Time and Motion Study of the Sales Officer's Time Spent in the

Market - and how to make him more productive, helping him

understand where he can save time and where he should deploy
include all types of SO's - HFS, DMT and CSD

A Report
by
Divya Jain, 13 PGDM021

Agro Tech Foods Ltd

A Report Submitted in Partial fulfillment of the requirements of PGDM program

International Management Institute

New Delhi 110016
6th July, 2014
 Acknowledgement

This piece of research work has been possible due to the efforts of a number of people, who have
invested their precious time with utmost dedication.

First and foremost, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to my organizational mentor Mr
Krishna Mohan Dubey and faculty mentor Dr Deepak Chawla for their exemplary guidance
throughout the course of the project. The successful completion of the project would not have
been possible without their constant support and encouragement.

I would also like to express our thanks to the entire team I worked with, who took out time from
their busy schedules and responded to all my questions and doubts with patience. They also gave
insights on the current industry which were of tremendous help to me.

My deep sense of gratitude to all faculty members who helped me carry out this project in a
smooth way, and were always available for any kind of support at any point of time.

Lastly, I would like to thank all the people who may remain unacknowledged in this humble note
of gratitude, but surely don’t remain unappreciated.

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 International Management Institute, New Delhi

Certificate of Approval for SIP

This is to certify that Ms.Divya Jain roll number 13PGDM021, a student of IMI, has
successfully completed her Summer Internship Program project titled “Time and Motion Study
of the Sales Officer's Time Spent in the Market - and how to make him more productive,
helping him understand where he can save time and where he should deploy” under my
guidance during April – May, 2014. Her summer internship report is hereby approved as a
certified study in management carried out and presented in a manner satisfactory to warrant its
acceptance as a pre-requisite for the award of Post Graduate Diploma in Management for which
it has been submitted. It is understood that by this approval the undersigned do not necessarily
endorse or approve any statement made, opinion expressed or conclusion drawn therein but
approve the Summer Internship Report only for the purpose it is submitted.

Organizational Guide

Signature:

Name of executive: Mr Krishna Mohan Dubey

Designation:

Organization (Seal)

Address: Agro Tech Foods Ltd.

15th Floor, Tower C, Bldg No. 10, Phase II, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon

Tel No. : 09717399931

E-mail: [email protected]

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The sales hierarchy followed in Agro tech foods limited involves Sales officer and an Exclusive
distributor salesman on the field. A sales officer visits the market regularly and has various roles
and responsibilities which include:

 Pre-Sales activities
 Sales activities
 Post-Sales activities
 Non-Sales /administrative activities

EDS is not under Company’s payroll but he is mapped with SO (Sales officer) for market visit.
Every EDS is under a distributor who holds the Agro Tech products (all SKU), and he reports his
daily sales and market coverage to his assigned Sales Officer. EDS visits the market daily such
that in each assigned area he visits once or twice a week. On other hand SO has 6-10 EDS under
him and an SO visits market with EDS according to his Monthly tour plan (MTP). An MTP is
prepared according to Permanent journey plan (PJP) of the company.

Productivity is the ratio of output and input, in terms of Sales productivity the Output is the sales
revenue generated for the company and input is the selling time and resources as spent by the
sales force in the market. The ultimate goal of the company can be achieved by the significant
contribution of sales force; they are lifeline of any company.

The project was aiming to understand the roles executed by Sales officer in the market and
finding the gaps between expectations and executed role of the SO. It intends to increase the
productivity of a Sales Officer in the market. To understand the roles and responsibilities of an
SO there was a discussion with Area Sales Manager and Head of Sales to gauge their
expectations from an SO and also issues currently being faced by the company from sales point
of view.

In Exploratory research Sales Officer’s role was practically observed during scheduled market
visits in High Frequency stores, Direct modern trade and Canteen store departments and a gap
was studied between the observed and executed role. It was noticed that the productivity was
high for those SO’s who give did proper planning and spent time for each step of sales call. Also

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better planning, product knowledge, awareness of market and relations with retailers were the
key factors which influenced their productivity.

Thereafter, data analysis was done to get a better understanding of SO’s working past 3 months
sales data of North Region. I calculated the Average of Total lines sold(TLS) and Total bill
value(TBV) by an EDS in a month and compared it with Average of TLS and TBV by the same
EDS on the days with SO. Analyzed this data to identified 2 highly productive SO’s (where
percentage increase of average TLS is high) and similarly identified 2 less productive SO.

After these identified, I proceeded with Primary and Secondary Research. In primary research I
prepared a Questionnaire that unraveled both functional as well as behavioral parameters of an
SO working. I also visited various Distributor points, market visits and observed working for
each identified Sales Officer to understand their working in the market. In secondary research I
read various Research papers done in this field which mentions few of the best practices for
increasing sales force productivity

Results from primary research unraveled various patterns which were evident among the High
performers and the low performers. Key functional factors that differentiated high performing
SO from low performing SO are: Distributor handling, Tap on EDS, Regular in administrative
work, Planning for the day, Awareness of sales targets, and Focus on range selling and Primary
versus secondary sales. Various behavioral patterns that are evident among high performers are
high motivation, good work-life balance, Organization, planning skills and product/competitor
knowledge.

There were few things that were observed after studying the results:

 Characteristics of high performing SO

 Characteristics of low performing SO
 What differentiates behavior of high performing SO and low performing SO
 Missing links: In both high performing and low performing SO
With the identified issues and observed SO role a number of recommendations were suggested:
 To link the performance with the total lines sold so as to motivate the sales officer
 Better strategy of sharing tips with EDS.

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  Better reporting so that SO can do better planning and organization.
 Mandate of market visits
 Feedback from sales force, such that schemes and promotions can be customized after
gauging the market
 Increase motivation levels of the sales force
 Ensure regular demonstrations

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Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 7
Vision .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Purpose ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Products and Services.................................................................................................................. 7
Analysis of Agro Tech Foods Ltd using Porter’s five forces framework ................................... 8
SWOT Analysis........................................................................................................................... 9
Tushman and Nadler Analysis .................................................................................................. 10
Sales hierarchy at ATFL ........................................................................................................... 12
Types of Market Covered ...................................................................................................... 13
Problem Foundation .................................................................................................................. 13
Objective ................................................................................................................................... 13
Value addition to the company.................................................................................................. 14
1.1. Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 14
1.2. Theory ................................................................................................................................ 15
2. Chapter 2: Methodology ........................................................................................................... 17
2.1. Exploratory Research ......................................................................................................... 17
2.2. Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 20
Analysis of Sales Officer........................................................................................................... 20
2.3. Primary Research ............................................................................................................... 23
2.4 Secondary research .............................................................................................................. 25
3. Chapter 3: Results & Discussion .............................................................................................. 27
3.1. Results ................................................................................................................................ 27
3.2. Limitations ......................................................................................................................... 30
4. Chapter 4: Recommendation..................................................................................................... 31
4.1. Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 31
4.2. Future Scope....................................................................................................................... 33
References ..................................................................................................................................... 34
Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 35
List of tables .................................................................................................................................. 35
Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ 39

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Chapter 1: Introduction
Agro Tech Foods Ltd (ATFL) is a public limited company engaged in the business of marketing
food and food ingredients to consumers and institutional customers. The company is affiliated
to ConAgra Foods Inc. Of USA, which is one the world’s largest food companies. Agro Tech
Foods Limited is a company with a dominant market position in the edible oils and branded
foods sector, in India. ConAgra Foods Inc of USA, world's third largest foods company, along
with Tiger Brands of South Africa holds a majority stake of 51.3 percent in Agro Tech Foods
Limited, through CAG Tech Holdings, Mauritius. The company was incorporated in 1986 as ITC
Agro-Tech to enter the oil seed and edible oils business. ConAgra is a diversified international
food company operating across the food chain in over 35 countries.

Vision
To become the Best Performing Most Respected Foods Company in India

Purpose
"Nourishing families… Enriching life

Products and Services

The Company’s product categories include edible oils, snacks, spreads, puddings and desserts
and convenience meals. The Company's brands include Sundrop, which include Slimlite, Heart,
SuperLite Advanced, SuperLite, FreshLite, NutriLite, GoldLite and Nutrifit; ACT II, which
include ACT II Microwave Popcorn, ACT II Instant Popcorn and ACT II RTE Popcorn; Sundrop
Snack Break, Sundrop Peanut Butter, Healthy World - Dried Green Peas, Crystal and Sundrop
10 min Yummeals.

The company has a strong presence and a pro-active stance with respect to modern trade. There
are direct selling agreements in place with key accounts like Reliance Retail, Food Bazaar,
Aditya Birla (More and Trinethra), Heritage, Food World, Spencers, Bharti-Walmart, Tesco,
Hypercity, D-Mart etc.

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 Analysis of Agro Tech Foods Ltd using Porter’s five forces framework

1. Rivalry among competitors: Rivalry of competitors is quite high because of the following
reasons:

a) Huge untapped market: Given the vast scope of expansion every firm would try to garner as
much market share as possible in the untapped segment and as early as possible.

b) Low margins: Given the limited value addition which results in limited margins, every firm
would try to increase its volume to sustain itself in the market.

c) Much of the market is controlled by the unorganized sector. It implies fragmented market and
hence would lead to cut throat competition.

d) The fact that each company is continually adding to its list of edible oil variants further drives
home the point of intense rivalry.

2. Threat of new entrants: The threat of new entrants is moderate because of the following
reasons:

a) There is a huge untapped market which would appear attractive to any outside party.

b) Current supply is unable to meet the demand which implies a great opportunity for new
entrants.

However the margins are low which implies it’s a game of volume. With so many players
(Organized and unorganized) operating in the market it would be difficult to push the volume to
the desired level.

b) Given the low value of margin, backward integration seems imperative. So, it poses a
formidable challenge for a new entrant.

c) Low capacity utilization. Since supply of oil seeds is constrained so, the utilization of installed
capacity is limited which can further deter new entrants.

3. Bargaining power of suppliers: It is limited because:

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a) Since the suppliers (seed cultivators) are unable to meet the demand which constrains the
utilized capacity of the companies so, they are not in a position to bargain.

b) Since the cultivators don’t employ advanced techniques in cultivation so, they stand exposed
to the vagaries of nature (rainfall scarcity) which undermines their bargaining capability.

c) However if the suppliers shift to cultivation of other crops instead of oil seeds it will adversely
affect the fortunes of the companies so, there lies a contention for bargain.

4. Bargaining power of customers: It is quite high because:

a) The customers have a lot of options to choose from.

b) In addition there are options in various price categories which lead credence to the bargaining
power of the customers.

5. Threat from substitutes: It is low because:

a) Edible oil forms a key ingredient of our food habit (in India) and hence substituting it with
something else seems farfetched.

b) With various firms coming up with heart sensitive products substitution is diminished further.

SWOT Analysis
Strength

1. Affiliation to ConAgra foods, which is an American packaged Foods Company.

2. Strong distribution network spread across the country.
3. Strong brand loyalty and brand recall
4. Popular sub brands like Sundrop, ACT II, Crystal, etc, which have a strong brand recall.
5. Wide range of SKU’s.
6. ACT II popcorn is a distinct category and there is no major competitor in that.

Weakness

1. Low presence in rural markets, markets are majorly captured by local brands
2. Limited market share in food segment due to competition

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 3. Perception of expensive/costly brand
4. Lack of advertising and branding as a result people are unaware of all other SKU’s

Opportunities

1. Product line extension in foods segment

2. Health consciousness amongst people
3. Rise in purchasing power of people in India
4. Penetrate more in the market with the support of marketing and advertising

Threats

1. People moving away from oily food, by using less amount of oil
2. Low priced products pose a great threat
3. High level of competition

Tushman and Nadler Analysis

Task: The work does not require specific knowledge; it requires basic understandings of how the
value chain works. Employees are given freedom to switch their business verticals eg from sales
to finance etc. Intrinsic rewards include “Tareef”: on the spot a monetary reward to any
employee for his exemplary performance. The tasks are less mechanistic and more organic in
nature. To work best in the organization being thorough and enthusiastic are very important.

People: Here at ATFL being a lean organization, it follows a bottom-up approach. Employees
and peers influence the decisions of bosses with least interference of external stakeholders.
People working in the organization are competent, have in-depth knowledge and experience in
their respective fields. There is demographic profile, employees are evenly spread across all
cities such that its come with it lot of cross- cultural interaction and experiences.

The satisfaction level of employees is high in terms of rewards and incentives.

Organization Structure: ATFL is a lean organization; it is organized in an organic manner. The

distinct business units in the organization are: Sales and distribution, Research, quality and
innovation, Manufacturing, Supply chain Management & Purchases, Vending, Hunan resources,
Finance. Distinct business units are based on zones i.e. North, South, East and west. In each zone

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there is an hierarchy followed in each business vertical, this is because each zone has different
market conditions and product preferences. The line of authority is not very rigid; the
organization gives flexibility to employees. The work is incentivized on the base of both
monetary and non-monetary rewards and incentives. Eg “Ideathon”: An appreciation given to
any employee who comes up with any innovative idea and “Tareef”: An appreciation given to an
employee For extra-ordinary efforts.

Culture: The Company provides an environment where one person can Make A Difference.
Employees work in an environment where they have freedom to express, innovate and create
breakthrough solutions. Passion, Empowerment, Trust, Respect for Individual and Innovation
are their core values that bond each member of the organization together with a titanium rope.

Simplicity, Accountability and Collaborate are the operating principles that run across the
organization and bring people together in achieving our business goals and deliver superior value
to all customers. They follow a clear, open and transparent communication that ensures
eliminating ambiguity and drive simplicity.

They live up to our commitments. They agree on goals, objectives and strategies. They drive for
flawless execution. They don't offer excuses; they offer solutions and this is the mantra that
builds accountability across the organization.

They trust and respect each other. They realize that we are much more valuable together than
they are apart. Everybody has something of value to contribute, and we collaborate and win as a
team.

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Authenticity, Courage and Vulnerability are the distinctive leadership qualities that drive
employees.

Employees are empowered, energetic and enthusiastic to make a difference with an underlying
and all-encompassing passion in what they do. People use good judgment and are decisive. They
act with speed and always ensure flawless execution.

Sales hierarchy at ATFL

The sales hierarchy followed in Agro tech Foods Ltd(for instance in North Region) is:

Head of Sales

General
Manager
sales(North)

Area Sales Area Sales Area Sales

Manager Manager Manager
(Punjab) (UP) (Delhi/NCR)

Sales Sales
Officer(NE Officer(SW
Delhi) Delhi)

EDS(Exclusiv
e Distributor EDS EDS
Salesman)

In the above hierarchy, EDS and Sales Officer are on field that is they actually visit market and
do sales calling. In the above hierarchy, EDS is not under Company’s payroll but he is mapped
with SO (Sales officer) for market visit. Every EDS is under a distributor who holds the Agro
Tech products (all SKU), and he reports his daily sales and market coverage to his assigned Sales
Officer. EDS visits the market daily such that in each assigned area he visits once or twice a
week. On other hand SO has 6-10 EDS under him and an SO visits market with EDS according
to his Monthly tour plan (MTP). An MTP is prepared according to Permanent journey plan (PJP)
of the company.

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Types of Market Covered
Following markets have been covered as a part of the project:

 High Frequency Store: These stores include traditional shops which includes retailers
and wholesalers/retailers.
 Direct modern trade: It consists of cash and carry, super markets and hyper markets
where the customer can touch and see the product.
 Canteen store departments

Problem Foundation
Presently Agro Tech Foods Ltd is focusing on increasing the range selling and increasing
penetration in the market since number of SKU’s are adding example RTE(Ready to eat)
popcorns, Bakes, 6 new Premium flavour’s of ACT II popcorn.

Thus there is a need for placement of these product and penetration in the market. The sales force
act as lifeline, for getting orders and generating revenue for the company, the company is facing
issues in productivity of the Sales officer. There is a need to understand the gaps in the roles
executed by Sales team, know the time deployed by them at various activities and aim at
increasing the productivity of the Sales team.

The most important concern is to sample these new segments and introduce them in the market
by emphasizing on range selling, product visibility, sampling and regular demonstrations of the
new SKU’s.

Objective
The objective of the internship was to carry out Time and Motion Study of the Sales Officer's
Time Spent in the Market - and how to make him more productive, helping him understand
where he can save time and where he should deploy - include all types of SO's - HFS, DMT and
CSD.

The internship expected to find the places where SO is not productive in his working in the
market, behavior/attitude variables that affect the commitment levels and execution of SO in the
market and measures that can be taken by the company to encourage SO and increase no. of
productive sales calls.

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The project aims at understanding the gaps between expectations from the SO and his execution
in the market. And thereby making an action plan so as to increase the productivity of an SO i.e.
increasing the sales by a SO. Key Deliverables of the project were:

1. On field roles and responsibilities executed by the SO in HFS, DMT and CSD markets.

2. Measuring gaps between observed and required/desired functions.

3. Various function of SO which affect the productivity of a sales call. Study variables (like
attributes, behavior and attitude of SO) which impact productivity of a SO.

4. Prepare an action plan that would lead to an increase an SO’s productivity.

Value addition to the company

Since Sales officer is on field and has a key role in driving the sales in all the three types of
market therefore his productivity can hugely impact the sales of the company in the long run.
Upon successful implementation of the project there can be following value addition to the
company:

• Increase in sales of all SKU’s of the company

• Motivation levels of the sales officer will increase

• Better planning and execution of sales call in the market

• Distribution, Range selling, In-shop activation, Visibility of products would be ensured

• Revision of Incentive program for SO’s

1.1. Literature Review

• Research paper titled “HOW SALES REPS SPEND THEIR TIME” by Mark Ellwood,
President , Pace Productivity Inc : The report examined data from outside sales reps -
those whose activities take them out of their offices to customers’ locations. Thus, they
have excluded inside sales reps working at order desks, retail sales clerks, and personal
bankers whose customers generally come to them.

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 • HBR blog titled “Are Your Sales Reps Spending Too Much Time in Front of
Customers?” by Matthew Dixon, Simon Frewer, and Andrew Kent in 2011: The report
said that When they compare rep time spend today with what it looked like five years
ago, it’s clear that the sales world has undergone a dramatic shift. Time spent on pre-
sales and post-sales activities are both up by 15%. Meanwhile, time spent on non-sales
(i.e., admin) work is up a whopping 21%. And all of this has come at the expense of
actual selling time in front of the customer, which is down a full 26%.

• Research paper titled “Sales Process Trends Examining Recent Trends in Sales Rep Time
Spend and Drivers of High Performance” by Sales executive council in 2009: The report
Sales reps are spending– Less time on sales activities and More time on pre-sales, post-
sales and non-sales admin.

• Research paper titled “The Five Most Dangerous Issues Facing Sales Leaders Today and
How to guarantee a Permanent Improvement in Sales Results” by The sales activator:
The paper talks about The Five Most Dangerous Issues Facing Sales Leaders Today and
How to Guarantee a Permanent Improvement in Sales Results.

1.2. Theory
A sales call process has 7 steps:

 Pre Call planning : It includes planning before starting the market where stocks are
checked at distributor’s point, keeping in mind what was sold last time at the retailer and
planning of what is to be sold today(targets for the day).
 Greeting the Retailer and rapport building. : Entering at a retailer’s shop, few
minutes are spent on building rapport with the retailer by greeting him and asking casual
set of questions like how are you, how are the sales these days etc
 Problem Solving: After building relation with the retailer, sales team addresses issue
faced by the retailer which includes timely stock supply, current sales trend, customer
feedback of product and order booking.
 Physical Stock Check and stock rotation: Thereafter EDS goes inside the shop and
physical checks the stock left and according to the past orders of the retailer, EDS fills

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 the retailer card(where he notes down what should be the order for this week according to
stock rotation frequency).
 Merchandising and POS for the product: It is ensured that ATFL products are placed
in such a way that it is visible to the customer. Also stands, hangers, boxes and posters
are given to increase the visibility of the product.
 Order taking by range: Since ATFL has large number of SKU’s, so after stock check
Sales person takes order by range. It is aimed at increasing the penetration of all SKU’s.
 Thanking the retailer
With proper time for each step in sales call process it is ensured that Distribution, Range Selling,
In-shop activation, product visibility, productive and responsible sales is in line with the goals of
the company. A Sales Officer not only motivates and supervises the EDS in making productive
sales call in the market but also has a number of other responsibilities.

Productivity is the ratio of output and input, in terms of Sales productivity the Output is the sales
revenue generated for the company and input is the selling time and resources as spent by the
sales force in the market. Productivity of a sales call is measured by:

Daily bills called(DBC): This means how many productive outlet has been that day i.e.
the number of productive call on that day.
Total lines sold(TLS):With increasing number of SKU, the company is focusing more
on Range selling i.e. offering a wider range of product portfolio to the retailer/wholesaler.
The more the TLC is the more is penetration in the market.
Total bill value(TBV):It is the total amount which sums up from all bills called that
month/quarter.

But for ensuring range selling there is a need to work upon increasing TLS as well as TBV at the
same time.

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2. Chapter 2: Methodology

2.1. Exploratory Research

The project was started with an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of an SO. It was
done by discussion and guidance with Area Sales Manager and Head of Sales to understand their
expectations from an SO and issues currently being faced by the company from sales point of
view. It was also understood that what is the present focus and future goals of the company. Few
of the key expectations were from an SO were:

• Distributor Management

• Monitor, supervise and solve issues of EDS in the market

• Range sell, product visibility and stock depth

• Market coverage

• Meeting targets

To understand the focus of the company, since ATFL is increasing its number of SKU’s so it
emphasizes on Range selling that is selling more number of lines each day. Company has
launched Bakes recently, so its placement and sampling is to be ensured.

After this incentive structure of SO was understood and got a detailed understanding of the
reports submitted by him. Using secondary data research, best practices of field force and
research papers were studied, which gave insights of Field force strategies, issues and solutions
for increasing sales.

SO roles and responsibilities in HFS

1. Distributor management and conflict resolution.
2. Ensure coverage of markets by all EDS
3. Meeting primary and secondary targets.
4. Monitor, motivate and solve issues of EDS
5. Send reports (EFF,OPSE) which include daily information about the market covered
(Area), Order details of all SKU’s and weekly report of opening and closing stock at the
distributor point.

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 6. Check stocks, Sample of near expiry product and credit note for leakage(Enter data
manually in Online billing software at the end of every month).

SO roles and responsibilities in DMT

1. Increase in-store visibility, ensure both primary and secondary placement.
2. Vendor management and conflict resolution.
3. Check optimum quantity of stocks.
4. Ensure Purchase Orders are served within time limit.
5. Regular sampling to be done (Demo)
6. Building relations with the category(like Reliance, Big bazaar, Metro etc)
7. Ensure products are placed as per Plano(of the store).
8. Supervises and monitors VDEC
9. Building relations with the store manager and all people in hierarchy of the category

SO roles and responsibilities in CSD

1. Organize demonstration in the CSD to pull the customer demand
2. Ensure that listed SKU’s are covered in all URC’s
3. Ensure on time delivery of order so that there are no denials
4. Checking placement and visibility of our products
5. Porting issues in URC to area head( e.g. asking for offer, less sales of particular index
etc)
6. Check for supply and collection of orders from depots to URC’s

Sales Officer’s role was practically observed during scheduled market visits in High Frequency
stores, Direct modern trade and Canteen store departments. During market visits, a comparison
was made according to time spent by each SO in the market, average time in each shop and
average time spent for each step in a sales call process. With this data compared the productivity
of the SO’s according to the comparison analysis. It was noticed that the productivity was high
for those SO’s who give did proper planning and spent time for each step of sales call. Also
better planning, product knowledge, awareness of market and relations with retailers were the
key factors which influenced their productivity. With this study a chart was prepared which
differentiated the productivity of an SO on the basis of activities carried by him or her in the

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market that is the activities that make a sales call productive and activities that make it
unproductive.

This chart helped to unravel various gaps that existed between expected and observed role of the
SO in the market.

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2.2. Data Analysis
To get a better understanding of SO’s working past 3 months sales data of North Region was
taken. Calculated the Average of Total lines sold(TLS) and Total bill value(TBV) by an EDS in
a month and compared it with Average of TLS and TBV by the same EDS on the days with SO.
Analyzed this data to identified 2 highly productive SO’s (where percentage increase of average
TLS is high) and similarly identified 2 less productive SO.

Analysis of Sales Officer

Typically, every month has 26 working days. Every month, Sales Officer accompanies the EDS
for the market visit on around 5 or 6 occasions. The number varies depending on the number of
EDS working under SO.

In the first observation, I found uneven effect of the SO visit on the sales number. On some
instances, the numbers spiked whereas on other they stayed around the same levels or even
decreased. On further analysis of the data, I found typically 3 cases:

1. The sales number spiked on the SO Visit

In case of some EDS, the days of SO visit were highly productive and they reported high sales
numbers on those days. This was due to one of the two situations:

 The SO was so effective and organized that he helped EDS push up the numbers
significantly.
 The EDS was relaxed and never bothered to work on days when SO didn’t visited the
market.

2. The Sales number remained same or increased slightly on the SO visit

For some EDS, the sales number remained around the same level and the SO visit hardly seemed
to make an effect. This was due to one of the following situations:

 The SO was ineffective and was not able to help the EDS in increasing the low sales
number.
 The EDS was quite effective and already reported high sales numbers. Hence, it was
difficult for SO to increase them significantly.

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 3. The Sales number declined on the SO Visit

In some cases, the EDS reported decreased number on the days of SO visit consistently. This was
typically due to the situation in which the EDS became relaxed on the days when SO visited
market thinking that SO would be handling the Sales Part. The SO himself becomes complacent
and fails to motivate and push the EDS.

I performed an analysis on the last 2 months data. The following steps were performed to find a
observable pattern in the data.

1. Collected TLS count of each day of a particular EDS.

2. Collected data about the market visits of the SO.

3. Found the average TLS sold on days when EDS worked alone.

4. Found the average TLS sold on the days when SO visited the EDS.

5. Calculated the percentage increase in TLS sold when the SO visited the EDS.

6. Used the percentage increase along with the data to observe the effectiveness of the SO.

An Example of the above steps is shown below:

Step 1: Collected TLS count of each day of a particular EDS.

Step 2: Collected data about the market visits of the SO.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

SO Visit TLS DBC SO Visit TLS DBC SO Visit TLS DBC

N 100 0 N 96 0 N 102 20

Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

SO Visit TLS DBC SO Visit TLS DBC SO Visit TLS DBC

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 N 102 21 N 89 0 N 78 18

and so on till Day 30

Day 28 Day 29 Day 30

SO Visit TLS DBC SO Visit TLS DBC SO Visit TLS DBC

Y 17 88 Y 87 17 N 82 16

Step 3: Found the average TLS sold on days when EDS worked alone.

Average TLS on Days When SO didn’t visited the market = Total no. of TLS sold on these
days

Total no of days when SO didn’t visited

Average TLS on Days When SO didn’t visited the market = 2078 = 94.45(A)

22

Step 4: Found the average TLS sold on days when SO visited the market.

Average TLS on Days When SO didn’t visited the market = Total no. of TLS sold on these
days

Total no of days when SO visited market

Average TLS on Days When SO didn’t visited the market = 718 = 89.75(B)

Step 5: Calculated the percentage increase in TLS sold when the SO visited the EDS.

Percentage increase in TLS sold when the SO visited the EDS = B-A 100

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 A

Average TLS on Days When SO didn’t visited the market = 89.75 94.35 = -0.05125 = -
5.1%

89.75

Step 6: Used the percentage increase along with the data to observe the effectiveness of the
SO.

Since the So visit has decreased the performance by an average of 5.1%. The case falls in the
Category 3 which implies that:

1. EDS becomes relaxed when the SO visits the market.

2. SO is unable to increase the sales and at the same time fails to motivate the EDS.

IF the same result is observed with every EDS of this SO, then the SO is ineffective and
fails to motivate the EDS and help them perform.

IF the other EDS of the same SO perform better when SO visits them, then the issue is with
EDS who becomes relaxed when SO visits and fails to increase the numbers.

2.3. Primary Research

During the market visits, few techniques/practices followed by high performing SO’s were
observed also various places where an SO’s productivity was reduced were noted. A set of
questions and a feedback was also taken from each SO, which aimed to understand the support
he expects from the company and the issues he is currently facing.

Questions also asked about:

 How planning has been done for every week

 What is the average time spent on each report and When are reports sent?
 How is distributor handled
 Understanding of incentive structure
 What is primary and secondary sales till date
 How to plan and allocate targets to EDS

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  How to keep a tap on reporting of EDS and when during the day do you call
your EDS and follow up for market coverage.
 Priorities during a market visit
 Less sold SKU’s and focus SKU’s
 Targets for the month and planning of achieving those

Detailed Comparison of above mentioned questions was done. Further with the guidance of
mentor and analysis of observations done so far, action plan is being prepared. The plan focuses
on:

 Increasing the product knowledge of SO

 Improving Planning among SO’s
 Encouraging market coverage and range selling
 Increasing motivation levels of the SO

After asking a set of open-ended questions to the Sales force, I gathered insights of their
understanding and perceptions of roles and responsibilities assigned to them. I closely monitored
working of these SO on Functional and behavioural parameters.

 Infrastructure: Relations with Distributors, EDS and retailers that is how well is SO able
to maintain relations with all people in the sales process.
 Tap on EDS: This intends to see how closely SO is able to monitor working of the EDS
under him.
 Market coverage/awareness: This checks how exhaustive is the coverage of market by the
sales team, such that all shops in the beat are covered.
 Average time spent on each report: Reports are the part of administrative/Non Sales
activities to be done by the SO; it includes a number of reports to be sent daily, weekly
and monthly.
 Planning for each day: This checks on how he plans his day i.e. how much time is
deployed to pre-sales, sales, post-sales and non-sales activities each.
 Awareness of Sales targets: This check on the commitment and motivation of SO that is
how much aware of his targets is he.

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  Time spent in the market: This aims to check schedule as followed by him in the market
beat coverage.
 Focus on range selling and product visibility: This checks how focused is SO on
parameters like range selling and product placement.
 Achievement of targets till date and further planning: This checks for motivation and
planning skills of the SO.

On the personal front following variables were observed:

 Motivation levels
 Commitment towards the company
 Work life balance
 Organization and planning skills
 Product knowledge/ competitor offerings

All the parameters mentioned above affect the productivity of a Sales Officer.

A high performing and low performing SO were compared on these parameters. There was a
difference in the way sales call is planned and organized, there was also a gap between average
time spent on reports , variable satisfaction and motivation levels were observed among the
SO’s. These influence the productivity and performance of a SO.

2.4 Secondary research

In secondary research I went through various research papers in the field of increasing sales
force productivity like:

•Journal publication titled “Improving Sales Productivity: What We All Know but Rarely Do” by
luxor corporation in 2009.

•“Sales productivity factors” by growth process group: A report presented by a consulting group
which mentions Discovery, Learning and Execution by the sales force.

•Research paper titled “Improving Sales Productivity: An Opportunity for Sales and IT
Leadership” by Bob Thompson in 2008.

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•Research paper titled “Do Bonuses Enhance Sales Productivity? A Dynamic Structural Analysis
of Bonus-Based Compensation Plans” by Doug J. Chung, Thomas Steenburgh and K. Sudhir.

•Author Peter French paper titled “PRODUCTIVITY STUDY - SALES FORCE

EFFECTIVENESS”

26 | P a g e
3. Chapter 3: Results & Discussion

3.1. Results
The results after carrying out the above mentioned methodology, helped me to find following:

 Key characteristics of a high performing SO

 Key characteristics of a low performing SO
 What differentiates behavior of high performing SO from low performing SO
 Missing links: In both high performing SO and low performing SO

Key characteristics of a high performing SO

In high performing SO it was observed that:

S.No Functional Parameter Implication/Observed Behaviour

observed
1 Strong infrastructure Distributor is happy with the SO and solves all issues directly
level support with him
2 Regular market visits More aware of the market and can solve issues more smartly
and quickly
3 Tap on EDS Due to efficient tap on EDS, he monitors and supervises EDS
in an effective manner.
4 Planned and organized Avoids last minute work, works on time and thus is not under
pressure
5 Product/Scheme Due to the depth knowledge of product, its schemes and
Awareness competitor offerings the SO was more confident and
persuasive.
6 Targets awareness SO maintains a diary to note targets, achieved so far and
planning for remaining to be achieved.

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Key characteristics of a low performing SO

S.No Functional Parameter observed Implication/Observed Behaviour

1 Overlap of SO and EDS role SO does the sales call himself rather than monitoring
the EDS
2 Misses market visit and less Less aware of the market, and therefore lacks
focus on maintaining sheet for persuasion and confidence
daily sales
3 Irregular with reports(non-sales Starts works near the deadline, completes it in hurry
activity) and thus the quality of work reduces.
4 Unorganized Due to last minute work, irregular tap on market beat,
the SO does not plans properly and always works
under pressure.
5 Product/Scheme Awareness Due to the less knowledge of product, its schemes
and competitor offerings the SO was less confident
and persuasive.
6 Less tap on EDS Does not do regular follow up with the EDS as a
result less aware of market coverage.

What differentiates behavior of high performing SO from low performing SO

There were some significant differences between behavior parameters of a high performing SO
and a low performing SO:

 Motivation levels: Among high performing SO motivation levels were high, they were
committed to work hard for rising sales and increasing their performance in the
organization. They regularly checked performance of all SO in his zone, this gives them a
competitive attitude and motivates them to work hard. On other hand a low performing
SO was too low on motivational levels and lacked competitive attitude.

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  Work life balance: When asked high performing SO was happy and satisfied with his
work life balance, he could take time out for his family and personal matters on other
hand a low performing SO always complained about not being able to devote time to his
family due to work load.
 Pressure/Burden: A high performing SO took the work as challenge and always look at
sales targets as an opportunity to prove their potential on other hand a low performing SO
felt bogged down by the work.
 Understanding of incentive structure: High performing SO were very clear with the
incentive structure, when asked they were able to accurately calculate their incentive for
the month and hence they are motivated to get maximum incentive. On other hand a low
performing SO was unable to precisely calculate his incentive, this is due to the fact that
he was not clar with each component of the incentive structure.

Missing links: In both high performing SO and low performing SO

Other than the positives in high performing SO and negatives in low performing SO there were
certain issues that were being faced because of both. If these issues could be sought the not just a
low performer will become more productive but even the productivity of a high performer will
be hugely increased. These issues are as follows:

 Regularity with Daily sales report sheet: It was observed that as a whole the sales team
was a little casual on maintaining the Daily sales Report sheet. If maintained properly this
would really help them to be more aware of market, each shop in the beat, orders made
for each day, and a better tap on EDS too.
 Regular with market visits: There was a lack of sincerity for market visits among the
sales force on field, for few it was casual and for few exhaustive markets coverage was
not a priority.
 Product/scheme awareness: It was noticed that details of product, offerings of competitor,
and awareness of new schemes were less noticed among the sales force. Thus there was a
need to give more training such that their confidence and persuasion skills improve which
in turn would increase the productivity.

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  Planning and organization: Pre call planning and awareness are most important things to
be kept in mind before doing a sales call. It’s vital to ensure that the sales force follows a
planning such that he rightly deploys his time for various activities like pre-sales, sales,
post-sales and non-sales activities.
 Focus on Range selling: Since the company is increasing its SKU, therefore it becomes
important for the sales force to make an effort of introducing the new SKU in its market
beat. They should carry out sampling and product placement such that number of trials
can be increased.
 Motivation levels: It should be ensured that sales force is motivated such that they are
committed to increase the sales of the company. If the motivation levels are high, the
persuasion as well as confidence also increases among the sales force.
 Regular with demonstrations: For any new variant it’s important to sample it, such that
people develop a taste for it. Also for popcorn, people are unaware of preparation
technique, thus there is a need to carry out regular demonstrations at different places to
penetrate more into the market.

3.2. Limitations
Agro Tech foods Ltd has its presence in 3500 towns across India and over 265,000 retail stores
sell its products. In a span of 8weeks all these markets can’t be covered, also the observations of
the study are from few Sales officers in Delhi/NCR and areas of Punjab.

Another limitation is that in a day or two, it is difficult to cover all aspect of a particular SO
functioning. Since each SO has a different way of working and the share a different wavelength
of relations with EDS/Distributor/Vendor.

Due to limited time of internship, I was unable to follow all three markets exhaustively that is
High frequency stores, direct modern trade and canteen store departments. Since major issues
were notices in HFS therefore my study focused more on this channel.

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4. Chapter 4: Recommendation

4.1. Recommendations
According to the issues identified following were the recommendations:

• Issue 1: Focus on Range Selling

• Percentage increase/decrease in TLS to be calculated for each SO: For

performance evaluation of a sales officer, other than Total bill value (TBV) his
increase and decrease in percentage of total lines sold (TLS) should also be
included. This would encourage him to focus on range selling.

• Mandatory to fill “SO visit” field in EFF: EFF is the daily sheet to be filled by
all SO’s after completing their market visit, it includes component like which
EDS was working with SO, What were the name of shops in the beat, how much
sale of each SKU was done etc. They miss out on entering Y/N in the field of “SO
visit” thus it should be made mandatory to mention when and with which EDS
has the SO covered the market.

• Form a basket of less selling SKU’s in which promotional schemes and incentive
is related: A basket of less selling SKU’s should be formed according to the
previous month’s data and in an attempt to promote their penetration in the
market these should be linked with promotions and also can be attached in
evaluating performance of SO.

• Issue 2: Product/ Schemes awareness

• Loses track of mails so SMS/Watsapp to be sent as “TIPS” Eg a retailer

complains of “X” then introduce “ABC” scheme: It was noticed that watsapp was
most widely used app among the SO, so it was suggested to come up with “Tips”
for the day/ week in a picture format such that an SO does not miss out on
important schemes and it stays in his mind.

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 • Issue 3: DSR sheet is not maintained

• Introduce a spiral bind booklet which has collection of DSR sheets monthly: It
was observed that SO miss out on maintaining DSR sheets thus it is suggested to
form a spiral bind booklet of DSR sheets, and make it a mandate for them to fill.

• Ask them to submit the booklet: It should be made a mandate to submit the
booklet such that even if they missed filling them regularly, they ensure to fill for
submitting them and in this attempt in turn they will increase their awareness of
the market.

• Issue 4: Market visit being missed

• Market time and admin work time should be separated: The biggest issue
observed was the overlap of sales activities and non-sales activities. For this it is
recommended to mark a clear segregation between the two, such that when doing
sales it should not be hindered by and other. This would increase productivity
from both perspectives.

• SO should be asked his time of starting the beat and ending the beat in his plan: It
should be ensured that the SO informs the starting and ending time in his market
visit.

• Issue 5 :Better schemes and promotions

• Introduce a feedback mechanism where an SO mentions market feedback and

complains: It was noticed that market sentiments were not communicated clearly
to the marketing department thus there was a need for an open feedback
mechanism where the SO writes in market feedback and according to that
promotion and discouts should be offered.

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 • Issue 6: Motivation

• Quarterly meeting with the Area Head where following things are told
to SO: Every quarter there should be meeting with the ASM of that SO
such that he can be made aware of his Current incentive and can be
Motivated of what can be done to increase the incentive.

• Issue 7: Demonstrations and Sampling

• Demo kit should be serviced monthly and any issue should be immediately
resolved specially in DMT channel: Demo kits which are given to all SO’s for
conducting demonstration in HFS,DMT and CSD channels should be serviced
monthly such that they carry out demonstrations and are not casual about it.

4.2. Future Scope

For future it is suggested that we reduce paper work to maximum extent such that using IT all
things are updated at one go.

 More Technology based applications:

1. Live billing: This live billing would ensure that all the bills cut at distributor’s point are
on live software which keeps the inventory, order, claims etc updated. Such that
whenever there is a need to order more or the claims are not processed it automatically
gives the status.

2. Sales Force device which enables them to:

◦ Take order(DSR sheet)

◦ See market trend(Instant market awareness)

◦ Feedback forum

◦ Shop-wise forecasting(Motivated)

◦ Easy access to schemes awareness

“A Committed and happy sales force=Bigger Sales”

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References
• Journal publication titled “Improving Sales Productivity: What We All Know but Rarely
Do” by luxor corporation in 2009.
• “Sales productivity factors” by growth process group: A report presented by a consulting
group which mentions Discovery, Learning and Execution by the sales force.
• Research paper titled “Improving Sales Productivity: An Opportunity for Sales and IT
Leadership” by Bob Thompson in 2008.
• Research paper titled “Do Bonuses Enhance Sales Productivity? A Dynamic Structural
Analysis of Bonus-Based Compensation Plans” by Doug J. Chung, Thomas Steenburgh
and K. Sudhir.
• Author Peter French paper titled “PRODUCTIVITY STUDY - SALES FORCE
EFFECTIVENESS”
• Websites: 1) http://www.atfoods.com

2) http://www.business-standard.com

3) http://www.icra.in

4) http://www.hdfcsec.com

5) http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

6) http://www.nseindia.com

7) http://www.moneycontrol.com

34 | P a g e
Appendix

List of tables

Functional
Parameters High performer
1
High
performer 2 Low performer 1
Low
performer 2
Starts at
Average time in daily Starts at 9:30 till Starts at Starts at 10:30 10am or
1 market 2pm. 9:30:00 AM or 11am 10:30 am
Efficient handling
of distributor
Despite issues Good Distributor is not Distributor
mantains good distributer satisfied and has handling is
2 Infrastructure rapport with him handling many issues average
No, misses
for
Yes, misses Yes, misses No, misses administrati
3 Regular Market coverage sometimes sometimes during Claims. ve work

Calls them in
morning and
asks them
what is the
planning for
Calls all EDS at
the day. 2-3
9am, briefs them In morning
follow ups
about their tell them
during the day
targets for the targets and
and always
day and Calls them in the
ensures to ask
mentions about before they send evening
time of
the less selling SMS and calls calls the
reaching
SKU's.Follows up during the day. distributor
distributor
in the evening to verify
point and
and asks why EDS
Checks on
was sale reporting
Kohinoor the
less/more.
next day and
after 20-25
days, he goes
for a random
EDS visit.

4 Tap on EDS

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 10-15 mins.
Count physical
Check
stock on 6th
Physical stock 15-20mins per physical
(at 2
check 15-20mins distributor thus stock on 7th
distributors)
per distributor total of 1hr at bigger
and on 7th(at
distributors
Average time spent on two
5 OPSC distributors)
1hr for making
3hrs per
and 30mins for
distributor Extends upto
printout. Visit
and starts 3days, at Extends
each distributor
working on distributor point upto 3-4
to inform and
claim around starts making days
getting their
4th or 5th of near deadline
Average time spent on signature takes 2
the month.
6 claims hrs approx.
Since proper
stock check Mon and Thu
Follow
every week so starts in hurry at
OPSC and
on basis of 6pm, makes call
then calls
One day before demand to distriburors
1hr before
discuss with all create MPO and takes
to all
distributor and talks to order.Unable to
distributors
distributors do physical stock
for order
for 15- check
generation
Average time spent on 20mins(mostl everywhere.
7 Order generation y in person)
Notes avg sales
of all SPL stores
on regular
basis.EDS or bill
summary then
30mins to make
8 Average time spent on SPL SPL At month end
Follows but DSR sheet is
DSR sheet is not
DSR is followed misses not filled
filled regularly
9 DSR reporting followed sometimes regularly

Due to his diary, Due to

is aware of constant and
target, How regular tap on Doesn’t plan on Less
much left and the EDS better a regular basis planned day
thus is well planning and
planned execution
10 Planning for the day

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 Writes once or
twice at
beginning of
Maintains a pocket the month, but
diary for it, where he
is well aware
mentions every
month's targets,as
and precise Not on tips Not on tips
well as target with all the
allotted to each EDS targets and
Awareness of sales how much has
targets(brandwise,valuewi been achieved
11 se,SKUwise) so far
yes focusses
on range No, does
Yes does asks at
selling and not focus
each counter in
Yes , pitches for ensure that on range
the market, but
all lines. near selling and
does not do
expiration no sampling
sampling
products are is done.
12 Focus on range selling sampled
Writes
himself and
Checks CPI Yes well aware, tallies in the
Checks CPI sheet
sheet checks CPI sheet evening
everyday
everyday everyday with the
Achievement of target so report that
13 far is mailed
Plans on the Comparse
Checks with the
two days of daliy report
Checks report mail, is aware
PDP, keeps a of EDS with
daily and notes but does not
track of the
in his diary and plans about
secondary distributor's
plans accordingly increasing
Secondary versus primary versus point bill
secondary.
14 sales primary cut
Nutri Lite,
Gold Lite,
Heart Lite,
4+1 Act II,
Tandoori Gold lite, Heart
Heart lite,
Bakes,RTE Tadka Act II, Lite and Nutri
gold lite,
Southern Lite
Nutri lite
spices ACT II
and tomato
15 Slow moving SKU's chilly ACT II
Sundrop
Sundrop SL,
Super Lite, IPS 5+1 and
Heart, Healthy
Lite, Healthy Heart, 4+1,
World, ACT 2
world Multipack Sundrop
popcorn,
4+1, Bakes Lite
Nuterifit lite
16 Focus SKU's ,Strawberry

37 | P a g e
 Behavioral
Parameters
Not clear
with
Incentive
structure,
Highly
Highly motivated Lacks motivation cannot
motivated
calculate
himself as a
result less
17 Motivation motivation
No work life
Well balance balance, feels Feels SO is
between work Well balanced overburdened over
and family and has less time burdened
18 Work life balance for family
Overlap of
well organized role of SO
Lacks proper
Well organized and planned , and EDS
planning and as
and Planning is has good therefore
a result feels
executed on relations with unable to
more burdened
time EDS as well as plan and
with work.
Organization and planning distributor execute
19 skills properly
Less
Well aware of product
Well aware of
product and Is not well aware knowledge,
schemes and
competitors of the schemes didn’t make
product,
offering, thus and also didn’t the
strategically
more have clear customer
pitches for the
confident and understanding of aware of
SKU according to
persuasive at what product is new
needs/complains
Product the time of made up of. schemes as
of the retailer.
knowledge/competitor sales call a result less
20 offering/product schemes convincing

38 | P a g e
Abbreviations
SO: Sales Officer

ATFL: Agro Tech Foods Ltd

HFS: High Frequency Stores

DMT: Direct modern trade

CSD: Canteen store department

EDS: Exclusive Distributor salesman

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