Lecture International marketing (14/e) - Chapter 17

Chapter 17 - Personal selling and sales management. What you should learn from chapter 17: The role of interpersonal selling in international marketing, the considerations in designing an international sales force, the steps to recruiting three types of international salespeople, selection criteria for international sales and marketing positions,...

I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a r k e t i

n g

Personal Selling

and Sales Management

What Should You Learn?

• The role of interpersonal selling in international

marketing

• The considerations in designing an international

sales force

• The steps to recruiting three types of

international sales people

• Selection criteria for international sales and

marketing positions

What Should You Learn?

• The special training needs of international

personnel

• Motivation techniques for international sales

representatives

• How to design compensation systems for an

international sales force

• How to prepare Americans for foreign

assignments

• The changing profile of the global sales and

marketing manager

Global Perspective

International Assignments are Glamorous, Right?

• Job security

• Adjustment to other cultures

• Readjustment upon return to U.S.

• Will an international assignment really help your

career?

Designing the Sales Force

• Relationship marketing and customer

relationship management

• 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

Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel

• The largest personnel requirement abroad for

most companies is the sales force

• Expatriates

– 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

Recruiting Marketing and Sales Personnel

• Local nationals

– Transcend both cultural and legal barriers

– Familiar with distribution systems and referral networks

– Headquarters personnel may ignore their advice

The 20 Most Expensive Cities

to Live on the Planet (in order)

Exhibit 17.1

Selecting Sales and Marketing Personnel

• Management must define precisely what is expected

– Energetic and enjoy travel

• Mistakes can be costly

• A manager’s culture affects personnel decisions

Training for International Marketing

• The nature of the training program depends on:

– The home culture of the sales person

– The culture of the business system and foreign market

• Continual training is important in foreign markets

• Companies should provide home-office

personnel with cross-cultural training

• The Internet now makes some kinds of sales

training much more efficient

Personal Selling Tips from Brussels to Bangkok

Exhibit 17.2

Motivating Sales Personnel

• National differences must always be considered

when motivating the marketing force

• Individual incentives that work effectively in the

U.S can fail completely in other cultures

• Communications are important in maintaining

high levels of motivation

• A company needs to make clear the

opportunities for growth within the firm

Salespeople’s Distribution

of 100 Points among Rewards

in Terms of Their Importance

Exhibit 17.3

Designing Compensation

Systems for Expatriates

• Fringe benefits

• Compensations comparisons between the home

office and abroad

• Short-term assignment compensation

• Using a compensation program to recruit,

develop, motivate, or retain personnel

Global Similarity

to U.S Compensations Plans

A Compensation Blueprint

How IBM Pays 140,000 Sales Executives Worldwide

Designing Compensation Systems

for a Global Sales Force

• Involve representatives from key countries

• Allow local managers to decide the mix between

base and incentive pay

• Use consistent performance measures (results

paid for) and emphasis on each measure

• Allow local countries flexibility in

implementations

• Use consistent communication and training

themes worldwide

Designing Compensation Systems

for a Global Sales Force

• 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

– Which can easily be measured by sales revenues generated

• In many countries evaluation is more complex

– Where teamwork is favored over individual effort

• In U.S.

– Primary control tool used by 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

Preparing U.S Personnel

for Foreign Assignments

• Cost of foreign assignments

– Typically from 150-400 percent of the annual base salary

– Cost increases if the expatriate returns home before completing the scheduled assignment

• The planning process

– Must begin prior to the selection of those going abroad

– Must extend to their specific assignments after returning home

Overcoming Reluctance

to Accept a Foreign Assignment

• Concerns for career

– An absence will adversely affect opportunities for advancement

• Concerns for family

– Education of the children

– Isolation from family and friends

– Proper health care

– The potential for violence

• Special compensations packages deal with

concerns

Reducing the Rate of Early Returns

• Evaluation of an employee’s family

– 75 percent of families sent abroad experience adjustment

problems with children or marital discord

• Cross-cultural training for families as well as the

employee

• Local ombudsmen

Successful Expatriate Repatriation

• Commit to reassigning expatriates to meaningful

positions

• Create a mentor program

• Offer a written job guarantee stating what company is

obligated to do for returning expatriate

• Keep the expatriate in touch with headquarters

through periodic briefings and headquarter visits

• Prepare the expatriate and family for repatriation once

a return date is set

Developing Cultural Awareness

• Expatriate failures

– Caused by lack of an understanding of cultural differences and

their effect on management skills

• Cultural skills

– Can be learned and developed

– Provide the individual with the ability to relate to a different

culture even when the individual is unfamiliar with the details of that particular culture

The Changing Profile

of the Global Manager

• Fewer companies today limit their search

for senior-level executive talent to their home

countries

• Some companies believe

– It is important to have international assignments early in

a person’s career

– International training is an integral part of their entry-level

development programs

• Many companies are active in making the

foreign experience an integrated part of a

successful corporate career

• Many companies are making stronger efforts to

recruit people who are bilingual or multilingual

Summary

• The company’s sales force is on the front line of

a marketing organization

• The role of marketers in both domestic and

foreign markets along with the composition of

international managerial and sales forces is

rapidly changing

• The recent emphasis on using local personnel

operating in their own lands has highlighted the importance of adapting U.S managerial

techniques to local needs

• The development of an effective marketing

organization calls for careful recruiting,

selecting, training, motivating, and compensating

of expatriate personnel and their families

• The most practical method of maintaining an

efficient international sales and marketing force

is careful, concerted planning at all stages of

career development

THE KEY ROLES OF SALESPEOPLE

1 THE SELLING FUNCTION

2 MANAGE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

SALES ROLE IN THE ORGANIZATION

• MANAGE RELATIONSHIPS

– CREATE CUSTOMERS FOR LIFE

– PROVIDE CUSTOMER SERVICE

– COORDINATE CORPORATE RESOURCES

• GATHERING INFORMATION

– CUSTOMER DIALOGUE IS USEFUL

– OBTAIN COMPETITIVE INFORMATION

DETERMINING THE SALES STRATEGY

OPTION TO FIT YOUR CUSTOMER

1 SCRIPT-BASED SELLING—Used when all customers’

needs are similar

2 NEEDS SATISFACTION SELLING—Identifying buyers’

needs and selling to them

3 CONSULTATIVE SELLING—Bring specialized

expertise for a customized solution

4 STRATEGIC PARTNER SELLING—Seller-Customer

joint effort for developing product solutions

Exhibit 13-1

13-31

• Limited relationships

• Failure to monitor competitors

or industry

•

• Generate reorders

• Upgrade

• Full-line sell

• Secure complete commitment from both companies

• Manage change

Exploration Awareness

Commitment

Expansio n

• Set correct expectations

• Ensure proper initial use

• Follow up

• Make personal visits

• Handle complaints

Dissolution

STAGES IN RELATIONSHIP BUILDLING

PARTNERSHIP COMMUNICATION:

FROM SINGLE LEVEL TO MULTI-LEVEL

Company

Engineering Marketing Sales

Finance Credit and Billing

Accounting Finance Purchasing

Shipping

& Receiving

Buying Company

Engineering Marketing

Credit & Billing Finance

AFTER PARTNERING

Purchasing Agent Salesperson

Exhibit 13-4

13-33

SALES ORGANIZATION OPTIONS

1 ORGANIZE GEOGRAPHICALLY USING

CITIES, STATES, COUNTRIES, ZIP CODES,

BY ACCOUNT

2 ORGANIZE BY PRODUCT AND DEVELOP

SPECIALISTS FOR EACH PRODUCT CATEGORY

BUYING AND SELLING TEAMS STREAMLINE MULTILEVEL SELLING

Engineer ProductSpecialistProductSpecialist

Exhibit 13-5

13-35

CUSTOMER FOCUSED TEAM STRUCTURE

Account Consultant

F&A Rep.

Customer

Sales Specialists

Account Manager Team Leader

Manufacturing

Finance and Accounting

Other Business

Other Rep.(s)

Purchasing Agent

Shipping

CSS Rep.

Sales Specialists Prod / Ind.

Mktg Groups

Exhibit 13-8

ALLOCATION GRID FOR SALES RESOURCES

Relatively fewer resources should

be allocated here

Low

Maintain sufficient resources to continue

to reap the sales potential and strong position

High

Direct more sales resources here

Assign to alternative method

of communicating, such as

telemarketing Weak

DO YOU OUTSOURCE THE SALES FORCE?

• Establish relationships

• Salary and selling

expenses can be limited

SALES FORCE CONTROL MECHANISMS

• ESTABLISH QUOTAS – Fair and Understandable

MANAGER’S DILEMMA: EVALUATING

PERFORMANCE & MAINTAINING MOTIVATION

1 REVIEW SPECIFIC SALES OBJ ECTIVES

2 OBTAIN APPROPRIATE PERFORMANCE DATA

(outcomes and effort)

3 EVALUATE WHAT WAS BEYOND SALESPERSON’S

CONTROL

4 IDENTIFY PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

5 CREATE A STRATEGY THAT RESOLVES PROBLEMS

5 STEPS TO EVALUATE SALES FORCE PERFORMANCE

RECOGNIZING AND IDENTIFYING A PROBLEM

Expectations

Enormity of problem rests on length of this differenceResults

PROBLEM RECOGNITION

1 Our sales are down: WHY?

2 We can’t see customers: WHY?

3 We can’t make appointments on time : WHY?

4 We spend too much time covering territory : WHY?

5 Our territories are too big : WHY?

6 We don’t have enough salespeople : WHY?

THE 6xWHY FILTER Ask the WHY question at least six times

(or as many times as necessary)