NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
I. COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE
MRKT 701 - Sales Force Management
II. FACULTY
Dr. Abram Poczter
Mailing Address:
New York Institute of Technology
School of Management
324 Wisser Library
Old Westbury, NY 11568
Tel: (516) 686-7708 (Voice-mail Box, O.W.)
(212) 261-1595 (Office, Metro)
Fax: (516) 484-8328
E-mail: apoczter@iris.nyit.edu
Office hours:
Tuesday/Thursday – 11:00-1:00pm @ 324 Wisser Library, O.W
Tuesday – 4:45-5:45pm – @ Manhattan Campus
Wednesday -- 4:45-5:45pm @ 324 Wisser Library, O.W.,
and by appointment.
III. COURSE OBJECTIVES
The course is designed to provide the student with an
integrated framework useful for understanding the role
and uses of personal selling within the context of promotional
mix and marketing strategy.
The primary emphasis will be on techniques and methodologies of
general management as applied to the managing a sales function
in an organization. Secondary emphasis will be on the process of
personal selling within the context of communication/persuasion
processes.
A successful completion of the course should enable the student
to understand activities and problems of first line field sales
force managers and significantly contribute to the process of
development and implementation of the major components of
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IV.
personal selling strategy, such as:
* Account and Territory Management
* Recruiting, Training, Leading, Motivating, Evaluating and
Controlling Sales Force
COURSE ACTIVITIES AND REQUIREMENTS
A. Class Preparation and Participation Activities:
Required readings must be prepared prior to the Session
they are assigned for, to facilitate class discussion.
Lectures are based on the material contained in the text,
as well as the instructor's own research and readings.
Furthermore, students are strongly encouraged to identify
and analyze any relevant outside material and bring it to
the attention of the class.
B. Written Activities:
1. TERM PAPER
Outline and sources must be approved prior to the date of the
Midterm Examination. In case of the Research Log option, titles
and reference (source) must be provided prior to the Midterm
date.
In search for a topic consider:
a. Description and analysis of a personal selling strategy of
a firm.
Remember, personal selling strategy is a component of a
marketing strategy, thus, the paper should include a brief
description of the latter.
It is a good idea to write on a company you work for. It gives
you an exposure as a dedicated employee and a bright graduate
student of business. It puts you in touch with the "right"
people.
b. Any other topic of importance, in the area of sales force
management:
For example:
1. Methods for Sales Territory Design
2. Mathematical Models for allocation of sales effort
3. Sales Force Compensation plans
4. Psychological Aspects of Personal Selling
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5. ETC
It is very important to discuss the topic with the instructor,
as soon as possible.
Following is a partial list of sources you may wish to consult:
*Business Horizons
*California Management Review
*Harvard Business Review
*Industrial Marketing Management
*Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
*Journal of Consumer Behavior
*Journal of Consumer Behavior Research
*Journal of Marketing
*Journal of Marketing Research
*Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management
*Sales & Marketing Management
*Daily and Weekly business press (Use for Extra Credit
Reports and Term Paper. NOT APPLICABLE for Research Log)
Furthermore:
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Integrate into your term paper as much of the course material as
possible
Double space the text
Footnotes or Endnotes are acceptable
The length is optional, as long as it is between 25 and 30 pages
Plagiarism of any sort will result in Failure (F Grade) in the
course (not just the paper).
OR
1a. RESERACH LOG
The term paper requirement may be satisfied by an alternative, namely,
RESEARCH LOG.
During the course of the semester students will compile
a research log, consisting of 10 (TEN) units. Each unit,
in turn, is a synopsis and analysis of a significant sales
management paper. Of import of course, is the evaluation
part of the research log, where basically the contribution
of the article to the sales management field is discussed,
using the concepts presented in the class lectures/discussions
and the textbook.
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Student will submit the titles of the selected articles for
acceptance. It is advisable to submit a draft of the first unit
as soon as possible, to make sure we are on the same wave-length.
Each unit of the research log will contain the following
 Heading:
Course number and section
Student name
Social Security
Unit number and Author(s) name(s), Title of the article, Source.
 Synopsis
 Analysis
Finally, a photo-copy of the articles must accompany the research
log.
Following is a partial list of periodicals to research
for the term paper and the research log:
*Business Publications Index in NYIT and other Libraries
(Reference Desk)
*Business Horizons
*California Management Review
*Harvard Business Review
*Industrial Marketing Management
*Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
*Journal of Consumer Behavior
*Journal of Consumer Behavior Research
*Journal of Marketing
*Journal of Marketing Research
*Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management
Deadline for submission of the Research Log is the date of the Final Exam
Papers/Logs submitted after that date will be graded one level below the
actual worth.
2. EXAMINATIONS:
There will be four (4) in-class examinations: Quiz #1, Midterm
Quiz #2, and a Comprehensive Final.
All exams are multiple choice with an option to qualify any
number of answers. In other words, if you understand a given
question, however, none of the alternatives provided seem to
be satisfactory, you may, after selecting the best alternative,
further clarify your answer in a short essay.
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EXTRA CREDIT REPORTS. During the course, there will be ample
opportunities for finding relevance of the course material to
articles you read in the business press. Those employed in a
sales function are encouraged to use their experiences.
Extra credit report is a short (1 to 2 typewritten pages)
summary of such an article/experience, using the vernacular
developed in the course.
Underline the key concepts DISCUSSED IN CLASS and used in
the analysis.
Submit a copy of the original article on which the extra
credit report was based.
Suggested sources for Extra Credit reports:
*Business Marketing
*Business Week
*Forbes
*Fortune
*New York Times (I am not kidding)
*Sales Management and Marketing
*Wall Street Journal
The extra credit work will be graded between 0% and 3% (Max),
and added to the Midterm score, if submitted on the day of
Midterm, or the Final Exam score, if submitted on the day of
the Final Exam.
No extra-credit report will be accepted after the date of the
Final Exam.
Again, it is advisable to submit a speciment of the extra-credit
work as soon as possible.
2a. Review of the Quiz and the Exams:
The Midterm and Final examinations will contain some of the questions asked on the preceding
exams. Thus, students are strongly encouraged to review their exams during office hours. Of
course, students who missed a particular exam will not be allowed to review.
C. Attendance and Make-ups:
Students with more than three (3) unexcused absences will be withdrawn from
the course by the Instructor.
There will be no make-ups for the missed Quizzes. The weigh of the missed Quiz
will shift to the following exam. Under extenuating circumstances only, a make
up will be given for the Midterm and Final examinations, at the convenience of
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the Instructor.
C. GRADING CRITERIA:
Quiz #1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10%
Midterm . . . . . . . . . . . . .20%
Research Log . . . . . . . . .30%
Quiz #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . .10%
Final Exam (Comp). . . . .30%
V. TEXTBOOK AND OTHER MATERIALS
A. Required Textbook:
Dalrymple, Douglas and William Cron. Sales Management: Concepts and Cases.
1995, Wiley
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VI. COURSE OUTLINE AND ASSIGNMENTS
WEEK
TOPIC/ASSIGNMENT
OVERVIEW OF MARKETING AND PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY
A. Session Objectives:
1. To review the building blocks of Marketing Strategy
2. To acquire an understanding of the role of personal sales strategy within the
confines of the promotional and marketing strategy
B. Discussion Topics:
1. Marketing concept of business
2. External forces: environmental threats and opportunities
3. Marketing Strategy
4. Market Segmentation, Product Differentiation, Market
Positioning
5. Marketing Mix, Promotional Mix and role of Personal
Selling
6. Basic types of Selling and selling processes
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7. Elements of Account and Territory Management as related
to segmentation
C. Reading Assignment: T: Chpts; 1,2,15
ESTIMATING MARKET POTENTIAL and SALES FORECASTING
A. Session Objectives:
1. Understand the basic concepts in market forecasting
2. Learn the techniques for estimating market and sales
potential
B. Discussion Topics:
1. Market (Territory) Potential, and Sales Forecast
2. Methods of Forecasting Market Potential:
a. Market factor (Chain Ratio) Method
b. BPI/SIC
c. Scrappage/Replacement
d. Survey of Buyer Interntions
e. Econometric Models
3. Methods of Forecasting Sales:
a. Executive Opinion
b. Sales Force Composite
c. Customer Surveys and Test Marketing
d. Statistical Methods:
* Smoothing Techniques: "Naive" Forecasting,
Moving Averages, Exponential Smoothing
* Trend Analyis and Classical Decomposition Method.
e. Capacity Constraint-based and "Must-do" Forecasts
C. Reading Assignment: T: Chpts; 7
ORAGNIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR SALES FORCE
A. Session Objectives:
1. Learn the organizational principles as they apply to
a sales force organization
2. Apply the principles to the design of organizational
arrangements.
3. Learn to estimate the size of sales force
B. Discussion Topics:
1. Organizational Principles:
a. Line vs Staff
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b. Span of Control
c. Centralization vs decentralization
d. Departmentalization and Integration, "Virtual
Corporation"
2. Types of "departmentalization":
a. Geographic
b. Product Line
c. Customer and Major Accounts
d. Functional specialization
e. Sales Teams
3. Methods of determination of Sales force Size:
a. Affordability method
b. Workload method
c. Incremental method
4. External (Independent) Sales Organizations in Domestic
and International Sales
C. Reading Assignment: T: Chpts; 8,
STAFFING
A. Session Objectives:
1. Discuss the process of Sales Force staffing
2. Learn to evaluate personnel needs
3. Discuss recruitment and hiring practices
4. Discuss the legal environment of staffing
B. Discussion Topics:
1. Need Analysis
2. Job Analysis
3. Job Description
4. Sources of Sales Representatives
5. Selection Process, Legal Consideration
6. Hiring and Socialization
C. Reading Assignment: T: Chpts; 9
TRAINING A SALES FORCE, PROCESS AND CONTENT:
A. Session Objectives:
1. Discuss the value and the process of training
2. Discuss the elements of training program
3. Discuss the content of training
B. Discussion Topics:
1. Training Needs and Objectives
2. Design of a Training Program
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3. Content of a Training Program
4. Personal Selling Process
5. Training Program Evaluation
C. Reading Assignment: T: Chpt; 10, Lectures
10,11 LEADERSHIP AND SUPERVISION
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A. Session Objectives:
1. Discuss theories of Leadership
2. Discuss supervision approaches and techniques
3. Discuss the issue of Sales Force morale
B. Discussion Topics:
1. Trait and Contingency Theories
2. Leadership Style
3. Supervision: level, tools, techniques
4. Special problems with leadership and supervision
5. Sales force morale
C. Reading Assignment: T: Chpts; 12,
MOTIVATING AND COMPENSATING A SALES FORCE
A. Session Objectives:
1. Discuss general theories of and issues in Motivation
2. Discuss the motivational techniques in Sales Force
B. Discussion Topics:
1. Theories of: Maslow, Herzberg, Vroom
2. Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards
3. Financial and Non-financial Rewards
4. Sales Force Compensation Plans
5. Sales Force Expenses
C. Reading Assignment: T, Chpts; 13,14
BUDGETING AND CONTROL OF SALES FORCE
A. Session Objectives:
1. Discuss the nature of budgeting as a planning and
control tool
2. Review the approaches for establishing budgets
3. Discuss quotas as a control mechanism
B. Discussion Topics:
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1. Purposes of budgeting
2. Methods of determining Sales, Expense and
Administrative budgets
3. Types of Quotas: Revenues, Profit, Expense, Activity,
Combimation
4. Setting and administration of quotas
C. Reading Assignment: T: Chpt; 14, 16
EVALUATION AND CONTROL OF A SALES FORCE:
A. Session Objectives:
Learn the tools for evaluation of the sales effort
and individual performance evaluation
B. Discussion Topics:
1. Marketing and Sales Management Audit
2. Sales Volume Analysis
3. Cost and Profitability Analysis
4. Individual level Evaluation Programs
C. Reading Assignment: T: Chpts; 15,16
EHTICAL AND LEGAL DIMENSIONS OF SALES MANAGERS
A. Session Objectives:
1. Discuss the ethical and legal problems in sales
force management
B. Discussion Topics:
1. Ethics vs the Law
2. Typical legal and ethical conflicts
3. Ethical Standards and guidelines.
C. Reading Assignment: T: Chpt: Revisit "Ethical Issues and
"Ethical Situations" at the end of each chapter.
FINAL EXAMINATION - As scheduled, during the Final Exams Week.
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