Personal Selling and
Sales Management
Global Perspective
International Assignments are Glamorous, Right?
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•
•
•
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Job security
Readjustment upon return to U.S.
Adjustment to other cultures
Will an international assignment really help your career?
Relationship marketing and customer relationship management
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Designing the Sales Force
• Decisions must be made regarding the numbers, characteristics,
and assignments of sales personnel
• Different market requirements regarding direct sales and customer
approach
• Territory allocation
• Customer call plans
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Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel
• The largest personnel requirement abroad for most companies is
the sales force
• Expatriates
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Numbers are declining
Important for highly technical or involved products
High cost
Cultural and legal barriers
Limited number of high-caliber personnel willing to live abroad
• Virtual expatriates
- Manage operations in other countries but don’t live there
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Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel
International Travel – A Lot of Work
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Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel
Death by
Violent
Causes
The Economic
Intelligence Unit,
2005 (WHO Data)
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Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel
Leaves Singapore with the Flu
Arrives Home in Toronto to Broken Pipes
International Selling is Hard Work
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Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel
In order of expensive
The Economic Intelligence Unit, 2005
Most Expensive Cities in Which to Live
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Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel
Capsule Hotel in Osaka
Avon Rep in Rural Brazil
International Travel – A Lot of Work
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Selecting Sales and Marketing Personnel
• Management must define precisely what is expected of people.
• Prime requisites:
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Maturity
Emotional stability
Breadth of knowledge
Positive outlook
Flexibility
Cultural empathy
Energetic and enjoy travel
• Mistakes can be costly
• A manager’s culture affects personnel decisions
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Training for International Marketing
Personal Selling Tips – Brussels to Bangkok
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Salespeople’s Distribution of 100 Points among
Rewards in Terms of Their Importance
• Insert Exhibit 17.4
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Global Compensation Systems –
Compared to US Plans
The
Alexander
Group
Clients –
Primarily
Hi Tech
Firms
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A Compensation Blueprint: How IBM Pays
140,000 Sales Executives Worldwide
• Insert Exhibit 17.6
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Designing Compensation Systems for a Global
Sales Force – The Do’s
• Do involve representatives from key countries.
• Do allow local managers to decide the mix between base and
incentive pay.
• Do use consistent performance measures (results paid for) and
emphasis on each measure.
• Do allow local countries flexibility in implementations.
• Do use consistent communication and training themes worldwide.
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Designing Compensation Systems for a Global
Sales Force – The Don’ts
• Don’t design the plan centrally and dictate to local offices.
• Don’t create a similar framework for jobs with different
responsibilities.
• Don’t require consistency on every performance measure within
the incentive plan.
• Don’t assume cultural differences can be managed through the
incentive plan.
• Don’t proceed without the support of senior sales executives
worldwide.
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Evaluating and Controlling Sales
Representatives
• In the U.S., emphasis is placed on individual performance, which
can easily be measured by sales revenues generated
• In many countries evaluation is more complex where teamwork is
favored over individual effort
• The primary control tool used by American sales managers is the
incentive system
• In other countries, corporate control and frequent interactions with
peers and supervisors are the means of motivation and control
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Preparing U.S. Personnel for Foreign
Assignments
American Book Center in Amsterdam – an Oasis
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