INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, KOZHIKODE

Course Outline
Course Title Sales and Distribution Management
Instructor Dr. G. Sridhar
Term VI/III
Year EPGP & EPGCMM, 2019 – 20

INTRODUCTION

My role in this course is to awaken you to the truth of how sales and distribution management
can be efficiently and effectively handled. I also expect you to share your insights and awaken
me. We may not be able to delve into minute details on the subject but would certainly cover the
basics. However, outside the classroom hours you are free to discuss the subject with me on a
mutually convenient time, especially over email. With this as a promise, let us explore together
this exciting subject that is very vital for any organisation.

This course has three modules; channel management, personal selling and sales management.

Modern day marketing is incomplete without understanding the channel design and the role of
channel partners. Marketing channels are a great source of value addition to all the key
stakeholders of the company. Well developed marketing channels provide competitive advantage
to the companies. The module on channel management would help in enabling the participants to
appreciate the channel design, role of channel intermediaries, flows in channel, channel
migration and last mile distribution challenges.

Selling is all pervasive. We involve ourselves in the acts of selling all through the day. In a
corporate setting, selling has transformed from a hyper-active to pro-active phase; transactional
to relationship oriented; and aggressive to a consultative mode. This function still is the major
source of revenue generation. The module on personal selling offers an overview of steps in
selling, influencing strategies, and few do's and don'ts while selling.

Sales force is at the vortex of the rapidly changing customers, competitors, products,
technologies and markets. This makes their job more challenging than any other counterparts in
the organization. A core challenge in front of a sales manager is to enhance the sales force
performance under demanding and rapidly changing environment. The module on sales
management helps the participants understand certain nuances on how to enhance the
productivity of the salesforce.

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

As the classroom discussions would be highly practice oriented, participants are advised to come
prepared with the required readings as given in the course outline. The course is designed to
enable the participants to meet the following objectives:
1. Understand the nuances of sales management and channel management concepts.
2. Develop problem solving skills essential to the sales management and channel management
process.
READINGS
Course Pack (CP): Selected papers, text book chapters and cases are provided to you as a course
pack. Note that all readings are compulsory. Text book chapters would be mailed to you in due
course of time.

EVALUATION
End Term 50 %
Class Participation & Case Analysis Submissions 30 %
Assignment 20 %

Note: All the participants should submit the answers to the case discussion questions on the day
the class is scheduled. Discussion questions for each case are given separately.

SESSION PLAN AND PEDAGOGY

MODULE I: CHANNEL MANAGEMENT
Day 1 Managing Channels & Trade Promotion (Case and Exercise)
Readings:
1. Eastern Condiments (A)
2. Strategic Channel Design (Paper)
Day 2 Last Mile Distribution (Case)
Readings:
1. Case would be given few days ahead of the session.
2. Socially Responsible Distribution: Strategies for reaching the Bottom of the
Pyramid (Paper)
MODULE – II: PERSONAL SELLING & KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Day 3 Personal Selling & Influencing (Lecture, Video & Exercise)
Readings:
1. Know your sales aptitude (Exercise to be given in class)
2. Psychological Influence Strategies (case lets to be given in class)
Day 4 Major Selling (Case)
Readings:
1. Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale - Part 1 & 2 (Case)
2. Shapiro, Benson P.; Ronald S. Posner (1976), “Making the Major Sales”,
Harvard Business Review, March – April, pp.68 - 78
3. Bonoma, Thomas V. (2006), “Major sales – Who really does the
buying”, Harvard Business Review, July – August, pp. 172 – 181
Ethical Issues in Selling (Exercise)
Readings:
1. George Williams in Thailand (Exercise would be given in the Session)
MODULE – III: MANAGING SALES FORCE
Day 5 Organizing and Personnel Issues (Case)
Readings:
1. ENSR International (Case)
2. Chapter 1 from Charles Futrell Sales Management.
 Territorialisation (Exercise)
Readings:
1. Chapter 6 from Charles Futrell Sales Management.
Day 6 Setting Goals and Evaluating Performance (Exercise would be given in the
class)
Readings:
1. Chapter 7 from Charles Futrell Sales Management.
Leading Sales Force
Readings:
1. Case would be given in the class

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