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PART III

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 CHAPTER 8

PLANNING FOR AND

RECRUITING SUCCESSFUL
SALESPEOPLE

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
A successful sales force is determined by who is hired; this is the
end result of sales human resource management. This chapter
should help you understand:

 What sales human resource management is and what its key

relationships are.
 The importance of planning for sales personnel needs.
 What people planning and employment planning are.
 What recruitment means and why it is so important.
 The recruiting process: what it is, who does it, and where
recruits are sought.

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 WHAT IS SALES
HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT?
Sales human resource management (SHRM)
refers to activities undertaken to attract, develop,
and maintain effective sales force personnel
within an organization.

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FIGURE 8.1 ACTIVITIES INVOLVED IN MANAGING A SALES FORCE’S
HUMAN RESOURCES

S a le s
H u m a n R e so u rc e M a n a g e m e n t

P e o p le P la n n in g E m p lo y m e n t P la n n in g

H ow M any T yp e of R e c r u itm e n t S e le c tio n S o c i a liz a ti o n

to H ir e ? P e o p le ?

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FIGURE 8.2 FROM INTERVIEW TO TERRITORY: A LONG TIME

D e te r m in e F ir s t G r a d u a tio n B e g in T r a in in g A s s ig n e d
H o w M an y I n te r v ie w W o rk E nds T e r r ito r y
to H ir e

T im e L in e

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What’s a salesperson worth?

A salesperson’s worth depends on what the

salesperson costs to the company and on the
profits from the products he or she sells.

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Goal: Hire above-average performers.

Selecting someone who will become an above-

average performer improves the overall
performance of the sales group.
A successful hire is someone who performs above
average.

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WHO DOES THE PLANNING?

• National sales manager.

• Field sales managers.
• Top management.

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FIGURE 8.3 SALES FORCE PEOPLE-FORECAST MODEL: FACTORS TO
CONSIDER WHEN DETERMINING HOW MANY TO HIRE

S a le s F o rc e
O b je c tiv e s
Q u its ,
C u rren t H irin g , T e r m i n a ti o n s ,
S tra te g ic P e o p le
S a le s F o r c e + P ro m o tio n s , - P ro m o tio n s , =
P la n s F o r e c a s ts
P erso n n el T ra n s fe r s I n T ra n s fe r s O u t,
o r R e tir e m e n t
T e r r ito ria l
D e sig n

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 DETERMINING THE TYPE OF
PERSON FOR THE JOB
A job analysis refers to the formal study of jobs
to define specific roles or activities to be
performed in sales promotions.
The three steps in the job analysis are to:
1. Examine the total sales force and each job, and
determine how each job relates to other jobs.
2. Select the jobs to be analyzed.
3. Collect the necessary information through
observation of what people actually do in the jobs,
interviews of people in the jobs, and
questionnaires completed by job holders.
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 JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND
SPECIFICATIONS FOR
SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

Job specifications convert job descriptions into

the qualifications.

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TABLE 8.1 FORMAL JOB DESCRIPTION, TRANSTEX AUTOMOTIVE
SUPPLY CORPORATION

Position: Sales Representive Reports to: District Organizational

Manager Unit:
replacement Parts
Date: ( When
Job Was
Described)
NATURE OF JOB
Responsible for developing new accounts and reaching profitable sales goals in assigned territory.
PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBLITIES
Meeting total sales goals for product lines and individual products.
Maintaining an average of six daily sales calls.
Maintaining an average of one monthly product presentation to wholesalers.
DIMENSIONS
Develop strong promotional support from retail and wholesale customers.
Plan effective territorial coverage resulting in high sales/call ratio.
Inform management of activities by submitting daily and weekly call and sales reports to district manager.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED
General and specific tasks are assigned for each sales period. Every two months work with supervisor for a
minimum of one day.
SUPERVISION EXERCISED
None

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WHAT ARE JOB SPECIFICATIONS FOR
SUCCESFUL SALESPEOPLE?

• Intelligence
• Education

• Personality
• Experience
• Appearance

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TABLE 8.2 SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL
SALESPEOPLE

1. High energy level 8. Good physical appearance

2. High self-confidence 9. Likable
3. Need for material things 10. Self-disciplined
4. Hardworking 11. Intelligent
5. Requires little supervision 12. Achievement oriented
6. High perseverance 13. Good communication skills
7. Competitive

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PROFILING THE SUCCESSFUL
CANDIDATE
Success in a company may include the following:
• Intelligence
• Prospecting ability

• Ability to create a follow-up system

• Ability to influence people’s decisions and
opinions
• Ability to cultivate long-term client
relationships
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PROFILING THE SUCCESSFUL
CANDIDATE continued

• Ability to determine prospects’/customers’

needs (hot buttons).
• Computer skills.

• Selling ability.
• Conceptual ability.

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 RECRUITMENT’S PURPOSE

Recruitment is the set of activities and processes

used to legally obtain a sufficient number of
individuals in such a manner that the recruits’ and
the sales force’s best interests are taken into
consideration.

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FIGURE 8.4 MAJOR INFLUENCES AND COMPONENTS OF SALES RECRUITMENT

I n te r n a l
S o u rc e s

S a le s
Q u a li fi e d E va lu a te
H u m an A p p lic a n t
R eso u rc e
R e c r u i tm e n t A p p lic a n t R e c r u itm e n t S e le c tio n
P ool
P ool R e s u lts
P la n n in g

E x te r n a l
S o u rc e s

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 LEGAL INFLUENCES

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

(EEOC) is the principal governmental agency
responsible for monitoring discriminatory
practices.

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TABLE 8.4 ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS AND ORDERS,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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TABLE 8.4 ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS AND ORDERS,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA continued

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TABLE 8.5 INTERVIEWING CAN AND CANNOT DO’S

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 RECRUITMENT OF
SALESPEOPLE
To be an effective recruiter, a sales
manager must have the answer to several
questions, including:
• How many people do I need to recruit?
• Who does the recruiting?
• Where do I find recruits?
• How can I develop a qualified pool of
applicants?
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FIGURE 8.5 RATIO AND DAYS FROM SALES JOB ANNOUNCEMENT TO
REPORTING TO WORK

R e c r u i tm e n t P y r a m i d R a tio D ays

2 R e p o r t to W o rk 2 :2 21
3 O ffe r/ H ir e s 3 :2 14
30 I n te r v ie w / O ffe r 1 0 :1 21
12 0 L e a d s / I n te r v i e w 4 :1 30

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 SOURCES OF RECRUITS –
WHERE ARE THEY FOUND?
INTERNAL SOURCES
Internal recruitment sources come from inside the
company:
• Current Employees.
• Promotions.
• Transfers.

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EXTERNAL SOURCES
• Walk-ins. • The Internet.

• Employment agencies. • Internships.

• Radio and television. • Colleges and universities.

• Newspaper advertisements. • Competitors.

• Telephone-in advertisements.

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REALISTIC JOB PREVIEWS HELP BOTH
COMPANY AND RECRUITS
A “realistic job preview” means that a person is
given pertinent information about the job without
distortion or exaggeration.

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Companies can expect these results from
realistic previews:
• Newly hired salespeople have a higher
rate of job survival than those hired
using traditional previews.
• Salespeople hired indicate higher
satisfaction.
• Managers can set the job expectations of
new salespeople at realistic levels.
• Realistic previews do not reduce the flow
of highly
Copyright capable
© 2001 by Harcourt, applicants.
Inc. All rights reserved.
 THE QUALIFIED
APPLICANT POOL
The organization should find out:

• How candidates obtain information

regarding job availability.

• What attracts people to the job.

• What the likes and dislikes are about the job.

• Why the person took the job.

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 THE BOTTOM LINE
Sales human resource management (SHRM) is comprised of two
elements: people planning and employment planning.
Developing a successful sales team requires the planning of
personnel needs and analyzing the sales jobs to achieve more
efficient use of human resources.
Job analysis is the definition of specific roles or activities to be
performed.
The goal of managing sales human resources is to hire above-
average performers.
In order to hire the right person for the job, there must be a
recruitment strategy.
Copyright © 2001 by Harcourt, Inc. All rights reserved.