Sales managers perform strategic position analysis to determine staffing needs and identify the skills required for sales roles. This involves analyzing turnover, setting hiring objectives, and determining the number and types of salespeople needed. The analysis describes how each sales job should be performed and the abilities needed to perform it. This information is then used to create job descriptions and qualifications that outline the requirements for sales roles and guide the recruitment and selection of new salespeople. Conducting strategic position analysis helps sales managers ensure they hire applicants that are well-suited for sales jobs and reduce turnover.

1. Jaspreet Kaur
Subject: Selling Skills
Strategic Position Analysis
Sales managers perform the sales force management function. They execute the entire
human resource management function in an organisation. They recruit, select, train,
motivate, lead, control and compensate the sales staff for achieving the desired goals of
the organisation. An effective sales force needs the attention and guidance of a sales
manager so that it is motivated to remain attached to the organisation for a considerably
longer period. This is necessary because a sales job is very stressful by nature and the
attrition rate in the sales profession is the highest. A mismatch between the ability and
aptitude of a salesperson and the nature of the sales job usually makes a salesperson
quit and look for better career prospects

2. Jaspreet Kaur
Subject: Selling Skills
The recruitment planning begins with the analysis of the annual turnover of salespeople
of a company to arrive at a sales manpower forecast. The forecast determines the
number of salespeople required by the organisation. A sales manager should look at the
long and short term hiring objectives of the organisation when deciding the number of
new sales staff. Once the hiring objectives are determined the sales manager conducts a
strategic position analysis to determine the number and types of salespeople required
by the organisation. The strategic position analysis helps to identify the qualifications
and experience of the applicants required for the sales job and which are included in
the job description.
The strategic position analysis is a part of recruitment planning and comprises of six
steps :
Determination of performance measures.
Identification of critical success factors.
Performance dimension of the position.
Determination of performance measure dimensions.
Operationalisation and establishment of performance.
Standards and design of the assessment tools.
“Strategic position analysis is a systematic procedure that describes the
way a sales job is to be performed and the skills and abilities needed to
perform the job.”
Strategic Position
Analysis
Turnover
Establish hiring
objectives
Job qualification
Job description
Decide on the number of
salespeople to hire

3. Jaspreet Kaur
Subject: Selling Skills
Salesforce Turnover
The sales component of marketing can experience one of the highest employee turnover
rates of any area of business, as new salespeople are often ill equipped for the stresses
and demands of the job. One possible objective of sales forces is to continually reduce
their level of employee turnover, which can increase sales productivity and reduce
training costs. Two possible strategies to achieve this objective include rewriting job
postings to make sure job applicants fully understand the nature of the work, and adding
stress and conflict management role-playing scenarios to new-hire training programs.
Job Qualification
A job qualification refers to the aptitude, the skills, the knowledge and the personality
traits required to perform the job successfully. The strategic position analysis helps in
determining the job qualifications, which serve as the selection criteria for hiring the best
talent.
Job Description
A job description is a written document that details the characteristics, the duties and
the responsibilities of a job. The specific requirements with regard to additional
expectations from the job are also mentioned.

4. Jaspreet Kaur
Subject: Selling Skills
This is a perfect
example of Job
Description and Job
Qualification. Here
it explains the
specific skills, the
experience the
interests and the
education level
required for the job.
Source: LinkedIn

5. Jaspreet Kaur
Subject: Selling Skills
The performance standards so created become the basis for designing the assessment
tools in the process of hiring new salespeople. The scanning of CV and a structured
interview may help in finding out the outstanding performers in the application database.
The sales manager now arrives at a specific number of salespersons that are needed to
be recruited and the basis on which they are to be recruited.
The formula to calculate the expected number of salespersons needed for future
requirement is:
N= S/P (1+T)
Where N= number, S= sales forecasts. P= present average sales, T= the turnover rate of
salespeople.