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

Marketing Research Group Assignment

1 | P a g e

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.


2 | P a g e

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


3 | P a g e

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


4 | P a g e

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


5 | P a g e

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


6 | P a g e

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


7 | P a g e

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


8 | P a g e

2. Account Managers

3. Telesales


9 | P a g e

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.


10 | P a g e

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


11 | P a g e

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


12 | P a g e

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


13 | P a g e

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


14 | P a g e

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


15 | P a g e

Parameters and Salesperson Type

Socialisers Average

Deal Makers Average

Narrator Average

Product Focused Average

Story Teller Average

Consultant Average

Product Closer Average

Expert Average


16 | P a g e

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


17 | P a g e

- 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.


18 | P a g e

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.

Research Proposal for Sales

Sales

Transcript of Research Proposal for Sales