TM

SELF-LEARNING MANAGEMENT SERIES

SALES
MANAGEMENT
ESSENTIALS
YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW

Ready reckoner on Sales management fundamentals and

their practical applications

VISHAL DESAI
Edited by Dr. James Ashton
Sales Management Essentials You
Always Wanted To Know
First Edition

© 2022, By Vibrant Publishers, USA. All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database
or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Paperback ISBN 10: 1-63651-074-4

Paperback ISBN 13: 978-1-63651-074-3

Ebook ISBN 10: 1-63651-075-2

Ebook ISBN 13: 978-1-63651-075-0

Hardback ISBN 10: 1-63651-076-0

Hardback ISBN 13: 978-1-63651-076-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021947361

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 SELF-LEARNING MANAGEMENT SERIES

PAPERBACK*
TITLE
ISBN

ACCOUNTING, FINANCE & ECONOMICS

COST ACCOUNTING AND
9781636511030
MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING ESSENTIALS 9781636510972

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511009

MACROECONOMICS ESSENTIALS 9781636511818

MICROECONOMICS ESSENTIALS 9781636511153

PERSONAL FINANCE ESSENTIALS 9781636511849

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & STRATEGY

BUSINESS PLAN ESSENTIALS 9781636511214

BUSINESS STRATEGY ESSENTIALS 9781949395778

ENTREPRENEURSHIP ESSENTIALS 9781636511603

GENERAL MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS LAW ESSENTIALS 9781636511702

DECISION MAKING ESSENTIALS 9781636510026

LEADERSHIP ESSENTIALS 9781636510316

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511542

TIME MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511665

*Also available in Hardback & Ebook formats
 SELF-LEARNING MANAGEMENT SERIES

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE ESSENTIALS 9781636511122

HR ANALYTICS ESSENTIALS 9781636510347

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781949395839

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR ESSENTIALS 9781636510378

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511481

MARKETING & SALES MANAGEMENT

DIGITAL MARKETING ESSENTIALS 9781949395747

MARKETING MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511788

SALES MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636510743

SERVICES MARKETING ESSENTIALS 9781636511733

OPERATIONS & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

AGILE ESSENTIALS 9781636510057

OPERATIONS & SUPPLY CHAIN

9781949395242
MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS

PROJECT MANAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636510712

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ESSENTIALS 9781636511511

*Also available in Hardback & Ebook formats
 About the Author
Vishal has two decades of formidable work
experience as Category and Business Head at
leading Indian movies and gaming
entertainment companies viz: Reliance ADAG’s
Zapak.com, Shemaroo Entertainment Limited,
and Milestone Interactive Group. He has worked
extensively in sales and marketing strategy,
brand and product management, and corporate strategy. His
expertise lies in launching new products with the right marketing mix
strategy and managing products through their entire life cycle. His
portfolio of brandsn launched while working at Indian licensee
companies includes Sony PlayStation One, Slumdog Millionaire,
Spiderman, WWE Raw, and several other entertainment franchises
across gaming and movie entertainment. He has been a speaker and
delegate at various conferences and seminars and has written articles
in leading print publications. He is passionate about quizzing and
management strategy games and has won the International Business
Simulation competition organized by Virginia Commonwealth
University. He also regularly organizes business quiz competitions
for students at Indian B-Schools. As a subject matter expert, he has
contributed towards the development of educational e-content for
Govt. Of India’s University Grants Commission. He teaches at media
and management institutes as a visiting faculty member. He is a
management graduate from NMIMS University, India.
Other contributors
We would like to thank our editor, Dr. James Ashton, for his
contribution to making this book the best version possible. Dr. James
Ashton is a dedicated higher education professional with more than
20 years of direct classroom (online and on-campus) experience
showing commitment to excellence in teaching. He is a multilingual
educator interested in improving the learning process and adapting
methods and styles to the individual needs of every student.
 What experts say about this book!
Vishal Desai provides a digestible introduction to complex sales and
management concepts. The topics in this book will give anyone,
at any level, a succinct overview of these sales and management
essentials along with helpful visual guides that can be used for teams
or for professional development.

– Michelle Bartonico,
Trinity University

This exciting book is a perfect teaching tool for sales management

courses or corporate training programs. Business professors,
instructors, sales managers, salesforce personnel, and students will
enjoy reading these exciting materials.

– Thomas Li-Ping Tang, Ph.D.,

Professor of Management,
Jennings A. Jones College of Business

The lucidity with which the book is written shows an industry

experience perspective of the third eye on the Sales Management
Cycle.

– Dr. C.N.Narayana,
Former Senior Professor & DG,
Kirloskar Institute and IIEBM
 What experts say about this book!
Vishal Desai’s straightforward style lends itself to insights and
pronouncements about how sales management and marketing
should be understood as the drivers of the success of any
organization. The cases and class assignments are a special bonus for
professors to use to help reinforce learning.

– Joseph Stasio,
Associate Professor of Marketing,
Merrimack College

This book succinctly is a step-by-step easy-to-implement learner’s

guide to understand sales in the dynamic context of business. The
best thing about this book is its lucid language, conceptual clarity, and
seamless flow.

– Prof Ujjwal K Chowdhury,

Strategic Advisor & Professor,
Daffodil International University

This is an amazing book for students, professors, and sales

professionals. It covers fundamental topics in a well-organized
manner, including cross-selling vs. up-selling, SKU, push vs. pull
strategy, sales channel strategies, and sales management in a post-
pandemic era. This book is an excellent guide for learning about sales.

– Dr. Eunyoung Jang,

Assistant Professor of Marketing,
Midwestern State University
 What experts say about this book!
The content matches the title very well--As a sales management
“essential,” the book is written in a very concise manner. I like that
the book embeds marketing channels in the discussion of sales
management. An interesting detail is that the book has a separate
chapter on the post-pandemic situation of sales.

– Dr. Jia Li,

Associate Professor of Marketing,
Wake Forest University
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 Table of Contents

1 Introduction to Sales Management 1

1.1 Definition of Sale and Sales Management 2
1.2 Selling v/s Marketing 3
1.3 Sales Management – Delivering Utility Value 6
Chapter Summary 15
Quiz 1 16
Class Activity 20

2 Sales Channels and Process 21

2.1 Business to Consumer (B2C) Channel 22
2.2 Direct to Consumer (D2C) Channel 31
2.3 Business to Business (B2B) Channel 34
2.4 Business to Government (B2G) Channel 39
2.5 Omni Channel Distribution 42
Chapter Summary 43
Quiz 2 44
Class Assignment 48
Case Study:
Tupperware in India 49

3 Ensuring Product Mix in the Channel 51

3.1 Product & Brand Matrix 52
3.2 Maintaining Ideal SKU Mix 55
Chapter Summary 59
Quiz 3 60
Field assignment 65
Case Study with a solution:
Optimizing Product, Brand, and SKU mix of an
online portal 66
4 Product Selling to Concept Selling 69
4.1 Shift from product selling to concept selling 70
4.2 Advantages of concept selling 76
Chapter Summary 78
Quiz 4 79
Case Study with a solution:
Apple’s conceptual selling of its ecosystem 82

5 Push v/s Pull Strategy 85

5.1 Push Strategy 86
5.2 Pull Strategy 87
5.3 Difference between Push and Pull Strategies 88
5.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of Push and
Pull Strategies 92
Chapter Summary 94
Quiz 5 95
Case Study:
Push and Pull Strategies in the pharmaceutical industry 98
Class Assignment 100

6 Cross-Selling, Up-selling, Value-Added Selling 101

6.1 Cross-Selling 102
6.2 Up-Selling 105
6.3 Value-Added Selling 109
Chapter Summary 113
Quiz 6 114
Case Study:
Analyzing Cross-Selling Trends 118
Off-Class Assignment:
Analyzing Cross-Selling Trends 120
7 Channel Conflict: Reasons to Resolution 121
7.1 Channel Conflict 122
7.2 Causes of Channel Conflict 123
7.3 Types of Channel Conflict 128
7.4 Consequences of Channel Conflict 130
7.5 Conflict Resolution Tools 131
7.6 Conflict Management Styles 133
Chapter Summary 137
Quiz 7 138
Role Play Activity 142
Case Discussion with a solution:
Dealer Brands - Conflict of Interest 143
Case Study with a solution:
Producer-multiplex revenue sharing talks failed 145

8 Managing Key Accounts 149

8.1 Concept of Key Accounts Management 150
8.2 Managing Key Accounts Effectively 151
8.3 How to Choose Key Accounts 153
8.4 Stages of Key Accounts Management 154
8.5 Advantages and Challenges of KAM 156
Chapter Summary 159
Quiz 8 160
Case Study with a solution:
Key Account Management: The Next Level 164

9 Sales Promotions 169

9.1 Consumer Promotions 170
9.2 Trade Promotions 178
Chapter Summary 181
Quiz 9 182
Case Study:
Lay’s Sales Promotion: ‘Do me a flavor’ 185
10 Sales Force Management 187
10.1 Importance of Sales Force Management 188
10.2 Components of Sales Force Management 189
10.3 Benefits of Sales Force Management 200
Chapter Summary 201
Quiz 10 202
Case Study with a solution:
SalesForce Performance Evaluation 205
Class Assignment with a solution:
Salesforce Performance Evaluation 207

11 Sales Management Post-Pandemic 209

Chapter Summary 213

Glossary 215
I wish to express my gratitude to Vibrant Publishers for giving me
an opportunity to pen this book. Special thanks to my wife Kajal, son
Vansh and well-wishers for encouraging me to start my journey as an
author.

– Vishal Desai
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 Preface
Sales and Marketing as organizational functions are often referred
to interchangeably. However, marketing is all about identifying
and creating value for the consumers, whereas sales is essentially
about delivering value to the consumers in return for a price. At the
same time, sales management involves many sub-activities, making
it a specialized function within an organization that holds as much
importance as marketing.

‘Sales Management Essentials You Always Wanted to Know’ is

a book that explains all the facets of sales in a detailed and lucid
manner. It is a ready reckoner that spares one the effort of reading
through a traditional and voluminous textbook. It has been specially
designed and written for young executives, graduate students,
and entrepreneurs who wish to enhance their understanding and
knowledge of sales management. The book will also help the teaching
fraternity and industry professionals who teach sales and marketing
management courses at B-schools. The book contains relevant
examples, cases, quizzes, and class assignments, thus enhancing the
teaching experience.
This page is intentionally left blank
 Introduction to the book
Sales function acts as the bridge between an organization and the
final consumers it intends to serve through its market offering. Sales
is where most of the action in a business lies because it is a crucial
revenue-generating function. Sales management is critical to meet
the challenges of increasing competition levels in the marketplace.
Effective sales management helps an organization optimize results
from its sales channel management and sales force management and
achieve the organization’s sales objectives. It is thus imperative for
one to be familiar with various aspects of sales management.
This book deals with all the essentials of sales management,
which are required to make decisions about sales channels, selling
techniques, distribution strategy, sales promotion tools, and sales
force management to achieve the desired sales objectives.

By the end of the book, you will be able to:

● Get a complete understanding of the concepts and

approaches required for effective decision-making in sales
management

● Implement various sales strategies to maximize sales

revenue in today’s competitive marketplace

● Understand how to select, manage and evaluate the sales

channel members

● Appreciate the importance of sales force management and

managing the sales force effectively

● Learn various sales promotion tools to increase the sales

revenue of the organization

● Understand how to handle conflict situations in sales

management
This page is intentionally left blank
 Who can benefit from the book?
● Faculty members, professors, and students of marketing/
business/sales management courses

● Entrepreneurs who wish to enhance their knowledge about

sales management practices for the growth of their business

● Working professionals like sales managers and marketing

managers who may wish to learn about sales management
concepts that they can practice during their career

How to use this book?

This book can be used as a ready reckoner or a handy guide on Sales
and Distribution Management.

● It is suggested to read the chapters in chronological order.

● Readers should use the case studies, case discussions, class

assignments which are given at the end of each chapter to
reinforce the concepts mentioned in the book

● PowerPoint presentations made available with the book can

be used as teaching aids during the class
This page is intentionally left blank
Chapter 1

Introduction to Sales
Management

T his chapter familiarizes the reader with sales

management and the set of activities that form a
part of this function. The chapter provides an overview of
the relative importance of sales functions in an organization
and establishes the specialized role of the sales team in
achieving the revenue generation goals of an organization.
The chapter states the definitions of selling, marketing,
and sales management. It outlines the importance of sales
as a provider of utility to the consumers and explains
how sales management delivers the value created by the
marketing process to the customers. It also makes note of the
difference between selling and marketing functions within an
organization.

Key learning objectives of this chapter include the reader’s

understanding of the following:

● The nature and concerns of sales management in an

organization

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2 Sales Management Essentials You Always Wanted To Know

● How sales management adds value for both the

consumers and the organization

● The difference between sales and marketing functions

in terms of their focus areas

● How sales management generates utility for the

consumers

1.1 Definition of Sale and Sales Management

A ‘Sale’ can be explained as a transaction that involves the

transfer of possession and ownership of tangible goods from
the seller to the buyer and /or performance of a particular set of
activities or services by the seller for the benefit of the buyer in
return for a consideration from the buyer. As per Investopedia.
com, ‘A sale is a transaction between two or more parties in which
the buyer receives tangible or intangible goods, services, or assets
in exchange for money or other assets are paid to a seller.’1

Sales management, on the other hand, is defined as planning

and executing all tasks concerned with selling, selling techniques,
sales force management, and distribution of goods and services.

According to the Marketing Accountability Standards Board

(MASB), Sales Management is defined as: “The planning,
direction, and control of professional selling including recruiting,
selecting, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying and
motivating as these tasks apply to the sales force.”2

1. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sale.asp
2. The Common Language Marketing Dictionary, MASB, ©2020, https://marketing-
dictionary.org/s/sales-management/
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Introduction to Sales Management 3

Sales is the only function in an organization that directly

generates revenue or income for a company and hence it needs
to be adequately managed. The financial results of a company
depend upon the performance of the sales department. Sales
operations of an organization depend on the sales strategy adopted
by the organization. Optimal sales management is achieved when
the sales analysis or desired sales results are aligned with the sales
strategy and sales operations (see Figure 1.1).

Figure 1.1 Optimal Sales Management

Source: The Investors Book, Prachi M, July 27, 2019, https://theinvestorsbook.com/

sales-management.html

1.2 Selling v/s Marketing

Selling and Marketing are so closely interwoven with

each other that one can often not identify the differences
between both functions. In fact, in lean organizations, the
same team typically performs both sales and marketing tasks.
Marketing and Selling are both aimed at increasing revenue.
However, marketing is different from selling, and as an
organization grows, the roles and responsibilities of sales and
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4 Sales Management Essentials You Always Wanted To Know

marketing teams become more specialized. The differences

between marketing and sales functions are outlined in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Differences between Marketing and Selling

Marketing Selling

Focus • identifying needs of the • delivering the solution

consumers to the consumers in the
• finding a solution to most effective manner
meet those needs
• communicating the
solution to them
• offering the solution to
them

Objective • build long term • match market demand

customer loyalty for the solution
• customer relationship • maximize sales revenue
management
• ensure lifetime
customer value

Scope of • market and competition • manage sales &

activities analysis distribution channels
• pricing strategies • penetrate existing
• integrated marketing markets and develop
communication new markets
• managing product life • sales force management
cycle • increase market share
• brand management • demand forecasting
• capturing the mindshare
of the consumer

Horizon Long term, with the Short to medium term

objective of capturing to match supply with
customer lifetime value demand and achieve sales
targets

Identity Construction of a Meeting demand in an

brand identity that gets opportunistic manner
associated with a particular driven by human
need fulfillment interaction

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Introduction to Sales Management 5

Thus, the goal of marketing is to generate interest and demand

for a product through the following activities:

● Market research to identify the needs of the customers

● Product development to design solutions to meet those needs

● Advertising the solutions to create awareness and build the

brand

● Capturing customer lifetime value to maximize long-term

revenue

On the other hand, selling involves directly interacting with the

prospects or customers to persuade them to purchase the product.
Hence, sales activities are directed towards converting market
demand into sales revenue and increasing market share. The set of
activities that constitutes sales management are as follows:

● Appointing sales channel partners to extend the company’s

reach for its products and deciding their trade margins,
target incentives, etc., while monitoring their performance

● Developing new markets and increasing penetration for

products in existing markets

● Managing the sales force, which includes recruitment,

training, monitoring, and evaluating its performance

● Implementing trade promotional activities to incentivize

the trade intermediaries to buy the company’s products

● Protecting existing market share from the competitors and

further increasing the market share

Marketing, thus, tends to focus on the general population (or a

large set of people), whereas selling tends to focus on individuals
or a group of prospects.

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6 Sales Management Essentials You Always Wanted To Know

The selling concept focuses on moving the existing products

that an organization produces from their source of origin to
the end consumers. The end objective of the selling concept is
to generate maximum profits by selling large volumes of the
products manufactured by the organization.

The marketing concept, on the other hand, focuses more on

identifying consumers’ needs and generating profits by satisfying
those needs. The differences between both concepts are explained
in Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.2 Selling Concept v/s Marketing Concept

Starting Focus Means Ends

point
Selling
The selling Existing Profits through
Factory and
concept products sales volume
promoting

The Profits through

Customer Integrated
marketing Market customer
needs marketing
concept satisfaction

Source: https://qsstudy.com/business-studies/contrast-between-selling-concept-and-
marketing-concept

1.3 Sales Management – Delivering Utility Value

Another way to look at Sales Management is that it delivers

utility value to the consumers. Utility refers to the usefulness
that consumers experience from a product. It is imperative to
understand that consumers seek a set of utilities from the products

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Introduction to Sales Management 7

and services they buy. Thus, selling should necessarily involve

adding value to a product by providing the following utilities to
the consumers (see Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.3 Economic utilities sought by a consumer

Form

Economic
Possession Time
Utilities

Place

1.3.1 Form Utility

Consumers generally look for products in a ready-to-consume

state to avoid spending further efforts, time, and money to
consume the products. Form utility involves the transformation
of raw materials into finished goods. Companies process raw
material components, chemicals, or elements to develop a finished
product offered to the consumer to meet their specific needs.
Many attributes define the form utility of a product. Some of
these attributes are shape, size, weight, packaging, and technical
specifications. Consumers evaluate the form utility of the products
they plan to buy. The higher the form utility of the product, the
higher is the price a person may be ready to pay for the product.

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8 Sales Management Essentials You Always Wanted To Know

Example:

i. A consumer who is out to buy a personal desktop computer

will have two buying options. One is to buy a ready-to-
use computer or buy a kit containing different computer
parts and then assemble them to make the computer. The
consumer is most likely to pay a higher price for the former
offering as it has more form utility than the latter.

1.3.2 Time Utility

Time utility is created when a company makes it possible for

consumers to buy a product or get it delivered at times that are
more convenient or preferred. Time utility also involves deciding
the hours and days of the week a company might choose to make
its services available. Online purchasing is the most relevant
example in which consumers choose the most favorable time slot
for receiving or collecting the goods purchased by them. Another
example is a pharmacy or a duty-free shop at an airport that is
open 24 hours a day to cater to the passengers who may arrive or
depart at any time of the day. Time utility might also include 24-
hour customer service support through a toll-free phone number
or a website chat function. Companies analyze how to maximize
their products’ time utility and plan the production process,
logistics, warehousing, and delivery arrangements accordingly.

Examples:

i. Most e-commerce portals like Amazon.com offer customers

a choice of delivery speed and time slots to deliver goods
they have ordered. The customers can choose the time slot
which is the most convenient for them.

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