1. Sales and Distribution
Management, 2e
Dr Tapan K. Panda, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai
Dr Sunil Sahadev, University of Sheffield, UK
Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press
Chapter 9: Recruitment and Selection of the Sales Force

2. Chapter 9
Recruitment and selection of the
sales force
Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press
Chapter 9: Recruitment and Selection of the Sales Force

3. The sales manager
• performs sales management +HR
management !
• recruits, selects, trains, motivates, leads,
controls, and compensates sales teams
• selection and recruitment of efficient sales
people is always a process of building competitive
advantage for an organization
Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press
Chapter 9: Recruitment and Selection of the Sales Force

4. Turnover
Strategic position analysis
Job qualification
Decide on the number of
people to hire
Job description
Establish
hiring
objectives
Planning
Identify best sources of recruitment:
internal and external sources
Recruitment
Generate database of
candidates
Evaluate candidates
Selection
Select and induce candidates
to accept positions
Socialization
Organizational
characteristics,
company image
and climate,
styles of
supervision,
compensation,
and motivation of
the company
Socialize
The hiring process
Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press
Chapter 9: Recruitment and Selection of the Sales Force

5. Challenges in sales force selection
•
personality types matching to job profiles
•
one of the measures that the organization looks in an
employee is:
- the ability to perform by an employee
= ability x motivation
•
level of motivation
Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press
Chapter 9: Recruitment and Selection of the Sales Force

6. Planning for recruitment
1. Strategic position analysis
2. Turnover
3. Job analysis
• gathering and organization of information
• concerning the tasks, duties and
responsibilities of a specific job
3. Task inventory analysis and KSA matrix
• job qualification
• job description
Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press
Chapter 9: Recruitment and Selection of the Sales Force

7. Sales force recruitment
• recruitment is an act of inducing qualified and
appropriate people to get interested in and apply
for a salesperson’s position within a sales
organization
• internal sources
- existing employees
- lateral and upward moves
- interns and cooperative students
- employee referral programmes
• external sources
- industry sources
- educational institutions and campus
recruitments
- employment exchanges
- placement consultants
- walk in interviews
Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press
Chapter 9: Recruitment and Selection of the Sales Force

8. External sources
contd...
- networking referrals
- web consultants
- responses to direct open advertisements
Selection procedure
- inviting application forms
- personal interviews
- reference checks
- physical examinations
- psychological tests
- intelligence
- personality
- aptitude and skills
- determination of terms of service
- appointment
- initial orientation
Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press
Chapter 9: Recruitment and Selection of the Sales Force

9. Socialization process
• process of orienting a new salesperson to the
sales organization, territory, or division in which
he or she will be working
• three stages
Anticipatory stage
Encounter stage
Settling stage
Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press
Chapter 9: Recruitment and Selection of the Sales Force

10. Socialization process
• process of orienting a new salesperson to the
sales organization, territory, or division in which
he or she will be working
• three stages
Anticipatory stage
Encounter stage
Settling stage
Copyright © 2011 Oxford University Press
Chapter 9: Recruitment and Selection of the Sales Force