Sales administration

One of the main responsibilities of sales staff is to ensure that the administration and processing of sales is quick and cost-effective. Customers will soon become dissatisfied if staff are slow to process their orders or arrange credit, and poor sales administration can lead to higher costs and lower sales.

With the increasing use of computerised administrative procedures, processing nowadays can be considerably easier and quicker, but sales staff need to have the right training. Sales procedures include:

Processing orders. This involves receiving orders for goods or services over the counter, by phone or fax; checking the order against stock; advising the customer of availability, prices, acceptable methods of payment, and delivery dates, and entering this information on computer or paper records.

Credit clearance and control. Increasingly, both organisations and private individuals are making payments on credit extended to them either by the organisation from which they are making a purchase, or from a credit card or loan company. Sales staff will be expected to administer and control the giving of credit. This will involve the following tasks:

· completing credit agreement documents;

· checking the creditworthiness of a customer with the accounts department in the organisation, credit card company, or bank;

· establishing a credit limit for each customer based on feedback from the accounts department, credit card company, or bank;

· sending out reminders for late payment;

· chasing bad debts.

Processing customer accounts. This will involve itemising purchases on credit made by individual customers, adding up their total bills, sending out accounts, and receiving payments. As many of these tasks are now computerised, sales staff must make sure that the correct details of purchases are entered into the right accounts.

Working out delivery schedules based on priorities and routes. Staff must ensure that deliveries are prompt, and that the right goods reach the right customers in good condition. Routes should be planned to minimise transport costs and travel time between different delivery addresses.

Maintaining security. This concerns keeping records of customer names, addresses, payments and accounts confidential, as well as handling money securely.

Prospecting. In many organisations, prospecting and investigating sales leads is done by telephone. Sales staff pick telephone numbers and phone potential customers to see if they are interested in purchasing a particular good or service. This is a popular method used by organisations selling advertising space in newspapers or magazines, and by double-glazing and home security firms. However, prospecting can also be undertaken by sales staff in shops. Many customers enter shops to browse, not knowing exactly what they want. A sales assistant can offer help and advice, and in so doing, promote various products to customers in the hope of making a sale. A good salesperson will learn to recognise a buying signal that suggests a customer is happy with the hard or soft 'sell'.

Дата добавления: 2015-12-08