CHRIST UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

Sales Management & Negotiation Skills (MBA321) COURSE PLAN

2 CREDITS (30 HOURS)
Faculty: Rajagopalan S

Class: III trimester

Objectives:
Managerial success requires agreement and collaboration with other people. This is certainly true for transactions between
organizations and customers, and between investors and start-up companies.
This course is aimed at enabling students to become more effective sales professional and a negotiator. Effectiveness requires many
aspects, including:
The ability to create value and execute deals that others might overlook;
The strategic skill and competencies needed for success.
The ability to avoid common mistakes made by sales professionals and negotiators;
The ability to work with people whose backgrounds, expectations, and values differ from your own; and
The capacity to reflect and learn from your experience.
Unit
Unit I

Topic

Hrs/wee
k

Teaching Method

Reading Assignment

Nature and importance of sales management, Dimensions of

sales management, Lateral relationships of a Sales manager

2/one

Lecture/Discussio
n

Chapter 1, Management of a sales

force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich

Lecture/Discussio
n

Chapter 2, Management of a sales

force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich

Planning and organizing Sales Force, Organizing the sales

force --Nature and characteristics, Basic types of
organization, Specialization within sales department
1

1/one

Unit II

Unit
III

Estimating market potential and forecasting sales, Importance

and definitions, Sales forecasting methods-quantitative and
qualitative techniques
Sales Force Staffing Process: The planning phase, The
recruiting phase, The selection phase Hiring and assimilation
Phase.
Directing the Sales force: Time and territory management
--Objectives and criteria for territory formation, Sales
territories design, Time management, Routing and scheduling,
Sales quotas and compensation: Purpose, Types of quotas,
Administration of quotas,
Objectives of a compensation plan, Developing the
compensation plans-basic and combination, Trends in
compensation plan,
Restructuring quotas due to changes in organization, product
portfolio, and geographical coverage. Controlling and
evaluating the sales force: Analysis of sales, costs and
profitability, Budgeting, Sales analysis-Marketing cost
analysis-Increasing sales force productivity.
Personal Selling. The different approaches-Benefit selling,
Relationship selling, Stimulus response selling, Formula
approach, Need satisfaction selling, Problem-solving selling,
Consultative selling
Selling process: Preparation & Prospecting Challenges of
prospecting, qualifying leads, effective prospecting
Sales Approach, Diagnosis and Solution generation,

2/two

Lecture/Discussio
n

Chapter 12, Management of a sales

force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich

1/two

Lecture/Discussio
n

Chapter 4, Management of a sales

force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich

2/three

Lecture/Discussio
n

Chapter 13, Management of a sales

force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich

1/three

Lecture/Discussio
n

Chapter 9,Management of a sales

force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich

2/four

Lecture/Discussio
n

Chapter 10, Management of a sales

force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich

1/four

Lecture/Discussio
n

Chapter 3, Management of a sales

force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich

Lecture/Discussio
n
Lecture/Discussio
n

Chapter 3, Management of a sales

force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich
Chapter 3, Management of a sales
force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich,
Chapter 5, Sales Management by
Cron & Decarlo

2/five
1/five

Unit
IV

Chapter 3, Management of a sales

force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich,
Chapter 5, Sales Management by
Cron & Decarlo
Chapter 3, Management of a sales
force by Spiro, Stanton and Rich,
Chapter 5, Sales Management by
Cron & Decarlo

Handling Objections: common customer objections , Reasons

why prospects raise objections, Objection handling techniques
and methods,

2/six

Lecture/Discussio
n

Closing call: Types of sales closures

1/six

Lecture/Discussio
n

1/seven

Lecture/Discussio
n

Fire Up Your Communication skills:

by Captain Bob

2/seven

Lecture/Discussio
n

Fire Up Your Communication skills:

by Captain Bob

2/eight

Lecture/Discussio
n

Fire Up Your Communication skills:

by Captain Bob

1/eight

Lecture/Discussio
n

Fire Up Your Communication skills:

by Captain Bob

Lecture/Discussio
n
Lecture/Discussio
n
Lecture/Discussio
n
Lecture/Discussio
n
Lecture/Discussio

Chapter 1, The Negotiation Tool Kit

by Roger J. Volkema
Chapter 5, The Negotiation Tool Kit
by Roger J. Volkema
Chapter 7, The Negotiation Tool Kit
by Roger J. Volkema
Chapter 9, 10, 12, The Negotiation
Tool Kit by Roger J. Volkema
Chapter 14, The Negotiation Tool

Sales Comunication Skills:

Sales communication &
collaborative process, Questioning, Active listening, Body
language
Sales presentation : presentation planning & format,
organized presentations, sales reports
Persuasion / assertiveness : Principles of persuasion and
assertiveness methods and techniques, Cold Calling : The
art of cold calling , Cold calling techniques
Business etiquettes : Professional dressing, Telephone &
email etiquettes, Meeting manners, Charisma: Importance of
charisma, Charisma elements, how to develop personal
charisma
Understanding negotiation : What is negotiation, Rules of
negotiation

2/nine

Behaviors of successful negotiators

1/nine

Negotiation styles

1/ten

Negotiation tactics & counter measures :

negotiation tactics, dealing with tough negotiators
Cross cultural negotiations & Negotiation ethics

Common

2/ten
2/ten

n
Kit by Roger J. Volkema
Midterm exams: Unit I,II & III (upto week five & topic Sales Approach, Diagnosis and Solution generation)
Reference Books:
1) Cundiff & Still., Sales Management Decision, Strategy & Cases. 5thEdition, PHI .
2) Charles M. Futrell., Sales Management Teamwork, Leadership and Technology. Thomson.
3) William J. Stanton and Rosann Spiro.,( 1999). Management of a Sales Force. 10th Edition, Irwin- McGraw Hill.
4) Roger J.Volkema., (2008). Negotiation tool kit. PHI.
5) Mnookin., Peppet, and Tulumello,(2000). Beyond Winning: Negotiating to Create Value in Deals and Disputes.Harvard
University Press.
6) Raiffa., (1982). The Art and Science of Negotiation. Harvard University Press.
7) Thompson.,(2001). The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator. Prentice-Hall.
8) Ury.,(1993). Getting Past No. Bantam.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
1. CIA I Quiz/ Writing assignment/ Participation in the discussions/Field Work (20 marks)
2. CIA III- Research based assignment Article review/ Participation in the discussions/ Field Work (20 marks)
3. Learning Methodology:
a) Interactive sessions on the concepts
b) Case analysis and discussions
d) Role Plays
Marks
break up
CIA-I
Mid term
CIA-III
End term

ou
t
of
20
50
20
10
0

Wei
ght
10
25
10

Attend
ance
0
0
0

Tot
al
10
25
10

50

55
4

Total

19
0

95

10
0