International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 8, Issue 5, May-2017

ISSN 2229-5518
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Managing Sales Force Turnover – A review on

models and challenges encountered by FMCG
Companies in Sri Lanka
Nuwan Wimalana
Abstract

This study is to provide an understanding to the HR and Sales Management of the medium and large scale FMCG companies in
Sri Lanka to identify some of the researched models and how those models have been implemented by the industry to mitigate
the high Sales Force turnover which is hampering their business.

The post war era in Sri Lanka created a huge opportunity for FMCG companies in the country to expand their distribution
network to the entire Island including those areas where they did not have a proper access. With that the demand for the Sales
Representatives increased significantly but the supply was lagging due to many reasons. As a result, the available sales people
are at a high demand.

The methodology was based on literature and discussions carried out with industry experts in selected cross sections of FMCG
companies of Sri Lanka. Also interviews were held with a sample of senior Sales Representatives in the FMCG industry but not
necessarily in the same companies where we interviewed industry experts. All above was based on convenience sampling.

Developing new models on Organizational Culture, Sales Force Remuneration, Sales Force engagement and Organizational
Commitment have been identified as probable solutions implemented by the FMCG industry in Sri Lanka towards mitigating the
Sales Force Turnover but there is a wide scope for many more work to be done in this area. Also these findings can provide
ideas for the education sector to develop certain tools to develop programs to career minded sales personnel. At the same time,
the Government Policymakers can use these results to develop the required human resource through the youth development
programs.

Key words – Sri Lanka, FMCG, Sales Force Turnover

1. INTRODUCTION
The survival of any business organization depends on its on customer service until a replacement is found (Boles et

profits. Therefore the organization has to generate revenue al., 2012). If the company is dealing with a limited number

by selling its products or services to the target customers. of high volume customers, this problem can be controlled

The task of the revenue generation is the primary to a certain extend and the sales management can get

responsibility of the Sales Force of any organization. They involved to hold on for a limited time. But if the customer

are the only people within the organization who are base is high and scattered around a wide geographical area,

assigned to bring money while all other members of the it is not an easy task to defend the organization’s business.

organization are waiting to spend that money brought in by Especially in the FMCG industry where the barriers on

the sales force. So what will happen to the organization if brand switching are low, the companies can gain or lose on

suddenly they lose half of them within a short period of the customer relationship. It is a fact that the organizations

time? Of course, the revenue will not come down by half are using the sales team to manage the customer

depending on the consumer loyalty and the demand of the relationship (Bradford et al., 2010).

brands marketed by the company. But surely it will never

Therefore the sales force turnover is a problem and many
be the same as before. When a sales person leaves, the sales
studies have been done in the past to identify contributory
territory is not serviced properly and the organization lose
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factors for this issue by researches such as Farris, (1971); Table 1. Description and definition of retention factors.

Muchinsky and Tittle, (1979); Lucas et al., (1987); Johnston

Retention factor and Definition
et al., (1988) etc. and they have looked at many variables to

predict sales force turnover. Sales function has been 1. Job satisfaction - The degree to which individuals
identified in the recent past as one of the top 10 jobs in the like their jobs
market that is difficult to fill (Fournier et al., 2010; Rivera, 2. Extrinsic rewards - The amount of pay, benefits, or
2007). The replacement cost of a sales person can sometimes equivalents distributed in return for service
go up to 200% of the annual salary (Griffeth and Horn 3. Constitution attachments - The degree of
2001). This could be a major cost to the organization since attachment to individuals associated with the
the turnover in the sales profession has been identified as organization such as supervisor, coworkers, or
double when compared to the other functions in the customers
Company (Richardson 1999). 4. Organizational commitment - The degree to which

individual’s identify with and are involved in the

We cannot take the Sales Force turnover in isolation since it
organization
is a part of the Employee Turnover of an organization.
5. Organizational prestige - The degree to which the
Therefore, the studies and researches done on the
organization is perceived to be reputable and well-
voluntarily turnover of the employees and the respective
regarded
models have to be studied in the journey to find factors
6. Lack of alternatives - Beliefs about the
related to Sales Force Turnover. In the subject of traditional
unavailability of jobs outside of the organization
attitude turnover model it is revealed that the process of
7. Investments - Perceptions about the length of
employees’ volunteer turnover is mainly consisting of four
service to the organization
sectors. It commences with the cause by job dissatisfaction;
8. Advancement opportunities - The amount of
then, employees’ search for substitutable jobs before
potential for movement to higher levels within the
turnover; is evaluation on such substitutable jobs; and end
organization
result is occurrence of turnover behavior (Lee and Mitchell,
9. Location - The proximity of the workplace relative
1999). According to the study done by Zheng Weibo,
to one’s home
Sharan Kaur and Tao Zhi Zheng (2010) on employee
10. Organizational justice - Perceptions about the
turnover models and development in perspective
fairness of reward allocations, policies and
performance, they explain that Hausknecht, Rodda &
procedures, and interpersonal treatment
Howard (2008) has listed the major 12 retention factors that
11. Flexible work arrangement - The nature of the
have been published in the literature over the last 60 years
work schedule or hours
from 24,829 employees which help explain why employees
12. Non-work influences - The existence of
stay or quit. A brief summary of these content models is
responsibilities and commitments outside of the
explained in the Table 1.
organization
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Company is involved in food and beverage business, their

Most of above factors are included in the models explained sales from this channel can go up to 10% – 15% of the total

by the researchers on Sales Force turnover but their focus turnover. However, still the biggest channel for the FMCG

has been to find more specific elements directly related to industry in Sri Lanka is the Grocery Trade Chanel with a

the job functions of the sales force and the related factors in contribution of around 75%.

the environment in which Sales personnel perform their

Once the products are listed, the Supermarkets (Modern
duties.
Trade channel) will replenish them with a minimum

SALES FORCE AND THE FMCG INDUSTRY IN SRI involvement of the sales personnel once their stock levels

LANKA hit the re-order levels. A similar situation is applied to

HORECA channel as well. Once the Purchasing Officer and

To do a deep dive into the industry and understand the
the Chef are convinced for the quality and cost of the
related issues on the subject, a series of interviews were
products, they will place orders when stocks reach reorder
conducted with industry experts who have a strong sales
level. In both above channels, the Push theory cannot work.
background and now holding General Manager, CEO or
They will place orders only for their requirement.
Director Positions in the FMCG Industry in Sri Lanka.

Simultaneously, a group of Sales Representatives working However, in the Grocery Channel, the Company has to

in few of the different sectors in the FMCG industry cater to about 150,000 grocery outlets from the total outlet

(Confectionery, Food, Personal Care, Carbonated Beverages universe of around 250,000 (Nielsen) operated across the

and Stationery) were interviewed to validate the actions country to reach the total population to whom their

taken by the companies in order to arrest the attrition. The products are targeted. The bench mark of 150,000 outlets

information gathered was cross checked with both above was taken considering the availability of the products

groups before including into this report. marketed by Unilever Sri Lanka, Ceylon Biscuits and

Hemas who occupy within the Top 5 best distribution

When we analyze the situation of the medium and large
companies based on the availability of their products
scale FMCG Companies operated in Sri Lanka, their sales
(Nielsen). Except a few mega operators, many FMCG
operation is mainly divided into 3 channels i.e. Grocery,
companies do not visit all those outlets. They mainly
Modern Trade and HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants and
concentrate of urban and semi urban customers and use the
Catering outlets). The average contribution from the
wholesalers to cater the small outlets situated in interior
Modern Trade is around 15% (Nielsen 2016) and it is on an
and peripheral locations. However even for that purpose,
upward trend. Sri Lanka is not a country with a high
all national level FMCG companies have to deploy large
market concentration. However this percentage can be
sales forces that would be based in the respective locations
higher for certain companies, if the products marketed by
and assigned to work for one or more of the nominated
the organization are targeted to the top end of the market.
distributors of the company. Most of the companies assign
The business from the HORECA channel is also dependent
about 600 outlets within a well-defined geographical area
on the products marketed by the organization. If the FMCG
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for the respective Sales Representative and he will be Supervisor is compelled to postpone his other important

responsible on behalf of the Organization to service those job functions while confined to one sales territory.

outlets with a general frequency of once in two weeks. Sales

A first-line sales management position is relatively more
Representative has to cover about 50 outlets per day and
complex than other first-line supervisory positions. Sales
within two weeks he can cover 600 outlets by working 12
managers often must motivate people at long distances;
days excluding Sundays. Although many high level
supervise personnel they see on an irregular basis, assume
companies are now operating with sales force automation
account responsibilities while directing sales subordinates,
modules with palmtops, still the Sales Representative is the
and conduct situation-specific performance appraisals.
primary contact point with the customer on behalf of the
Moreover, there are fundamental differences between sales
organization. Therefore his rapport and the relationship
and sales management positions. For example, salespeople
with the customer, have an effect on the dealings between
typically develop accounts, have an individual perspective,
the two parties. If the relationship is healthy and longer, the
are subordinates, and have a relatively narrow range of
effect will be positive to the organization. Since
specialized responsibilities. Conversely, sales managers
approximately 75% of the FMCG business is derived from
generally focus on developing people, have a management-
this channel, this has become the battling ground for stiff
team perspective, are superiors, and have a diverse range of
competition. Availability, visibility and the accessibility of
activities. (Dubinsky et al., 1992).
the products are extremely important in the FMCG

industry and therefore the support of the customer The PROBLEM

(retailer) has to be earned. And that depends a lot on the
During the decade of 1980, mast of the FMCG companies
Sales Representative who services the retailer. In addition
experienced an exponential growth in their businesses with
to that, the FMCG industry in the Grocery Channel
the rapid economic developments and the opening of the
operates primarily on credit sales. Therefore, the Sales
free economy. To facilitate the sudden expansion, some
Representative’s involvement and understanding the credit
large scale FMCG companies embarked on a new concept
worthiness of the customers play a vital role in
called ‘Distributor Sales Representative’ model (DSR
sustainability of the FMCG operation.
model) where the Distributor had to employ a Sales
The immediate effect of the Sales Force turnover of the front Representative on behalf of the company and the company
liners affects the Regional sales management since it has a supported with special allowances to manage the cost.
direct negative impact on his performances (Johari et al., These Distributor Reps were deployed to do the same job
2012; Lee and Mitchell, 1999). Therefore at certain times it functions of the Company Sales Reps but they belonged to
has been noticed that the sales personnel in the supervisor the Distributor. Main objective of the Companies was to
category in the FMCG industry in Sri Lanka try to cover up find a Sales Representative at a lower cost who would not
for the loss by canvassing orders until a replacement is be a permanent employee of the company. Also by finding
found. This can create problems across the region since the a person from the same area recommended by the

Distributor, the Company managed to assign some

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additional responsibilities to the Sales Representative that produce the required sales professionals while CIMA, AAT

were not performed by the Company Sales Representatives and CA were producing Finance people, CIM, SLIM and

such as collecting cash, driving the truck, working on many other courses were creating Marketing professionals.

Saturdays etc. Even the Universities did not produce graduates

specialized in sales management. At the same time, there

This was only a solution on one aspect since the working
was a sudden boom in many other sectors such as Banking,
closer to home has a negative relationship with the
Insurance, Finance companies and Telecommunications
employee turnover (Hausknecht. Rodda & Howard, 2008).
companies with opening up of large number of branches
However, as a result of that, towards the following decades
across the country. For an example, Commercial Bank of Sri
of 1990 and 2000, the quality of the majority Sales
Lanka has increased its branches from 181 in 2009 to 256 in
Representatives who entered into the profession was not of
2016 (Commercial Bank Annual Report – 2016). Many
the same as in the past based on their education levels,
youth both male and female were attracted to that industry
social and family backgrounds etc. Therefore, today it has
and the FMCG sector failed to attract them for the sales
reached to a situation where the Sales Representative
vacancies existed in their organizations.
profession is not perceived as an area to enter in order to

build up a career. It is despite this being an arena where a Therefore, the demand for the Sales Representatives is

young energetic school lever could earn an above average increasing day by day with a limited supply. As a result,

income with very rapid career development opportunities. the turnover of the sales force has become an issue in many

At the same time, this profession has still not been able to industries particularly in the area of FMCG industry.

attract Sri Lankan females except in few areas where According to the points discussed above, the implication of

females are involved in personal selling of high end losing Sales Representatives in this category has a fairly

cosmetic products. During the survey conducted, we found high negative impact on sales as well as the company image

there was a zero female Sales Representative in the Grocery (Farris, 1971; Lucas et al., 1987; Johnston et al., 1990). Due to

Sales Force in the top 5 best distribution FMCG companies the high competition in FMCG industry and low barriers

in Sri Lanka namely Unilever, GSK, Hemas, CBL and for consumers in Brand Switching, the moment a well-

Nestle (Nielsen 2016). established Sales Rep leaves an area, the Competitors in

that area try to take the full advantage of the opportunity

In addition to the above, the demand for the Sales
by acquiring better display spaces within the outlets for
Representatives has increased rapidly with the expansion
their products removing the displays maintained by the
of distribution across the island after the end of the war in
leaving Sales Rep. That is mainly exploiting the
2009. To meet the initial demand, many companies have
opportunities in visibility and accessibility aspects at the
deployed the Tamil speaking sales people to the newly
point of sale which are very critical in the success of FMCG
opened up areas. But the market has not been able to
industry.
supply the vacuum created with this new opening. When

compared to other professionals, there was no institute to

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When inquired from many of the FMCG industry to manage the situation. Under this topic, a study was

professionals across a vast spectrum of companies, it was conducted to identify the new models adopted by the

unanimously confirmed that one of the problems that the FMCG companies in Sri Lanka today on organizational

entire industry has faced was the high turnover of Sales culture, compensation, sales force engagement and

Force front liners. The negative impact of the Sales Force organizational commitment in order to arrest the situation.

Turnover was listed as follows by the industry experts.

DEVELOPING NEW MODELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL
Many of the same points have been confirmed by the
CULTURE
respective researchers in the past.

Organization Culture is a concept discussed by many

1. The customer service in the vacant sales territories
authors for a considerable period of time as an important
was badly affected thus creating long term
element related to the sales force turnover. The literature
negative impact on the company and products
reviewed indicates that there had been many efforts during
(Boles et al., 2012; Johnston et al., 1990)
1980’s to understand this concept. Many researches have
2. Replacement cost was high (Griffeth and Horn,
proposed that there was a relationship between the
2001; Ghosh et al., 2013)
organizational culture and the outcome of the performance
3. Productivity from the new recruits was low until
of the employees of the organization. A key outcome was
they became familiar with company products and
that the corporate culture of the organization was loosely
customers (DeConnick and Johnson 2009)
affecting the performance and efficiency of the
4. Badly affected the morale of the other sales
organization. Under the idea of Organizational culture
representatives of the organization (Boles et
affects the effectiveness, the well-known author on
al.,2012)
Organizational Culture Kilmann (1985) mentions that
5. Leaving sales people approached and influenced
"Culture provides meaning, direction, and mobilization; it
their colleagues to leave the organization
is the social energy that moves the corporation into
6. When the leaving sales people joined competitors,
allocation.., the energy that flows from shared
they used their PR to covert the customers to buy
commitments among group members."
from them

7. Competitors used the opportunity to grab the Kerr and Slocum (1987) openly communicate in their Sales
display spaces maintained by the leaving sales Force retention model that they believe the reward system
representative before the new recruit took control plays a key role in influencing the organization culture.
of the territory Their argument is based on that the concern about the

organization’s culture is all about how to control the

behavior and attitude of its employees. They point out that

Since this problem has already been identified by the
the reward system is the best because when the employees
industry leaders, it is important to understand the models
are rewarded for following a certain behavior, it influences
they used and the challenges they faced in their endeavor
the culture to be formed towards a certain direction. Then
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the reward becomes an exchange between the employee (RSM) or the National Sales Manager (NSM) was

and the organization for following a certain path. Who gets empowered with the authority of waving off some of the

rewarded and why will be clearly understood by the elements based on their qualitative aspects. Under the new

employees and that will formulate the value system of the approach, the uncontrollable factors were considered in

organization. favor to the Sales Representative. When they missed the

They explain how this reward system can be divided into target due to sudden natural disasters in the territory, non-

two areas namely hierarchy based reward system and availability of stocks in the company or mismanagement of

performance based reward system. As a result of the funds by the distributor etc., still the RSM or NSM

reward systems followed by the organizations, two authorized the full or part of the incentive for the sales

different Cultures have emerged namely Clan Culture and representative based on the situation.

Market culture. The reward system adopted by the Clan

At the same time, many FMCG companies in Sri Lanka
Culture was not well defined and it was a part of the
encouraged socialization of the management of the
organization’s historical tradition. Superiors defined and
organization with the sales force. In contrary to the
evaluated the performance of the subordinates and it was
previous practice of holding monthly or quarterly meeting
defined quantitatively as well as qualitatively. There was a
in the city where the head office is located, the Regional
place for qualitative aspect within the Clan Culture. The
Conferences were introduced. That was held within the
reward system adopted by the Market Culture was linked
area of the RSM only with his sales team and many
to the performance and the qualitative aspects had almost
managers from the head office attended the conference. It
zero recognition. Rewards were directly linked to specific
was encouraged to socialize with the sales team after the
performance criteria and the accountability of the
conference. During these sessions, the management had a
employees was primarily for the results. This was
chance to get close to the sales people and identify their
considered by the sales representative as a rigid system and
concerns. If they found signs of unrest in one or more of the
when they missed their targets due to the reasons beyond
sales people, they had the time to take action before it was
their control, they lost the income. The losing of
too late.
remuneration demoralize Sales People and finally result in

attrition (Jaramillo, Fernando, Jay Prakash Mulki and Therefore it is advisable for FMCG Companies in Sri Lanka
William B. Locander, 2006; Johnson et al., 2000; Mengiis, to study the Kerr and Slocum (1987) clan culture model to
1996; Purani and Sahadev, 2008; Sager,1990; Siguaw et al., manage the high sales force turnover. The characteristics of
1994; Wren et al., 2014). Clan Culture are mentioned below.
Therefore many FMCG companies attempted to create a

sales force friendly culture which can be defined as a The relationship between individual and organization:
hybrid of both clan and market cultures. Although the sales • Fraternal relationship
targets and other incentive related criteria were clearly • Mutual long-term commitment
defined by the organization, the Regional Sales Manager • Rests on mutual interests, a shared fate
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• Sense of tradition, history, company, style Therefore it is correct to mention that the Compensation as

• Hierarchy structures relationship one of the important factors responsible for employee’s

intention to leave or stay with the organization (Jaramillo et

The relationship among organization members: al. 2006; Johnson et al., 2000; Mengiis, 1996; Purani and

• Pride in membership Sahadev, 2008; Sager ,1990; Siguaw et al., 1994; Wren et al.,

• Sense of interdependence, identification with peers 2014).

• Extensive collegial network Many FMCG Companies in Sri Lanka followed a

• Pressure from peers to conform compensation model of low salary with a commission on

• Stresses collective rather than individual initiative, sales turnover during 1980s and early years of 1990s (Show

ownership Wallace, Darley Butler, Delmege Forsyth, Muller and

Phipps, BCC etc.) Even during the same period, most of the

The process of acculturation: multinational and some local FMCG Companies followed a

• Long, thorough socialization fixed incentive scheme as the variable compensation (Lever

• Superiors are mentors, role models, agents of Brothers, Nestle, Union Carbide, Maharajas, Upali etc.).

socialization Gradually the sales commission method disappeared and

• "Rich" normative structure governs wide range of almost all the leading FMCG companies adapted to a sales

behaviors incentive system fixed to the monthly sales targets. These

targets were mostly fixed on the sales turnover and

sometimes fixed to the volume or value of a certain product

INVENTING NEW COMPENSATION MODELS
category. In some cases it was a mix of the both. The

In the broader area of Employee Turnover, Cotton and important element is the reward system. Reward systems

Tuttle (1986) during their meta-analysis have selected are concerned with two major issues; how to evaluate the

possible correlates of staff turnover and are classified into 3 performances and how to reward them accordingly (Kerr

groups namely External factors, Structural or work-related and Slocum 1987).

factors and Personal characteristics of the employees. During the first decade of the new millennium, the

Cotton and Tuttle (1986) have studied 26 different factors companies allocated a 70% to 75% of the total earnable

and the final analysis in their model has proven that there is income of a sales representative into the incentive or

a strong correlation on 16 factors with employee turnover variable component. They maintained a somewhat low

towards the positive or negative direction. salary and encouraged sales force to deliver the numbers

A similar study has been conducted by Ghosh et al (2013) and earn more than double of their salary through

explaining the factors predicting employees intention to incentives. Most of the time, the incentives had scales and

stay. They have produced a very important summary of to earn that maximum incentive, the sales representatives

factors influencing employee retention based on the had to deliver well over 100% of the given monthly target.

research work done by many searchers in the past. The positive element of this method was that the company
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did not have a heavy fixed cost on maintaining the sales remedial actions with regard to the compensation. In order

force and their pay out was high only when the sales to emphasize the importance of doing a professional duty

representatives delivered the targets. by the sales force, companies did not want to compromise

However this system had a fundamental negative element on all qualitative measures lined to the incentive earnings.

when the focus of the company was only on the target If they scrapped that off, the message to the sales force

achievement of the sales person. Due to this, the focus of could have been only to sell at the expense of all other

the sales team was more skewed towards selling in to high important elements. Therefore most of the FMCG

volume outlets forgetting small outlets thus affecting the companies increased salaries to ensure the sales people

availability of the products. Also sometimes their focus on were getting a reasonable fixed income and continued the

market hygiene and merchandising was minimal and those penalties imposed on the incentive. As a result of the

two are extremely important in the success of FMCG increased salaries, the ratio between salary and incentives

business. The effect of this mistakes boomeranged on the came to a level of approximately 40:60 in general although

companies with high market returns of damaged and it is not the same when you look at some organizations.

expired products. Therefore the companies had to Madhani (2011) suggests a sales force compensation model

introduce penalty system for the sales representatives linked to the PLC (Product Life Cycle) of the products. This

linked to their incentive earnings. The penalties were is a valid framework since the efforts from the sales force

imposed on market returns, account receivables, varies at different stages of the product life cycle. However

distribution gaps etc. and it became an industry norm this cannot be practically implemented since most of the

within a very short period of time. As a result of this new FMCG companies in Sri Lanka who face the sales force turn

development, the total income of the sales representatives over problem market a basket of products. These products

was affected since now they had to juggle with many are at different stages of the PLC and therefore it is difficult

performance parameters simultaneously. It was no more a to come out with a simple incentive model. However, this

game of pushing stocks into the outlets without having could be a good idea for a new FMCG company enters into

much concern on the consequences. A good compensation the market with new range of products.

plan reduces the need for close monitoring of all the In general, the total pay increases with the sales volume

activities performed by the sales force (Coughlan and handled by the sales person, average industry salary,

Narasimham 1992). educational level and seniority with the company

As we discussed earlier, when many employment (Coughlan and Narasimham 1992). But the problem faced

opportunities were opening up during the post war period by the FMCG companies in Sri Lanka is finding innovative

in Sri Lanka, these correction methods adopted by the ways to attract sales front liners while protecting their

companies were noticed as barriers of earning the full members. Therefore they need to increase the fixed salary

income promised by the companies to the sales people. while offering an attractive incentive to retain them.

Sales force turnover slowly became a burning issue to the

entire industry and therefore the companies had to take

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MODELS IN ENGAGING SALES FORCE ON BUSINESS with those powerful customers and had the ability to

DECISIONS advise the marketing colleagues on the acceptability of

those new products to those trade channels. Even after

The level of employee engagement is positively related to
developing products, when the company wanted to
the business unit performances such as sales turnover,
communicate to the consumer using merchandising
productivity, loyalty and customer satisfaction (Harter, J.K.
materials, the company got the sales force involved since
et al., 2002). When the salesman perceives that he is an
they were the people who were using them in the market.
active participant in determining the company policies and
Their knowledge on how those materials could be used in
standards that affect him, he tends to be happier with those
the trade significantly contributed towards the success of
policies and standards as well as with the other members of
consumer communication. This situation motivated the
his firm who administer and implement them (Churchill,
sales team.
G.A. Jr., Ford, N.M., and Walker O.C., 1976)
MODELS IN DEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL
Until the Sri Lankan FMCG companies faced with the
COMMITMENT OF THE SALES PEOPLE
problem of high sales force turnover, a little or no attention

was paid in their new business development models to In the broader terms, the organizational commitment can

engage sales team. Most of the companies considered that be described as the bond between the employees and the

the members of the sales force should be kept outside of all organization. The employees who are committed towards

new business developments with the idea of that the the organization feel they are connected to the organization

products developed by the company should be consumer and their identity in the society also related to the

focused and therefore no need to have sales involvement. organization. Some say it is the employee’s psychological

And also they had the fear of leaking the information to the attachment to the organization. Since Normative

trade due to the close relationship the sales force Commitment is better understood as a pre-entry

maintained with the customers. commitment propensity, Affective commitment is the

psychological attachment to the organization such that the

This situation changed gradually when the FMCG industry
strongly committed individual identifies with, is
realized the value of the customers which in this case was
emotionally involved in, and feels a strong sense of
the trade. With the development of the Modern Trade
belonging to the organization (Ghosh and Swamy 2014).
(Supermarkets) and other chain outlets, the customer had a

say on the products they wanted to stock in their outlets. Salespeople who identify with and are involved in their

These new channels became popular amongst consumers organization presumably want to maintain membership in

claiming a sizable volume of the FMCG business and the organization and exert effort on its behalf (Mowday

therefore the companies could not ignore them any longer. R.T., Steers R.M., and Porter R.C., 1979). Thus, they are less

That paved the way for many organizations to get the sales likely to intend to leave the organization. This situation is

force involved more and more at the designing stage of the directly linked to the job satisfaction of the sales people.

new products. Because the sales force had the relationship Many research outcomes have indicated that in particularly
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in sales, the organizational commitment is affected from the usual customers patronizing their outlets. Still this

positively by job satisfaction (Johnston et al., 1990; Brown is being continued at a larger scale. When inquired from

and Peterson, 1993). Sales forces that derive pleasure from senior sales representatives in the FMCG organizations, it

their jobs are more likely to identify with and be involved was mentioned that the dealers didn’t show the same

in their organization. respect to those who did the same job but did not wear a

tie. Some of the dealers considered them as Salesmen from

The tools to develop overall organizational commitment of
small companies and did not show the same courtesy
the sales force depends on a wide spectrum of activities
displayed to the Sales Representatives from established
centered on that. But the focus of this study will limit the
organizations. However this situation was limited until the
findings on the above point on how the organizations
sales person was known and got familiar with the trade and
implemented certain measures to link the sales rep with the
developed their PR in the market. Therefore some FMCG
organization in the market place and society at large. Some
companies now influence their sales representatives to wear
of the multinational companies operated in Sri Lanka
Branded T-Shirts provided by the company during the
commenced this model many decades back by branding
work while a large number of companies have instructed to
their vehicles and providing shirts, ties, T-shirts with the
do that on a selected day of the week (Ex. Fridays etc.).
brands of the company embossed (Bristol, Gold Leaf,

Nespray, Maggi, Anchor etc.). During the decade after the ‘Sense of oneness’ is a point that has been identified by the

new millennium it was evident that many FMCG organizations as another important factor to develop

Companies started branding their sales trucks without organizational commitment of the employees (Brown and

considering whether it belonged to the distributor or the Peterson 1993, Churchill et al., 1976; Kilmann 1985).

company to leverage on the advertising value of the action. Therefore the FMCG companies in the current context have

This investment paved a way to improve the identity of the implemented many activities to thrive on this point. It was

sales person linked to the company. Identifying sales evident during the discussion had with organizations that

person linked to the organization is positively related to the many of them now maintain a direct and continues

organizational commitment (Wren et al., 2014; Sager 1990). dialogue with the members of the sales force regarding all

Even a new sales representative (or a senior sales rep taking achievement of the organization. It is no more limited only

over a new sales territory) did not have to use more efforts for sales administration and marketing instruction

to introduce themselves to the outlets. The moment they communications with the sales force. Whatever the

reached the shop or the market with the branded sales achievement the company attains, they are shared with the

truck, he was immediately identified as the sales sales force. It may be an achievement in international,

representative of the respective organization. national or regional level. It may be on quality, CSR, brand

related, customer or supplier related. All those positive

For many decades Sri Lanka has a tradition of sales
information are shared with the members of the sales force.
representatives wearing a tie despite the very hot weather
Sometimes Sales people will reach the head office once in 2
to help the outlet owners to differentiate and identify them
or 3 months from their sales territories far away in the
International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, Volume 8, Issue 5, May-2017
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distant parts of the country, but these communications keep fulfilling their requirement has been to identify sales

their organizational commitment at the peak since they too representatives of other companies in the area where the

take pride on these achievements of their organizations. vacancy exists using their Area/Regional Mangers and get

Now it is common to see that sometimes the members of them on board by offering a higher compensation package.

the sales force are invited to these award ceremonies and to Remuneration is a strong motivational factor for sales

appear in media along with others which is a display of the people’s turnover (Jaramillo et al. 2006; Johnson et al., 2000;

recognition of their role within the company. Mengiis, 1996; Purani and Sahadev , 2008; Sager ,1990;

Siguaw et al., 1994; Wren et al., 2014). Although they are

CONCLUSION
hired on desperation, this action has created some internal

Although sales people are physically detached from the conflicts since these new members come on board with a

company, they are also affected by the organizational higher package than some of the senior existing cadre. This

culture (Schwepker 1999; Purani and Sahadev 2008). Due to is a never ending process that leads to nowhere. Therefore

the physical detachment of the sales force from the it can be concluded that this is an area where researchers

Company especially in FMCG industry, it is somewhat can contribute to the FMCG industry in Sri Lanka for their

difficult to identify their satisfaction or frustration towards problem solving efforts by conducting further studies in

the organization. Therefore it can be accurately identified this area.

only by looking at the attrition levels and comparing them

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