Sales Report

What Is a Sales Report?

A sales report, or sales analysis report, gives an overview of the sales activities

within an organization. It just not shows the different trends happening in the sales

volume over a certain time, but also analyzes the performance of sales executives.

Sales report shows whether sales are increasing or declining. At any time during the

fiscal year, sales managers may analyze the trends in the report to determine the best

course of action as these reports provides a great help to managers to monitor the

performance of their sales team, plan effective sales strategies, decide on a sales

forecasting process and most importantly, maintain or reduce the length of the sales

cycle.

It provides the snapshot of the company’s exercise at a specific moment in time to

assess the situation and determine the best decision to make and the type of action

to undertake and helps in finding potential new opportunities where results can be

improved.

Types of Sales Reports

Types of Sales

Reports

Progress or Call Report

Sales Work Plan Report

Expense Report

New Business Report

Loss Sales Report

Complaints and

Adjustment Report

Essentials of a Good Sales Report

Title-The report should have a proper title to describe the subject matterreported therein. The report should be in a good form and should have sub-headings and paragraph divisions. The name of recipient of the report shouldbe written on the top of the report.

Factual-The report-should be factual, based on the facts and the notions andideas of the person preparing the report should not be allowed to influence thereport.

Time Bound-The report should relate to a certain period and the period oftime should be indicated on the top of the report.

Clear -The report should be clear, so that not just the sales team anddepartment but should be clear to all other departments in the organizationand can be easily understood by everyone.

Brief-A report should be short in length so that can be quickly read by otherswithout spending too much time on it.

Concise- Concise writing means using the fewest words possible to deliverthe details of the report clearly. It helps in grabbing and holding peopleattention. It’s also likely to be more memorable and make a lasting impact onyour reader.

Quick -The reporting must be prompt because information delayed isinformation denied. If a considerable time elapses between happening ofevents and reporting, opportunity for taking appropriate action may be lost orsome wrong decisions may be taken by management in the absence ofinformation.

Periodical Reports-The periodicity of a report should be kept in mind andreports should be submitted in time. The report should be in a good form andshould have sub-headings and paragraph divisions.

Appropriate remarks- should be given in the report. It saves valuable timeof the management and ensures prompt attention. Adequate data should begiven to suggest possible course of action.

Truthful-The report should be taken as correct within the permissible degreeof inaccuracy. The margin of error allowed will depend upon the purpose forwhich the report is prepared.

Highlight significant deviations -The report should draw manager’sattention immediately to the exceptional matters so that management byexception may be carried out effectively. Thus, reports should highlightsignificant deviations from standards.

Visual Reporting -through graphs, charts and diagrams should be preferredto descriptive reports because visual reporting attract the eye more quicklyand leaves a lasting impression on the mind.

Detailed analysis- In all possible cases a detailed analysis should be given forall the resultant variances between actual for the period compared tostandards/budgets, be it sales, purchases, production, profit or loss, capitalexpenditure, working capital position, etc., so that exact causes of lowperformance may be known and timely corrective action may be taken.

Similar Format-The format of a report should not be changed from period toperiod, if the format is to be changed for making any improvement,justification for change in the format or contents should be given.

Essentials of aGood Sales Report

Quick SimilarFormat

Detailedanalysis

PeriodicalReports

Concise

Brief

Highlightsignificantdeviations

VisualReporting

TimeBound

Clear

Title

Factual

Truthful

Appropriate remarks

Prompt

Ethical aspects of Personal Selling

Personal selling is that part of promotion of marketing mix where customer have a direct one toone contact with the seller’ s representative who have this major responsibility on him/her, not justto promote the brand, creates or enhances the image of the overall offerings of his organization butalso to correct the image the of the organization, if any, in the eye of the customers.

Every word used by the personal seller, gesture of a personal seller can have a tremendous effecton the overall behavior of the customer which is reflected in the behavior of customers positively(when they place an order) or negatively (when no order is placed or customer has shown negativeor very low interest).

Since personal seller has this opportunity to interact directly with the ultimate and potentialcustomer, they can strive to earn the trust of the customer, whereby making them more trust worthygenuine and ethical by giving them a presentation of their products in an appealing manner, whichin further helps in establishing the trust factor between the marketer and the customer, which isbeneficial not just in present but for future as well

Personal sellers, through their overall behavior, which includes -

Body Language

Their Mannerism

Politeness

Etiquettes

Being a patient listener

Assertiveness

Spontaneous

Problem solving approach

When a personal seller through showcasing these attributes wins the trust of the customerhe is definitely being ethical towards its job but also to the customers also.

Since the personal sellers are the face of the organization in front of customers, equipped with thethorough knowledge of his organization and its offerings, they have to be sincere, loyal and ethical.

Ethics means a set of moral principles which govern a person’s behavior or how the activity isconducted. It’s a means a mode of communication between a seller and a buyer. It means “GoodConduct” or “Conduct which is right in view of the society and the time period”, and guides youto decide which is wrong and right.

Ethics are moral principles and values, rules of conduct or principles of morality that govern theactions and decisions of an individual, group or an organization as a whole, that point us towardsthe right or best way to act in a situation. Ethics vary from person to person, society-to-societypoint of view. Remember that the various people have different backgrounds, values and interests.

Ethical practices definitely plays a very important role in helping companies develop an excellentreputation, which helps bring in additional customers, generates positive publicity, and can helpsolidify support for the organization in times of crisis and controversy. Each individual's actions

within the company affects both the individual and the entire organization. When an employee actsethically and responsibly, it helps the entire organization.

Though the subject of ethics is often considered abstract or relative by those who believe that rulesdo not always apply to them but rules and laws apply to everyone, as do standards of right andwrong behavior.

Ethics manifests both as written and unwritten codes of moral standards that are critical to thecurrent activities and future aspirations of a business organization. They can differ from onecompany to another because of differences in cultural perspectives, operational structures andstrategic orientations. The guiding framework of business ethics permeates all levels of theorganization. It is about having the wisdom to determine the difference between right actions andwrong decisions.

Understanding the importance of ethics in business is the key to success. Customers, management,and employees all appreciate honest and ethical practices adopted by the personal sellers. Ethicsin selling are vital because they help maintain a great reputation, build a cordial and healthyrelationship with the customers, clear the negative image of either the organization or the products,help avoid significant financial and legal issues, and they ultimately benefit everyone involved inthe process- they themselves and most importantly the customers.

Personal selling and salesmanshipB. Com

Paper BC 6.3(a)Ethical aspects of Personal Selling

Ethical aspects of Personal Selling are as follows:-

Ethicalaspects

ofPersonalSelling

Gifts

Sales Puffery orMisrepresentatio

n

Entertainment

DamagedMerchandise

Inflated Expense

Taking AwayCustomers

AnticompetitivePractices

SabotagingCompetitors

InflatingExpenseReport

Misselling

HighPressureSelling

UnlicensedSelling

Personal selling and salesmanshipB. Com

Paper BC 6.3(a)Ethical aspects of Personal Selling

Ethical aspects of Personal Selling are as follows:-

Ethicalaspects

ofPersonalSelling

Gifts

Sales Puffery orMisrepresentatio

n

Entertainment

DamagedMerchandise

Inflated Expense

Taking AwayCustomers

AnticompetitivePractices

SabotagingCompetitors

InflatingExpenseReport

Misselling

HighPressureSelling

UnlicensedSelling

Personal selling and salesmanshipB. Com

Paper BC 6.3(a)Ethical aspects of Personal Selling

Ethical aspects of Personal Selling are as follows:-

Ethicalaspects

ofPersonalSelling

Gifts

Sales Puffery orMisrepresentatio

n

Entertainment

DamagedMerchandise

Inflated Expense

Taking AwayCustomers

AnticompetitivePractices

SabotagingCompetitors

InflatingExpenseReport

Misselling

HighPressureSelling

UnlicensedSelling

Personal selling and salesmanshipB. Com

Paper BC 6.3(a)Ethical aspects of Personal Selling

Unethical Aspects of Personal Selling

EthicalAspects

ofPersonalSelling

Bribery

Fairness

Honesty

Price

ProductPersonnel

Confidentiality

Advertising

Manipulationof Data