SP Jain School of GLOBAL MANAGEMENT

Research Proposal for Understanding the Effectiveness of Sales Force in the Organization and Suggesting Ways of Improving their Effectiveness

Marketing Research Assignment

Prajakta Talathi

GSEP13CMM031

Executive Summary

Sales is a very crucial part of any organization. But recently it has been observed

that effective returns are not obtained as per the investments.

The research is conducted to identify sales performance of Telecommunications

organization. It identifies the type of sales people, their influencing factors etc.

It also highlights their behaviour and attitudes. This proposal suggests the methods

of research, sampling and data collection. It also gives an estimate of budget and

time lines required.

Table of ContentsExecutive Summary............................................................................................................................2

Purpose and Significance of the Research.....................................................................................4

Title...................................................................................................................................................4

Purpose............................................................................................................................................4

Background of the Topic Being Investigated...................................................................................4

Problem............................................................................................................................................4

Objective..........................................................................................................................................4

Hypothesis.......................................................................................................................................5

Scope...............................................................................................................................................5

Research Method...............................................................................................................................5

Research Question(s)........................................................................................................................6

Questionnaire to Sales Force........................................................................................................6

Parameters to be considered....................................................................................................7

Other Parameters.......................................................................................................................7

Questions.....................................................................................................................................7

Questionnaire to Customers..........................................................................................................8

Parameters..................................................................................................................................8

Questions.....................................................................................................................................8

Identifying data collection methods..................................................................................................8

Questionnaire..................................................................................................................................8

Sampling..........................................................................................................................................9

Resources Required / Budget...........................................................................................................9

Budget..............................................................................................................................................9

Resources Required.......................................................................................................................9

Human Resources......................................................................................................................9

Other Resources.........................................................................................................................9

Timelines............................................................................................................................................10

Conclusion.........................................................................................................................................10

Data Analysis.................................................................................................................................10

Further Research..........................................................................................................................10

References........................................................................................................................................11

Purpose and Significance of the Research

TitleResearch Proposal for Understanding the Effectiveness of Sales Force in the Organization and Suggesting Ways of Improving their Effectiveness

PurposeSales team is the most crucial team in an organization as it is the revenue generating team. Sales force is the team which involves direct interaction with the customers.

Sales team in the Business-to-Business market primarily has the below task:

Customer Attraction Conversion of Sales Customer Retention Face-to-face customer interaction Promotion of product/service Customer Relationship Management Forecasting sales Analysis of Customer needs and want or attitude and behaviour Consulting the Customers

Sources: (Edwards, Assesment No.1 and No. 2 Guidelines, 2014), (Kokemuller,2014)

The above factors indicate the importance of sales for an organization. But studies have revealed that in spiting of investing to improve the sales force, the returns are not significant (Edwards, Assesment No.1 and No. 2 Guidelines, 2014). As the Sales and Marketing Director (Assumed my role in the organization) of Telecommunications (Assumed organization name), Australia, I have decided to perform a similar study as that of (Ryals & Davies, 2010) on the Sales force in my organization.

Background of the Topic Being Investigated

ProblemTelecommunications is a large telecommunications company in Australia. Presently there are 520 B2B Sales people working for Telecommunications. It has been observed the sales team is giving returns of only 12% (An assumed figure) of the money invested in it. As a Sales and Marketing Director I have decided to conduct a research on my organization’s sales team to check if the indicated figures are true and if so, suggest methods using which the effectiveness of the sales team will be improved.

ObjectiveThe objective of the study is:

To understand the effectiveness of Sales Force To suggest ways of improving the effectiveness of the Sales Force

HypothesisThe hypothesis to be tested is:

H0: Investing in the Sales Force is giving the expected resultsH1: Investing in Sales Force is not giving the expected results

ScopeThe scope of the research is to include the sales team comprising of 520 people and to study and analyse their sales pitch calls while dealing with customers.

Research MethodApplied-Exploratory Research will be performed as a decision has to be made based on the real-life problem. In this research we need to understand and answer questions related to the effectiveness of sales force. Exploratory research is done because once the results of this research are identified the outcomes can be used for further research and analysis.

Qualitative research needs to be conducted to identify variables, gain in-depth understanding and insight of sales force behaviour and attitude (Edwards, MarketingResearch Notes, 2014). Post diagnosing the situation, we need to screen the alternatives and discover new ideas to improve the sales force. Methods are:

Quantitative Research needs to be performed for data collection and conversion into numerical values in order to draw down a conclusion.

Research Question(s) Sample Questions are as below:

Questionnaire to Sales ForceQuestions asked to Sales team will be based on the parameters identified during the secondary research like (Ryals & Davies, 2010):

Focused Group

Discussion

Gain Sales Force InsightsFree flowing structure, so employees will be able to express their feelings freelyMinimum 2 FGDsEnvironment: Enclosed and confidential; discussion will be recordedComposition of the Group: 6-10 sales personModerator needs to be present to guide the group through the discussion

Depth Interviews

Ask semi-structured questionsHighly skilled interviewerInterviewer sould encourage respondentAsk probing questions to gain additional information

Projective Techniques

Enable respondent to project beliefs and feelings onto a third party, an inanimate object or a task situationUse Sentence Completion and association techniques to understand respondent's subject knowledgeThird person and role plays to be conducted to simulte the sales environment and understand the skills of the respondent

Advanced Technique

Use Case studies to understand the knowledge and analytical abilityof the respondentMake use of interactive discussions with customers and get their feedbackUse software tools for theme identification and connecting textUse Text mining techniques and observation techniques

Using SamplingQuestionnaireCustomer Feedback

Data collection

Collected data needs to be analysedCoding and weightage of importance is given to even identified variables

Converting to Numerical Values

Parameters to be consideredThese parameters can be generally identified using observation and simulations or case study.

Rising to the Challenge Meeting Preparation Customer Interaction Company Presentation Presentation and Rapport Sales Pitch Story telling

Other Parameters Motivation Work-life Balance Knowledge of the product/service Availability of resources to be used in sales calls

Questions

General Informative QuestionsName: <<Non-mandatory, Box to be typed / written>>Age: <<Range>>

18-25 25-35 35-45 45-55 55+Band: <<Box to be typed / written>>Department: <<Box to be typed / written>>Income: <<Range>>

Below $10,000 $10,000 – $25,000 25,000$ - 50,000$ $50,000 above

Analytical QuestionsRate the Telecommunications product/service <<Scale of 1-7, 7 being the best>>How many hours per week do you spend with your family? <<Give a range less than 10 hours, 10-15 hours, 15-30 hours, and 30+ hours>>Do you have all the resources required to make a sales call? <<Agree

Disagree>>What brings you to office every day? <<Coded Options>>

o Work Excitement <<Highly Motivated>>o Salary <<Moderately Motivated>>o Friends <<Neutral>>o Nothing but routine <<Not so Motivated>>o Other reason <<Not Motivated>> <<Provide a box to answer>>

Questionnaire to Customers

Parameters Regarding the salesman’s ability to cater to the customer needs Recommendations Rating the performance of the salesperson Rating the product/service offered

Questions

General Informative QuestionsName: <<Non-mandatory, Box to be typed / written>>Age: <<Range>>

18-25 25-35 35-45 45-55 55+

Analytical Questions How long did the call last? <<Time range: less than 5 mins, 5-10 mins, 10-

15 mins and 15+ mins>> Rate the salesperson <<Scale of 1-7>> Were you satisfied with the call? <<Yes No>> Did you buy the product or service? << Yes No>> If yes, did you get what you were promised to? <<Yes No>> If no, what was the reason? <<Option>>

o Product not requiredo Did not like the product/serviceo Was not convincedo Other <<Provide a box to answer>>

Rate the service <<Scale of 1-7>>

Identifying data collection methods Primarily data will be collected using Sampling, Questionnaire asked to Sales Person

and Customer Feedback using questionnaire.

QuestionnaireQuestionnaire Platform for Employees: Face-to-face and online/mail surveys

Questionnaire Platform for Customers: Face-to-face, telephonic and online/mail

surveys

Each Question will be coded based on the identified parameters using which the

scaling can be done. Weightage will be assigned and according to the rating given

weighted total will be considered. Open-ended questions will be avoided.

SamplingSince target population number is 520, it will not be possible to conduct a face to

face interview with all. Hence, based on the Band, Experience, Job Level and

Performance Level sampling group will be decided. Under these parameters,

random employees should be selected. From each of the categories, we can select

10 samples each and the total being 20% of the total strength around 50 samples

should be adequate.

Online Survey can be conducted on all the employees.

Resources Required / Budget

BudgetSince we are using a third-party as our analyst, observer and interviewer to eliminate

biases, we need to pay for their fees. Additionally, surveys will be paid ones which

will be billed to the organization. Assuming recording and stationery supplies

charges will also be added to the budget.

(All numbers are assumed)

Description AmountFees for Observer $ 5,000Fees for Analyst $ 5,000Fees for Interviewer $ 5,000Stationery $ 1,000Simulation Environment

$ 1,000

Miscellaneous $ 500Total $ 17,000

Resources Required

Human Resources Observer to observe live calls and simulation and case study environment Data Analyst to draw down the conclusions Interviewer to ask desired questions and encourage responses

Other Resources Stationery Simulation Environment and setup

Timelines Activities Weeks required

Identify Problem 0.5Finalize Objectives 1Secondary Research 0.5Informal Interview 1Develop Questionnaire 1.5Pilot Test And Revise Questionnaire 1Code and Weigh Variables 0.5Conduct Survey, FGDs, F2F etc. 4Data Collection, Assimilation and Preparation 2Analysis Of Data 1Submit Analysis 1Prepare report and presentation 0.5Further Analysis 1

 Total 15.5

Conclusion

Data AnalysisData needs to be analysed using SPSS after coding and weighing is done.

Further ResearchDepending on the analysis further research methods can be suggested. Additionally

some measures can be identified to improve sales performance.

Socialisers

Deal Maker

Narrator

Product Focused

Story Teller

Consultant

Product Closer

Expert

ReferencesEdwards, J. (2014, February 22). Assesment No.1 and No. 2 Guidelines. Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Edwards, J. (2014). Marketing Research Notes. Sydney.

Kokemuller, N. (2014). The Importance of Sales in an Organization. Your Business.

Ryals , L., & Davies, I. (2010, December). Do You Really Know Who Your Best Salespeople Are? Harvard Business Review.