Sales Organisation: it’s Meaning, Objects and Other Details!
Selling is one of the most pertinent and expensive functions of marketing today. In many cases the selling price of product consists of 50% or more of distribution cost. For performing selling functions efficiently, it is necessary to have a good sales organisation which is a foundation for effective execution of sales policy and sales programme.
A sales organisation must be planned in detail and all activities should be well co-ordinated and integrated to secure united efforts and maximum efficiency. A sales organisation is the medium to execute a sales plan.
“The object of sales organisation is not merely to sell goods to distributors but to get them consumed or get them into use”. The responsibility of the manager, therefore, extends much beyond the selling of goods.
He has to study properly the distribution channels and satisfy himself that the goods are available in the market to the ultimate consumers at the time -and place they want them. He should ensure that the system of distribution works very efficiently and effectively, allowing no idle stock lying at any stage.
Whether the sales manager employs the assistants or middlemen to sell his goods, he has to consider both of them as one distribution system. Thus, he must see that there is proper coordination in the system he adopts so as to ensure the smooth and economical working. The basic object of sales organisation is to allocate the responsibility of selling functions and to distribute the products.
These objectives can be achieved only with proper planning and organisation of different functions useful for proper distribution. The nature or type of sales organistion may be simple, complicated, centralised or decentralised depending upon the problems of a manufacturer.
Producing cheap goods in large quantities is quite different from the problems of a businessman producing goods of fine quality in small quantity. In the sale of fine quality products, careful control and supervision is required.
Extent of Market:
Sales organisation of a firm selling goods in a local market will be different from the sales organisation of a firm selling goods in the national market. Similarly, sales organisation of a firm having national market will be different from the sales organisation of a firm having international market.
Practices and sales customs of a particular trade also affect the determination of sales organisation. Buyers are also accustomed to these practices and they cannot easily adjust themselves to the changes, if any, introduced by a firm against the existing practices. To change these practices is not possible without risk.
Nature of the Product:
The selection of the type of sales organisation is also determined keeping in view the nature of the goods produced by a businessman. A sales organisation for the producers’ goods or capital goods will be quite different from the sales organisation of consumers’ goods.
For selling the producers’ goods, such as machinery, raw materials etc., and technical knowledge is needed. For the sale of consumers’ goods which are of daily use, the organisation is wider and specific and for the sale of durable goods, centralised sales organisation is used.
Type of Customers:
A seller is to deal with different types of buyers. Buyers may be industrialists or manufacturers, businessmen, traders, wholesalers or jobbers, retailers, exporters or consumers. There are different ways of approaching these different types of customers. The determination of the type of sales organisation depends upon the type of customers.
Number of Customers:
The nature and type of sales organisation is also linked with the number of customers of the trade or product. If the number of customers is large and they are scattered and many salesmen are to be employed. If the customers are less and localised, the task of making sales to them is simple and few salesmen can do the job efficiently.