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May 15, 2010

Sales Management - Managing different types of customers and types of sales calls

Accounts management is one of the most significant aspects of sales management. Accounts in sales management mean the customers. They should not be confused with the traditional accounts of financial management. Each customer is called an account and these accounts become the responsibility of the concerned sales person. Thus the concerned sales person is called the accounts executive. This type of nomenclature is very popular in the service sector especially the advertising field. The effective management of the accounts for profit maximization from the company's side and utmost satisfaction from the customer side is called accounts management.

According to the importance given by the company and the orders and the magnitude of service required accounts are classified into various categories like house accounts, major accounts, large accounts and One-Off- Sales. These are discussed briefly below.

House Accounts: These are major and loyal customers of the company. These have been with the company for a long time and the company feels that they are special. Their needs are targeted with extra care and they are given priority. The accounts are handled from the office itself that is why the name, HOUSE ACCOUNTS. The responsibility of this account will be borne by the Sales manager himself.

Major accounts: These are large private sector companies that will give multiple orders. As the orders are given in multiples they have to be treated more gently and with lot of care. These accounts are handled by experienced Sales people with lots of experience.

Large accounts: These are large governmental concerns that will give multiple orders some time in excess of 100 numbers at a time. These accounts are handled by experienced Sales people with lots of experience in handling large organizations. These sales people have to be well versed with the way as how government organizations buy. The sales people have to know the process of tendering, quotations, least price quotes, price negotiations and others. Loyalty of the customer and the service imparted becomes vital when one is selling to the government. The sales person should also be well versed with credit and the payment procedures that the government concerns follow.

One-Off-Sales: These are companies that will take a product and will not buy again. As the number of orders that we can except form these customers is limited these accounts are given to the fresh sales people so that they can get experienced. Once they get more experienced they are moved to the other accounts. In big companies One-Off-Sales accounts are handled by the dealers/Distributors of the company and the company sales people assist the dealer salespeople to make sales to the One-Off-sales accounts.

The different types of sales calls that have to be made by the sales person are

Prospecting Calls: These are calls in which the sales person tries to find out more about the customer and his organization.

Cold Calls: These are calls that are made on customer without appointment. It is a good way to call on people who are reluctant to meet sales people.

Enquiry Calls: These are calls made on the customer to find out if there in any requirement or if any enquiry is being raised for procurement of a product or service.

Customer Contact Calls: This is the call in which the sales person gets in contact with the buyer.

Follow up calls: All calls except cold call till the order is received are called follow up calls.

Demo/Presentation Calls: This is one of the most important calls. In this call the sales person demonstrates the use of the product. If the demo is effective it will immediately lead to an order.

Price negotiations/objections handling Calls: These calls are calls where the objections stated and hidden are clarified by the seller and the seller and the buyer negotiate on the price, credit and the delivery terms.

Order picking up Calls: This is the call where the sales person picks up the order and commits the delivery of the product.

Post order delivery/Installation/training calls: These are the calls that the sales person makes in order to see that the product is delivered and  installed. The sales person ensures that the product is in working in a proper condition and that the customer uses the product properly and optimally.

Payment collection Calls: This is the most important call. This is the stage in which the sales person picks up the payment. If the customer is not able to pay as per the agreement some restraint should be exercised by the salesman. This is to ensure a smooth working relationship with the customer.

Courtesy calls: These are calls that are made on the customer. These calls will ensure customer satisfaction, receiving of feedback, attending to complaints, repairs, maintenance and others. Courtesy calls also ensure that adequate market knowledge can be gathered. Courtesy calls can also lead to referral building that can lead to more orders.

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