RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION OF SALES FORCE

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

Turnover Establish hiring objectives

Strategic position analysis

Decide on the number of people to hire

Job qualification
Job description

Planning

Identify best sources of recruitment: internal and external sources

Generate database of candidates Evaluate candidates

Recruitment

Selection Socialization

Select and induce candidates to accept positions Socialize

Organizational characteristics, company image and climate, styles of supervision, compensation, and motivation of the company

The hiring process

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

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

RECRUITMENT
Is the process of discovering the potential

applications for organizational vacancies.

Definition According to flippo, recruitment is the process of

searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization.

Need and Importance

It helps in determine the present and future

requirements of the employees It increases the pool of job candidates It attracts and encourages more and more candidates to apply in the organizations Helps in reducing the chances that applicants once recruited and selected.

Contd.
Helps in finding out the filling up the positions in

the right territory with right people It increases organizational and individual effectiveness both in the short and long term.

Factors affecting Recruitment

External factors

Supply and demand II. Labour market III. Unemployment rate IV. Goodwill V. Political and legal environment
I.

Contd.
Internal Factors

Recruitment Policy II. Human source planning III. Size of the firm IV. Cost V. Growth and expansions
I.

Sources of Recruitment
Internal source

Sources of recruitment
External source

Internal Sources
Company sales personals

Company executives
Internal transfers Promotions Demotions Interns Former employees

External Sources
Casual applications

Sales representatives of competing companies

Sales representatives Employment exchanges Educational institutions/ universities Placement firms / outsourcing

Contd.
Contractors

Factory gates
Recruitment via internet/ E-Recruitment Press advertisement Employees of customers Trade or Professional assocaition

Selection of Sales Personnel

Definition According to Yoder, Selection is the process by which candidates for the employment are divided into class-those who will be offered employment and those who will not

Selection Procedures
Application blank and resumes
Psychological testing Physical examination

Selection interviews

selection

inductions

Preliminary interviews

References

Application blank and Resume

The application blank form contain the followings

Identifying information such as name, address,

sex, martial status, height, weight etc. Education qualification Health Participation in social events

Preliminary interview
It is conducted to weed out the unsuitable or

unqualified candidates. The purpose of this meeting is the assess the skills and personality traits of the potential candidates. Such interviews are often conducted by personnel specialists or district Sales manager and higher level sales executives like Regional sales manager

Sales interviews
Interview Techniques Background Interview Structured interviews Unstructured Interview Panel interviews Stress interviews

Contd.
Group interviews

Behavioral interview
Audition interview The follow up interviews

Reference Checks
The next task after the interviews is the reference

check. It provides the information about the applicants not available from others sources Applicants submit references which are always good and positive

Test types
Psychological Tests

Intelligence tests
Aptitude tests Personality tests Interest tests Achievement tests Situation tests

Physical examination
All the candidates who have successfully crossed

the earlier hurdles are subjected to physical examination by a qualified medical practitioner The above criteria for medical examination vary with the nature of job and type of organization Though physical examination are costly but many sales managers refer their applicants to go through physical and medical tests before they select them.

Final Selection and Appointment

The candidates who have qualified in medical

examination and who presented necessary documentary evidence regarding qualifications, experience, production of good certificate and no objection certificate from previous employer are eligible for final selections

Inductions or Initial Orientations

It is a process aimed at providing job related and

organization related information to the new sales person. This includes origin and growth of organization, rules and regulations, policies and procedures directly related to sales job, information about sales department, market standing of sales force , disciplinary measures and rights and duties of sales person

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