Deck 17: Personal Selling and Sales Management

Question 1

Discuss the problems that might be encountered in having an expatriate sales manager supervising foreign salespeople.

Answer 1

Expatriate salesforce stands for the sales people who live in another country which is different from their native country or the country in which they did not hail from or originated.
The problems that might be encountered in having an expatriate sales manager supervising foreign salespeople could be that being an expatriate the manager would not be able to relate to the attitude and behavior of the sales associates working in his supervision. Owing to the fact that the sales manager belongs to a different culture and orientation of his native country, it would be quite difficult for him to manage a salesforce that does not belong to his country and are from a foreign location. The sales manager would find it hard to understand the basic business style that functions at foreign country and is followed by the salespeople working under him.
Similarly, the expatriate sales manager would not be in a condition to properly delegate duties and responsibilities to the sales people because of the unknown market and working conditions in the foreign country. This is the reason why mostly expatriate people are not given a role of manager managing the sales force that belongs to foreign location.

Question 2

"To some extent, the exigencies of the personnel situation will dictate the approach to the overseas sales organization." Discuss.

Answer 2

Selection process stands for the choosing of right candidate for right position at the right time and for the right place. This process is quite complex as the entire selection procedure depends upon the kind of right or wrong personnel gets selected for a particular position.
The statement "To some extent, the exigencies of the personnel situation will dictate the approach to the overseas sales organization" could be explained by stating that the candidates that are interviewed and considered for foreign locations are oblivious and unknown to the company selecting them owing to their foreign orientation and belongingness. Secondly, the job criteria that is set for a particular position in foreign location might not suit the work environment in that nation and the company might have to adapt to the required changes in the foreign location. This is the reason why it is difficult to follow job criteria in selecting foreign personnel. Even the compensation that is provided to the overseas sales organization mostly depends upon the kind of country and work they belong to.
The alternative solutions that might be needed to make up for the special compensation that is required to be provided to the global salesforce could be that the company selecting candidates for foreign profile should be well versed with the kind of work responsibilities that the candidate has to handle and deliver at that position, as this will provide a strong framework and basis for the selection of the capable candidate for foreign profile. This way exigency of personnel situations could be properly dictated towards the development of salesforce in an organization.

Question 3

How do legal factors affect international sales management?

Answer 3

International sales management stands for the supervision and control of the sales activities undertaken by the salesforce of an organization in foreign nations crossing the borders.
Legal factors that affect international sales management are that when a company expands its business activities abroad it has to take help and support of people residing there by employing them to undertake business activities in that foreign country. This recruitment of foreign personnel creates another challenge for the company to manage them effectively and productively for company's success.
There are several legal factors that have to be taken care of when employing foreign personnel for undertaking a company's business activities in abroad. The kind of rules that nation follows in terms of compensation and salary given to the people getting employed there; the working hours, the holidays, the insurance and other benefits etc. all have to be understood and managed by the company that recruits international sales personnel and tries to employ them for proper functioning of business activities in foreign nations.

Question 4

How does the sales force relate to company organization? To channels of distribution?

Question 5

"It is costly to maintain an international sales force." Comment.

Question 6

Adaptability and maturity are traits needed by all salespeople. Why should they be singled out as especially important for international salespeople?

Question 7

Can a person develop good cultural skills? Discuss.

Question 8

Describe the attributes of a person with good cultural skills.

Question 9

Interview a local company that has a foreign sales operation. Draw an organizational chart for the sales function and explain why that particular structure was used by that company.

Question 10

Evaluate the three major sources of multinational personnel.

Question 11

Which factors complicate the task of motivating the foreign sales force?

Question 12

Why do companies include an evaluation of an employee's family among selection criteria for an expatriate assignment?

Question 13

Define the key terms listed above.

Question 14

"Concerns for career and family are the most frequently mentioned reasons for a manager to refuse a foreign assignment." Why?

Question 15

Why may it be difficult to adhere to set job criteria in selecting foreign personnel? What compensating actions might be necessary?

Question 16

Discuss and give examples of why returning U.S. expatriates are often dissatisfied. How can these problems be overcome?

Question 17

Why does a global sales force cause special compensation problems? Suggest some alternative solutions.

Question 18

If "the language of international business is English," why is it important to develop a skill in a foreign language? Discuss.

Question 19

Under which circumstances should expatriate salespeople be utilized?

Question 20

The global manager of 2020 will have to meet many new challenges. Draw up a sample re?sume? for someone who could be considered for a top-level executive position in a global firm.