Download - Research Proposal for Sales
2014
SP Jain School of Global Management
Group Members:
Ankit Malhotra- GSEP13CMM021 Aryan Bhojnagarwala-GSEP13CMM022 Prajakta Talathi – GSEP13CMM031 Vikas Jamwal-GSEPCMM038
[MARKETING RESEARCH GROUP ASSIGNMENT] Research Proposal for Understanding the Effectiveness of Sales Force in the Organization and Suggesting Ways of Improving their Effectiveness
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Executive Summary Sales force is very important in any organisation. B2B consultants are highly paid for
their selling, and convincing of clients to get big deals. No organisation can neglect
the importance of sales behaviour on the success of the deals. According the report,
(Ryals & Davies, 2010), it has been established that there is some disconnection
between the behaviour of the salespersons and the success of the meetings. The
behaviour impacts the firm externally as well as internally. Therefore, there is a direct
relation between the behaviour and the sales success.
In this report we have analysed and categorized the salespersons into eight different
categories that depict the relation and impact of the salesperson’s behaviour on the
success of the sale. Some people with same profiles and roles have different sales
results. Therefore, attitude and professionalism turn out to be the most important
factors in determining the behaviour of a sales person.
We have done an in-depth analysis of the salespersons in the company, and come
up with a detailed research method for our analysis. Both qualitative and
quantitative methods have been used for the research as well as to do the data
analysis. Data analysis method have been described in the report below to show the
actual percentage figures of sales persons who meet the criteria, and are the
organizations’ best salespersons.
Critics on the existing study and recommendations for improvement are provided
towards the end of the report.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 1
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Problem ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Objective ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Criteria .................................................................................................................................................... 4
Hypothesis............................................................................................................................................... 5
Secondary Research ................................................................................................................................ 5
Balance Score Card .......................................................................................................................... 5
Observe Last 3 Year Performance ................................................................................................... 5
Analysis of Target Achieved by Salesperson ................................................................................... 5
Customer response / feedback received ......................................................................................... 5
Data Analysis of Competitor’s Salesperson ..................................................................................... 6
Primary Market Research ....................................................................................................................... 6
Qualitative Research ........................................................................................................................... 6
Focus Group Discussion .................................................................................................................. 6
In-depth Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 7
Quantitative Research ........................................................................................................................ 9
Questionnaire ................................................................................................................................. 9
Observation ................................................................................................................................... 12
Data Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 12
Inferences ......................................................................................................................................... 13
Data Interpretation ............................................................................................................................... 13
Parameters and Salesperson Type .................................................................................................... 15
Percentage Distribution .................................................................................................................... 16
Team-wise Distribution ..................................................................................................................... 16
Critics..................................................................................................................................................... 16
Recommendation .................................................................................................................................. 17
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 18
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Introduction Sales team is the most crucial team in an organization as it is the revenue
generating team. Sales force is the team which involves direct interaction with the
customers.
Sales team in the Business-to-Business market primarily has the below task
(Edwards, Assesment No.1 and No. 2 Guidelines, 2014), (Kokemuller, 2014):
Customer Attraction
Conversion of Sales
Customer Retention
Face-to-face customer interaction
Promotion of product/service
Customer Relationship Management
Forecasting sales
Analysis of Customer needs and want or attitude and behaviour
Consulting the Customers
The above factors indicate the importance of sales for an organization. But studies
have revealed that in spite of investing to improve the effectiveness of sales, the
returns are not significant (Edwards, Assesment No.1 and No. 2 Guidelines, 2014). A
similar study as that of (Ryals & Davies, 2010)was performed on the Sales force.
Problem Organizations face very intense problems with respect to the sales consultants in the
company. Some of the key identified issues that were found, and which eventually
led us to do a research are:
High investments in Sales Persons
Efficiency of Sales Persons not as expected
Differences between the behaviors and success
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The prime reason behind identifying the problem was that organizations only
concentrate on the internal research and the methods, but tend to lose on the
feedback of the clients. Hence, it was very important to have a feedback from the
client about the sales consultant, which our report has taken into consideration.
Objective The primary research objective of the report is to identify the best sales consultants
in the organization.
Below is the objective of the research:
Criteria The three important criteria on which the behavioural research of sales consultants
was based are:
To Identify Sales Force Behavior
To find the efficiency of Sales Force
To validate success of B2B sales
Criteria
Credibility
Professionalism Knowledge
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Hypothesis The hypothesis to be tested, which would give the result and analysis of our study of
best sales consultants in the organization is given below:
The important part was to testify and analyse whether the sales consultants have the
criteria matching with the performance. If yes, then the hypothesis holds true,
otherwise the hypothesis is negated.
Secondary Research Secondary research was based upon the case “Improving the Sales Force” (Ryals &
Davies, 2010) which helped in identifying 7 key points or parameters to gauge the
effectiveness of the sales force:
1. Pre-meeting,
2. Sales pitch,
3. Company Presentation,
4. Company Interaction,
5. Rising to the Challenge,
6. Storytelling and
7. Presentation and Rapport
The following research was conducted:
Balance Score Card
To identify the performance of a sales person
Observe Last 3 Year Performance
To collect data about sales made by different salesperson
Analysis of Target Achieved by Salesperson
To identify the salesperson types (expert, focussed, story teller etc.)
Customer response / feedback received
To understand sales person effectiveness from customer’s perspective
H0: Sales force behavior is effective and matching with the criteria
H1:Sales force behavior is ineffective and does not match the criteria
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Data Analysis of Competitor’s Salesperson
To compare the sales performance of salesperson with the competitors
Primary Market Research The research to identify sales force behaviour and to check if their effectiveness
matches with the required criteria, we need to perform both Quantitative as well as
Qualitative Research.
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research was conducted to identify variables, gain in-depth
understanding and insight of sales force behaviour and attitude (Edwards, Marketing
Research Notes, 2014). After diagnosing the situation, alternatives were screened
and new ideas for improvement in sales were discovered.
Focus Group Discussion
FGDs were conducted to Gain Sales Force insights. A moderator-cum-observer was
required to conduct and facilitate the discussion. FGD led to identification of the
sales effectiveness and ineffectiveness.
Since FGDs have a free-flowing, informal structure, employees were able to express
their feelings freely. In spite of the unstructured manner of the FGDs, the discussion
revolved around the centre theme i.e. Sales Force Effectiveness.
Minimum 2 FGDs with each sample were conducted. The environment was enclosed
and all findings were confidential. Discussion was recorded for further analysis.
Participants in FGD were:
Define Problem
Research Proposal
Research Method
Qualitative
Focus Group Discussion
In-Depth Analysis
Quantitative
Survey Observation
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1. Sales Force
2. Customers
In-depth Analysis
In-depth analysis to gain additional insights on different parameters was done on the
Sales Team which comprised of:
1. New Business Sales
2. Account Managers
3. Telesales
A highly skilled interviewer asked semi-structured questions. Interviewer encouraged
respondent and asked probing questions to gain additional information.
There was no bias in judgement and interviewer had knowledge about sales.
Observations for each of the sales team person can be summarised in the below
graphs:
1. New Business Sales
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Quantitative Research
Quantitative Research was performed for data collection and conversion into
numerical values and a conclusion was drawn.
Questionnaire
Set of questions were asked to sales force employees and customers. Questions
were coded based on the identified parameters.
Questionnaire platform for employees was Face-to-face interviews and online /
direct-mail surveys
Questionnaire platform for customers was Face-to-face, telephonic and online /
direct-mail surveys.
Parameters to be considered
These parameters can be generally identified using observation and simulations or
case study (Ryals & Davies, 2010):
Rising to the Challenge
Meeting Preparation
Customer Interaction
Company Presentation
Presentation and Rapport
Sales Pitch
Story telling
Other Parameters
Motivation
Work-life Balance
Knowledge of the product/service
Availability of resources to be used in sales calls
Survey Questions
Survey was conducted using the coded questionnaire.
Sales Force
Code – Professionalism
1. Do you respect and follow the deadlines given by customers. (Please
select any one)
o Always, and adjust internal timeline accordingly
o Most of the times, depending upon my internal schedule
o I prefer to give timeline/deadlines as per my readiness and preference and
accordingly inform customers
o I have too many customers to handle, so it’s case to case basis.
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2. In case of any probable delay, (reason may be any like – dependency on
other department) I – (Please select any one)
o Immediately inform customer, take responsibility and try to fulfil the
commitment as soon as possible.
o Inform customer that the delay is not because of you but other department
of your organisation.
o Wait for customer to respond back and simply give him new deadline.
3. Your meeting time clashes between your National Sales Manager and
Major Customer. You would – (Please select any one)
o Continue customer meeting and accordingly inform NSM
o Reschedule customer meeting since NSM’s time is important
o Ask immediate supervisor for his suggestion
4. Please rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on your pre-client-meeting
readiness (Rate on the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being maximum)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. How would you rate yourself for being professional with customer in
closing the deal? (Rate on the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being maximum)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Code – Knowledge
6. Before any meeting what is your usual strategy? (Please select any one)
o Nothing, I am a sales person and attend these kind of meetings on daily
basis
o Try to get in touch with customer and understand his needs and prepare
accordingly
o Gather all brochures and brush up all technical data of the product/service
7. In a customer meeting, The first thing I do is to –
o Introduce organisation’s product/service and brief customer of its features
and USP’s
o Let customer talk about his requirements, usually 80 % of the time. Take
notes of it
o Give a presentation of product/service and then ask for customer’s
preferences
8. Do you believe that it’s important to understand customer’s need first
and then prepare a proposal? (Rate on the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being
maximum)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Code – Creditability
9. During sales closure phase, if required to consult your technical/product
team you would – (Please select any one)
o First try to understand the requirement yourself and then explain it to
customer
o Request your product team to take appointment with customer and set up a
demo meeting
o Give customer the details of contact person
10. After sales closure customer calls you, your strategy is to – (Please
select any one)
o Usually not take any calls, after all your job is done
o Always pick up the calls and be ready to resolve any queries, even its not
related to sales
o Guide him to right person in the organisation
11. How would you rate the importance to be the first contact person for
customer, even after project is completed? (Rate on the scale of 1 to 10,
10 being maximum)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Group 2 – B2B Customers
Code – Professionalism
1. Please rate the salesperson for pre-meeting readiness. (Rate on the
scale of 1 to 10, 10 being maximum)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Please rate the salesperson for professionalism in closing the deal.
(Rate on the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being maximum)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. Was the salesperson courteous? (Rate on the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being
maximum)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Code – Knowledge
4. Did the salesperson have product knowledge? (Rate on the scale of 1 to
10, 10 being maximum)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. Were your expectations matched and fulfilled? (Rate on the scale of 1 to
10, 10 being maximum)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Code – Creditability
6. Was the salesperson your first point of contact even after project was
completed? (Rate on the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being maximum)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. Were you satisfied with the market analysis of the sales person? (Rate
on the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being maximum) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8. How was the complete sales experience? (Rate on the scale of 1 to 10,
10 being maximum) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9. Would you recommend the salesperson?
Yes No
Observation
Observer observed live calls, client site sales pitch, etc. based on the parameters.
He understood the knowledge and skills and was non-judgemental in his
observation. His observations were categorized according to the chosen parameters.
Data Analysis The responses to questionnaire led to rating of salesperson on the scale of 1 to 10,
from both the group.
Ratings received from the survey were categorized into 5 groups
1. Unskilful,
2. Need improvement,
3. Satisfactory,
4. Excellent,
5. Expert
Analysis
Below sheet and graph shows the data analysis for both the surveyed groups:
S No Scale Category Sales Force B2B Customers
1 0 - 2 Unskilful 21 38
2 3 - 4 Need Improvement 83 103
3 5 - 6 Satisfactory 234 207
4 7 - 8 Excellent 156 151
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5 9 - 10 Expert 26 21
Inferences
From the above analysis we can infer that for lower levels of skills such as unskilful
and need improvement, there is considerable difference in ratings by sales force and
customers. Organisations should use this information and segregate the sales force
into different skill levels.
There are 120 possible permutations & combinations possible for the 5 skill levels.
Taking 15 combinations each, we have divided sales force into 8 different skill levels:
Expert being the best performers and story-tellers the least.
Based upon these levels, Management can plan sales force improvement and
trainings. The advantage here is that these levels are prepared from the customer
feedback and thus once the training is imparted to sales, the probability of
improvement and sales’ success would increase.
Data Interpretation
Types Characteristics Good Bad Ugly
Expert
Salesperson exceeds their target (typical in service sales rather than product sales)
Selling seems effortless, keeps customer happy
Appears to be very epitome
-
Closers
Pulls off some very big deal (typical in product sales rather than in service sales)
Can Effectively counter customer objection
Smooth talking style puts some customers off. Heavy focus on product and little on the company
-
0
50
100
150
200
250
Focus Group 1
Focus Group 2
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Consultants
High quality sales person, better all-rounder, gets most out of introduction and builds rapport with customers
High levels of marketplace, promotes value proposition and demonstrates market differentiation
Lack of pre-meeting preparation, failure to set agendas and one-dimensional pitch
-
Story-tellers
Good level of marketplace knowledge which is used for selling through story telling
Use case studies and anecdotes, create solutions on the fly and counters customer questions
Failure to position story telling against competition or to utilise value proposition and less likely to discuss their own company background
Talk through sale, missing opportunities to utilise and capabilities to close the deal
Product/Service Focussed
Know all about their products
They can be termed as product specialists
Worst when it comes to differentiate their products from competitors
Poor at negotiations and preparing sales value prepositions
Narrators Good Presenters & speakers
They have good knowledge of offerings & organisation
Unable to make link between knowledge & customer needs
Most disorganised in terms of setting agenda
Deal Makers
Hard price negotiators, good at setting agendas
Good at negotiation, sales value proposition
Worst objection handlers, bad at creating solutions on the fly
Worst at utilising information about marketplace, product, lower personal presentation
Socialisers
Very good presenters, well prepared for meetings
Build reasonable rapport
Are lower in every other measure compared to other groups
Poor at thinking on the fly, lack basic sales skills
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Parameters and Salesperson Type
Socialisers Average
Deal Makers Average
Narrator Average
Product Focused Average
Story Teller Average
Consultant Average
Product Closer Average
Expert Average
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Percentage Distribution
Team-wise Distribution
Critics
In the case study “Improving the Sales Force” (Ryals & Davies, 2010) the following
were observed:
Need to focus on group discussion and
Need to conduct more personal interview
Customer feedback is important to gauge the salesperson’s effectiveness
Impact and Availability of other resources on the Sales
Perform experimental research on
- Training v/s No Training
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- Specific Trainings v/s Generic Trainings
Need to consider EQ Parameters
- Motivation
- Work-life Balance
Recommendation Training can be provided to salesperson based on the identified salesperson types.
Motivation is required by sales force to achieve the desired sales target. 360 degree
feedback is really important within the company. Constructive feedback should be
given to each and every salesperson depending upon the survey results and
feedback.
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Bibliography Edwards, J. (2014, February 22). Assesment No.1 and No. 2 Guidelines. Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Edwards, J. (2014). Marketing Research Notes. Sydney.
Kokemuller, N. (2014). The Importance of Sales in an Organization. Your Business.
Ryals , L., & Davies, I. (2010, December). Do You Really Know Who Your Best Salespeople Are?
Harvard Business Review.