MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF COMMERCE
DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING
NAME
NYCON MSINAHAMA
REG NUMBER
R11277N
LEVEL
2.1
MODULE
SALES AND MARKET FORECASTING
MODULE CODE
MM 202
LECTURER
MISS NGWENYA
Assignment Question:
With aid of examples discuss how Micro and Macro environmental factors have
affected sales force management from 2000 to date in Zimbabwe
Sales force management involves implementation of sales strategy through selecting,
training, motivating and supporting the sales force and setting sales revenue targets.
(Outline). This sales force management is studied under sales management which (sales
management) involves any of the following activities. The first one is of formulation of sales
strategy through development of account, management policies, sales force compensation
policies, sales revenue forecast and sales plan. Secondly it involves implementation of sales
strategy through selecting, training, motivating and supporting the sales force, setting sales
revenue targets and thirdly sales force management through development and implementation
of sales performance, monitoring and evaluation methods and analysis of associated
behavioural patterns and costs. According to Ramaswamy and Namakumari (2002:574)
define sales management as a sub-systems of marketing management, translates the
marketing plan into marketing performance.2marks
In Zimbabwe, from 2000 to date sales force management has been affected by many different
factors.
These factors included the micro-environmental and the macro-environmental
factors. All these two factors affected the management of sales force either negatively or
positively.
To begin with, micro environmental factors can also be called internal factors which refers to
the forces close to the company that affects its ability to serve its customers. These microenvironmental factors include the competitors, shareholders, managers, employees, suppliers,
financial position, revenue and media.1mark
The competitors affect the sales force management in many ways. In Zimbabwe there have
been many organisations of one industry from 2000 which were coming into being, for
example in funeral policy industry there are many of them emerging.
These include,
Nyaradzo Funeral Policy, Ruvimbo Funeral Policy, Doves, Moonlight Funeral Policy and
many others. If one funeral policy is not doing well in terms of competitive advantages, the
salesmen can switch onto another company. If one funeral policy has no good working
condition, motivating conditions the sales manager will be left with no sales person after they
(salesman) move to another funeral policy with better conditions.2marks
The system of competition can also be seen in insurance companies. Many of them have
mushroomed in Zimbabwe from 2000 to date. The sales people or the sales representatives
can go to another insurance company if the formeris not performing well or if the
management is not ok. Therefore the sales force management if affected negatively as the
sales manager will always be faced with the situation of training new sales representatives
after a short period of time.
The second microenvironment factor which affects the sales management is the management.
The sales management must always in good books with the management of the company.
For the sales process to be achieved, there must be a plan, objectives well set by the sales
managers supported by the manager of the organisation. As there is also budget to be set for
personal selling process plan, the sales manager must not be afraid of consulting the
management as well as the accounts department. There are expenses incurred in sales force
management especially the travelling expenses incurred when the sales force team is on the
work filed. For the smooth implementation of the sales process plan the management should
be supportive. These help the sales team to be motivated as well. They can go to the field
doing the work as required to produce quality service which in turn will make the
organisation to earn profit, high turnover.
The third micro-environmental factors are the suppliers.
The suppliers contributes raw
materials for the organisation. The organisation must be in good relations with their suppliers
such that, they do provide the organisation with good quality materials. Also the suppliers
will always supply the organisation with materials in time.
From 2000 to 2005 most
companies were at this time supplied with what they wanted in time and good quality
material. But it was different from 2005 to 2008 when the country was in hyperinflation.
There were few suppliers for many organisations. At this time suppliers were charging high
price for their materials because they knew that the organisation had no option. At this stage
many companies had to employ few sales representatives.2marks
Companies were not
making profits at this hyperinflation period. The sales manager was left with no option
expect employing unskilled sales force.
The fourth micro-environmental factors is the customers.
From the year 2000 to date
customers preferences in Zimbabwe was changing. People were having different tastes time
and again. This was due to the fact that people were now quality sensitive instead of just
needing a product. At this stage sales manager could face problems in setting the sales
territories, or sales targets. 2marks The sales managers might assume that the consumers
might need their product which they are selling yet they are no longer interested in their
product. This is due to the consumer behaviour which changes with time.
However from 2009 to date, the sales manager? able to forecast the sales well as the
customers would be in need of the products. This is due to the fact that the disposable
income from 2009 to date is now ok. The sales manager could manage the key customers
well. He would know that his / her customers are always available. The fifth microenvironmental factor is the financial position of the organisation. Many organisation were
having high market share from 2000 to 2005. These market shares started to decrease from
2006 to 2008. The reduction of the market share contributed to the reduction of the profit for
the business as well. This was having a negative impact to the sales force management. The
sales force manager could not budget well for his campaign. There was no money for
compensation of the sales force. This made the sales team not to perform well when they
were doing their work as they were not motivated at all1mark. As it is the norm of every
organisation to earn or generate profit, but if the organisation is making loss no sales
representative would want to work for that company. Therefore the financial aspect of a
business is very important in sales force management of the sales manager will be assured
that whatever campaign he want to do will be done because of the availability of cash in the
company.
As with the situation from 2009 to date sales managers is well assured that the organisation
will always be supportive in every campaign because the economy is well? in Zimbabwe
nowadays.
The sales force management is also affected by the macro-environmental factors in
Zimbabwe from 2000 to date. There are factors which the organisation cannot control.
These factors include the following:- political factors, economic factors, socio-cultural
factors, technology, ecological or natural factors and the legal environmental factors. These
factors affected the sales force management in many different ways.1mark
The first macro-environmental factor is the political factor. Politics in Zimbabwe from 2000
to date affected a lot in the management of the sales force in many companies. The political
situation in Zimbabwe was not stable from 2000 after the presidential elections. Many
companies retrenched workers at this time, foreign investors were no longer investing in
Zimbabwe. Some foreign countries were talking something negative about Zimbabwe. This
made companies to withdraw their money and run away from Zimbabwe after the Land
Acquisition Act was in force. Some of the white farmers who had their business in our
country ran away.1mark
The situation made sales control and sales coordination difficult.
The personal selling
objectives of the executing could not be achieved. Because of this instability of politics the
sales manager could not control sales and ensure that the sales are properly aligned with the
goals of the firm. The sales manager could not execute the programmes as was no longer
knowing whether the territory which he/she might be knowing still existing or political
instability changed it. The politics also have the negative implications that people will not
have work to earn income. Therefore the territory known or the customer known to the
companies might not have the money to buy the newly introduced products or the products of
the company.2marks
The situation changed due to the introduction of the Government of National Unity. The
investors are now seeing that the political situation in Zimbabwe is now stable. This is now
affecting sales force management positively. The businesses are boosting, the economy of
Zimbabwe is growing. This is making the sales representative to be assured that when they
go to the field they are going to have customers. The sales control and sales coordination is
now achieved properly.
Also the sale goals of the business can be achieved without
hassles.The sales force can be trained now because of the availability of the resources. The
sales manager can believe that performance of the people can now be improved through
training. The sales manager will be assured that if he/she train the sale force will be assured
that they will not go anywhere as the economy is growing because of the Government of
National Unity.2marks
The second macro-environmental factor is the economy. From 2000 to 2008, the economy of
Zimbabwe was low. It was deteriorating from 2000 to 2008. The sales force management
was affected negatively at this point in time. Sales manager could not motivate his/her sales
force with good remuneration. This made the sales force not to perform well on their fields.
This made the companies incur losses. This was a continuous process as it will again make
the sale force not to have salaries in time or at all. This situation was seen in Zimbabwe from
2000 to 2006 and worsened in 2006 to 2008 because of the hyperinflation.
At this
hyperinflation there could be no sales force compensation at all and also was no any
travelling compensation. This situation demotivated the sales force. The sales force was then
switching on to other companies which were offering better compensation plan.
However from 2009 to date the economy is now on a growing path. The economy is
expecting to grow by 9.4% this year of 2012 from the projected 9,3% for 2011. This
economic growth is allowing the sales manager to train the sales force team, compensation is
now available as well as the commission.
This in turn will make the sale force to be motivated which will make them to perform well to
have high quality product and service. This economic boom is also making the territories for
each and every sales men to be many. This turn will make the organisation to have profit
maximisation because of the high market share.
Still in economic situation in Zimbabwe from 2000 to date inflation can also impose the
negative and also the positive impact to the business. From the following table one can
simply tell what actually was the situation to the sales manager and his / her team.2marks
ZIMBABWE INFLATION RATE
Date
Rate
2000
55,22%
2001
112,1%
2002
198,93%
2003
598,75%
2004
134,75%
2005
585,84%
2006
1 281,11%
2008
231,150,888,87%
From the above table one can view what the inflation was in Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2008.
This situation was having a negative situation to the implementation of the sales force’s
programme. If the territory might be existing today, tomorrow will not be available as the
price of goods were going high everyday. It was also a problem to the organisation. There
was no cash to buy raw materials for the business to keep on operating. The professional
sales people were migrating to the green pastures like Europe and South Africa. These sales
managers were left with no option but resorting to employ unskilled sales force which will in
turn be a cost to the organisation after they fail to deliver. The customer will not come after
they contact the sales personnel who is unskilled. This situation made lot of companies to
close down as they were making loss.
However from 2009 to date the inflation rate is now low.At this 2012 January the inflation
rate is between 4,5% and 5%. The inflation rates as from 2009 are lucrative. The sales
manager can now predict the sales without fearing the changing of the price in short period of
time. The sales manager can now buy the state of the art machines to help the sales force in
monitoring sales coordinating customers, and also contacting their customers, and also
contacting their customer. It also allows the organisation as a whole to generate profits
because of this stable situation in Zimbabwe.
In economic situational factors the interests rates also affects the sales force management.
Interest rates from 2000 to date are always high. It is 25% now. Credit lines are scare and
more expensive than before due to persistent liquidity shortages resulting from perceived
risk, limited externalities of credit and limited access to the lender of the last resort.
This will have the negative impact to both the organisations and customers. The organisation
like Banks will not borrow much money from the RBZ because of this high interest rates.
Because of this the banks will make the customers suffer because of the high lending interest
rates. This will reduce the money supply which is the money in circulation. For the business
to be run at profit, money must be available. The high rates are having the negative impacts
to the sales force management.
The economic situation of exchange rates also affected the sales force management. From
2000 to 2008 the exchange rate was not favourable to the Zimbabweans. Much Zimbabwean
dollars could buy few rands in 2000 to 2008. People and most of the organisations were
importing their raw materials from abroad. Therefore it was difficulty for these companies to
survive. For example if the company had employed the high number of sales force, they
were forced to retrench because of this situation of shortage of resources. The sales managers
were being faced with many problems when their company is relying on importing the
resources.2marks
The third macro – environmental factors which affects the sales force management is the
technological factors. From 2000 to date this factor has contributed a lot for the sales force
management. From 2000 to 2008 there was decrease in usage of technology due to the
economic challenges at this period. However from 2000 to date every business is using
technologies in one way or the other. These technologies range from computers, electronics,
smart phones, automation,
The technology brings the sales force management system. These are information system
used in customer relationship marketing and management that help automate systems used in
customer relationship. Marketing and management that help automate system also sales and
sales functions. Sales force automation involves using software to streamline all phases of
the sales force, minimising time that sales representative need to spend on each phase. This
allows a business to use fewer sales representatives to manage their clients. This system is
also called sales automation system. This is the system that automatically records all the
stages in a sales process. It is a contact management system which tracks all contacts that has
been made with a given customers. This system also includes sales lead tracking system,
which list potential customers through paid phone lists, or customer of related products.
The other elements of sales force automation includes sales forecasting, order management
and product knowledge.The more developed sales force automation system hasfeatures where
customers can actually model the product to meet their needs through online productsbuilding
system. The system is becoming more popular in Zimbabwe in automobile industry where
patrons can customisevariousfeatures such as colour and interior features. This system helps
in sales communication and also in sale reports processing.
The second technological introduction is of mobile sales force automation application.The
growth of smart phones has reignited the creation of mobile sales force automation system.
Most IT companies, departments are aware that adopting new abilities require extensive
testing. Despite the time needed to test such a new product, it will pay-off in future for the
sales department smart phones department. Smart phones appeal to sales people, apart of a
company’s department that is extremely resistant to technologies.
Smart phone are easy to carry and easy to use, great interface design, touch screen and fast
wireless network abilities like 4G and 3G phones. Smart phones platforms such as Apples
105 and Googles Android, point to a future of increasing diversity in device selecting and
support for sales force.
In strategic advantages sales force automation system can also create competitive advantage.
Productivity can increase, sales staff can use their time more efficiently and effectively, it can
also reduce costs, increase revenue market share field sales staff can send their information
more often. Information can be sent to management after each sales call rather than daily or
weekly.
It can provide management with current information which they can use while it is more
available. Management response time can be greatly reduced, company become more alert
and agile. Jordan, (2009).2marks
Another technologies used in sales force management is the social media sites like Twitter,
Linkedin and Facebook are amplifying the voice of people in the market place and are having
profound and far reaching effect on the ways in which people buy. Customers can now
research companies on line and then ask for recommendation through social media channels,
making their buying decision without contacting company. This reduce costs and time in
sales force management in Zimbabwean companies. People also use it to share opinions and
experience on company, product and service.
Another advantageous beneficial technology for the sales force management is the
computers. The computers help in securing the sales force data from loss. The data is
secured hat no one can access it from the computer if no password is known. There is also
the Cloud computing facility in computers. This is a model which lets one easily deploy a
call center solution without a huge investment in software or hardware.
The computers have also the facility which is called the sales force chatter contact center.
Sales force chatter brings employees social networks to contact center. The sales manager’s
team can exchange information about cases and knowledge articles and follow any sales
force records or customer objects.
When the record is changed the update is posted
automatically.
Every record has its own chatter feed, everyone following that record
automatically post commences or updates.
The computers helps sales force management client applications that access one’s
organisation’s sales force data are subject for the same security protection that are used in the
sales user interface.
The other technological macro-environmentalfactor which helps sales force management in
Zimbabwe from 2000 to date is the introduction of electronics in businesses.
In electronics there is a facilitycalled Quote werks- the market leading sales quoting solution.
Here instead of using word and excel and spending valuable time creating a quote or proposal
for your customer Quote Werks automate one’s sales process by:(a) Manage your product and service
(b) Automatically create / update sales opportunities
(c) Create professional looking quote / proposals
(d) Retrieve your customer information
(e) Export orders into your accounting software
(f) Deliver interactive quotes with ability to electronically sign
The sales force management is affected positively or negatively by the microenvironmentalfactors and macro – environmental factors. But as this is the meeting or the
bridge between the organisation and the customer the sales manager must always be
recruiting the skilled staff, training and motivating the sales force accordingly such that they
will deliver the quality service hence the profit maximisation of the organisation due to the
high market share.2marks
Bibliography
1. Baker J. (1999) The Marketing Book : Fourth Edition Chartered Institute Of
Marketing Printed , Great Britain By Bath Press
2. Churchill , J Gibert A. Ford N.M ,Oville C, Walker , Jr (1997) Sales
Force
Management , Irwin Book Team . United States Of America .
3. Philip Kotler.(1991) Marketing
Management : Prentice Hall International
3rd
Editions .
4. Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong (2004) Principles of Marketing 13th Edition. Prentice
Hall. New Delhi
5. htt://en.wikipedia.rrg/wiki/salesmangemnetsystems date 2marks
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