Sales Management in the Brewery Industry
Abstract of Sales Management in the Brewery Industry
The research was carried out as a result of some of the following problems.
Sales people represent their company to the outside world, consequently, opinion of a company and its product are formed often from impression left by the sales force. Decreasing time for face to face selling and times is always limited. In order to solve these problems, research question (questionnaires) were served to the sales men in Aba territories. The major findings from the research shows that the potential of an area is considered when setting up sales territories and its was also discovered sales men visit and spend more time with key account customers.
Finally, the researcher advised that proper management of line and territory is an effective method to maximize sales and profits.
Chapter One of Sales Management in the Brewery Industry
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
This is the story of a truly successful company with a rich heritages and a great track record of growth and strong performances. Guinnes Nigeria is not only regarded as an icon, African company renowned internationally for its brand of unmatched quality, but also as a company that believes in enriching the communities within which it operates, through investment and active participation in the positive evolution of society.
Guinness stout was first exported to Sierra Leon in 1827 an soon before popular across west Africa. In 1963, the Ikeja in Lagos Nigeria was chosen as the first location Onitsha the British Isles to brew the iconic dark beer.. two years later, in 1965, NIGERIA BOTLLING COMPANYwas listed on the Nigeria stock exchange.
In 2004 NIGERIA BOTLLING COMPANYcommissioned a new brewery at Aba, Abia state.
There is no gain saying the fact that the survival of every business is anchored in the ability of the sales forces to identify and sell to the customers or buyers what the company has produced and brewery industry is not an exception. A popular slogan in marketing says that “Nothing happens until somebody say something”. There is need for communication, they necessitate having people whose responsibility is to ensure that customers and or prospect are contact and convinced to accept the values offered in exchange for a value desired by the organization.
In brewery industry, customers of Guinness drinks are scattered every part of the country, and it is not very easy to reach the consumers without adequately splitting the market into territories, if the it is not properly done, it will deprived the firm from achieving its objectives and cal also affect a firm having competitors advantages over others firms in the industry.
It is not proper to say that Guinness product is not available, consumers should look for any other product e.g. Maltina, star etc. This is where sales territory now assigns sales en to make the Guinness drink get to customers at the proper place and time it desired by them.
A sales territory is an organization pattern whereby sales people are assigned separate sales are called territories and they report to their territorial executives who finally report to the field sales manager. These territorial sales executives bear such names as regional or strict sales management. The sales representative specialized in selling the companies products mix, line or items, and have such authority as if they are running their own business, but not within control from the top. These territories are usually referred to as profit centers of the organization as they are the income sources by exchanging the firms goods for money.
The creation of definite sales territories for individuals sales men offer a greater incentive to cultivate the territory with an eye for future business than the policy of permitting salesmen for in the same firm to complete for business in the same territory and also the allocation of a specific territory to individual sales men enables a salesmen to specialized in one territory with its customers and conditions sales person – relationship. The sales for is indeed the link between organizations and their customers. A sales man has dual responsibilities as a territorial manager, which is ensuring that customers derived adequate satisfaction from buying organization output.
The creation of sales territories are not sufficient for a company to achieve its objectives but in proper management of these territories which gives rise to topic “sales territorial management in brewery industry”.
A sales territory can either: a geographical area in which a salesmen work (e.g. in Nigeria, eastern sales territory comprising Anambra, Enugu, Imo and Abia states). A group of buyers assigned to a sales men.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Some territories are extra ordinarily large for effective management. This means that some of the customers could not be satisfied. Sales men could get some of other customers and could not get some of their customers due to the largeness of their territory.
There are some cause of inadequate transportation facilities and these affected by territories that are in a remote area. Sales men could not reach some of the target customers. Some sales territories are not properly managed due to lack of co-ordination in territories, that is they are not managed in an efficient and organized way. Improper division of sales territories could result to conflict.
Low economic activities does not facilitates sales in territory.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study is derived from the fact that a customers is always a “King” and have to be treated as one. For a salesmen to return customer loyalty, he should be ready to listen to customers problems.
Today sales person is a problem solver, as a problem solver, the salesman should understand that the buyers has a problem of need and want and purchase are made to satisfy needs and wants.
Consequently, to succeed the sales person must identify these needs, and wants and method of satisfying them.
Travel time and expenses will be minimized to fall within the bound of a small geographical area. The sales forces that build effective relationship with the customers and provide valuable service are usually high performance and top achiever. High performance sales people understand the important of building relationship with customers as well as with others who interact with them. The bottom line for cooperation is to learn the everlasting support and loyalty of the customers for their services/products and most successful cooperation around the world area adopting very creative and innovation method to achieve these goals.
Delivery of good is another point to note, sales people have to deliver goods/services at the proper time and place or condition desired by the customers patronage.
The main purpose of a sales person is not just to make sales, but to create customers, identifying potential customers is an important aspect of customers strategy. Basically, it is necessary to study, how members of the brewery sales men manager their territories by having marketing concept in focus and the impact of sales territorial management in the achievement of the overall company set sales objectives.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How do you maintain good relationship with the customers in your territory?
2. How did brewery develop its territories in the east?
3. What are the method used in setting sales volume quotas to a sales men?
4. What are the personal selling functions that are performed by each territory?
5. What kind of problem do you encountered in your territory?
6. What motivate your to go extra miles in achieving sales target?
7. What are the criteria for setting each territory?
8. How can sales person performance be appraised?
STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS
Ho: The functions performed by sales men in the territories are not effective.
Ho: The sales men do not understand the importance of building relationship with customers.