BA 169
Sales Force Management
Fall 1999
Lisa Cain E-mail:
Office: TBD Phone: TBD
Office Hours: Wednesdays 11am-2pm and by appointment
Course Webpage: www.haas.berkeley.edu/Courses/Fall1999/BA169/ba169syllabus.htm ______
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this course are (1) to present several theories and concepts relevant for managing the business-to-business sales force and (2) to provide guidance and practice on how to apply those in practical situations. The bottom-line focus is on maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of this aspect of the firm's promotional efforts. Topics covered include organizational structure, compensation, evaluation, motivation, deployment, and managing change.
This course is positioned for general managers who interface with sales divisions as well as for sales managers themselves. Note that this course is primarily about management of salespeople. We will briefly discuss personal selling as it relates to sales management issues.
READINGS AND CASES
The required text for this class is:
Churchill, Gilbert A., Neil M. Ford, and Orville C. Walker (1997), Sales Force Management, Fifth Edition, Irwin: Homewood Illinois.
A course reader with cases is also required.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
1. Class Participation (20%): The extent to which the objectives of the course are achieved will depend in large part on the quality of the discussion. 25% of your grade will be based on the combined quality and quantity of your class participation in cases and lectures.
2. Group Projects (35%): Self-selected groups of no more than four people will be responsible for two group projects. You should decide by September 17th who your group members are and send me an e-mail with that information.
Project 1: DigitalThink Case (15%): All groups must write-up this case and hand it in before class on November 17th. There is a five-page limit on text and a three-page limit on exhibits.
Project 2: Group Presentation (20%): The presentation will be in class on December 1 and will be a presentation of a case analysis chosen from the text or an analysis of a company’s sales force.
3. Examinations (45%): There will be one mid-term and one final examination. Each will be a set of essays addressing problems covered in the course. The exams will be closed book and will stress the use of class materials to diagnose and solve sales management problems. The mid-term will be 20% of your grade, while the final will be 25% of your grade.
COURSE FORMAT
Lectures will highlight elements of the readings, provide an organizing framework for the topic of the day, and cover new material. Copies of overheads will be distributed at the beginning of each lecture.
Cases will illustrate and expand the lectures, introduce new material, and allow for practice in sales force decision-making. The cases have been carefully selected to make a series of points. Many of the cases are not particularly recent. This is because a case is a pedagogical device designed to make a point, and these cases have been proven to do so well. They are not intended to be a summary of current events in a particular industry or market.
The course text is very detailed and thorough with exploration into a number of secondary issues and many examples and checklists. In general, where the text offers a clear exposition of important material, I assign it but do not go over it in class. The reading assignments are to be completed before each class; I suggest that you read selectively, for the main ideas in the assigned chapters.
The Churchill et al. text is a very useful reference and is widely considered the standard in this subject. For purposes of a project or for reference as you encounter specific problems after you graduate, the text is helpful. You are also not responsible for the appendices or the cases at the end of chapters.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Topic
/ AssignmentsINTRODUCTION & PERSONAL SELLING
Aug. 25
/ Introduction & Course OverviewAug. 27 / Marketing & Effective Personal Selling / Chapters 1, 4
Sep. 1 / Business to Business Selling and the Buy Class Framework / Chapter 2
Sep. 3 / Managing the Selling Process / Case: Lawford Electric
STRATEGIC ISSUES IN SALES FORCE MANAGEMENT
Sep. 8 / Vertical Integration & the Selling Function / Case: JamestownSep. 10 / Control Systems / Chapter 5
Sep.15 / Structuring the Sales Force / Case: Wright Line
Sep. 17 / Structuring the Sales Force Continued / Case: Siebel
Sep. 22 / Territory Response Functions & Sales Force Allocation / Case: Syntex
Chapter 6
Sep. 24 / Territory Design / Chapter 7:
Guest Speaker: Ty Curry, ZS Associates
Sep. 29 / Strategy for Optimal Sales Productivity
Oct. 1 / Wrap-up Strategic Issues in SFM
Oct. 6 / Mid-term Examination
TACTICAL ISSUES IN SALES FORCE MANAGEMENT
Oct. 8 / Models of Salesperson Performance / Chapters 9, 10Oct. 13 / Sales Analysis / Case: Milford (A only)
Chapter 16
Oct. 15 / Performance Appraisal- By the Numbers / Case: Milford B
Oct. 20 / Performance Appraisal- Beyond the numbers / Chapter 18
Oct. 22 / Compensation / Chapters 8, 15
Mini-cases (class handout)
Oct. 27 / Compensation & Motivation / Case: Mary Kay Cosmetics
Oct. 29 / Motivation / Chapter 14
Case: IMAGE
Nov. 3 / Selection / Chapters 11 and 12
Case: IDS
Nov. 5 / Training / Chapter 13
Guest Speaker: Tom Heimsoth
Nov. 10 / Information Systems & Services Selling / Case: Profiling at National-Mutual
Nov. 12 / Sales Force Automation
Nov. 17 / Putting it all together / Case: DigitalThink
Nov. 19 / DigitalThink Follow-up / Guest Speaker: Pete Goettner (DigitalThink)
Nov. 24 / Ethical Issues in Sales Force Management / Mini-cases: class handout
Dec. 1 / Group Presentations
Dec. 3 / Course wrap-up and Review
Preparation Questions for Cases
Lawford Electric
1. Where did Allen lose the sale?
2. What did Allen do right? What did he do wrong? What did he not do at all?
3. Who is in the Decision Making Unit (DMU)? What role does each play, and how much influence does each have? How much importance does Allen appear to assign them?
The Jamestown Company
1. What are Jamestown’s current environment, goals, strengths, and weaknesses? Does the proposed changeover fit?
2. What are the costs, benefits, and risks of integrating forward into selling for Jamestown?
3. Are the computations and considerations listed in O’Brian’s report accurate and complete?
4. Are there any other ways to achieve Jamestown’s goals?
Wright Line (A)
1. What market segments are recognized in this case, and how do buyers in these segments make purchasing decisions?
2. How would you assess the new plan?
3. What options does Wright Line have, and what would you recommend?
Syntex
1. Be prepared to do an analysis in class. The major question: would you request money for additional reps now?
Milford Industries (A)
Milford (A) is designed to show just how far a manager can (and cannot) go based on “the numbers.” It is useful to see what the figures in isolation tell you. Therefore, you will derive maximum benefit from the exercise if you do not skip ahead to (B).
1. What is the problem in the Capitol district that management expects Oates to solve?
2. Using your text and lecture materials on performance assessment, determine who is the best and who is the worst salesperson in the Capitol district. Be prepared to list your criteria, explain your calculations, and defend your arguments.
3. What do the numbers suggest as explanations for the performance (or lack thereof) of each of the eight salespeople? What ratios would you calculate to evaluate performance?
Milford Industries (B)
1. Develop in detail a recommended course of action for each of the four individuals, using both your conclusions from (A) and the supplemental information in (B). Your recommendations must be specific.
Mary Kay Cosmetics
1. Calculate the annual income of:
(a) a consultant who sells an average of $150 (at wholesale value) of product per month;
(b) a VIP team leader with 15 recruits who averages monthly personal sales of $650 and team sales of $3200 (assume she receives a 12% commission on recruits' sales);
(c) a director with 50 active unit members, who averages monthly personal sales of $500, personal recruits' sales of $5000, and total unit sales of $9500. Assume she recruits three new consultants every three months, which entitles her to a recruiting bonus of $200 per quarter. Apply a 12% commission on recruits' sales and an 11% commission to total unit sales. Also add in a monthly production bonus of $700.
2. Based on these calculations, what components of the financial incentives program appear to be the primary motivators for the sales force?
3. Describe a typical VIP Consultant in terms of
• demographics
• income
• management responsibilities
4. Recommend a set of changes to the VIP car program that will improve overall sales force effectiveness at Mary Kay. Consider the motivational risks and cost effectiveness of your proposals as well as how they could be implemented. Be as specific as possible.
I.M.A.G.E.
1. Is this any way to run a sales force? Does it perform? Can it generalize to other environments?
2. What do you think of the contents?
3. What changes, if any, would you suggest?
4. Is this system consistent with the principles implied in your readings? If so, is this desirable?
IDS
1. Which of the problems raised in the case should most concern Saunders? Which problem is the right problem?
2. What's going on in the financial planning industry, and what is IDS' place in it?
3. How do people buy financial plans? How do you know that you need one? How would you select a financial planner? What do people worry about when they buy financial plans? Why the low number of plan sales per planner?
4. If you were an experienced financial planner, would you rather work for IDS or for Integrated Resources? Why?
5. Why are there so many headquarters marketing programs?
6. Why is there so much emphasis on new clients?
7. Why is the field force so strong in the backwaters and so weak in the metropolitan areas?
8. Why is it so hard to keep district managers?
Profiling at National Mutual (A)
1. How well does the Profiling technology match the current sales process of the National Mutual sales force?
2. Who are the most important people to have supporting the Profiling technology? How important is local management support? How do you think local managers will feel about supporting the technology?
3. Design a plan for Mears to implement Profiling. What part of the country should be involved in what order? Should the approach be broad or focused? Who should be in charge of the roll out? How should training be designed?
4. What specific measures should Mears use to determine the impact of Profiling? What should be considered a success?
5. What would you expect to happen to Profiling at NM six months after the date of the case? Make specific predictions of how many Profiles will be completed per agent per week, and the number of agents using the technology.
DigitalThink
1. How many salespeople does DigitalThink need?
2. Answer the ten questions in the case.
CLASS DISCUSSION
Each student is expected to participate regularly in class discussion, both as called upon by the instructor and on a voluntary basis. A substantial part of the benefit you will derive from the assignments is a function of your willingness to expose your viewpoints and conclusions to the critical judgment of the class, as well as of your ability to build upon and evaluate the judgments of your classmates.
Exam Guide
Both the mid-term and final examination will have similar formats. They will require you to analyze mini-cases with the focus being on implementing concepts and tools learned in this course. In addition to being legible, the focus should be on analysis - not restatement of case facts/figures. More information will be provided prior to the mid-term examination.
Group Project Description
Self-selected groups will be responsible for identifying a sales force group to work with or choosing one of the four comprehensive cases (4-1, 4-2, 4-3 or 4-4) at the end of the textbook and writing a case study on that sales force.
Group Project Dates to Remember:
September 17: Turn in a note or e-mail with a list of group members (no more than four people).
October 1: Turn in a note or e-mail with a brief description of which case you have chosen or which sales force you will evaluate/analyze. If too many groups choose the same case, we will conduct a coin toss to assign the cases. Of course, if you are working with an outside sales force and not doing a textbook case, this will not be a problem.
October 29: Turn in a note or e-mail with a brief description of how the project is progressing - what roadblocks you are encountering, what is done, what still needs to be done, etc.
December 1: Group project presentations.