Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

PART III

STAFFING THE
SALES TEAM
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 8
PLANNING FOR AND
RECRUITING SUCCESSFUL
SALESPEOPLE

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
A successful sales force is determined by who is hired; this is the
end result of sales human resource management. This chapter
should help you understand:

What sales human resource management is and what its key

relationships are.
The importance of planning for sales personnel needs.
What people planning and employment planning are.
What recruitment means and why it is so important.
The recruiting process: what it is, who does it, and where
recruits are sought.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

WHAT IS SALES
HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT?
Sales human resource management (SHRM)
refers to activities undertaken to attract, develop,
and maintain effective sales force personnel
within an organization.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 8.1 ACTIVITIES INVOLVED IN MANAGING A SALES FORCES

HUMAN RESOURCES

S a le s
H u m a n R e s o u rc e M a n a g e m e n t

P e o p le P la n n in g

H ow M any
to H ire ?

T ype of
P e o p le ?

E m p lo y m e n t P la n n in g

R e c r u itm e n t

S e le c tio n

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

S o c ia liz a tio n

FIGURE 8.2 FROM INTERVIEW TO TERRITORY: A LONG TIME

D e te r m in e
H o w M an y
t o H ir e

F ir s t
I n t e r v ie w

G ra d u a t io n

B e g in
W o rk

T im e L in e

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

T r a in in g
E nds

A s s ig n e d
T e r r it o r y

Whats a salesperson worth?

A salespersons worth depends on what the
salesperson costs to the company and on the
profits from the products he or she sells.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Goal: Hire above-average performers.

Selecting someone who will become an aboveaverage performer improves the overall
performance of the sales group.
A successful hire is someone who performs above
average.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

WHO DOES THE PLANNING?

National sales manager.
Field sales managers.
Top management.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 8.3 SALES FORCE PEOPLE-FORECAST MODEL: FACTORS TO

CONSIDER WHEN DETERMINING HOW MANY TO HIRE

S a le s F o rc e
O b je c t i v e s
S tra te g ic
P la n s

C u rre n t
S a le s F o r c e
P e rso n n e l

H irin g ,
P ro m o tio n s ,
T ra n s fe rs I n

Q u its ,
T e r m in a tio n s ,
P ro m o tio n s ,
T ra n s fe rs O u t,
o r R e tire m e n t

T e rrito ria l
D e s ig n

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

P e o p le
F o re c a s ts

DETERMINING THE TYPE OF

PERSON FOR THE JOB
A job analysis refers to the formal study of jobs to
define specific roles or activities to be performed
in sales promotions.
The three steps in the job analysis are to:
1. Examine the total sales force and each job, and
determine how each job relates to other jobs.
2. Select the jobs to be analyzed.
3. Collect the necessary information through
observation of what people actually do in the jobs,
interviews of people in the jobs, and
questionnaires completed by job holders.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND

SPECIFICATIONS FOR
SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE
Job specifications convert job descriptions into
the qualifications.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

TABLE 8.1 FORMAL JOB DESCRIPTION, TRANSTEX AUTOMOTIVE

SUPPLY CORPORATION
Position: Sales Representive Reports to: District
Manager

NATURE OF JOB
Responsible for developing new accounts and reaching profitable sales goals in assigned territory.
PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBLITIES
Meeting total sales goals for product lines and individual products.
Maintaining an average of six daily sales calls.
Maintaining an average of one monthly product presentation to wholesalers.
DIMENSIONS
Develop strong promotional support from retail and wholesale customers.
Plan effective territorial coverage resulting in high sales/call ratio.
Inform management of activities by submitting daily and weekly call and sales reports to district manager.
SUPERVISION RECEIVED
General and specific tasks are assigned for each sales period. Every two months work with supervisor for a
minimum of one day.
SUPERVISION EXERCISED
None

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Organizational
Unit:
replacement Parts
Date: ( When
Job Was
Described)

WHAT ARE JOB SPECIFICATIONS FOR

SUCCESFUL SALESPEOPLE?
Intelligence
Education

Personality
Experience
Appearance

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

TABLE 8.2 SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL

SALESPEOPLE

1. High energy level

8.

Good physical appearance

2. High self-confidence

9.

Likable

3. Need for material things

10. Self-disciplined

4. Hardworking

11. Intelligent

5. Requires little supervision

12. Achievement oriented

6. High perseverance

13. Good communication skills

7. Competitive

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

PROFILING THE SUCCESSFUL

CANDIDATE
Success in a company may include the following:
Intelligence
Prospecting ability

Ability to create a follow-up system

Ability to influence peoples decisions and
opinions
Ability to cultivate long-term client
relationships
Ability to negotiate contracts and prices
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

PROFILING THE SUCCESSFUL

CANDIDATE

continued

Ability to determine prospects/customers

needs (hot buttons).
Computer skills.

Selling ability.
Conceptual ability.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

RECRUITMENTS PURPOSE
Recruitment is the set of activities and processes
used to legally obtain a sufficient number of
individuals in such a manner that the recruits and
the sales forces best interests are taken into
consideration.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 8.4 MAJOR INFLUENCES AND COMPONENTS OF SALES RECRUITMENT

I n te r n a l
S o u rc e s
S a le s
H um an
R e s o u rc e
P la n n in g

R e c r u itm e n t

A p p li c a n t
Pool

Q u a li fi e d
A p p li c a n t
Pool

E x te r n a l
S o u rc e s

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

E v a lu a t e
R e c r u itm e n t
R e s u lts

S e le c t io n

LEGAL INFLUENCES
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) is the principal governmental agency
responsible for monitoring discriminatory
practices.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

TABLE 8.4 ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS AND ORDERS,

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

TABLE 8.4 ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS AND ORDERS,

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
continued

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

TABLE 8.5 INTERVIEWING CAN AND CANNOT DOS

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

RECRUITMENT OF
SALESPEOPLE
To be an effective recruiter, a sales manager
must have the answer to several questions,
including:
How many people do I need to recruit?
Who does the recruiting?
Where do I find recruits?
How can I develop a qualified pool of
applicants?
How can recruiting programs be evaluated?
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 8.5 RATIO AND DAYS FROM SALES JOB ANNOUNCEMENT TO

REPORTING TO WORK

R e c r u itm e n t P y ra m id

R a tio

D ays

R e p o r t to W o rk

2 :2

21

O ff e r / H i r e s

3 :2

14

10 :1

21

4 :1

30

30
12 0

I n t e r v i e w / O ff e r
L e a d s / I n te r v ie w

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCES OF RECRUITS
WHERE ARE THEY FOUND?
INTERNAL SOURCES
Internal recruitment sources come from inside the
company:
Current Employees.
Promotions.
Transfers.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

EXTERNAL SOURCES
Walk-ins.

The Internet.

Employment agencies.

Internships.

Radio and television.

Colleges and universities.

Newspaper advertisements.

Competitors.

Telephone-in advertisements.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

REALISTIC JOB PREVIEWS HELP BOTH

COMPANY AND RECRUITS
A realistic job preview means that a person is
given pertinent information about the job without
distortion or exaggeration.

Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

Companies can expect these results from

realistic previews:
Newly hired salespeople have a higher
rate of job survival than those hired
using traditional previews.
Salespeople hired indicate higher
satisfaction.
Managers can set the job expectations of
new salespeople at realistic levels.
Realistic previews do not reduce the flow
of highly capable applicants.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

THE QUALIFIED
APPLICANT POOL
The organization should find out:
How candidates obtain information
regarding job availability.
What attracts people to the job.
What the likes and dislikes are about the job.
Why the person took the job.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Sales human resource management (SHRM) is comprised of two
elements: people planning and employment planning.
Developing a successful sales team requires the planning of
personnel needs and analyzing the sales jobs to achieve more
efficient use of human resources.
Job analysis is the definition of specific roles or activities to be
performed.
The goal of managing sales human resources is to hire aboveaverage performers.
In order to hire the right person for the job, there must be a
recruitment strategy.
Copyright 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.