Transcript 15 Performance Evaluation

Sales Management 15
Performance Analysis
Purposes of Salesperson
Performance Evaluations I
1. To ensure that compensation and other reward
disbursements are _________with actual
salesperson performance
2. To identify salespeople that might be _________
3. To identify salespeople whose employment
should be _________and to supply evidence to
support the need for _________
Purposes of Salesperson
Performance Evaluations II
4. To determine the specific _________ and
_________ needs of individual salespeople and
the overall sales force
5. To provide information for effective
_________ _________ planning
6. To identify _________ that can be used to
recruit and select salespeople in the future
Purposes of Salesperson
Performance Evaluations III
7. To advise salespeople of work expectations
8. To _________ salespeople
9. To help salespeople set _________ _________
10. To improve salesperson _________
Salesperson Performance
Evaluation Approaches I
General conclusions:
1. Most evaluate on an _________ basis
2. Most combine input and output criteria which are
evaluated using quantitative and qualitative
measures
3. When used, performance standards or quotas are
set in collaboration with salespeople
4. Many assign weights to different objectives and
incorporate territory data.
Salesperson Performance
Evaluation Approaches II
General conclusions:
5. Most use multiple sources of information
6. Most are conducted by the _________
_________ _________ who supervises the
salesperson
7. Most provide a written copy of the review and
personal discussion
360-Degree Feedback System
• Helps salespeople
better understand their
ability to add value to
their organization and
their customers
Sales Manager
Evaluation
• Salesperson is
evaluated by multiple
raters
Salesperson
Type of Measurement
• Objective
– Statistically-based
– Use internal data
• Subjective
– Personal evaluations
– Usually sales manager
Objective Measures I
• Common _________ Factors
– Orders
• #, Avg. size, # cancelled
– Accounts
• # active, # new, # lost, # overdue, # prospective
• This data is in computer records
• Measures _________
Objective Measures II
• Common _________ Factors
–
–
–
–
Calls: # planned, made, unplanned
Time: Days worked, calls/day, % time selling
Expenses: Total, by type, % sales, % quota
Non-selling Activities: Letters/calls to prospects, #
formal proposals, displays built, # meetings, #
missionary calls, # service calls, overdue accts collected
• This data is in salespeople’s records
• Measures _________
Objective Measures III
• Ratios are a quick and dirty way to judge
salespeople performance
• Common Ratios
– Expense
– Account development/service
– Call activity/productivity
Subjective Measures I
• Focus is on how well salespeople do their
job vs. focus of objective measures, what
they do. Qualitative vs. Quantitative.
• More difficult to measure qualitative (how
well) rather than quantitative (how much).
• Qualitative measures tend to be inconsistent
and plagued with biases because they rely
on human judgment.
Subjective Measures II
• To force some consistency in judgment, and
eliminate bias, salespeople are judged along
multiple attributes using a rating scale.
• Five attributes rated:
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–
–
–
_________ _________
_________ _________
_________ _________
_________ _________
_________ _________
Sales Results
• Volume performance
• Sales to new accounts
• Selling the full product line
Job Knowledge
• Product knowledge
• Pricing
• Company policies
• Competitors
Territory Management
• Planning activities and calls
• Controlling expenses
• Reports and records
Customer/Company Relations
• Solid, professional relationship with
customers
• Working well with colleagues
• Good company citizen
Personal Characteristics
• _________ (also drive and ambition)
• _________ _________ (yes, it’s important)
• _________
• _________ (getting things done)
Merit Rating Forms: Common Problems
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Lack of an _________ focus
_________ personality traits
_________ effect
_________ or _________
_________ tendency
_________ bias
Organizational _________ influence
Lack of an Outcome Focus
• Need goals, not just attribute ratings
– Accomplishment
• One type is BARS
• (behavioral anchored rating scale)
– Critical Success Factors
• Focus on behaviors that are effective in
achieving goals
– Key attributes
BARS
Ill-defined Personality Traits
• Are they related to performance?
• E.g., initiative, aggressiveness, goaloriented, resourcefulness
• These are intuitively appealing, but do they
lead to good performance?
• Sometimes personality traits (e.g.
aggressiveness) can be counter-productive.
Halo Effect
• Rating on one attribute tends to influence
the rating on other attributes
• Important characteristics influence others
• Both positive and negative effects
• Managers have different ideas of what is
important
• Even then, they will change over time
Leniency or Harshness
• Managers are not the same in their
evaluations (same with professors)
• Same performance will be judged
differently by different managers
• Need consistent expectations and
evaluations of performance throughout the
organization
Central Tendency
• Sometimes managers (like people) don’t
like the extremes on scales
• Given 1-4, most people pick 3
• Not very helpful scores
• Can be a problem when used for raises,
promotions, terminations, etc.
Interpersonal Bias
• Our perceptions of people and their
behavior are influenced by whether we like
the person or not
• Salespeople can use their skills of personal
influence to affect the scores
• Impression Management
– E.g., Eddie Haskell 
Organizational Uses Influence
• Managers may be more lenient (or not) if
the evaluations are to be used for raises or
promotions
• If meant for employee development, then
they focus on weaknesses in order to have
salespeople improve
Protections Against Biases
• Instructions on forms
• Descriptive categories not words
• Request objectivity
• Use Objective Measures