Guiding lines:
10. SALES AND DISTRIBUTION
Sales organisation
• Describe the structure of your sales organization: staff members, locations, distributors, mail order services, your own sales outlets and management.
• If you have your own sales staff, state the number of inside and outside sales people, administrative and sales support staff.
• How long have the salespeople been employed in the company (on average)?
• Where are the salespeople located?
• How many distributors does the company have?
• Where are the distributors located?
• How long have the distributors been associated with your company (on average)?
• What other products do the distributors sell?
• Will there be any changes in the sales organization?
• What do you know about your competitors’ sales organizations?
• What distinguishes your company’s sales organization from those of your competitors?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of your sales organization compared with your competitors?
Marketing activities
• What kind of marketing activities is the company currently engaged in?
• How are the company’s products positioned in relation to competitors regarding, for example, quality, price, service, and image?
• Do you have any activities that might be designated as “customer support”?
• How are sales made? Does the customer call you, does the company contact the customer, do sales people visit customers, or are orders placed via fax or regular mail?
Targets and budget
• What are the company’s sales targets?
• Who is responsible for following-up sales targets?
• Do sales people receive a fixed salary or a commission on sales?
• Do you have budgets for sales staff and distributors, etc?
• Who follows up the budget and how?
• How do you follow up the results of sales activities?
Pricing strategies
• What pricing strategy do you apply?
– Ordinary prices?
– Introductory prices?
– Regular customer prices?
– Volume prices (quantity discount)?
– Seasonal prices?
– Bargaining room (margin for haggling)?
– Different prices for different target groups?
– Other methods?
– What distinguishes the company’s pricing strategy from that of its competitors?
Distribution
- Describe the distribution channels used.