Sales Management

Lecture III
What is Tupperware?
Tupperware India Pvt. Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the US-based
Tupperware Corporation, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-
quality plastic food storage and serving containers.
Tupperware started its operations in India in 1996 and has been growing
steadily over the years.
Tupperware Corporation, parent company of Tupperware India, is a $
1.1 billion company and one of world’s leading direct sellers of premium
food storage, preparation and serving items reaching consumers in
more than 100 countries. Tupperware Corporation is based in Orlando,
Florida and started operations in 1946. In partnership
with more than one million independent sales consultants worldwide,
Tupperware reaches consumers through informative and entertaining
home parties, retail access points in malls and other convenient venues.
Classification of Tupperware Products
Durable Products
Tupperware products fall under the durable goods category. They do not perish like
cereals or grains. They are made of plastic and hence are durable and long lasting.
Unsought/Speciality Products
Tupperware products come under the unsought goods category, as they are not
exclusively available in the market. People have to make an effort to find these
products. Also, not many people are aware of these products. Hence they have to be
made aware of them.
However, as awareness of TW products is increasing day-by-day and accessibility is
limited, it is turning into a specialty product.
Products Range of Tupperware
Tupperware products are pioneered to provide versatility and convenience. The
products are made from 100 per cent food grade virgin plastic and promise a lifetime
guarantee against chipping, cracking or breaking under normal non-commercial use.
Till date, 88 products (from Tupperware’s International range) have been introduced in
the Indian market and are available in 41 cities across the country. The product mix
comprises Dry Storage, Food Preparation, Food Serving, Refrigeration and Freezer
Range as well as some specifically designed products to suit the needs of Indian
homes. The product offerings are such that they cater to the entire family’s needs.
Tupperware range of products provides a one-stop solution for all food
storage, food preparation and serving requirements in any household.
They are elegant, lightweight, non-toxic, odourless and come in
beautiful soothing colours. Tupperware products also have special
airtight and liquid tight seals, which lock in freshness and flavour.
Tupperware products can be classified into the following categories:
Dry storage
Food preparation
Microwave
Serving
Refrigerator
Freezer
Canisters
Classics
Lunch and outdoors
SALES FORCE TRAINING
Consultants: The new consultant is given training by the distributor. This is known as
NDO (New Dealer Orientation). In this training session, the new dealer (consultant)
is inducted into the policies of the organization, way of working and suggestions for
success in TW.
Managers: The distributor trains managers in a session known as DWD (Day With
Distributor). In this session, a prospective manager is made to understand the
benefits of becoming a manager, how to deal with her sales force and how to
achieve her targets.
Sales Meeting
Sales meetings are held on a weekly basis every Monday. This meeting is known as
Assembly. In an Assembly, targets are given to dealers as well as managers. Each
target is accompanied with an incentive. This incentive can be cash bonus, free gifts
from Tupperware India / International or even a company-sponsored foreign trip.
The gifts can also be lifestyle products such as a microwave, stereo system or an
electric iron.
Every month there is a managers’ meeting, known as Managers’ club meeting.
This meeting is zonal in nature. In other words, separate meetings are held in
different zones. This meeting consists of discussions pertaining to increasing and
retaining of the sales force.
Marketing Channel
Tupperware is a women’s organization. It was started to give a new identity to women
who have always been confined to their homes. To follow this philosophy, TW products
are not available in any shop, mall or store. They can be displayed (with the permission
of TW), but cannot be sold directly.
Any intermediaries fail to exist in such a set-up where all the sales are done through
personal selling.
Head Office ... Distributor ... Manager/Dealer ... Customer
As the above diagram suggests, the distributor receives the goods from the head
office. She passes them to the manager/dealer. These managers or dealers provide the
products to the customer.
Distribution Channel
Tupperware manufactures its products in Hyderabad.
It has its head office in Gurgaon.
Once the manufacturing has been done, the goods are dispatched according to
the instructions of the head office.

NOTES
After the order has been placed by the customer, the following process takes
place :
The goods are sent to the distributor from the head office. Then the distributor
further gives them to the manager or the dealer under her. Now the manager/dealer
provides them to the customer.
However, if the customer has directly approached the distributor, then the role of
the manager/dealer is automatically eliminated.
Mfg Plant ... Head Office/Regional Office ... Distributor ... Manager/Dealer
Promotion
Tupperware uses various measures to promote its products.
Some of them are:
Press Releases
Recently, Mr Kanwar Bhutani, Managing Director of Tupperware India, talked of future
plans and targets of TW India in a press release. It was covered by various media giants
such as The Times of India and Aaj Tak. Mr. Bhutani’s vision was to achieve sales
worth 206 million by the year 2006.
Such press releases are used to promote the products of the company.
Sales Promotion:
To achieve sales targets, TW gives various promotional schemes for dealers and
customers. This increases sales and also strengthens confidence in TW.
Public Displays
TW organizes roadshows in various cities. It has alliances with leading shopping malls
such as Ebony and Ansal’s Plaza, where its products are displayed for increasing sales
and awareness.
Personal Selling
TW believes in personal selling. Hence its products can never be found in shops and
stores. Its dealers provide the products to the customer personally.
Online Assistance
If a person wishes to join Tupperware or buy its products, he or she can locate the
nearest distributor in his area through its website. Also, every new product is available
on its website, Tupperwareindia.com.
Conclusion
The Tupperware Party Plan method of selling is a unique and extremely successful
model of selling adopted by Tupperware. Through this unique selling method,
Tupperware has recorded remarkable acceptance and success in India. Tupperware
India understands the pulse of the consumers and their need to experience the
product in its true essence.
Tupperware realizes that demonstrations are an effective way of communicating
product benefits. Tupperware also provides an appealing business opportunity for
women.
Today the company has a vast network of sales force, comprising 50,000 women
across 41 cities in India. The company has touched the lives of several women and
will continue to spread the Tupperware experience.
Tupperware has carved a niche in the market.
Currently no other company enjoys the position enjoyed by Tupperware.
Questions

1. Explain the process of selling Tupperware products.

2. What, according to you, should be the right strategy to sell

Tupperware products in India?

3. What qualities are required in a salesperson to sell these products?

4. Comment on the role of selling that has changed over the years in
the light of the above case.
Sales Management
The sales management process
Account management policy grid
Sales Management and the Selling
Environment
 Sales Management in the 21st Century

• Building long-term relationships with customers

• Creating more nimble and adaptable sales
organizational structures
• Removing functional barriers within the organization
to create greater job ownership and commitment
from salespeople
 Sales Management in the 21st Century

• Shifting sales management style from commanding

to coaching
• Leveraging available technology for sales success
• Integrating salesperson performance evaluation to
incorporate all activities and outcomes
 Key Themes
• Innovation – thinking outside the box
• Technology – broad spectrum of tools
available to salespersons
• Leadership – capability to make things happen
• Globalization
• Ethics
 Sales Management Process
• The formulation of a sales program
• The implementation of the sales program
• The evaluation and control of the sales
program
 Goals/Objectives/Culture
• Mission and objectives drive customer
management approaches
• A well-defined mission + successful corporate
history + top management values = strong
corporate culture
 Personnel
• Modern sales organizations are highly
complex and dynamic
• Often difficult to expand to take advantage of
growing markets
• Utilizing outside specialists can help firms
meet need to expand
 Financial Resources
• Lack of financial resources can:
– constrain ability to develop new products
– limit promotional budget
– limit size of sales force
 Production and Supply Chain
Capabilities
• Production capacity
• Location of production facilities
• Transportation costs
• Ability to ensure seamless distribution and
service after the sale
 Service Capabilities
• Opportunity for strong competitive advantage
• Difficult for other firms to compete for same
customers
• Customers reluctant to switch regardless of
price
R&D and Technological Capabilities
• Excellence in design and engineering provide
major promotional appeal
• Ability to communicate technological
sophistication as value-add helps prevent
over-reliance on price to get sales
 Trends Affecting
Personal Selling
Salespeople must adapt to 3 major trends in
order to enhance their effectiveness and
efficiency.
1. Behavioral Forces
• More Expert and Demanding Buyers
• Rising Customer Expectations
• Micro-Segmentation of Domestic Markets
• Expanding Power of Retailers
• Globalization of Markets
2. Technological Forces
• Portable computers
• Electronic Data Interchange
• Sales Force Automation
• Videoconferencing
• Portable phones and Satellite Pagers
• Voice mail
• Facsimile machines
• Electronic mail
• Electronic commerce
• Virtual Sales Office
3. Managerial Forces
• Selling Cost Reduction Efforts
• Shift to Direct Marketing Alternatives
• Certification of Salespeople
 Four Major Trends in
Information Management
1. Database Marketing
• A database is a large computerized file of customers’
and potential customers’ profiles and purchase
patterns.
2. Data Warehousing
• A very large, corporate-wide database, built with data
from a number of information systems already in place
in the company.
3. Data Mining
• Refers to the process of using statistical analysis to detect
relevant patterns or relationships between and among
variables in a database.

4. Push Technology
• Push technology is the latest iteration of e-mail
combined with data warehousing to discern what your
customers need and exactly when they need it.
 Information Management and
Relationship Selling

• Information management and relationship

selling go hand-in-hand as part of the
evolutionary development of a marketing
strategy called one-to-one marketing to build
relationships:
 Information Management and
Relationship Selling

– One-to-One Marketing
• Instead of trying to increase market share by selling
more goods to more customers, one-to-one marketing
concentrates on selling more goods, more profitably to
fewer selected customers
– Salespeople One-to-One Relationship Builders
• Building trust and long-term relationships with
customers will determine the success of one-to-one
marketing strategies, especially in business-to-business
markets
 Professional Salespeople as Micro-
marketing Managers
• In addition to selling products, today’s sales representatives
must serve customers as consultants who can offer expert
advice for improving a customer’s lifestyle or making their
business operations more profitable
– Customer partners
– Market analysts and planners
– Buyer-seller team coordinators
– Customer service providers
– Buyer behavior experts
– Opportunity spotters
– Intelligence gatherers
– Sales forecasters
– Marketing cost analysts
– Allocators of scarce products
– Field public relations people
– Adopters of advanced sales technology
Key Account Selling
 Definition of Key Account
What is a Key Account?
• Key Accounts are the 20% of customers who provide
80% of your profits
• Key Accounts are defined as the prospects or existing
customers who have the potential or now fall in the
80/20 category.
• Any customer that is of strategic importance to your
company – loss of it of inability to secure potential
future revenue would cause a significant impact.
ACCOUNTS PROFITS
20%

80%
80%

20%
 80/20 principle
• For all corporations, some form of 80/20 rule
operates.
• e.g. 80% of the firm’s revenues is supplied by 20% of
its customers.
• If this rule, or a close variant (90/10; 75/25),
operates in the firm’s customer environment, the
critical business implication is that these 20% (or
10% or 25%) of customers have an importance to the
firm’s long-run future that exceeds that of the
“average” customer
 Definition of
Key Account Selling
A systematic set of processes in identification &
profiling of key accounts, design and
adaptation of information-based & value-
added selling strategies, profiling own market
positioning for high sustainability of growth in
sales.
• Key account management is a strategy used by suppliers to target
and serve high potential customers with complex needs by
providing them with special treatment in the areas of marketing,
administration and service. In order to receive key account status, a
customer must have high sales potential.

• A second characteristic is that of complex buying behaviour; for

example, large decision-making units with many choice criteria are
often found in dispersed geographical locations. The decision-
making unit may be located in a different functional area. Third, key
account status is more likely to be given to customers willing to
enter into a long-term alliance or partnership.

• Such relationships offer buyers many benefits including reliability of

supply, risk reduction, easier problem solving, better
communications and high levels of service.

• Key accounts that are geographically spread are often called

national accounts.
 According to Hise and Reid, conditions needed to
ensure the success of key account management are:
• integration of the key account programme into the company’s
overall sales effort

• senior management’s understanding of, and support for, the key

account unit’s role

• clear and practical lines of communication between outlying sales

and service units

• establishment of objectives and missions

• compatible working relationships between sales management and

field salespeople

• clear definition and identification of customers to be designated for

key account status.
• Key account handling requires a special kind of
attention from the seller that may be beyond the
capacity of the regular field sales force.
• Some of the key responsibilities of key account
managers are: planning and developing relationships
with a wide range of people in the customer firms,
mobilising personnel and other resources in their own
firms to assist the account, and coordinating and
motivating the efforts and communication of their
company’s field salespeople in their calls on the various
departments, divisions and geographical locations of
the key account.
What are the long-term benefits of running Key
Account program
• Economies of scale in selling
– Improved understanding of key account’s goals, and
requirements
– Enhanced ability to manage complex relationships
• Sustainability of sales
– Increased key account switching costs
• Credible reference for greater market penetration
• Constant feedback to research and development for
product and service improvements
What is the value of a Key Account program for
the individual key account customer?
• A single point of contact
• Lower overall costs
• Enhanced value with prioritized attention from
distributor
• Guaranteed delivery when capacity is short
• Long-term relationship
– Joint identification of opportunities and solutions to
problems in win-win partnership
 What has it to do with 80/20
principle?
• Understand who are your 80/20 customers, their
needs and profile
• Redeployment of sales efforts and resources
• Understand your own ranking, positioning, growth
potential or 80/20 status in your key customers
suppliers profile – seek improvement – adopt
aggressive growth strategy
 Redeployment of sales efforts and
resources
• High value customers should be treated
differently from the “average” customers
• They should receive a disproportionate share
of resources and are worthy of greater
managerial attention
 How about the small customers?
• 20% of your firm’s revenues are derived from
80% of its customers.
• Stop serving small customers?
• Identify less expensive methods for the firm to
deal with these accounts
Cautions for Key Account Management
• Too many eggs in one basket
• Insufficient benefits to the distributor
• Insufficient benefits to the potential key
account
• Limitation of opportunities
• Cost and Bureaucracy
• Significant organizational change
Selecting Key Accounts - Criteria
• Direct Sales Revenue and Profit
– Current Sales Revenue
– Current Profits
– Future Sales Volume and Profit
– Financial Security
– Acquisition Potential
• Key account effort on firms likely to be acquired may be
wasted if the acquiring organization is given the dominant
procurement responsibility
• Selecting potential acquirers as key accounts may bring long-
run benefits
 Selecting Key Accounts - Criteria
• Organizational Interrelationships
– Coherence with firm strategy
• Key account selection is a strategy implementation
decision
– Supplier valued by the customer
• Customer believes, or can be persuaded, that
distributor can meet its needs over the long run
– Cultural Fit
 Selecting Key Accounts - Criteria
• Indirect Potential Volume & Profits…
Strategic Key Account
– Opinion Leadership
– Example: Leading financial services group ICICI was the 1st
Indian company listed on NYSE. One of ICICI’s key
accounts is Infosys, India’s fastest growing software
company, well-known for its commercial success, product
quality, and high ethical standards, and the first Indian
company listed on NASDAQ. Although ICICI transacts little
business with Infosys, it regards as a key account because
of its exemplary reputation.
 Compensatory Approach for Calculating Key
Account Attractiveness

1. Attractiveness Criteria for Key 2. Importance 3. Customer 4. Col.2 X Col.3

Accounts Weights for X’s Score on
Criteria This Criterion
“We like key accounts that …”

a. Are a good cultural fit with our 25 4 100

firm
b. Provide us high volume 20 5 100
c. Provide us high gross margins 15 7 105
d. Offer good potential for future 15 8 120
growth
e. Are technologically sophisticated 15 3 45
f. Act as opinion leaders in their 10 4 40
industry

Total 100 510

 Strategic Accounts Defined
• A strategic account is more than just a large
customer
• A strategic customer requires:
– A high level of customer contact and customer
support
– Structure of the supplier's account team
– More account penetration than nonstrategic
accounts
– Far more complex planning
 Three Elements of Strategic Accounts

• Accounts are strategic with respect to:

– Revenues, profits, and growth opportunities for
the future
– The nature of the relationship (partnership)
between the seller and the buyer
– The development of new products and services
 Size of Account
• Strategic accounts will likely be large accounts,
with sales volume as the determinant of size
– Some minimum volume requirements must be
established
• Often the largest account in terms of sales
volume is not the most profitable account
• Only the most profitable accounts can justify the
higher expenditure in resources dedicated to
these partnerships
Criteria for Establishing Account Priorities
Size of account

Account has multiple

Buying locations

Centralized influence on
Purchasing decision

Medium High
High Priority Priority
Potential
Value
Low Medium
Low Priority Priority

Low High

Probability of Achieving Potential

 Partnering on a Strategic Level
• Companies interested in partnering on a
strategic level must employ:
– A multilocation mind-set
– A strategic mind-set
 Centralized Purchasing
• Buyers are located typically, in a centralized
facility (i.e., headquarter office) and are
responsible for dispersing products to remote
offices
 Developing the Strategic
Account Planning Process
• The strategic account planning process should
be specific and actionable, and include
– Objectives and activities
– Action plans designed to meet the objectives
– Assigned responsibilities and accountabilities
– A listing of the resources required to implement
the plans
 Facilitating Buy-In
• Training and education programs can facilitate
buy-in within the selling organization
• Sales education programs must emphasize the
value that sales representatives and sales
managers can provide to these strategic
accounts
 Providing Guidance for Plan Development and
Implementation
• Key Account Managers provide much
guidance and leadership to their account
representatives
• They require ongoing support from top
management
• Some companies have implemented a senior
executive sponsor program for strategic
accounts
 A Senior Executive Sponsor
Program for Strategic Accounts

• Provides key account managers with a senior level advocate to

further insure that the needs of the strategic account are being
met
• Shows the key account that the supplier organization is
committed to a long term relationship
• Serves as a sounding board to the key account manager in the
development and implementation of a strategic account plan
• Assists the key account manager in securing resources if normal
channels are unsuccessful
• Provides all senior management with greater exposure to
strategic customers
 Characteristics of
Key Account Managers
• Key account managers must be:
– Observant
– Able to recognize patterns
– Able to lead cross-functional teams
– Comfortable working across boundaries
– Able to work well with ambiguity
• They must orient and opt under uncertain conditions
– Very creative in developing structured solutions
for clients from often-vague situations
 Key Account Manager Responsibilities

• Four areas of responsibilities in servicing

strategic accounts are:
– Strategy
– Investments/operations
– Account quality assurance
– Executive role
 Major Account Selling
versus Smaller Account Selling
Major Account
A series of meetings over an
extended period of time with
many different people
Works directly with the
ultimate decision maker
Size of the sale is larger
Time horizon for purchasing
differs
Closing techniques can
sometimes cost the
salesperson business
Objection prevention
Longer sales cycle
Small Account
Face-to-face meetings
between just the salesperson
and a prospect
No direct access to the
ultimate decision maker
Closing techniques may be
effective
Objection handling
Shorter sales cycle
Strategy and Sales Program
Planning
 Strategic management planning.
Level 1
Top Mgt Business strategy Marketing strategy
decision

Go-to-mkt CRM
Level 2 Strategy

Strategy SCM Mgt Product Dev

Implementati Mgt
on Decision

activities structure
Level 3 Acc relatnship
Sales force strategy
competencies leadership
Program decision
 Strategic management planning.
LEVEL 1: Top Mgt Decisions
• First Strategic planning is used to make better use of
company resources & create a competitive
advantage.
• Involves designing mission – which provides a sense
of direction to employees. Should address
customers, competitors and the company itself.
• Design specific objectives by which performance can
be measured (in terms of profit, sales volume, mkt
share).
• Translate objectives into strategies (low cost,
differentiation or niche).
• Second is marketing strategy which involves
addressing the value requirements of
customers.
• Need to segment the market & select target
markets on which to concentrate their efforts.
Level 2: Strategy Implementation Decisions
• Implement a positioning strategy based on
4P’s. deals how the consumer views the
product & brand. Strong 4P’s very important.
• Sales force with other depts as finance,
operations, logistics etc.. need to work
together on the above strategies.
• Third is strategic implementation decisions – set
of process org needs to develop to create
customer value & gain competitive advantage.
• Decisions company make are:
- how will customers be accessed (go-to-mkt
strategy)
- how will new products be developed & existing
products improved (product dev mgt)
- how will physical products be created &
delivered to customer (SCM)
- how customer relation be enhanced (CRM)
 Go – To – Market Strategy:
A world class sales force is a powerful resource for a
company. Other options are advertising, promotions,
value added resellers, internet, telemarketing.
• Segmenting the mkt
• Essential activities include interest creation, pre-
purchase, purchase, post purchase.
• Face to face selling alternative – independent sales
agent, resellers, integrators (unaffiliated service
supplier), alliances.
 Product Development Mgt
• Success of a company often depends on how
it develops, produces & market new products.
• Sales force are the most important source of
information for new product dev.
• Sales force also plays an important role in the
launching of new products.
 Supply Chain Mgt
• integration & organisation of information & logistics
activities across firms in a supply chain for the
purpose of creating & delivering goods that provide
customer value.
• Companies have seen whiplash of too much or too
little inventory.
• Sales force impacts SCM because they are the
contact points to the customer.
• Need to have knowledge of entire SC, think
strategically about partnering, good lines of
communication & influence of top mgt.
 Customer Relationship Mgt
• Involvement of sales force
• Importance of information
• 4 skills important to sales professionals in CRM:
- collaboration having each stakeholders interest in
mind
- relationship mgt effective listening, analyzing &
interpersonal communication.
- financial & business skills
- consultative skills
Level 3: Sales Program Decisions
• is a tool for planning how sales force will
perform its role in achieving the firm’s
objectives.
• The process begins with objectives, target
markets specified in the marketing plan.
• The tools and techniques for estimating sales
potential and forecasting are discussed later in
the topic.
 Mkting objs, strategy, & strategy
implementation program
Estimates of sales
potential & forecast
Acc relationship strategy

Desired selling actions &

behaviors

Estimates of sales
Org. structure
force size & budget

Competency Dev
program

Leadership system

feedback
 Account Relationship Strategy
Refers to the type of relationship it intends to develop
with its customers (acquiring, maintaining &
developing customers).
• Transactional Relationship – because a business can
switch suppliers easily. Relationship is based on the
need for a product of acceptability quality,
competitively priced & process & relationship
convenient for the buyer. Good TR involves personal
relationship based on history of trust, creation of
value, meeting or exceeding customers expectations.
• Consultative Relationship – in industrial
markets based on the customers demand &
willingness to pay for a sales effort that
creates new value & provides additional
benefits outside of the product itself.
- more time is spent learning special needs of
individual customer
• Enterprise Relationship – customers
downsizing their supplier base to a small
number of possible long term relationships. To
the selling organization customer is the most
important.
 Developing Your Competencies
• Strategic Action
• Technology
• Coaching
• Team building
• Self management –
- closing (can aggressively initiate personal contacts
- consultative (possess patience, good interpersonal
skills & aggressiveness)
- relationship (discipline & take responsibility)
- display (need to have something to do, high
physical energy level)