Term Paper on "Sales and Marketing Management"

Term Paper 3 pages (1230 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Sales and Marketing Management

Summary of "Stars in the Making," by Elana Harris

For years, the practice of sales and marketing seemed to be somewhat like magic, with no way to teach people how to do it or what makes a good representative. Literature in recent years, such as "Stars in the Making," a 2001 article by Elana Harris, serves to demystify the process of turning new salespeople into, in effect, "sales stars."

In Harris' article, she makes the point that there are ways to mentor, motivate, and lead new salespeople to their full potential as salespeople; this point is cleverly proven by success stories from such luminary companies as Bausch & Lomb and others. Perhaps the most important message that Harris puts forth in "Stars in the Making" is that training, motivation and development of the skills needed for overcoming challenges are keys to the growth of salespeople over the long-term. Because of this, Harris continues, sales managers must be coaches or mentors to their team members as well.

Simply put, in conclusion, "Stars in the Making" proves that success in sales is attainable for those who put forth the effort, when properly led by managers who likewise make an effort to mentor their "future stars."

Relevance of "Stars in the Making"

Elana Harris' article is extremely relevant, especially given the bad reputation that selling has been given over the years, not only from the viewpoint of the customer, but also from the viewpoint of those who are looking at career choices. A great deal of this bad reputation and misconceptions about sales have been based in the past upon unprofessional, unethical salespeople, led by managers who were even worse. However, Harris takes the sales profession, the development of competent and ethical salespeople, and their management to a higher level of professionalism and credibility, making this article relevant to a professional selling career from several key points-of-view.

To begin, Harris gains credibility in her article by explaining that while there are basically a handful of born salespeople who make their quotas and do well without much coaching or skill sharpening, there are those who simply need more mentoring and training to bring out their full potential. This explanation is something that an aspiring sales professional, or even someone looking for a valid career choice, can hold onto as a highly valuable piece of information, for it shows that sales excellence is not always magic, but is a skill that can be honed and developed.

Especially relevant for sales managers was information that explained how important it is for salespeople to be given all of the tools and training that they will need to realize top productivity as salespeople, and furthermore, all of this can be done in a professional setting and that salespeople add a great deal of value to the buying process. This concept also relates Harris' article to another key reference on the sales profession, the book "Selling: The Profession" by David J. Lill.

Lill's book is very relevant and compatible to Harris' article because the two have taken the sales process and expanded and defined that process to show that it can be studied, measured, and refined, much like the process to build a material product or create a work of art, at the risk of being melodramatic in the analogy. Because both Harris and Lill have studied and presented information that can teach sales professionals, and aspiring sales professionals, not only the ways to be outstanding salespeople, but also how the right salesperson can add tremendous value to meeting and exceeding the needs of their clients. In other words, these authors have proven that sales is no longer just the… READ MORE

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