Post-Graduate Diploma in Management

(PGDM)

Area: Marketing

Course Title Sales and Distribution Management

Course Faculty

Dr. Sandeep Puri

Email: spuri@imt.edu
Mob. 9910024801, Office: 0120-300-2226
Student Meeting Hour: Wednesday (10 AM to 3 PM) or with prior appointments
Course Description:
Sales is the lifeblood of any company, and sales managers are the heart and soul. Sales is a career.
This sales and distribution management course is an analysis of sales management practices,
including the development of territories, determining potentials, sales forecasts, sales budgeting,
setting quotas, sales training, compensation, sales leadership. The course will also help the students
to comprehend the various job requirements of the first-line sales manager (FLSM). The students
will be able to understand the relationship between channel strategy and business strategy. The
students at the end, of course, shall be able to visualize Sales Management with respect to planning
the sales efforts in light of Setting Sales Territories, Determining the size and type of sales force,
managing the sales teams through organizational functions and finally learn to motivate and
control their efforts. The course will also help them to understand the functions and management
of channel partners.

Learning Objectives:
Subject learning outcomes of this Sales and Distribution Management course are:

a) To understand and effectively manage the core activities of sales and distribution
management.
b) To appreciate the various sales and distribution management practices to take effective
decisions.
c) To demonstrate ethical orientation while making business decisions (2.2).

Pedagogy
1. Class Room Lectures
2. Case Discussions
3. Working in Groups by Students on topics discussed in the class and their presentations
4. Field work
5. Videos on Sales Management
6. Role Plays

Course Requirements
i. This is an interactive course; it is important for the students to come prepared for the class.
Preparation for the class includes having read the assigned study material. There are many
cases in this course and students are required to come with their analysis of the issues
raised in those cases.
ii. Students should submit a case analysis report and power point presentation one day before
the scheduled class.
iii. Each group is expected to prepare a Sales Manager Interview Team Project in
different sectors. The project will be graded with particular attention to the application of
course reading material and concepts.
 Evaluation
Students will be evaluated by case analysis, projects, paper presentations, class participation, and
term exams. The weightage given to each of these units is listed below:

Intended subject learning outcome to be assessed

Specific Assessment Method* Weightage
a b c

Group Assessment Methods

Case Study Analysis 20%

Group Project 30%

Individual Assessment Methods

AOL Assessment 10%

End-term Exam 40%

* Except component of AOL and End-Term, individual faculty may adopt methods of evaluation
other than specified here

Group Projects

Evaluation of Case Study discussions

This portion of the evaluation will be primarily based on group presentations related to cases. Each
group should prepare for each class as you would for a business meeting reading the assigned
materials, thinking about the issues, and deciding how to apply them to a business situation. The
format is as follows:

Identification of key issues (20%): Do not re-write the case. Identify the key issues and
discuss why you feel so.
Assumptions (20%): Identify the important assumptions that are being made by the
characters in the case. For example management assumes that sales force automation will
improve sales. Discuss the assumptions as to whether or not they are good assumptions or
poor assumptions. What happens if they are incorrect? How would you find out or
determine if they are wrong? If you make assumptions, you can either identify them here
or in the alternative section, whichever makes more sense.
Alternatives (30%): You should discuss several alternatives or solutions to the key issues
or problems identified. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each solution and
evaluate the appropriateness of each alternative. You should have more than one for each
 issue (otherwise you dont have alternatives), and you should have some that are mutually
exclusive. That means that your recommendation cannot be do all of the alternatives.
Recommendation (30%): Justify your choice of action and discuss why this alternative is
more appropriate than the others.

Format for Project Preparation

Sales Manager Interview Team Project

Cover Page (to include group number)

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Concisely state what you did and what you concluded that is important!

Selected Manager

The rationale for why you chose this sales manager and firm. Also, provide an
explanation of why the manager selected a sales job, what assignments s/he has had, and
their philosophy toward a sales career.

How does this Sales Manager:

See their marketplace today changes and trends?

View the importance of cultural diversity in the marketplace?
Define the role of sales support? How important are ethics?
Expect his sales force to follow a selling process?
Organize the sales forceis this a local or centralized decision?
Select salespersons when positions become vacant?
Train new personnel? Train experienced salespersons?
Select and interact with partners? Determine sales force size?
Motivate the sales force? Use monetary and non-monetary incentives? Perceived
success of these actions?
Reimburse the sales force for expenses?
Evaluate the sales force? Frequency and method(s)?
Play a role in forecasting? What method(s) are utilized?
Contribute to the firms strategiesannual planning?
Utilize CRM and practice relationship marketing?
Distribution Management Structure
Your Evaluation (MOST important):

How effective is this sales manager?

Which of his/her activities are reflective of what you learned in class and what activities
differ? How do they differ and why do they differ?
Would you be willing to work for this manager and company? Why or why not?
What have you learned from this experience that will be helpful in future business
practices?

Recommended Text Book

Sales and Distribution Management-Still, Richard R, Cundiff, Edward W, Govoni, Norman

A.P. and Puri, Sandeep. 6th Edition. Pearson Education.

Other References:
Sales Management: Shaping Future Sales Leaders, John Tanner, Earl Honeycutt, and Robert
Erffmeyer, Pearson Publishers
One Minute Manager Sales Person by Spencer Johnson, Larry Wilson, HarperCollins
Publishers
Books by Zoltner and Sinha
Sales 101 B Brian Azar n Brad Fenton, Simon & Brown Publisher
Sales Management by Ingram, LaForge, Avila, Williams, Segments Books
Rackham, Neil (1988) SPIN Selling. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Investigative Selling b Omar Periu, Tom Hopkins , Rupa & Co
The Joy of Selling by Steve Chandler, Meghna Publications
 Session Plan/Reading Material
Sessions 1: Introduction to Course
Introduction to Sales and Distribution Management, Understanding some key terms and concepts

Readings:
Adamson, B., Dixon, M., & Toman, N. (2013). Dismantling the sales machine. Harvard Business
Review, Vol. 91, No. 11, pp. 102109.
Mayer, David and Herbert M. Greenberg (1964) What Makes a Good Salesman, Harvard
Business Review, Vol. 42, Issue 4, pp. 119-125.
Benson P. Shapiro and Stephen X. Doyle (1983), Make the Sales Task Clear, Harvard
Business Review, Vol. 61, No. 6, pp.

Sessions 2: Role of Sales Manager

Role of the First Line Sales Manager (FLSM), Organizational Strategies and the Sales Function

Readings:
Deeter-Schmelz, D. R., Goebel, D. J., & Kennedy, K. N. (2008). What are the characteristics of an
effective sales manager? An exploratory study comparing salesperson and sales manager
perspectives. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, 28(1), 7-20.

Sessions 3 and 4: Sizing and Structuring the Sales Force

Sales Force structure, Field Organization of the Sales Department, Centralization versus
Decentralization in Sale Force Management

Case Study: Lakshmi Project

Readings:
Zoltners AA, Sinha P and Lorimer SE(2006), Match Your Sales Force Structure to Your
Business Life Cycle Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84, No. 7-8, pp. 80-89

Sessions 5: Time and Territory Management

Sales Territory, Territory Design Process, and Routing
Readings:
Babakus, E., Cravens, D. W., Grant, K., Ingram, T. N., & LaForge, R. W. (1996). Investigating the
relationships among sales, management control, sales territory design, salesperson performance,
and sales organization effectiveness. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 13(4), 345-
363.
Zoltners, A. A., and Lorimer, S. E. (2000). Sales territory alignment: An overlooked productivity
tool. Journal of Personal selling & sales Management, 20(3), 139-150.
Sessions 6 & 7: Recruitment, Selection and Training of Sales Force
Profiling, Recruiting and Developing, Delivering, and Reinforcing a Sales Training Program
Readings:
Groysberg, Boris, Ashish Nanda and Nitin Nohria (2004), The Risky Business of Hiring Stars,
Harvard Business Review, Vol. 82, pp. 92-100.
E. Waaser, M. Dahneke, M. Pekkarinen and M. Weissel (2004), How you slice it: Smarter
segmentation for your sales force, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 82, No. 3, pp. 105111

Sessions 8: Salesforce Compensation

Devising a Sales Compensation Plan, Types of Compensation Plans, Reimbursement of Sales
Expenses-Policies and Practices

Readings:
Cespedes, F. V. (1990). A preface to payment: designing a sales compensation plan. MIT Sloan
Management Review, 32(1), 59.

Sessions 9 & 10: Sales Budgeting and Target Setting

Sales Budgets and Target setting
Case: Parkin Laboratories-Dilemma of Sales Targets
Readings:
Franco-Santos, Mnica; Marcos, Javier and Bourne, Mike, The Art and Science of Target setting,
IESE Insight Review, Fourth Quarter 2010, Issue 7, pp.34-41
Lodish, L. and Mela, C. (2007), If Brands Are Built over Years, Why Are They Managed over
Quarters?, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 85, No. 7/8, p. 104

Sessions 11: Motivating a Salesforce

Motivating the Sales Force, Dimensions of sales force motivation, Financial rewards, Sales
meetings

Readings:

Steenburgh, Thomas and Michael Ahearne (2012), Motivating Salespeople: What -Really
Works, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 90, No. 7/8, pp. 70-75.
Miao, C. F., Evans, K. R., & Shaoming, Z. (2007). The role of salesperson motivation in sales
control systemsIntrinsic and extrinsic motivation revisited. Journal of Business Research, 60(5),
417-425.

Sessions 12: Sales Leadership

Sales leadership characteristics and skills, tools and techniques of leadership

Readings:
 Trailer, B. and Dickie, J. (2006), Understanding what your sales manager is up
against, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84 No. 7/8, pp. 4855.
Hassan, Fred (2006), Leading Change from the Top Line, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84
(July/August), pp. 90-97.

Sessions 13: Ethical Selling

Ethical issues in selling with understanding of social responsibilities in business context

Readings:
Ron Carucci, Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices. Harvard Business Review
(website), December 16, 2016
Soltes, Eugene F. "Why It's So Hard to Train Someone to Make an Ethical Decision." Harvard
Business Review (website), January 11, 2017

Sessions 14: Evaluating the Salesforce performance

Sales audit, Relation of Performance Standard to Personal-Selling Objectives, Evaluating-
Comparing Actual Performance with Standards
Readings:
Ledingham D, Kovac M and Simon HL (2006), The New Science of Sales Force Productivity,
Harvard Business Review, Vol. 84, No. 9, pp. 124-133

Sessions 15 & 16
Group Presentations
Review of Course and Discussions about End term paper