MIDDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY
FACULT OF COMMERCE
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
SURNAME:
MALAMBA
NAME:
NOKUTHULA
REGISTRATION NUMBER:
R11391P
MODULE:
MM202 - SALES AND MARKET FORECASTING
LECTURER:
T. NGWENYA
LEVEL:
2:1
ASSIGNMENT ONE
With the aid of examples, discuss how the micro and macro environmental
factors have affected sales force management from 2000 to date in Zimbabwe
According to Churchil (1990), sales force is defined as "the division of a business that's
responsible for selling products or services," He further states that the word "sales" refers to
the fact that sales are involved. The word "force" refers to a group of salespeople
collaborating and working together to help a company meet its sales goals. The sales force is
responsible for driving and supporting sales functions as defined by a marketing plan. Macro
environment as defined by Porter (1980) refers to the major external and uncontrollable
factors that influence organisations direction. On the other hand micro environmental factors
are internal factors close to a business that have a direct impact on its strategy, Poter
(1985)4marks.
A sales force influences sales to consumers or to retailers. It does not necessarily create
demand as this is done by advertising and promotion, however it provides customers with
product knowledge, it may prospect for new customers, explain who the company is and
creates relationships with customers. In order for the sales force to carry out their tasks, there
is a need for a conducive environment both internally and externally. Sales force requires a
budget and a ready market.
The macro environment in Zimbabwe since 2000 has been unfavourable for business due to
various factors. These include the political instability that took place after the conception of
the then opposition to the ruling party1mrak. The land reform program that took place early
2000 brought with it mixed feelings which were negative to the business environment, these
included the hostility from the international arena – which brought about sanctions1mark.
Investors confidence was lost thus affecting business negatively. Government policies also to
a large extent affected the macro environment negatively, policies like handling of foreign
currency where companies had no access to their foreign currency once banked and
indigenisation among others1mark. For instance the government of national unity (GNU)
which was amalgamation of ZANU-PF and the two MDC formations has not really added
value to the business fraternity. First and foremost this government is a temporary and this
makes the environment not fit for any long term business ventures.1mark This state of affairs
makes it almost impossible for sales force activities as no one has confidence in what is
taking place. The GNU has discouraged investment worse still foreign investment especially
with the indigenisation policy; investors are threatened that they may lose if they invest in the
country. 1mark
The economic environment is not encouraging to invest as there is no money in circulation,
the country is suffering under liquidity crunch, there is no money in the money market as
well, banks are not borrowing enough money for companies to raise capital while the
companies themselves are also not able to raise collateral for borrowing. Interest rates for
borrowings are very high at what percentage as compared to other countries? 1markwhile
lines of credit are few. Sales force management is therefore affected negatively as it has no
platform in poor performing companies and where the market to be convinced is not
there?????.
The factors some which have been stated above caused the economic environment to collapse
and this adversely affected companies as well as individuals causing trade to be almost
impossible. The decline of the macro environment directly affects the performance of
organisation thus has a bearing in the micro forces. When there is a financial crisis in
organisations, the marketing budgets tends to be among the first operational expenses to be
slashed. This thus compromises on the sales force activities in turn making it
ineffective1mark.
The micro environmental factors include customers; it is the duty of the sales force to
convince customers to buy their products and services. Under the macro environment in
Zimbabwe, customers’ income has been eroded to a point where average men and woman
strives to get basic needs period?. This makes the job of a sales force very hard as the market
to convince to buy your products may not be there especially when you are dealing in not so
basic commodities1mark.
Employees also contribute in the sales force managent. Employing the correct staff and
keeping staff motivated is an essential part of an organisation’s strategic planning process.
Training and development play a critical role in achieving a competitive edge especially in
the service sector marketing. By so doing, employees are kept motivated and therefore play a
big role in maintaining the sales force, they become the best sellers and help the company
meet its sales goals. If the employee is not motivated, they will contribute less or nothing at
all to help the company
Due to the poor macro factors in the period under review ,supplies were in short supply
and/or were of inferior quality. Sales force management is about achieving highest possible
sales that meet customer’s needs. In this case it makes it difficult for sales force managers to
do their job because the product will be inferior due to lack of supplies ,because there are no
products available or poor quality supply1mark
Sales force automation is a means of managing customer relationships through the use of
computer software. It records all contacts with the customers, keeps the database and only
activities with the customer. Used effectively, it helps to avoid repetition of activities with the
same customer which can be annoying to the customer. The system can list potential
customers, enables sales forecasting, order management and aides product knowledge. For
instance central reservations systems which allow customers to log into a hotel reservation
system, send their enquiry, get communication from the hotel – this system creates a unique
reference number for each client where the hotel can use the reference number to retrieve all
activities and communications that have taken place with the particular customer. 1mark
Zimbabwe’s macro environmental factors have the largest negative influence in the sales
force management because it is uncontrolled and sales force managers have to work with
that. This becomes a challenge/threats because their requirements are not met. But in
general,sales force management strives at boosting its sales at all levels. 1mark

Churchill, Gilbert A., Jr., Neil M. Ford, and Orville C. Walker, Jr. Sales Force
Management: Planning, Implementation, and Control. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Irwin,
1990.

Newton, Derek A. Sales Force Management: Text and Cases. 2d ed. Boston, MA:
Irwin, 1990.

Petrone, Joe. Building the High Performance Sales Force. Productivity Management
Press, 1994.

Rackham, Neil. Rethinking the Sales Force: Redefining Selling to Create and Capture
Customer Value. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999.

Rich, Gregory. "Fast Approximation Methods for Sales Force Deployment." Journal
of Personal Selling and Sales Management. Summer 2000.1mark
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