Report on sales management

Introduction

Marketing is the process of collaborating the worth of values of commodities or service to clients; this at some time can be said to be the art of selling products and letting clients know of a good and new products in the market. In addition to this, marketing can be termed as the process of marking clients updated of available products in the market for sale; this is usually done in by advertising the company’s products. However, the society views marketing as to be the linkage between clients and the seller of a commodity; it’s of importance for a company to set some engagements for successful management of its marketing. In this paper am going to discuss the automated sales management software and hardware available for capturing field data (Miller, 2009).

Sales management hardware

– Barcode scanners
This is an electronic device designed to read encoded barcodes on items and transmit the data encoded into the bars to a computer. It is an automated method of data collection. There are different types of barcode readers or scanners. However, the all carry out the same function, although using different technologies. Barcode readers have a wide array of connections to computers. This offers a variety of options for the users. Their precision in recording data is unparalleled. However, they are challenged by distances between objects (Simpkins, 2004).
– Voice technology
Voice technology has come of age over time from the rudimentary former devices to the present-day state of the art technology. This is a very viable and desirable automated field data collection technology. It has devices that transmit audible commands into a computer system that converts the audio commands into data for storage.
– Batch terminals
Batch terminals are electronic devices used to collect field data and store them into files that can later be downloaded into a computer. Batch terminals were heavily relied on in the yester years but advancements in technology have rendered them second rate. Nonetheless, they still have viable applications to date.
– Radiofrequency technology
These are electronic devices that employ the radiofrequency technology to relay data wirelessly to a computer system for storage and manipulation. Given that they use wireless technology, the devices are portable.

Comparison of merits

Sales management software
– ProSel Sales Force
This is an automated data entry software that handles all aspects of a sales representative daily activities. The software is designed to be compatible with other software used regularly in businesses. It can also be used on top notch electronic devices like IPads making it very ideal for a sales representative on the move. It generates orders using barcode scanning and also stores a customer’s buying history. It can store a wealth of data on sales material, information on every product and customer. The software can integrate with enterprise resource planning software.
– Telenotes
Telenotes is one of the easiest software in the market for capturing field data. The software allows the sales representatives to update data from the field into the customer relationship management software remotely through talking on their cell phones. The software product has interactive features that enable communication with the customer relationship management software. It has features like contact management, custom user interface, mobile access, multiple user accounts, customer accounts and multi-location (Kittlaus & Clough, 2009).
– 2Go software solutions
This is an innovative software designed to offer real time insights into the status of customer orders. The software can be used for monitoring distribution, deliveries and warehouses over and above capturing of field data. The software can also be used to track orders filled out and placed on behalf of a client. The software allows field sales representatives to monitor inventory sales, view the status of orders already placed, and place orders for customers using their mobile phones. It has a wide array of features ranging from contact management, mobile access, inventory management, legacy system integration, commission management and call center management (Buttle, 2009).

Comparison of merits

Recommendations
After an evaluation of the merits of the software and hardware options available, I recommend the use of barcode scanners, voice technology and ProSel Sales Force for the business. Barcode scanners have a high level accuracy and precision that is unparalleled. They are also fast and are used in a wide range of business applications. Their reliability is unscripted and has been tested over time. Voice technology enables the sales team to use commands to transmit data from the field to customer relationship management software.
Although training is required for the sales team to get the gist behind voice technology, it saves time once they familiarize themselves. The ProSel Sales Force software is the ideal software for the business. This is because over and above the common features it has with the other software in its class; it also integrates with barcode scanners and the enterprise resource planning software (Cravens, Le, & Piercy, 2011). q

References

Buttle, F. (2009). Customer relationship management: concepts and technologies (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Cravens, D. W., Le, M.-F. H. K., & Piercy, N. (2011). The Oxford handbook of strategic sales and sales management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kittlaus, H.-B., & Clough, P. N. (2009). Software product management and pricing: Key success factors for software organizations. Berlin: Springer.
Miller, W. (2009). ProActive sales management: How to lead, motivate, and stay ahead of the game. New York: American Management Association.
Simpkins, R. A. (2004). The secrets of great sales management: Advanced strategies for maximizing performance. New York: AMACOM.