REFLECTIVE NOTES

Report Part 1- Describe new insights explored + Part 2 – Interpret the insights

Curtain Raiser Session – Busting Myths about sales

Previously, these were the myths that I had about sales:

1. Sales is not for girls.

 Sales is a skills-based profession and not a gender-specific one. Women have become top sales
professionals in various sectors.
 Indra Nooyi (Former CEO, PepsiCo)
Indra Nooyi, prior to taking the CEO role, was the key player in business development and strategic
selling for PepsiCo.
She played a key role in growing PepsiCo’s market and propelling revenues, demonstrating that sales is
leadership and vision, not about gender.
 Mary Kay Ash (Founder, Mary Kay Inc.)
She created a billion-dollar cosmetics empire through direct selling and a powerful salesforce of
women.
Her achievements refuted the stereotype that sales is a man's job, demonstrating that women can lead,
sell, and develop businesses worldwide.
 Ms. Chunku Pani- Member & Stakeholder Manager, South Asia

2. Sales is all about cold calling

Elon musk, owner of tesla believes in word of mouth and brand advocacy and social media marketing.

3. High pressure targets driven job:

Apple do not push their products in the market, they educate the customers about their products.

4. Sales is only a field job

Amazon inside sales model, HubSpot remote sales team

5. Selling is unethical.
6. Sales require door to door sales.
7. Sales is for extroverts.

Module-1 Nature, Roles and Importance of Sales Management

 Sales drives company revenue by bringing in customers.
 Customer long term value - Purpose of salesperson.

Evolution of Sales Management:

1.) Production Concept: More you make, more you sell. Demand Driven.
2.) Product Concept: Best you produce, best you sell. Quality.
3.) Selling Concept: Pushing/ Bribing the customer with offer/ incentive. We assume the need of the
customer.
4.) Marketing Concept: Understanding the need of the customer. We design, price, promote, place the
product accordingly in the market.

Sales Management:
Planning, implementing and controlling an organization’s sales activities to achieve business objective.
  Overseeing/ Supervising sales team
 Set target
 Developing strategies
 Managing customer relationship
 Analysing employee performance
 Maintaining profitability by doing above

Key Functions of Sales Management:

1.) Sales Planning: (Corporate Level)
 Setting goals and objective
 Forecasting Sales (Regression tools are used)
 Budgeting (Expenses)
 Strategy
2.) Sales operation (Business Level)
 Managing sales team (Recruitment, engagement)
 Territory- Sales starts from here. Fundamental unit of market (Geography unit & Customer
unit)
 Resources – Assigning team properly.
3.) Sales Execution (Functional Level)
 Implementing Strategies
 Prospecting
 Closing Deals

4.) Sales Analysis & Reporting

5.) Customer Relationship Management

Key account manager: KAM is a sales expert tasked with developing and nurturing long-term relationships
with a firm's most valuable customers (key accounts). They specialize in getting to know customer needs,
offering customized solutions, and generating revenue while ensuring business development and customer
satisfaction.

Ashok Leyland key customers are Agarwal logistics and Beeaar automobiles in Lucknow. ITC recently gave an
order of around 150 HCV in Madhya Pradesh. In hero MotoCorp for dealer position some of its sub dealers act
as their key customer because they order in large numbers.

Nature of Sales Management:

1. Integration with marketing management

 Field selling: They work in territory, brand, region and cluster. These activities are supported
by headquarters marketing team. In Ashok Leyland they generate lead through calling and
print advertising. Then they visit their lead and explain everything about the vehicle ,
understand customers need.
 Headquarters marketing team: Supports sales team (Marketing communication, research ,
customer service, market logistics) . This work is done at corporate headquarters of Ashok
Leyland in Chennai. They have tagline of “Koi manzil door nahin” , “ Aapki jeet humari jeet.”

2. Scope of Sales Management

 Sales Planning and Strategy:
 Market segmentation and customer targeting.
 Developing pricing strategies and promotional plans
 Penetration pricing (High promotion and low pricing) E.g.: IKEA, Reliance smart
bazaar, Walmart, Amazon
 Rapid skimming pricing (High price, promotion is also high. E.g.: New iphone
model, Colour television
*Fast fashion brands follow law of average to finish their products
 Slow skimming pricing (High price, low promotion) E.g.: Rolls Royce, Rolex
  Sales force Management
 Recruitment, training and motivation of sales team
 Assigning sales target and evaluating the performance
 Territory management and resource allocation

 Customer Relationship Management

 Building & maintain customer relationship
 Handling customer feedback and complaints
 Sales Operations & Execution
 Channel: Pathway through which product/service should meet the end customer.
General trade- Wholesalers, retailers, D2C, Modern trade- Croma , Reliance digital,
E-commerce -Amazon, Flipkart
 Negotiation and closing deals
Best alternative to negotiation is BATNA.
 Sales Performance Analysis
 Measuring KPI, monitoring competitor strategies and market trends
 Technology & Automation
 CRM software, digital marketing, E- commerce
 Ethical Aspects
 Ethical selling practices and corporate responsibilities.

Industry Perspective: In Ashok Leyland they also do their sales planning and strategy. Their market segment
for Lucknow is N2 region covering Uttar Pradesh east and some part of Delhi. Then for managing their sales
force they have appointed territory sales managers. There are two territory sales managers in Lucknow. These
territory sales managers a lot sales target in every dealership showroom. To maintain good customer
relationship, they provide service at the same location. They constantly remind their customer through calls for
servicing their vehicles and take their feedback regularly. TSMs role is to provide assistance, discover market
potential and generate market share in the industry. They supervise their sales team to generate more dealers in
different regions of Uttar Pradesh.

There of sales operation channel and execution is through general trade only in which they work in dealership
models providing sales, service and spares at one location that is their 3S model. They use SAP Hana DBMS in
their service segment to provide smooth interface.

3. Skills of modern sales manager:

i. People skills
 Sales manager should be more team oriented than task oriented. Its should be
mentoring than coaching. Salesperson should have conflict resolution approach.
ii. Manager skills
iii. Technical skills
4. Roles of modern sales manager
i. Strategic planning: Long term, short term goals, sales forecasting , competitor analysis,
SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis
ii. Coordination: Aligning different departments to meet the planning
iii. Use of technology ERP, CRM
iv. Managing multiple channels: Personal selling, telemarketing, online

Types of Sales Jobs

1. Retail sales
2. Corporate sales/ B2B
3. Field sales
4. Inside sales
5. Financial & Insurance sales
6. Luxury & High product sales
Industry Perspective: Ashok Leyland is a commercial vehicle company working in heavy commercial vehicle
(HCV), small commercial vehicles(SCV) light commercial vehicles(LCV). Ashok Leyland only works in
dealership basis. They have 3 dealerships in Lucknow for LCV. They have retail salesperson and corporate
salesperson because they deal in both B2B and B2C. They have field salespersons- there role is to visit villages
and sell truck individually to customers. These are those customers which have good money and buy truck for
small purpose as well.

Our spoc was regional sales manager Shanij Mohan Gupta, who's responsibility was to manage the whole Uttar
Pradesh territory sales managers. Purpose of sales in Ashok Leyland means developing more dealerships in
different regions of Uttar Pradesh and acquiring more customer from logistics business.

Personal selling: In context of consumers & business

Cross selling: When we try to sell more things along with the main product.

Upselling: When we are selling upgraded item to the person.

Personal selling:
1. Advocate the product/ service to the customer
2. Customer needs
3. Customer profile
4. Currently using & problem facing

Personal communication of information so as to persuade a prospective customer to buy a product , a

service or an idea that satisfies the needs of the buyer.

Evolution of personal selling from persuasion and negotiation to consultative and partnership.

Consultative sales process:

Customer focused approach where the salesperson acts as a trusted advisor, understanding customer needs
before offering a solution.

Key Principles of consultative selling

 Building trust and support. Understanding buying power and pain point of the customers
 Asking insightful questions: Based on SPIN- Situation, Problem, Implication, Need of payoff.
 Providing a tailored solution.
 Long term relationship focuses.

5 Steps of Consultative sales process:

1. Research and preparation – Customer background, industry and pain points understanding
2. Engage and build rapport – Establish trust through meaningful conversations.
3. Discover needs -Open ended questions to identify challenges and goals
4. Present tailored solutions - Align your product/services with customer needs
5. Handle objection & Close – Address concerns and secure commitment.

Examples

 HubSpot – inbound marketing solutions

 Salesforce- Crm for business growth
 Deloitte- Consulting and professional services
 IBM – B2B technology & IT services

Partnership Selling
Member of our customer teams, see through their eyes, care about their success and contribute to their bottom
line.
Steps of partnership selling (ENABLES)

1. E- Establish rapport
2. N- Nix preconceived notions; remove negative notions from the mind.
3. A-Ask questions; relevant questions
4. B- Be accepting
5. L- Listen carefully
6. E- Ensure understanding
7. S- Share ideas

Examples:

 Private Banking for wealth management (JB Morgan , Goldman Sachs, UBS)
 Med life insurance
 Nike
 Marriott
 Microsoft

Industry Perspective: Ashok Leyland promotional activities mainly involved vehicle demonstration in mandi's,
exchange melas rural area Demos and small customer meets. Ashok Leyland also has spare part manufacturing
and distribution business. It is only 1.5 years old for which with around 25 dealers all over India and only one
dealer in Lucknow.

For promoting their spare business, they collaborate with local level mechanics and they also have a model of
ALTT - Ashok Leyland train technicians in which they train technicians from local garage to Ashok Leyland
spare parts and performs services of an authorised service centre level. Also, they do canopy campaigns and
apply posters at retailer shops and local garage. For this they incentivise the local garage for keeping their spare
parts. To grow there business in spare parts they are keeping less margins from the dealers and the local garage
as well. There also trying to create awareness among they are customer for using original parts in their vehicles
for high performance and less maintenance of the vehicle. All these activities are done through their regional
spares manager.

Module 2– Business Development

Increasing the revenue either by new customer or existing customer, finding channel and market and doing
collaborations with sales people. Strategic process of identifying, creating and nurturing opportunities.

Task is to increase revenue.

Actionable:

 Generating and qualification of leads

 Building long term customer relationship
 Creating strategic partnership
 Identifying new market opportunities
 Optimizing the sales pipeline for sustainable opportunities.

Sales pipeline: Maintaining and planning sales such that sales do not dry up; maintain communication.

Sales Funnel: Follow AIDA technique in creating a sales funnel

Top of funnel:

 Awareness: Adversting and promotion through SEO, event marketing, cold outreach, content
marketing, print ads.
 Interest: Lead qualification and engagement with genuine interest through email campaigns,
educational content.

Middle of funnel:
Desire: Convince the prospect of the solution’s value through product demos and consultation, competitive
positioning and differentiation , addressing objectives.

Action: Conversion of the prospect into paying customer. Closing the deals.

Bottom of funnel:
Maintain long term relationships and generate repeat business through loyalty programs and customer support.
Gathering feedback for continuous improvement.

Industry Perspective: Ashok Leyland also follow sales funnel. They create awareness about their product
through television advertising, posters, demos. Understanding customer requirements is of LCV or SCV. Then
for maintain long term relationships they provide regular servicing and take feedback from the customers.

Business Development Strategies

1. Market expansion
2. New user acquisition
3. Utilize partners in selling to the right customer. SBI petro card

Industry Perspective: Ashok Leyland is a big name in southern region in India. They have expanded their
market in northern region in last 5-6 years more. They had a partnership with Nissan till 2010 , they broke this
partnership and started making engine themselves . They have manufacturing plant in Pantnagar, Bhandara,
Ennore. They are second after Mahindra in LCV segment – they had a new launch in LCV segment which is
named as Saathi. Then they have also ventured into Electric vehicle segment with Switch. They have a
manufacturing plant for this in Chennai only One dealership in lucknow with Beeaar only.

Affiliate Marketing
The affiliate marketing market worldwide demonstrated a worth of $17 billion during 2023 before analysts
predict a value of $40 billion by 2032 with an annual growth rate of 18.86%. More than eighty percent of brands
adopt affiliate marketing to achieve sales and customer leads.

The investment companies make in affiliate marketing generates $6.50 for each dollar spent thus proving this
approach as a budget-friendly promotional method.

How Affiliate Links Work

 The affiliate marketing system gives each participant their one-of-a-kind promotional link.
 The system records a conversion each time customers finish an action through the tracking link.
 The tracking system businesses use consists of two parts: cookies through which they identify affiliate
links and pixel tracking which helps them determine commission payments correctly.

Types of Affiliate Marketing Models

 Advertisers will pay affiliates according to the number of clicks their advertisements generate through
the Cost Per Click (CPC) model.
 Businesses make payments under the CPA model when customers perform stated actions which include
purchases or sign-ups or downloads.
 Affiliates receive their payment based on taking a percentage from every completed sales transaction.
 Affiliates obtain commission payments through specific phone inquiries which they generate.
 Hybrid Models combine different affiliate marketing models to achieve maximum optimization of
results.

Popular Affiliate Networks

 Indian Networks: Commission, Tyroo, independent affiliate programs.

 International Networks: MaxBounty, Peerfly, JVZoo, ClickBank.
Examples:

 The transformation of Dell India toward the CJ Affiliate network resulted in better traffic combined
with elevated product sales.
 The company Net-a-Porter developed an affiliate-based business structure after changing from
wholesale operations which generated commissions through product deals and merchandise
distribution.
 The SaaS subscription program of HubSpot gained a 25% boost through B2B affiliate marketing.

Social Selling: Tools and Techniques

Social Selling is a strategic approach in which sales professionals leverage social networks (LinkedIn,
Facebook, Instagram, etc.) to:

 Identify better prospects.

 Establish stronger relationships.
 Achieve sales targets more effectively.
 Enhance marketing and lead generation.

Importance of social selling:

 4.76 billion social media users globally.

 80% of users engage with social networks on a regular basis.
 65% of users discover brands through social media.
 70% of B2B decision-makers utilize social platforms for research.
 85% of IT decision-makers leverage one or more social networks for making business
decisions.

Primary Social Selling Channels

 LinkedIn (1B+ users): B2B-oriented, excellent for networking, thought leadership, and sales follow-
ups.
 Facebook (3B+ users): B2C-oriented, utilized for community engagement & advertising.
 Instagram (2B+ users): Becoming more influential as a B2B platform for product demonstrations and
influencer collaborations.

Social Selling Technologies Employed

 Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) – AI personalizes outreach & offers predictive
analytics for enhanced prospecting.
 Social CRM – Merges customer interaction data from social media with CRM platforms (e.g.,
Salesforce, HubSpot).
 Live Streaming & Video Selling – Companies host live shopping events & product demonstrations to
interact with customers.
 Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR) – Employed for virtual product try-ons (e.g., Sephora,
Toyota).
 Chatbots & Conversational AI – Automates customer questions and lead nurturing (e.g., WhatsApp,
Messenger bots).

Examples:

 LinkedIn Sales Navigator – Social Selling in B2B .31% more deals closed with LinkedIn Sales
Navigator.4x more connections with decision-makers.
 IBM: Used LinkedIn Sales Navigator to grow sales pipeline by 30% & reduce prospecting time by
50%.
 Cisco: Grew social selling sales by 23% within one quarter.
 Adobe: Exceeded a 40% increase in enterprise subscriptions through LinkedIn ad targeting.
Part 3 : Evaluating and Integrating my learnings
Marketing Management addressed pricing techniques, product life cycle, and brand positioning that are essential
in consultative selling and online product promotion. Sales funnels assist in implementing pricing models such
as penetration pricing, premium pricing, and bundle pricing. Business development combines relationship
marketing, CRM applications, and key account management.

Example: MM's value-based pricing model is implemented in consultative selling, where solutions are custom-
made based on customer requirements rather than price. B2B vs. B2C segmentation in MM was able to make
me understand how firms utilize partnership selling (B2B) and digital/social media-based selling (B2C).

Managerial Economics laid stress on decision-making, planning for sales, and leadership that are applicable for
Key Account Managers (KAMs) and Business Development Executives (BDEs). BD and sales planning both
involve cross-functional coordination with HR, operations, and finance in line with true business execution.
Business development transactions (such as mass vehicle sales in Ashok Leyland) necessitate financial teams to
evaluate ROI and terms of payment.

Example: I had seen how forecasted sales influences revenue planning, inventory choice, and financial
expectations. Stock market valuations directly result from sales performance, which can be witnessed in listed
firms whose share prices are influenced by quarterly sales.

Sales commitments influence supply chain planning and scheduling of production. In sectors such as
automobiles (Ashok Leyland), FMCG, and retail, sales forecasts drive inventory levels and logistics planning.
BD teams align with operations to enable on-time delivery and post-sales service.

Example: Fleet sales in Ashok Leyland necessitate supply chain alignment for handling bulk orders, after-sales
support, and availability of spare parts.

Part 4: Planning as to how I am going to apply these learnings in practice

Short term Goals: In my first job, I shall use the following strategies to be an effective contributor and set the
foundation for professional growth:

Employing CRM & Data Analytics for Better Sales Performance

As I have done a also in data analytics, I will use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software such as
Salesforce and HubSpot to monitor customer interaction, leads, and sales performance. Utilizing my data
analytics skill of power bi, excel and tableau, I can enable organizations to make evidence-based pricing
decisions, promote accordingly, and target customers appropriately. Sales forecasting methods will aid in
anticipating future trends and aligning strategies as such.

Sales Funnel & Customer Buying Journey Understanding

I will utilize my sales funnel stage knowledge (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action) to maximize lead generation
and conversion. With close collaboration with the marketing team, I will see that campaigns are coordinated
with the sales process to enhance customer engagement and relationship. I will assist in determining high-
potential leads through analysis so that sales efforts can be concentrated on profitable customers.

Applying Consultative Selling & Business Development Strategies

Rather than pushing products, I will concentrate on acquiring customer knowledge of needs, pain areas, and
presenting customized solutions that bring value. I will try to establish long-term business relationships through
continuous support and customer feedback. In B2B selling, I will practice partnership selling, whereby
cooperation with clients results in collaborative growth and lasting business relationships.

Leveraging Digital & Social Selling for Customer Engagement

Social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and professional forums will assist me in engaging with potential clients
and professionals in the industry. I will study Affiliate Marketing strategies to enhance market reach and create
performance-based sales through online partnerships. With email campaigns, online marketing, and customer
insights provided by AI, I will be able to craft experiences that drive customer retention and satisfaction.

Long Term Goals: As I will continue to gain experience and progress in my career, I will use my sales and BD
learnings to develop professionally in corporate careers and future entrepreneurial opportunities.

Corporate Career Advancement

I will try to look for Key Account Management (KAM) functions, where I can engage in high-value customer
relationships and high-value sales negotiations. Exceeding into business development positions, I will assist
businesses in growing into new markets, creating strategic partnerships, and generating revenue through creative
solutions. Knowledge of financial concepts such as revenue projections, pricing models, and ROI measurement
will enable me to make informed decisions that influence business profitability.

Entrepreneurship
If one day I launch my own business, the lessons learnt in sales and BD will be invaluable in: Creating a robust
customer acquisition strategy through a mix of direct selling, digital marketing, and strategic alliances. Utilizing
sales automation software, AI-fuelled analytics, and CRM platforms to streamline lead gen, conversions, and
customer interaction. Rolling out price models and fiscal planning that make the company profitable while
remaining competitive in the market. Creating a loyal customer base by emphasizing long-term relationships,
repeat business, and customer retention initiatives.

Integration with Finance & Decision-Making

Given that sales have a direct effect on revenue and financial planning, I will try to utilize sales forecasts to
align marketing budgets, inventory plans, and working capital management. Knowledge of the effect of credit
terms, payment cycles, and financial risk management will enable me to make improved pricing and contract
decisions. I will concentrate on customer retention tactics that minimize Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and
maximize Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), making it a profitable venture.