales person responsible for contact with the retail outlet, wholesaler, cash and carry or other forms of account must achieve the display objectives, since the volume level is a function of effective display. The merchandising function may be performed by the appropriate sales person covering the territory, or by a separate individual or team specially charged with display and merchandising activity.

• Call coverage; the physical act of calling on retailers or other types or levels of customers is referred to as covering the customer base or achieving call coverage. Many sales departments now enhance the physical calls of the salespersons with a system of telephone selling from a specially trained team of telephone salespersons whose main task is to generate repeat orders from regular customers who can operate an effective system of stock control. However, in addition they may also have the task of making initial calls to potential customers.

• Sales recruitment and training; the training and recruitment of a sales force is the most vital responsibilities of he sales management. They have to prepare job specifications and job holder profiles, most likely to be with the help of a personnel manager who will assist with other aspects of recruitment such as advertising, interviewing, candidate correspondence, terms and conditions of appointment etc. Sales training is likely to take two main forms in larger companies; initial theoretical sales training, including company and product knowledge at the head office or central training school; and practical field training under the supervision of the recruit’s new line manager.

• Provision of feedback; usually takes the form of regular bulletins from head office or field management, and occasionally area sales meetings or more widespread national sales conferences, which can provide a broader forum for feedback, training, communication of plans and programmes, motivation and a general opportunity for colleagues to interrelate.

• Trade terms; the sales managers will act as a go-between with the marketing and financial departments in assessing what terms of trade can and will be offered to satisfy normal trade practices and customer expectations. Careful reviews of competitive pricing, trade terms and promotional offers need to be regularly undertaken with attention to:

• Quantity discounts and allowances
• Special promotional activities
• Payment periods
• Early or prompt payment discounts
• Size and frequency of deliveries
• Conditions of sale and warranties
• Key account performance related discounts or rebates
• Wholesaler/distributor discounts or rebates

• Performance management; in order to relate achievements to targets, budgets and plans, it is essential that the sales management team develop statistical measures of performance to support the provision of feedback programme. Such measurements are often developed in conjunction with the marketing and marketing research departments, and statistics produced will be broken down to give meaningful information to each management tier in the sales territories (e.g. national, regional, area, territory statistics) and with a separate measurement for each key account function or manager. Comparative figures for performance against plans may cover:

• Sales volume by product and by customer
• Sales values by product and by customer
• Call coverage achieved against scheduled call coverage
• Distribution achieved by product, territory etc
• Display achievements by product, territory etc

All of the above are aspects concerning the management side of the sales function at Canali. The more important section of the sales department is the administration factor. Administration is the spine of most organisations. They deal with enquiries, communicate messages and produce documentation for the work force. They are responsible for servicing the work of the sales department of Canali.

3.5.1   Administration & Their Responsibilities

As has been illustrated in the diagram ‘principal sales functional responsibilities’ the following are administrative tasks:

• Credit control; usually shared with or controlled by the finance function. However, in the final analysis, the sales force must be held accountable and advise on the sustainability of customers for credit and set credit limits and any other restrictions or variations from the standard trading terms. As part of the credit checking process, contact is frequently made with suppliers and creditors.

• Collection of payments; the normal system in companies for payment of goods despatched, is to be remitted directly by mail or other transfer mode to the customer service or credit control department. Where a customer fails to remit payment by the due date, the sales force may rightly be involved in chasing the customers for the payments. Many companies adopt a polite reminder where a letter of notification of late payments issued to the customer through the post, with a copy sent to the appropriate field manager for his / her personal follow-up with the customer or sales person.

• Customer service: this function may consist of credit checking and control and collection of payments. Additionally, the customer service department is also responsible for handling customer enquiries, complaints, requests as well as order processing duties.

• Order processing; sometimes this function is separate from the customer service department, and involves all stages of processing the order from the receipt of the salesperson’s written order through the preparation, packing, despatch and invoicing stage.

The administration department assist the above activities by providing the right kind of materials and service e.g. filing, company mail, word processing and data handling etc. This is done using ICT facilities. The people who support the sales staff in this manner are classed as ‘sales support’. These people are expected to provide a level of service to customers in support of the selling process. This will include follow-up calls, after sales service, technical support, efficient order processing and service calls, which enhance relationship development. Administration systems also provide services such as; the handling of telephone switchboard and fax and photocopying services, document production, room bookings (for meetings etc) and general secretarial support.

The administration department provides the sales people with support in various areas, but in order to do this they usually require documentation or information from the sales person. E.g. some form of daily activity report should be required from all types of sales people, including territory sales persons, partly for a record of activity and partly for management control purposes.

The main purpose of a weekly plan is so that if the sales person is very busy, then the plan can be left with the administration department who will follow up customers to arrange appointments, confirm appointments, take any messages or queries and handle them just like the sales person would do, if he had time to do so. An example of a weekly plan for a sales person looks like this;

Signed: Charles WilSon

Another very important document, which administration helps the sales staff with is called a ‘customer call record’. Sales persons are trained to use the customer call record, which due to the advancement of technology is stored in a database, as a planning aid, setting call by call objectives, recording details of stock, orders and promotional activity. This keeps a profiled record of the customer, whether they are in debt, if they are behind with their payments etc Basically it defines how well the customer is doing on financial grounds. If the customer is behind with payments or payments are late, admin is responsible for sending out reminder notices. It is through the records that the progress of orders can be monitored, revealing to the sales person, which clients buys frequently and after what specific period of time. This defines to sales who are their most loyal customers, and possibly which other companies they deal with, in order to portray a picture of the mainstream competition. Another very important role of administration is to provide quotations for clients. A quotation sheet will contain the following information:

• Suppliers name and full address
• Date and quote
• Period of validity of the quote
• Name and signature of person authorised to prepare and submit the quote
• Goods quoted on – description and specification of goods, volume or quantity involved, prices of units/ cases or merchandise, rebates, discounts or allowances
• Method of ordering/accepting the quote
• Guarantees or warranties attached to the goods or contract to supply
• General terms and conditions of trade related to specific offer
• Timing and terms of shipment or delivery of goods, or installation of plant or equipment
• Payment terms, including deposits required on acceptance of the quote.

Overall, it could be said that the sales administration at Canali, backup sales personnel efficiently, therefore, sales personnel spend more time selling and support comes from:

• Generating sales leads
• Making appointments, arranging meetings, taking messages
• Preparing ordering sales literature and materials
• Preparing quotations for clients
• Monitoring the performance of orders
• Looking after smaller accounts
• Providing after sales service.

The advancement of technology has made it easier for support sales personnel in carrying out their own administrative tasks and communicating with the office base. Nowadays, the interaction between two functions may be face-to-face, by e-mail, a video conferencing link, fax, electronic point-of-sale (EPOS) or several other methods. The methods used by Canali are:

• EDI, electronic data interchange; EDI allows users to exchange business documents, such as invoices, delivery notes, orders and receipts over the telephone network. EDI can immensely reduce the amount of paperwork and business can be transacted more quickly than is possible through the normal postage system.
• Fax; this service allows the transmission of facsimiles or exact copies of documents or pictures through a data communications network.
• Teleconferencing; this service allows users to support a discussion over the telephone with a shared computer application, such as a word processor, spreadsheet or drawing package and a common whiteboard visible to the conference users. The voice communications is carried out over a conventional telephone network or over the Internet as part of the teleconferencing package.
• Video conferencing; this service is usually used when communicating with managers or staff internationally. This is when computers are attached to video cameras, microphones and speakers, conference participants are able to see and hear one another. Both teleconferencing and video conferencing have made potential savings for Canali and its staffing, travel and accommodation costs.

There are many more methods of communication, which are used by Canali, on both, a national and international level. However, the ones mentioned are most significant and make it easier for staff to communicate and gain relevant information.

6. Legal Constraints

Here sales people working for Canali are concerned with various aspects. Appreciation of law is essential; failure in this area can be very costly. The government is responsible for creating new laws. These can affect the ways in which markets operate and so, can affect the ways in which businesses operate, therefore influences and shapes the way organisations are run and the way their staff work. These laws are passed on to protect the rights of individuals and groups. The five major laws affecting the way sales people work in order to conduct a buying selling situation are as follows;

• Sales Of Goods Act 1979
• Supply Of Goods Act 1973
• Consumer Credit Act, 1974
• Consumer Protection Act, 1987
• Data Protection Act 1984
• Sale And Supply Of Goods Act 1994                        

• Sales Of Goods Act 1979

This act gives the customer extra protection when buying certain types of goods. The act effectively defines that goods must be exactly the same as described on a label or by the sales person. The best known specification of the act is that it now is to be assumed that goods are of merchantable quality and fit for the purpose for which they were sold. Meaning that customers buy goods on the firm assumption that the quality will be appropriate to the use to which they will be put. Therefore, if, for instance the tie, which is being sold with the Canali suit, is said to be 100% silk, then that is what it must be. This act only covers sales from a business – private sales are not included. This act also leads to the, Trade Descriptions Act, 1963. As one of the criteria for the Sales Of Goods Act 1979, is that the description of the good must be accurate, therefore if it is specified that the tie is silk, then it has to be exactly 100% silk, no more and no less. It is essential that traders give an accurate description of their goods or services.

• Supply Of Goods Act 1973

This act is usually connected to the Sales of Goods Act, 1979. However, it is this act, which is more concerned with the agreements of transfer for the goods. It is essential

That the quality of the service of delivering the goods is of excellent quality and up to high standards. It has been defined that all work must be ceased within stated time limits, e.g. the Canali suit will be delivered to your door within 14 working days. If this is what has been said then it is vital that this is exactly what has to be done, the suit must be delivered with 14 working days and no more than 14 days. The service provided must be of virtue and high calibre.

• Consumer Protection Act, 1987

This act amended that prices must not be displayed in a misleading way. Sale prices, which show a reduction price, must have been offered for sale at a higher price for 28 days in the previous six months. This is to prevent a shop from raising the price of a product falsely, to make the product look like ‘wow, it’s a bargain’. VAT must also be clearly displayed or any other extra charges, i.e. delivery charges must also be clearly stated.

• Consumer Credit Act, 1974

This act covers all goods or services bought on credit up to £15 000, it also influences the way businesses offer customer credit proposals and other credit schemes. The main points are:

• Full information must be given to customers regarding credit sales; this includes Annual Percentage Rate (APR) being charged, the cash price of the item and the total credit price.
• Any customer, who signs a credit agreement, has 15 days to change their mind and cancel the agreement.
• Relevant information regarding any credit agreements must be exhibited, to inform the customer.

• Data Protection Act 1984

The Data Protection Act 1984 states that a business or other organisation holding personal information on their computer systems or other files must register with the Data Protection Registrar, the body that administers the act. The act uses a number of terms, which may require some explanation:

• Data; information held in a form, which can be processed automatically.
• Personal data; that which relates to a living individual who is identifiable from the information, including any, which is based on fact or opinion.
• Data subject; the living individual who is the subject of the data.
• Data user; a person who processes or intends to process data concerning a data subject.

The act defines and states that:

• Information should be regarded as being held for a specific purpose and should not be used, without appropriate authorisation, for other purposes.
• Access to information should be restricted to those authorised to have it for the purpose for which it is supplied.
• The amount of information collected and held must be the minimum necessary for the achievement of a specified purpose.
• The subject must be informed that the company holds information concerning them.
• Sufficient security must be taken to protect personal data against deliberate abuse or misuse of information.
• Data held, must be accurate. There should be machinery for the correction of inaccuracy and updating information.

• Sale And Supply Of Goods Act 1994        

This act is basically a combined version of the following two acts; Sales Of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply Of Goods Act 1973. It has been amended to apply certain conditions of the reassignment of goods to the customer.

All of the above legislations affect the way sales people must present any information about the Canali suit or the company; also, it will affect the way in which information on customers is to be retained. If any of the sales people working for Canali do not abide by the legislations, it will cost the company and the individual sales person, as there is a very big possibility of the customer convicting Canali of giving false and inaccurate information about their products. Everything the sales person says must be carefully thought about, as it is very easy to make mistakes, especially when you’ve been trying for quite some time to persuade the customer to buy the product, and they still are not satisfied.