Sales Management

Companies use salespeople to find, sign, and service customers, and to build revenue and profits. Sales management is the discipline of maximizing the benefits a company and its customers receive from the efforts of its sales force. Here are what other experts say:

• “A sales manager can have a narrow or a broad spectrum of responsibilities including the following: estimate demand and prepare sales forecasts; establish sales force objectives and quotas; prepare sales plans and budgets; establish the size and organization of the sales force; recruit, select, and train the sales force; compensate the sales force; control and evaluate sales performances.”
  - Robert D. Hisrich and Ralph W. Jackson, Selling and Sales Management
• “Good sales management properly applied is the least expensive, most effective, way to increase dollars of revenue and margins, market share, cash flow, return on investment, and net present value, as well as to beat the competition and make yourself a hero. . . . It costs no more to properly hire, train, compensate, motivate, and evaluate salespeople. Effective time and territory management, forecasting, planning, budgeting, and good communication and control are no more expensive than performing these same functions poorly.”
  - Robert J. Calvin, Sales Management
• “Sales management: The attainment of sales force goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, staffing, training, directing, and evaluating organizational resources.”
  - Charles M. Futrell, Fundamentals of Selling

Note that these functions are mentioned repeatedly in these summaries of sales management:

• Sales planning
• Recruiting / staffing
• Training
• Controlling / directing
• Evaluating
• Effectiveness / efficiency
• Compensation