Planning the sales effort : sales control & cost analysis

Sales controls : Objectives, process & difficulties

To ensure the achievement of sales and profit objectives

sales people sometimes pay inadequate attention as they are caught up in the maze of
everyday activities - many related to individual sales personnel & customer problems they
neglect long term perspectives

To find out strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the organization.

To locate the defects and take corrective steps to improve the situation

by coordinating and controlling effectively various sales operations

Control process : Sales Audit, Sales Analysis & Cost analysis

What is a sales control & cost analysis ?

Sales control and cost analysis is the function of the sales management of the company to ensure the
achievement of sales and profit objectives by coordinating and controlling effectively various sales
operations.
The sales control and cost analysis tools are :

Sales audit

Sales analysis &

Cost analysis

These tools provide means to a sales management to find out strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and
threats to the organization. By using the above different tools of control, the management can locate the
defects and take corrective steps to remove the shortcomings and improve the situation and tone up the
functioning of his department.

Sales audit
Sales audit is defined as

a systematic, critical and unbiased review and appraisal of the basic objectives and policies of the
selling function and of the organization,

methods, procedures and personnel employed

to implement those policies and achieve those objectives.

The main purpose of the sales audit is to find out the opportunities for improving the effectiveness of the
sales organization. It also brings out strengths and weaknesses of the individual sales personnel, which
allows the management to take steps to improve their functioning.
There is no standard methods of sales audit. Normally, a sales audit examines six main aspects of a sales
organization. They are

Objectives
(clearly set the objectives. For example if the co is already commanding 15% market share, then the
objective is to increase the share by 10% next year)

Policies

Planning the sales effort : sales control & cost analysis

( After setting the objectives the organization laid down the policies for achieving the objectives. Policies,
both express and implied should be clear and consistent with the objectives. For example should the
management follow a policy of promoting persons within the organization or should it hire from outside.)

Organisation
(with respect to the structure of the organization, whether the organization has the facilities and
capabilities to achieve the sales objectives. For example, if overstaffed, it may achieve objectives but
profit may fail. If there is a complement of inefficient personnel, then it may fail I its achievement)

Methods
(Management should devise and adopt proper methods and measures to implement the stated policies
and strategies)

Procedures &
(Procedures should be clearly laid down. It should explain how to implement the policy to achieve the
stated objectives. It should clearly assign the responsibility to specified persons who should be
accountable for implementation)

Personnel
(All sales Personnel are subjectively evaluated as to their ability, efficiency and effectiveness in achieving
pre-determined objectives, policies and other aspects of sales operations)

Sales analysis
Sales analysis involves a systematic in-depth study of sales volume operations to find out strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
It tries to find out the sales and profit trend, its reason and what steps to be taken for better sales
performance.
It gives information about

sales territories (having strong / weak demand),

products (which product has higher/ lower sale)

types of customers ( who are bulk/low buyers).

Sales cost analysis

Sales cost analysis is done for controlling the various sales costs and is also known as distribution cost
analysis.
It undertakes the analysis of sales volume as well as sales expenses in order to find out profitability of the
various activities of sales operations.
Steps in doing sales cost analysis
Sales volume analysis
(dividing the sales volume into different categories such as sales territories, sales persons, types of
customers, channels of distribution, size of orders and so on)
Cost of each sales categories
(product/ territory wise)

Planning the sales effort : sales control & cost analysis

Sales cost analysis is done to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the sales organization which in
turn helps to find out ways and means to improve the profitability in future.

Cost analysis: Procedures

Classifying selling expenses

Converting accounting expense data to activity expense group

Bases for allocating common expenses

Contribution margin