Impact of CRM on B2B Sales Collaboration

This assignment requires you to analyze the impact of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems on B2B sales professionals. You are tasked with evaluating how CRM influences both collaboration among sales teams and overall sales performance. To complete this analysis, utilize the provided list of academic journal articles focusing on CRM's role in B2B sales.

SALES MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Key principle of sales management in relation to the importance of sales planning,
methods of selling and sale reporting.....................................................................................3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................9
P2 benefits of sales structures.................................................................................................9
P3 Importance and advantages of the concept of ‘selling through’ others...........................10
LO 3...............................................................................................................................................11
P4 Key principles and techniques for successful selling......................................................11
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................16
P5 Importance of developing sales strategies.......................................................................16
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................18

INTRODUCTION
Sales management helps to provide directions or instructions of activities which is related
with the products and services. Marketing management helps to analyse, implementation and
control related to the programmes which is designed to carry any changes regarding the market
so that company will attain the desired goals and objectives. Argos is an international brand and
doing business related to retail stores. They manage their sales effectively and efficiently so that
they will achieve the maximum profits. Argos also use an effective distribution process for their
products and services so that they will fulfil need and wants of their customers. They also
forecasting of their products so that they will increase their sales (Andzulis, Panagopoulos and
Rapp, 2012).
LO 1
P1 Key principle of sales management in relation to the importance of sales planning, methods of
selling and sale reporting.
Sales management is like a process that helps to develop the sales force, co – ordinate all
the operations related to sales and also implement the sales techniques that helps the business to
fulfil its sales target.
PRINCIPLES OF SALES MANAGEMENT
There are certain principles regarding sales management are described as below:
Establish a sales management model: Argos can set sales management model that will
help to determine performance of indicators of every part. Argos's sales model is also very
effective. It is also necessary to decide the sales target so that Argos can achieve the desired
sales. They can use both approaches i.e. bottom – up approach and top – down approach. It also
helps to determine the cost so that company can earn maximum profit.
Select the right agency: It is also necessary to pick the right partner or agency of
advertising in Argos. Some of the organisation choose traditional methods but some use modern
methods for advertising. There are also some factors that can affect the results of sales and that
will affect positively or negatively also. Argos use modern methods or techniques for advertising
that helps to attract more customers so that they will maximise their profits ( Ketter and et. al.,
2012).

Select the right employees: It is also necessary to select the right employees for the
company. If employees have proper skills and knowledge then they will do better sales
marketing for Argos. If they also select best or right employees then it will also help them to
enhance their profit.
KEY ASPECTS OF SALES MANAGEMENT
There are also some key aspects which is related to sales management in Argos are
described as below:
Deciding the sales territory: It is necessary for the sales manager that he must decide
the boundary of work. It also helps to avoid the conflicts between two executives.
Determining the size of the sales force: It is also necessary to identify the sales force of
Argos. It will help to decide the activities and how much time it will take to perform.
SCOPE OF SALES MANAGEMENT
The scope of sales management is mentioned as below:
Production management:  Product designing.
 Location of the plant and building.
 Layout of plant and building.
 Plan the operations and also control them.
 Purchase the raw – materials.
 Storage of raw – materials.
Marketing management:  Marketing research so that Argos can determine the
needs and wants of the customers.
 Plan and also develop the products.
 Set appropriate price for the customers.
 It is also necessary to choose the correct distribution
channel (Rodriguez and Honeycutt Jr, 2011).
 Argos can also use activities related to promotions such
as advertisement.
Financial management:  Select the fund source.

 Raise the fund according to the requirements at right
time.
Personnel management:  Manpower planning.
 Recruitment and selection.
 Appraisals.
 Promotions.
 Transfers.
TASKS OF SALES PERSON
There are various tasks or functions or duties of the sales person which is described as
below:
 It is main duty of sales person that he has to call customers so that they will always get in
touch with him and also updated with the products and services of Argos.
 They need to maintain the territory of sales and they can also extent it so that they will
earn the maximum profits.
 They need to develop the product so that they can compete their competitors or can take
competitive advantage.
 Argos can also get feedback from their producers.
 They also provide best training to the employees so that they can also join this line as
their career (Dixon and Tanner Jr, 2012).
 If there is any credits or dues related to sales then it is the duty of them to collect it
properly.
 They can also use social sites for selling purpose such as LinkedIn.
 They can also listen some motivational or inspirational audio before start their works.
DIFFERENT ROLES OF MEMBERS IN THE SALES DEPARTMENT AT
ARGOS

The main role of sales team is to enhance their profits and also fulfil the sales target so
that Argos attain their goals and objectives. There are various roles of members of sales
department are as follows:
Market segments: Roles of the sales manager also depend on that how they segment
their market. If product is related with technical then division must be effective. If there is a
segmentation base on geographical location then member of the team are responsible for region.
Argos also fulfil the demands or wants of their customers according to their needs.
Strategy: Argos's Sales team also make some strategies regarding sales of the products
and services so that it can be increase. Area is divide between each member so that they can be
responsible for the sales of particular area. It is necessary to develop an effective marketing
strategy so that they can easily target their market and increase the productivity.
Marketing plan: When sales team develop the strategies for products and services then
they have to develop the marketing plan (Rodriguez, Peterson and Krishnan, 2012). They have to
decide the price of products and services which must be reasonable so that consumers can attract
towards it. Members of the team also need to work together so that they can achieve the goals
and objectives within the time frame effectively and efficiently.
STAGES OF THE CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR PROCESS
There are various stages which are involved in the consumer buying behaviour process
which are mentioned as below:
Need: It is very necessary to determine the need and wants of the buyers so that sellers
can fulfil it and can satisfy them also. Every buyer needs are different from the others and it can
be also according to their culture.
Information gathering / search: When an individual determine his needs then they
gather or collect necessary information related it. They can get necessary information with the
help of these sources which are described as below:
 Personal sources such as family, friends.
 Commercial sources such as advertisement.
 Public sources such as radio, newspaper.
 Experimental sources like prior handling of the product.

Evaluation of alternatives: This is the third step that evaluate the alternatives in the
market. When an individual collect necessary information then they also search some
alternatives to find out some more options.
Purchase of product / service: When an individual go through all these stages then
finally he purchase the service or product (Agnihotri and et. al., 2012).
Post purchase evaluation: It means customer evaluate that product is useful for him or
not and also determine then it fulfil his needs and demands or not.
Illustration 1: STAGES OF THE CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR PROCESS

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN B2B AND B2C:
There are some difference between then are described as below:
Basis B2B B2C
Meaning In this there is sales of products and
services between two businesses.
There is sales of products and
services between business and
customers.
Customer In this customer is a company. In this there is an end user.
Focus They generally focus on
relationship.
They only focus on their products
and services.
Relationship
horizon
There is long – term relationship. There is short term relationship.
Creation of brand
value
They create mutual relationship and
trust also.
They create their brand value with
the help of advertising.
Example IBM, Hub-spot etc. Social media, membership programs
etc.
BENEFITS OF TECHNOLOGIES (SOCIAL MEDIA, SKYPE, ARGOS APP)
There are some important benefits related with Social media, Skype and Argos app are
mentioned as below:
Social media: Importance of social media-
 It helps to increase the recognition of brand among all the customers.
 It also helps to increase the loyalty of brand (Boles and et. al., 2012).
 Social media provide some important opportunities to company so that they can use them
for their business and enhance their profits.
Skype: Importance of Skype-
 It helps to cut the cost of the calls which is related to business.
 With the help of travel cost is also reduced.
 It helps to keep in touch with customers.
Argos app: Importance of Argos app-

 With the help of this customer can purchase their products and services.
 Customers can also see the price of the products.
 Products are easy to find out according to the category.
Examples of sales promotion on Argos websites are:
 Cashback
 Voucher and discount codes (Rutherford, Park and Han, 2011).
LO 2
P2 benefits of sales structures
Sales structure of the Argos helps to define the policies and procedures of the sales. It
helps to increase the sales of the company. It is related with how Argos sells their products and
services to their customers. There are various types of sales structure such as-
 Geographical organisational structure
 Product sales force structure
 Market based structure
Benefits of sales structure: There are certain benefits which are described as below:

 It helps to improve the transparency that will help in an effective decision making.
 It also help to reduce the conflict related with all the channels.
 It helps to build coordination.
P3 Importance and advantages of the concept of ‘selling through’ others.
Selling through others means giving the opportunities to others for drive company and
increase the growth by taking a smart and fresh look at the customer sale and distribution
process. The Argos is general, grocery, retailer multinational company. According to profit
measurement it is the third largest retailer company in the whole world. It is all about how a
company measure the need and want of the customer and give maximise efforts to fulfil the need
of the customers (Trainor, 2012). Argos spend more on available resources for growth,
opportunity by stretching creative distribution options. Leverage partners, online outlets, iPads/
tablets, androids, traditional sales force are includes in this.
Importance of selling through others in Argos:
 Expansion of business : Selling through others is the main reason of expansion of
business by this the company hire more persons for selling of their product and the
persons can be from one state or more then one state or area or country. These people are
sell the product at so many different places and they try explore the business.
 It create interaction : this is the reason of creating more conversation about the product
to the customers, for this the company recruit some agents, distribution channels, door to
door distributor etc. the agents try to make a better relation with customers.
 Product known : The agents are more focus towards making awareness about the
product among the customers. They try to make the product known for everyone for
business growth.
 Increase profit margin: Argos mostly sale their products and services through others
like distribution channel, agents, third party etc. by this the product is more known by
other country's, area customers and they purchase the product as per their needs. Purchase
the product by others or customers is the reason of increase profit margin of the firm
(Möller and Parvinen, 2015).
Advantages :

 Growth of business : this is the basic advantage for the company. Expansion of business
is directly related with the growth of the business Argos is expend their business in other
country's for large number of customers they try to attract more customers for giving
extra benefit or offers this cause the growth of an organisation.
 Job opportunity : It creates more job opportunity for unemployed and skilled persons.
The large number of people getting the job opportunity for expansion of the business.
Argos provide job satisfaction to their employees for giving salary, incentives, bones etc.
 Economy growth : If the organisation get more profit and establish the good relationship
with the other country's and large number of customer this is beneficial for the economy
growth of the country and Argos is very helpful in economy growth.
LO 3
P4 Key principles and techniques for successful selling

LO 4
P5 Importance of developing sales strategies
Sales strategies means plan of the company for their products and services that help them
to take competitive advantages from their competitors. If the strategy is successful then it helps
to focus on the target market (Yang, Kim and McFarland, 2011). Argos can make strategies for
their customers so that they can attain the highest profits and it may include -
 It is very necessary for Argos to know their competitors so that it will help them to take
advantages in the market place.
 It is also necessary to build relationship with their customers.
 It is also necessary to provide better services to their customers.
There is also some importance which is related to sales strategies are described as below:
Having a sales strategy is the foundation of all sales challenges: If company has an
effective sales strategy then it will help them to face all the challenges of the business which is
related to sales. It is also necessary to make plan according to the situation of the business. They
have to make plan according to the daily activities so that it will provide them direction so that

they will attain the goals and objectives. They can also create some opportunities so that it will
help them to increase their productivity.
Managing complex opportunities becomes easier with a sales strategy: If the sales
strategies of the Argos is easy and understandable then they will manager all complex situations
which can arise. Environment is dynamic so that strategies must be flexible then it can be altered
accordingly. It also helps in decision making process of the company. If sales strategies are well
known by each and every member then they can quickly adjust the change circumstances which
are in the environment (Le Meunier-FitzHugh and Piercy, 2011).
Having a sales strategy enables us to go through a 'Discovery – make choice –
Action' loop: It is also necessary for the sales member that while they are making strategies then
they must have to open their mind so that it can be effective. Some of the sales manager make
assumptions also so that sometimes they loose many sales. It is very essential that recognise
assumptions and also challenge them. An effective sales strategy also helps sales manager to
open their mind so then they can multiple their possibilities.
The outcome of the strategy should be plan of an action. If strategy is not useful then it
does not make any type of sense.
There are also various importance of the strategic management which are as follows:
 It helps to manage the portfolio of the Argos.
 An effective strategy also helps to calculate the margins of the Argos.
 It also helps them to manage the sales cycle of their company.
 It also helps to improve their overall performance that will help them to enhance their
profits.
CONCLUSION
As per the above mentioned report it has been concluded that sales management is very
essential for Argos because it will help them to increase the sales and productivity of the
products and services. Argos can also make some strategies regarding sales that will also help
them to enhance their profits. It is also described in this report that there are various tasks or
roles of the sales manager. Consumer buying behaviour can also affect the sales of the Argos.
There is also some principles which is related to successful selling. Company can also make
some sales strategies that will be important for them. If company do selling with the help of
others then it has also some advantages and importance.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Andzulis, J.M., Panagopoulos, N.G. and Rapp, A., 2012. A review of social media and
implications for the sales process. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management.
32(3). pp.305-316.
Ketter, W. and et. al., 2012. Real-time tactical and strategic sales management for intelligent
agents guided by economic regimes. Information Systems Research. 23(4). pp.1263-
1283.
Rodriguez, M. and Honeycutt Jr, E.D., 2011. Customer relationship management (CRM)'s
impact on B to B sales professionals' collaboration and sales performance. Journal of
Business-to-Business Marketing. 18(4). pp.335-356.
Dixon, A.L. and Tanner Jr, J.J.F., 2012. Transforming selling: why it is time to think differently
about sales research. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. 32(1). pp.9-13.
Rodriguez, M., Peterson, R.M. and Krishnan, V., 2012. Social media’s influence on business-to-
business sales performance. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. 32(3).
pp.365-378.
Agnihotri, R. and et. al., 2012. Bringing “social” into sales: the impact of salespeople’s social
media use on service behaviors and value creation. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management. 32(3). pp.333-348.
Boles, J.S. and et. al., 2012. Sales force turnover and retention: A research agenda. Journal of
Personal Selling & Sales Management. 32(1). pp.131-140.
Rutherford, B., Park, J. and Han, S.L., 2011. Increasing job performance and decreasing
salesperson propensity to leave: An examination of an Asian sales force. Journal of
Personal Selling & Sales Management. 31(2). pp.171-183.
Trainor, K.J., 2012. Relating social media technologies to performance: A capabilities-based
perspective. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. 32(3). pp.317-331.
Möller, K. and Parvinen, P., 2015. An impact-oriented implementation approach in business
marketing research: Introduction to the Special Issue on “Implementing Strategies and
Theories of B2B Marketing and Sales Management”. Industrial Marketing
Management. 45. pp.3-11.
Yang, B., Kim, Y. and McFarland, R.G., 2011. Individual differences and sales performance: A
distal-proximal mediation model of self-efficacy, conscientiousness, and extraversion.
Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. 31(4). pp.371-381.
Le Meunier-FitzHugh, K. and Piercy, N.F., 2011. Exploring the relationship between market
orientation and sales and marketing collaboration. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management. 31(3). pp.287-296.
Online:
Sales management. 2011. [Online]. Available through:
<http://business.uni.edu/web/pages/academics/majorsandmore-salesmanagement.cfm>.
[Accessed on 8th June 2017].