1. Read the case given below and answer the questions at the end of the case:

HB ELECTRICL SUPPLIES COMPANY

HB Electrical Supplies Company, Bangalore, manufactured a wide line of electrical equipment used in both home and industry. The sales force called on both electrical wholesalers and industrial buyers with the greater part of their efforts concentrated on industry buyers. The industrial products required considerable technical expertise upon the part of salespeople. Sales offices situated in twenty cities spread over the country had two hundred sales personnel operating out of them. In the past eight years sales volume increased by more than 50 percent, the fast rise in sales volume and the accompanying plant expansion created a problem in that more sales personnel were needed to keep up with the new accounts and to make sure the additional plant capacity was used profitably.

In addition, HB sales recruiting problem was compounded by noticeable decline in the number of college seniors wanting a selling career. HB recruiters had observed this at colleges and universities where they went searching for prospective salespeople. Another indication of the increased difficulty in attracting good young people into selling was aggressive recruiting by more and more companies. These factors combined to make the personnel-recruiting problem serious for HB. Consequently, management ordered an evaluation of recruiting methods.

Virtually all HB salespeople were recruited from twenty-five engineering colleges by district sales managers. Typically, HB recruiters screened two hundred college seniors to hire ten qualified sales engineers. It was estimated to cost HB Rs. 6000 to recruit a candidate Management believed the college recruiting program was deficient in light of the high cost and the fact that only 5 percent of the candidates in light of the high cost and the fact that only 5 percent of the candidates interviewed accepted employment with HB.

Evaluation of the college-recruiting program began with the College Recruiting division of the company asking district sales managers for their appraisals. Some district managers felt that HB should discontinue college recruiting for various reasons including the time required for recruiting, the intense competition, and the candidates' Lack of experience. Other district managers, however, felt the program should continue with a few medications, such as recruiting college juniors for

summer employment more or less on a trial basis, concentrating on fewer schools, and getting on friendly terms with placement directors and professors.

HB general sales manager favored abandoning the college recruiting program and believed the company should adopt an active recruiting program utilizing other sources. He reasoned that, while engineering graduates had a fine technical background, their lack of maturity inability to cope with business type problems, and their lack of experience precluded an effective contribution to the HB selling operation.

The general sales manager felt that the two hundred sales engineers currently working for HB were an excellent source of new recruits. They knew the requirements for selling for HB line and were in continual contact with other salespeople. By enlisting the support of the sales force, the general manager foresaw an end to HB's difficulty in obtaining sales engineers.

The president preferred internal recruiting from the no selling divisions, such as engineering, design and manufacturing. H claimed that their familiarity with HB and their proven abilities were important indicators of potential success as sales engineers.

A complete analysis of HB's entire personnel recruiting program was in order, and regardless of the approach finally decided upon, it was paramount that the companies have a continuous program to attract satisfactory people to the sales organization.

1. Evaluate HB's recruiting program, suggesting whether the company should have continued its college recruiting of sales engineers.
2. What alternative recruiting program would you suggest for HB? Justify your answer.

2. CASE: NATRAJ SPECIALITY COMPANY

Natraj Speciality Company, located in Bangalore, kamataka, manufactured a line of ball point pens, micro-tip pens, and all types of markers and in the past five years, had added a line of stationery. Natraj products were sold to stationery and office supply wholesalers and retailers, as well as to department stores, variety stores and supermarkets. A field sales force of eighty-two persons operated out of five zonal sales offices (East, West, Central, North and South zones). Natraj management believed that a critical factor in the company's sales success was the coordination of its national advertising and the activities of Natraj salespeople and dealers.

The sales promotion programme was the responsibility of the sales promotion manager, Jatin Banerjee, and his staff, in conjunction with the sales planning committee at Natraj headquarters in Bangalore. The sales planning committee

consisted of the managers of merchandising, advertising and marketing research. The sales promotion plan, for both new and existing products, described objectives; roles of salespersons and dealers; anticipated sales; the national, local and trade advertising; and point of purchase displays, deals, premiums and contest offers.

With approval of the sale promotion plan by the sales planning committee and the sales promotion manager, Jatin Banerjee, the sales promotion department prepared sales promotion kits for the Natraj sales staff. The kit included advertising proofs, product samples, illustrations of the point-of-purchase displays, samples of premiums offered, and a description of the special deal of contest featured in the promotion. The sales promotion department prepared a timetable for each promotion plan, showing the data when each advertisement appeared in various media. The timetables was distributed to the sales force and dealers to enable them to time their sales and advertising to coincide with the national advertising, thereby achieving full impact from the advertising.

When the sales promotion plan was approved by headquarters, it was presented to Natraj sales personnel at meetings in each of the six district sales offices, The sales promotion manager and the field sales promotion manager, who reported to the former and whose jon was to work with Natraj salespeople and dealers on sales promotion projects, made the presentation. Following the meetings, the field sales promotion manger trained the salespeople in proper presentation of the promotion and called on key dealers to enlist their support.

The sales promotion, programme used with a recent new product was typical of Natraj's efforts. In addition to the objectives and timetables the sales promotion program included (1) selling tools for Natraj sales people - circular letters describing the promotion, a visual presentation portfolio for making promotion presentations, product samples, reprints of consumer advertisements; (2) selling tools for Natraj dealers - presentation kits for selling the new products to consumers, mail circulars to send to consumers, mailing folders for use by dealers, sample folders, and a considerable amount of prize money for dealers sales personnel; and (3) advertising support to Natraj dealers --- advertising in national media and sample folders to be sent to consumers who responded to a coupon offer.

The sales promotion programs were presented each week in the district offices in late November and December. When the schedule was announced; M. Harharan, assistant sales manager in-charge of the Northwest district called Jatin banerjee to complain that the sales promotion orientation session in his district had been scheduled when they had found extra time to spend with their families and when several had customarily taken year-end pending leave. Banerjee explained that the promotion plan would not b completed until mid or 3rd week of November, and since these sales promotion meetings were conducted by home office personnel in the five sales regions, it was not possible to schedule more then a week. It was not Hariharan's district had drawn the bad week this year.

Hariharan responded that he thought the sales promotion sessions were a waste of time anyhow. His salespeople lost two productive days in these sessions, and in his opinion knowledge of details of the Natraj Company's advertising and promotion plans didn't take the sales rep's job of selling to wholesalers and retailers any easier. Anyhow it was the responsibility of the field sales promotion manager to work the individual sales people and call on key dealers. In mid-November, they interfered with sales productivity in the busiest season of the year.

1. Evaluate the Natraj Specialty Company's organisation and plan for coordination of sales function.
2. How should Banerjee answer Hariharan's complaint?