Sales Operations/Management Specialization

Sales jobs span nearly every industry, from agribusiness and pharmaceuticals, to telecommunications and property management. And essential to sales is the management of the sales force. This course provides the knowledge and know how required for careers in sales management. Students are exposed to all facets of sales management, including organizing, selecting, training, motivating, supervising and compensating the sales force, territory management and administration and sales and expense forecasting. Also covered are typical sales management problems and potential solutions. As part of the course, you will meet a number of practicing sales managers who share their experience and knowledge. The learning outcomes are:
· Develop a plan for organizing, staffing and training a sales force.
· Identify the key factors in establishing and maintaining high morale in the sales force.
· Develop an effective sales compensation plan.
· Evaluate the performance of a sales person.
· Organize sales territories to maximize selling effectiveness.
· Evaluate sales and sales management strategies in relation to current legal and ethical standards of practice.

The specialization project involves selecting a business that has a sales function/operation. The learners are to identify the manager responsible for the sales function (typically called a Sales Manager) and interview this person on the sales management practices at this firm. The purpose of the interview is to understand how one firm organizes and manages their sales function along the following parameters:· Sales management· Sales Organization· Recruitment & Induction Process· Territory allocation Process & Strategy· Reporting structure and systems· Compensation structure· System of Evaluation· Training & Development· Students will apply the concepts learned in the specialization to guide and structure the interview as well as comparing and contrasting one firm’s practice with the “ideal” world as presented in the course.