Part I
THE BIG PICTURE
Chapter 2:
Strategy and Sales
Program Planning
The natural progression
How to make sales force and sales
program decision
Business
Strategy
Marketing
Strategy
Go-to-Market
Strategy
Supply Chain
Management (SCM)
Customer
Relationship
Management (CRM)
LEVEL 2
Strategy
Implementation
Decisions
Product Development
Management
(PDM)
LEVEL 1
Top
Management
Decisions
Figure 2-1 The Sales Force Decision Sequence

management culture
Marketing Strategy
Figure 2-3
: Hierarchy of Sales Objectives
Corporate goals
Maximize shareholder wealth
Business unit objectives
12% revenue growth
Grow pre-tax profits by 18%
Marketing objectives
Increase product A’s market share by 2 points
Grow contributions after sales & marketing by 20%
Sales department objectives
Achieve sales revenue of $210 million
Grow contributions after sales expenses by 25%
Sales district objective
Achieve sales revenue of $10.5 million in product A
Obtain $7 million contributions after direct selling
Salesperson objective
Achieve sales revenues of $1.2 million in product A
Obtain $0.8 million in gross margin dollars
Major account objective
Achieve sales revenues of $95,000 in product A
Obtain an average gross margin of 80%
A Look into What
Companies Want . . . .
0
10
70
60

80
40
20
Building
Brand of
Company/
product
Enhancing
credibility
of company
product
Increasing
sales/
revenue
Investor
relations
Saving
costs
Other
How Successful Were You at Reaching Your Goals?
68%
58%
72%
94%
83%
93%
32%
42%
28%
6%

unique leading to high brand loyalty and
low price sensitivity.
High Profit Sales Programs:

 Selective use of independent sales agents
 Focused on long-term customer relationships
 Structured so that managers intensely
supervised a limited number of salespeople
 Compensation was largely salary based
 Salespeople were evaluated on their behaviors
as well as their outcomes.

Niche Strategy:

Servicing a target market very well,
focusing all decisions with the target
market needs in mind, dominating sales
with the segment.
High Profit Sales Programs:

Experts in the operations and opportunities
associated with a target market. Otherwise the
firm adopted the program characteristics
associated with the appropriate value creation
strategy above. Figure 2-4: Business Strategies and High Profit Sales Force Programs

Build Strategy

customers
Focus on
account
penetration
Call on most
profitable
accounts only
Reduce overall
service levels
Reduce
inventory levels
Maintain
distribution
Invest as
little time as
necessary
Marketing
Strategies
Sales
Strategies
Hold Strategy
Maintain market
share at the
lowest costs
possible
Harvest Strategy
Reduce costs
and focus on
profit, not market
share

Computers (1988-1990)
0%
5%
10%
15%
5 6 7 8
Low High
Sales Force Ranking
Growth