{"id":132454,"date":"2018-02-20T23:50:30","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T23:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writemyessayfree.com\/sales-management-homework"},"modified":"2017-08-16T07:01:55","modified_gmt":"2017-08-16T07:01:55","slug":"sales-management-homework","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/sales-management-homework\/","title":{"rendered":"sales management homework"},"content":{"rendered":"
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sales management homework
this is for the sales management class, our group choose the company MarketSource,
MarketSource, headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., employs more than 9,000 team members, and has been named a \u201cTop 20 Workplace\u201d in both 2015 and 2016 by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The company offers customized outsourced sales support, training, and recruiting, as well as various marketing services. Offering business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales expertise, the company serves clients in the information technology, automotive, consumer electronics, and telecommunications industries. MarketSource\u2019s marketing services, including merchandising, market research and analysis, lead generation, and brand strategy, are intended to improve clients\u2019 sales processes. Major corporations including Ford ,Hewlett-Packard , and Cisco have been customers. MarketSource is a subsidiary of leading staffing specialist Allegis Group .<\/p>\n

Group 9:
May 8, 2017
Phase 2: Sales Interview Summary<\/p>\n

1. Industry analysis (Size, Competition, key players)
a. Business insight global lists MarketSource as a management consulting agency. Information about this industry includes:
b. Size: Competitive growth since 2010, and a 223 billion dollar industry currently. Highly competitive industry with around 700,00 management consulting agencies worldwide (IBIS 2016)
c. Competition: Though, only 19.3% of these are focused on marketing and sales, like MarketSource.
d. Key players: Accenture (with 3.4% market share) and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (2.9%). Approx. 93% of the remaining market share is split between smaller companies than the two listed. (Highly saturated market)
e. HP is the largest customer. T-mobile is also an important customer for MarketSource..
2. Macro Environment (Trends and drivers)
a. Management and marketing consulting is considered to be at the Mature lifecycle stage. Growth in this industry relies on the economy overall doing well. There has been growth in this industry for the past 5 years due to increases in digital technology changing the way business is done. More companies are hiring advisors and consultants in an attempt to keep up.
3. Company analysis (Profile, performance, marketing)
a. Profile: The company offers customized outsourced sales support, training, and recruiting, as well as various marketing services. Offering business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales expertise, the company serves clients in the information technology, automotive, consumer electronics, and telecommunications industries. Market Source\u2019s marketing services, including merchandising, market research and analysis, lead generation, and brand strategy, are intended to improve clients\u2019 sales processes.
b. Performance:
i. Improved customer retention exceeding 90%, generating $18M in additional revenue.
ii. By optimizing coverage and resources, we were able to increase sales by 150% over the previous six weeks.
iii. Our client experienced a 30% increase in the category sell-through in the first six months. (Improving the sales, 2017)
c. Marketing: MarketSource marketing services, including merchandising, market research and analysis, lead generation, and brand strategy, are intended to improve clients\u2019 sales processes.
4. Sales strategy (organization, sales process, staff\/training)
a. Organization: The MarketSource has the regional sales managers, and above him, there\u2019s a national sales manager, and right above her, there\u2019s a program director that works for HP, and above him, there\u2019s another director that oversees 3rd party programs within MarketSource.
b. Sales Process: The relationships the brand repres make with their clients (Frys, Best Buy, Staples, etc) are what give MarketSource a competitive edge. Reps start by asking discovery questions to find out what the customer is looking for and then are able to direct them to the best product for their needs.
c. Staff\/Training: Training is done often in the slower season after the holidays. management continuously goes through new training modules. Staff is often brought on through recruitment.
5. Sales operations (compensation, territories, quotas)
a. Compensation: Sales Associate $23728\/year; Technology $37466\/year; Retail Merchandiser $24465\/year
b. Territories: There are separate territories for each sales manager (the one we interviewed is in charge of sales reps in 3 different states).
c. Quotas: Quotas to be met every quarter and other goals such as ink attachments to printers sold.
6. Sales Management (leadership, forecasts, evaluation)
a. Forecasts: MarketSource put 35% on their forecasting. They are viewing reports from every store, and comparing with previous years and quarters in order to meet metrics.
b. Leadership: Depends on the leaders. Team do have specific position. Different team leader has different leadership types.
c. Evaluation: Sales manager systematic approach to evaluating salespeople. It is to make sure salespeople rated and meet specific goals and metrics.
7. Secondary Research Conducted
a. The homepage of MarketSource
b. Business Insight: Global
c. Facebook
d. LinkedIn
e. Twitter
8. Preliminary findings
a. Market Source\u2019s training modules leave something to be desired. Training takes a long time, and one of the interviewees does not think the current training program is as effective as it could be.
9. Next steps
a. Looking closer at MarketSource training methods\/materials.
Client interview results
Sales Manager:
? What are our competitors? Strengths and Weaknesses?
? Epson, Brother, Canon, biggest is between epson and canon, and they compete with products that we have. But it\u2019s not as good as our platforms. We\u2019re in store, brand representatives, we are there representing HP, and other competitors do the same thing, but our people are in more stores, more of the time. It gives us more of a competitive edge. This is a big company and we\u2019re 3rd party vendor, there are a lot of players that take care of recruiting. Relationships are the most competitive edge.
? What markets are we serving?
? Fry\u2019s, Microcenter, Best Buy, Office Depot, Staples.
? How do your customers make buying decisions and what is the sales cycle like?
? People are usually looking for bargains, and we teach our reps to ask discovery questions, and make sure they\u2019re getting what they need. At the beginning of the year, it\u2019s pretty slow, we\u2019ve just come out of holiday, and we\u2019ll put out new items. We\u2019ll go into a low over the summer, and back to school is usually when it picks up and is more busy, and back into.
? Are the quotas fair to the sales reps throughout the year with the seasonality?
? It\u2019s fair because it\u2019s always based on volume of hardware sold, because it\u2019s based on sales volume. Which uses a ratio to do the calculations versus specific quantities.
? Is there any specific training time in MarketSource?
? Training metrics are different because in the busy season, there\u2019s no time to train, but during the slower times we do have more opportunities to sell.
? How fair are the metrics and quotas that MarketSource expect?
? As a company, all metrics are fair and designed to be consistent. When you have different leaders putting out different quotas, that\u2019s where the issue arises, but as a company it\u2019s consistent.
? Does MarketSource have any quotas?
? Company has quotas, and it needs to be hit every quarter and the company has goals for instant ink objectives.
? What does the vertical management look like?
? The company that I work for is called MarketSource, but has a regional sales manager, and above him, there\u2019s a national sales manager, and right above her, there\u2019s a program director that works for HP that works for HP, and above him, there\u2019s another director that oversees 3rd party programs within MarketSource.
? Are there good communications and relations between sales and marketing?
? Yes
? Are there sufficient resources for you and your reps to be able to do their jobs?
? Most of the time there\u2019s sufficient resources to accomplish our objectives. But they\u2019re expectations continue to rise with the same amount of resources.
? How organized is scheduling at your firm?
? Less people need to be on the scheduling side of things.
? Do we have a high level sales executive to direct the sales management efforts?
? Yes
? Is the organization structure(span of control) effective?
? Yes
? How effective are our management recruitment and selection efforts?
? It depends on the manager and the teams.
? Do you bring in new managers, do they need additional trainings?
? Yes, there\u2019s always additional trainings to do.
? Do we have adequate source from which to recruit?
? Yes
? What is our turnover rate and what are we doing to change it?
? Yes
? Do we use a battery of psychological tests in our selection process?
? Yes
? What is the biggest client for MarketSource?
? MarketSource works with HP as a client.
? What is the territory that the DSM covers in this region?
? It\u2019s organized by territory (3 states, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska)
? How many salespeople do we have? How to size it?
? 16 salespeople, needs more coverage. But the coverage is adequate for what is required during the slow visits, however, during the busy season, it\u2019s going to be not adequate because there\u2019s too many require events to do.
? Do you think you are sufficiently staffed? Why don\u2019t you hire more people?
? It would be easier if sales cycle wouldn\u2019t change so much. There\u2019s a situation where sales reps will not have hours if too many are hired.
? What do you do during an interview? Is it important to tell them about what the job actually entails?
? When I interview people I try to talk them out of the job. This is because we need reps that know what they\u2019re getting themselves into because the job isn\u2019t easy.
? What is the most important part of the interview process for new hires?
? This position is all remote so it\u2019s important to ask questions, and visualize what the reps can do based on a single phone call. When the interview is done and we\u2019re not convinced they fit in the company, we\u2019ll move on to the next.
? Do you have high turnover rate? If you did in the past, how did you lower it?
? Being more selective lowered the turnover rate. Get really friendly with recruiters.
? How long does it typically take for a new rep to start?
? Ramp time can be as fast as 4 days, as long as a month, it depends on the person. Average would be around a month. From start to finish.
? Do you think the pay is fair for both management and employees?
? Pay is fair.
? Is our salesforce moral high?
? Salespeople have high morale.
? How do you use forecasting?
? Forecasting: viewing reports from every store, and comparing with previous years and quarters in order to meet metrics.
? What are some seasons where you and your team focus on the most?
? Black friday + holidays are seasons to focus on sales in order to meet forecasted.
? What kind of training methods you prefer? Do online trainings work?
? Role play is something that\u2019s believed in. Online trainings can\u2019t fulfill everything.
? Do you use budgeting within the company? Is it fixed?
? We use budgeting to ensure that budgets are maintained because they\u2019re fixed. It\u2019s fixed but a little flexible.
? Systematic approach to evaluating salespeople?
? Managers do it to make sure they\u2019re rated and meet specific goals and metrics.
? Challenges of being remote?
? Making sure the people are actually working and people are doing what they were suppose to be doing.
? Perks of being remote?
? Not seeing everyone everyday. Not glued to the desk.
Sales Representative:
? What different markets are you involved with?
? Customer care, technology and retailing.
? Sales strategy?
? Hit and miss on personality,
? How are the trainings at MarketSource?
? The trainings are targeted towards a type of people.
? Do you learn most the stuff on the job?
? Yes, after you become more confident, you learn a lot faster and become
? How do customers feel about MarketSource and the sales reps?
? Depending on how knowledgeable customers are, they may or may not be excited to see them.
? How are management practices?
? Ethical as well as reasonable with requests.
? Will all the customers feel satisfied with sales reps\u2019 service?
? Some customers complain to brand reps when they see them when they only focus on sales.
? How many percentage will MarketSource spend on forecasting?
? 35% attach rate is forecasted, and the forecasting is off because.
? How are recruitment practices?
? It\u2019s great and people should be more aware of job requirements as well as
? Who are the rivals?
? Microsoft rep and windows reps rival HP, it\u2019s sold but store reps sell them on something else.
? How often do you experience poaching?
? Very prevalent. Eat or be eaten.
? Compare of manager and Leader, which role will you choose?
? Leader because it\u2019ll be more effective to the masses especially the HP team.
? When facing some employees that do not reach the requirements of job description, you will choose coaching or firing?
? Used to think it\u2019s easier to can than to coach. A good leader will build up the team.<\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/p>\n

Improving the sales funnel starts with MarketSource. (n.d.). Retrieved May 09, 2017, from http:\/\/www.marketsource.com\/<\/p>\n

Phase 3: Field Study Report (100 Points Report \/ 50 Points Presentation)<\/p>\n

Teams will prepare both a written and oral report on their findings, critiques and insights. The written report must include the following primary components and applicable elements:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Executive Summary (highlights from the report, key findings)
\u2022 Industry Analysis (size, competitive landscape, key players)
\u2022 Company Analysis (profile, financial performance, marketing strategy)
\u2022 Sales Strategy (organization, size, sales process, staffing, training)
\u2022 Sales Operations (compensation, motivation, quotas, expenses, territories)
\u2022 Sales Management (leadership, forecasting, budgets, profitability, evaluation)
\u2022 Recommendations (critique and insights from your analysis)<\/p>\n

Sources, including the interviews, must be cited appropriately, and listed in a bibliography. Supporting and relevant data, analysis, graphics and charts should be included as exhibits within or attached as an appendix to the 15 \u2013 20 page report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

sales management homework this is for the sales management class, our group choose the company MarketSource, MarketSource, headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., employs more than 9,000 team members, and has been named a \u201cTop 20 Workplace\u201d in both 2015 and 2016 Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132454\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.benedictsol.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}