Topic 5 – Developing the Salesforce

For this topic, you will be looking at the following areas when it comes to developing the Salesforce;

·         Importance of Recruitment and Selection.

·         Introduction to Salesforce Socialization.

·         Recruitment and Selection Process.

·         Legal and Ethical Considerations in Recruitment and Selection.

Importance of Recruitment and Selection

1. The recruitment and selection process can be time-consuming and costly. However investing the necessary resources to hire the right people is essential.
2. Recruiting and selecting those best qualified for a position can make the difference between a firm’s long-run ultimate success and failure.
3. Although many factors influence sales performance, sales managers cannot survive without doing a competent job in recruiting and selecting salespeople.
4. As we move into the new millennium, the recruitment and selection process will have to be adjusted to new demographics of an older Salesforce with a higher proportion of women and minorities than in the past.
5. Sales managers face challenges associated with staffing and international Salesforce, as well as with recruiting and selecting for team selling.
6. Proper staffing of the Salesforce is critical given the strong impact of the recruiting process on a firm’s performance and profits.  

Introduction of Salesforce Socialization

Sales force socialization refers to the process by which salespeople acquire the;

1.      Knowledge

2.      Skill and

3.      Values essential to perform their jobs.

The process begins when the sales recruit is exposed to the organization (may extend for several years).

Job outcomes such as job satisfaction, job involvement and commitment, and performance are directly and indirectly affected by recruitment and selection procedures.

Two Steps of Salesforce Socialization – Achieving Realism & Achieving congruence.

1. Achieving Realism – Giving the recruit an accurate portrayal of the job.

2.      Achieving Congruence – Is matching the capabilities of the recruit with the needs of the organization. 

Recruitment and Selection Process

—  Sales organizations must present accurate portrayals of sales job (achieving realism) to sales recruits, who must possess skills and needs compatible with the needs and offerings of the organization (achieving congruence).

—  If these objectives of recruiting and selection are met, Salesforce socialization is enhanced and ultimately, Salesforce performance, job satisfaction, and job involvement and commitment are improved. 

There are three main steps involved in recruiting and selecting salespeople. These are;

·         Planning activities

·         Recruiting activities

·         Selection activities.

Step 1 – Planning for Recruitment and Selection

Proper planning provides more time for locating the best recruits. Upper management can be alerted in advance to probable future needs. The key tasks in planning for recruitment and selection are as follows;

1.      Job Analysis

2.      Job Qualifications.

3.      Job Description.

4.      Recruitment and Selection Objectives.

5.      Recruitment and Selection Strategy

The key tasks in planning for recruitment and selection are as follows;

Job Analysis – To effectively recruit and select salespeople, sales managers must have a complete understanding of the job for which candidates are sought. Job analysis entails an investigation of the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of the job.

Job Qualifications – Job analysis indicates what the salespeople are supposed to do on the job, whereas job qualification refers to aptitude, skills, knowledge, personal traits, and willingness to accept occupational conditions necessary to perform the job. 

The key tasks in planning for recruitment and selection are as follows;

Job Description – Based on the job analysis and job qualifications, a written summary of the job, job description is completed by the sales manager or in many cases the human resource manager. Job descriptions for salespeople could contain any or all of the following;

·         Job Title (e.g. Sales Trainee, Senior sales representative).

·         Duties, Tasks, and responsibilities of the salesperson.

·         Administrative relationship relating to whom the salesperson reports.

·         Type of products to be sold.

·         Customer type.

Significant job-related demands, such as mental stress, physical strength or stamina requirements, or environmental pressures to be encountered.

The key tasks in planning for recruitment and selection are as follows;

Recruitment and Selection Objectives – To be fully operational, recruitment and selection objectives should be specifically stated for a given period. The following general objectives of recruitment and selection could be converted to specific operational objectives in a given form;

·         Determine present and future needs in terms of numbers and types of salespeople.

·         Meet the company’s legal and social responsibilities regarding composition of the Salesforce.

·         Reduce the number of under qualified or over qualified applicants

·         Increase the number of qualified applicants at a specified cost

·         Evaluate the effectiveness of recruiting sources and evaluation techniques. 

Recruitment and Selection Strategy – After selection objectives had been set, recruitment and selection strategy can be developed. Formulating this strategy requires the sales manager to consider the scope and timing of recruitment activities as follows;

1.      When will the recruitment and selection be done?

2.      How will the job be portrayed?

3.      How will efforts with intermediaries, such as employment agencies and college placement Centre’s be optimized?

4.      What type of salespeople will be hired when developing an international Salesforce?

5.      What are the most likely sources for qualified applicant?

Step 2 – Recruitment: Locating Prospective Candidates

—  The next step in the recruitment and selection is to locate a pool of prospective job candidates. The actual recruiting, may use a variety of sources.

—  Internal Sources – One of the most popular methods of locating sales recruits is through employee referral programs. These programs are relatively quick and inexpensive compared with other recruiting methods such as advertising, employment agencies and visiting colleges or universities. Other internal methods include announcing sales job openings through newsletters, on the company intranets, in meetings, or on the bulletin board.

—  External Sources – Although it is a good idea to include internal sources as part of a recruitment and selection program, there may not be enough qualified persons inside the organization to meet the human resource needs of the Salesforce. The search then must be expanded to external sources. For external sources, the search then must be expanded to external sources.

◦      Advertising

◦      On-line

◦      Private Employment Agencies.

◦      Colleges and Universities.

◦      Career Fairs.

◦      Professional Societies.

◦      Computer Rosters.

Step 3 – Evaluation and Hiring

The third step in the recruitment and selection model is the actual selection. As part of the selection process, various tools are used to evaluate the job candidates in term of job qualifications and to provide a relative ranking compared with other candidates;

·         Screening Resumes and Applications.

·         Interviews.

·         Initial Interviews.

·         Intensive Interviews.

·         Testing.

·         Assessment Centres.

·         Background Investigations.

·         Physical Examination.

·         Selection Decision and Job Offer. 

Legal and Ethical and Ethical Considerations In Recruitment and Selection

Key Legislation – The possibility of illegal discrimination permeates the recruitment and selection process, and a basic understanding of pertinent legislation can be beneficial to the sales manager. The legislative acts featured below are federal laws applicable to all firms engaged in interstat commerce;

·         Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution

·         Equal Pay Act (1963)

The legislative acts featured below are federal laws applicable to all firms engaged in interstate commerce;

Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution.

Equal Pay Act (1963).

Civil Rights Act (1964).

Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967).

Fair Employment Opportunity Act (1972).

Rehabilitation Act (1973).

Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Act (1974).

American with Disability Acts (1990). 

Guidelines For Sales Managers

The legislations noted are supported by various executive orders and guidelines that make it clear that sales managers, along with other hiring officials in a firm, have legal responsibilities of grave importance in the recruitment and selection process.

In step one of the selection process, planning for recruitment and selection, sales managers must take care to analyze the job to be filled in an open-minded way, attempting to overcome any personal mental biases.

Example: In the 1980s many sales organizations overcome biases against women is sales positions. These organizations are practically unanimous in reporting that woman have performed as well as, in some cases better than their male counterparts.

Job descriptions and job qualifications should be accurate and based on a thoughtful job analysis. The planning stage may also require that the sales manager consider fair employment legislations. 

Ethical Issues

Two ethical issues of particular importance are;

·         How the job to be filled is represented.

·         How interviews are conducted.

·         Misrepresentation of the job does not always extend into the legal domain. For example, earnings potential may be stated in terms of what the top producer earns, not expected first year earnings of the average salesperson. 

Some ethical issues also arise in interviewing, especially regarding, the stress interview. This technique is designed to put job candidates under extreme, unexpected psychological duress for the purpose of seeing how they react.

The stress interview may create an unfavorable image of the company, and it may alienate some of the better candidates.

 

Sources:

Sales Management Analysis and Decision Making by Pilai, Ingram, LaForge, Avila, Schwepker Jr Williams. 5^th Edition Thomson South-Western