Seminar Report on Sales and Distribution Management

Recruitment & Selection

3/14/2011

Submitted to: Ms. Samina Sathyanath Lecturer Dept of Management Studies

Submitted By: Jeflin Hashim Roll no: 331 MBA S3

Introduction

Recruitment is the process of locating and attracting job applicants. Recruiting and selecting a new sales force is an important aspect of the sales manager s job.

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The basic objective of sales force planning is to balance supply and demand. This requires consideration of a wi de range of variables. They can also be called as factors which influence the forecasting of Sales Force Requirements: (1) Market conditions such as increased competition in the form of new goods and services (2) Economic conditions, such as increased inflation or economic growth (3) Demographic conditions (4)Technological developments.

Preparing Job Description and Specification:

The sales manager should prepare the job description before recruiting the sales force. The following factors should be included in any job description: 1. Title of the job 2. Duties and responsibilities 3. Reporting methods 4. Technical requirements 5. Territory to be covered 6. Degree of autonomy.

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Recruitment Sources:
There are five main sources of recruitment:

1. Advertisements: Advertisements are both a source of recruits and a method of reaching them. Newspapers, magazines and trade journals are the most widely used media for advertisements which ordinarily produce large number of applicants in a very short time and at a low cost. 2. From Inside- the company s own staff: The advantage of this source is that the candidate is familiar with the working of the company and its products. The company also knows that the candidate much more intimately than any other outsider or external candidate.
3. Recruitment Agencies: Recruitment agencies provide bio-datas of potential candidates for a fee. Normally these agencies screen applicants for their suitability to various levels of sales positions. If the agency is selected carefully and good long term relations are established w ith it, it pays in the long run. 4. Educational Institutes: This source includes management institutes, universities and technical institutes. This source is used for placement at the entry level . Recruits from educational institutes are more easily ad aptable than their more experienced counterparts. 5. Competitors and other industries: The advantage of this source is that the salesperson knows the market and its customers. Also the ability of the salesperson may be known to the recruiting company thus reducing the risk because the candidate is well acquainted with market trends and consumers.

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Selection & Its Procedures:

Selection, as the name implies, involves picking and hiring a few people from the total number of candidates applying for the sales job. Selection is done by comparing the requirements of a job with the applicant s qualifications.

Steps in Selection procedure:

I. Hiring Profile: The aim of recruitment process is to extract a number of qualified candidates. The sales manager should develop a hiring profile system. Application Scrutiny: The sales manager can now review the completed forms he received. The main purpose of scrutinising is to identify those candidates who fit the job specification and can be called later for an interview or testing sessions.

II.

Interview: The interview is the most used but least scientific of the various tools of selecting employees. A sales person has to face three or sour interviews before the final selection. IV. Psychological Testing: These tests are designed to measure such skills and abilities in a salesperson as are found to be essential for successful job performance. They include Knowledge tests, ability tests, aptitude tests and simulation tests.

III.

Reference check: An organization cannot be sure if it has all the information on an applicant until his/ her reference has been thoroughly checked. Reference checks allow organizations to secure information that are not available from other sources.

V.

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VI.

Physical Examination: Physical examination reveals whether or not a candidate possesses the required stamina, strength and tolerance under hard working conditions. The basic purpose of a PE is to place selected candidates on jobs which they can handle without any delay on health grounds.

VII.

Job Offer: When all other steps have been completed in the selection process, the company has to decide whether to hire an applicant or not. The applicants goal and ambitions must be matching against the present and future opportunities, challenges and other types of rewards that are offered by the job and company.

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Bibliography:

1) Sales and Distribution Management -

Dr. S.L. Gupta

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