Assignment in Sales management 1 . What is Sales Management? -Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm’s sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales through the sale of products and services and resulting profit drive most commercial business. 2. What is salesmanship? -Salesmanship is a personal action or effort on the part of an individual which is intended to bring about the sale of the goods for sale.
More broadly speaking, lesbianism is the art of selling something to somebody, and everything which contributes to the consummation of this exchange is necessarily a part of salesmanship. – salesmanship is the Practice of investigating and satisfying customer needs through a process that is efficient, fair, sincere, mutually beneficial, and aimed at long- term productive relationship. 3. What are the marketing mix? -The marketing mix and the 4 As of marketing are often used as synonyms for each other. In fact, they are not necessarily the same thing. Marketing mix” is a general hears used to describe the different kinds of choices organizations have to make in the whole process of bringing a product or service to market. The 4 As is one way – probably the best-known way – of defining the marketing mix, and was first expressed in 1960 by EX McCarthy. The APS are: Product (or Service) Place Price Promotion A good way to understand the 4 As is by the questions that you need to ask to define you marketing mix. Here are some questions that will help you understand and define each of the four elements: Product/Service What does the customer want from the product/service?
What needs does it satisfy? What features does it have to meet these needs? Are there any features you’ve missed out? Are you including costly features that the customer won’t actually use? How and where will the customer use it? What does it look like? How will customers experience it? What size(s), color(s), and so on, should it be? What is it to be called? Is It Dragoon? How is it differentiated versus your competitors? What is the most it can cost to provide, and still be sold sufficiently profitably? Place Where do buyers look for your product or service?
If they look in a store, what kind? A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both? Or online? Or direct, via a catalogue? How can you access the right distribution channels? Do you need to use a sales force? Or attend trade fairs? Or make online submissions? Or send samples to catalogue companies? What do you competitors do, and how can you learn from that and/or differentiate? Price What is the value of the product or service to the buyer? Are there established price points for products or services in this area? Is the customer price sensitive?
Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share? Or will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin? What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of your market? How will your price compare with your competitors? Where and when can you get across your marketing messages to your target market? Will you reach your audience by advertising in the press, or on TV, or radio, or on billboards? By using direct marketing maillots? Through PR? On the Internet? When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market?
Are there any wider environmental issues that suggest or dictate the timing of your market launch, or the timing of subsequent promotions? How do your competitors do their promotions? And how does that influence your choice of promotional activity? The APS model is just one of many marketing mix lists that have been developed over the years. And, whilst the questions we have listed above are key, they are Just a subset of the detailed probing that may be required to optimize your marketing mix. Amongst the other marketing mix models have been developed over the years is Boom and
Bittern’s APS, sometimes called the extended marketing mix, which include the first 4 AS, plus people, processes and physical layout decisions. Another marketing mix approach is Alternator’s ACS, which presents the elements of the marketing mix from the buyer’s, rather than the seller’s, perspective. It is made up of Customer needs and wants (the equivalent of product), Cost (price), Convenience (place) and Communication (promotion). In this article, we focus on the APS model as it is the well-recognized, and contains the core elements of a good marketing mix. 4. What is marketing and sales strategy?
Marketing strategy is defined by Prophet’s David Asker as a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its resources on the optimal opportunities with the goals of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. [l] Marketing strategy includes all basic and long-term activities in the field of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation of a company and the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and therefore contributes to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives. [2]