Monday, August 27, 2018

Compensation for Sales Force

There are three basic compensation plans for sales force
1. Only Salary ( No incentives)
2. Only Incentives ( No Salary )
3. Combination of fixed salary and Variable salary componenet (incentives)

    Incentives can be monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or yearly.  Percentage of variable compnment to the fixed component varies from company to company and nature of sales operations. In creative salesmanship the Variable componenet is highest and in order taking salesmanship, it is the lowest.

Provision of good TA & DA, well designed reward scheme and options for buying stock are other parts of compensations.

Other fringe benefits can also be provided such as company's vehicle, laptop and mobile, family insurance plan, etc.

Prof. Prasanna Shembekar
Asst. Professor, Tirpude Institute of Management Education, Nagpur (India)
http://www.tirpude.edu.in


Motivating Sales force :

Motivation is essential for the sales force as they always need to set higher levels of goals and achieve those in a given time frame. A good combinationof motivators keeps the team on track and sets higher standards of performance,too.

1. Expectancy theory :  Motivation is a function of expectation, valence and instrumentality    M = E*V*I
Expectation : Will closing sales  give me decent incentives or sales conference in Dubai?
Instrumentality: Is making regular calls and follow ups  will lead to closing sales ?
Valence: Do I really value incentives or sales conference in Dubai?
If these three things work then only I have a motive to perform.

2. Theory X & Theory Y
X people - negative motivation, hire and fire threats, target compliance
Y people - Incentives, conferences, gifts, perks and recognition

3. Herzberg's 2 factor theory
Hygine factors -  Salary should be decent, effective sales tools, well defined sales rout, acheivable sales quota, good boss, good TA & DA
Motivators- Incentives, best sales awards, recognition, career growth prospects, vertical growth, participative management

4. Job design theory- 
Job engineering- decent work place, internet connectivity, ease of reporting, telecommutation and flexi hours
Job rotation- work on different clients, differnt products, differerent markets
Job enlargement - extended territorry, extended product ranges, handling end to end clients
Job enrichment- Sales planning, forecasting decisions, promotions, challanging assignments, designing marketing schemes and strategies

5. Management by Objectives (MBO) :
Working closely with the supervisor in a diad leads to very higher level of motivation and sense of importance to the sales person. He / she is able to achieve the sales quota per moth with minimum deviation and deviation if any , supervisor knows the reasons for it.

Prof. Prasanna Shembekar
Asst. Professor, Tirpude Institute of Management Education, Nagpur (India)
ref : Anca -Mihalea, Revista Română de Statistică Trim. I/2013, accessed from: Revista Română de Statistică Trim. I/2013   

Monday, August 21, 2017


You become awfully busy throughout the day because students keep on pouring in the staff room. They have queries, issues, difficulties and sometimes small victories to share! You love being busy with students ! ......... You are a teacher then!
PC: Shrirang Thaore

Sunday, August 20, 2017

After so many days.. no I think months .. no no years .. I have started writing again ! Quite busy these days. working on PhD Thesis writing, other writing assignments, college events, lecture prepertions and so many things ! But this will go on. I think I should not stop writing. Today listened to Mr Bharat Parekh ! what a legend ... example of an humble success! Occassion was the event pre-TIRE at Krazy Castle Nagpur.... a unique effort by Tirpude Institute of management education to groom up MBA part II students and to prepare them for the corporate world !
                                                              PC: Abhishek Dubey

Sunday, August 10, 2014



Evolution of marketing concept in Indian Context:

Concept of marketing origins long back in India to year 3300 BC during Indus valley civilization where in most of the marketing was done through street shops, street markets and traveling salesmen called as feriwalas. Most of the products were home made i.e. cottage industry was predominant and almost every village was an independent economic entity. Products though home-made, carried an excellent quality as same business or profession was carried over generation by generation. Children of goldsmiths became goldsmiths and this enhanced the fineness in their skills generation to generation. Most of the marketing concept was exchange oriented and people used to do barter exchange i.e exchange of goods with goods, though currency was established by then.

Currency which was initially limited to gold and silver coins later on diluted to cheaper currencies which could be spread in masses and thus use of currency increased and barter exchange started reducing. However, even today the tribal regions of India are involved in barter exchange system as they are deprived of basic facilities like currency and commodities. Barter is also partially practiced in corporate marketing environment with concepts like buy-back ( ex : Thermax boilers) , exchange schemes where old & used commodities are exchanged with new products ( ex : Big Bazaar )

Even after the fall of barter system and rise of currencies, street markets and hawkers continued to operate. Mela & Haat were the concepts of marketing which later on evolved in to modern product exhibitions. This was the initial stage of retail marketing in India. Melaa & Haat are operative even today in rural parts of India. Famous example of an Haat is DELHI HAAT.

Marketing was not an aggressive function and product features were considered to be the main reason of why a customer should buy a product. Thus we can say that after exchange concept, product orientation was predominant in India.  

During the medieval age, India was also active in exports of products like shawls of Kashmir, jute, silk, and other textiles and handicrafts, agricultural products like pepper, cinnamon, opium and the major product was Indigo Dye. It is this product Indigo Dye from which India was named India. Agriculture was the predominant occupation of the population and satisfied a village's food requirements besides providing raw materials for hand based industries like textile, food processing and crafts. There were no formal business organizations but mostly there were joint family business houses, glimpses of which we can still observe in regions like Gujarat and Punjab. Till the end of Mughal empire and 1700 and Maratha empire in late 1800, India was the largest economy in the world leaving behind China and republic of France. The fall of economy stared with Biritish Raj in 19th century and India is yet struggling to come out of it.

The Industrial revolution in Europe had adverse effects on Indian territory as India was forced to adopt the new products manufactured in European factories and this lead to the fall of Indian handicrafts and cottage industry. Like other colonized nations, India was dragged into the industrial era on terms that were not of it's own choosing and many of the technological developments that have since taken place in India have been geared more towards the export market than bringing about all-round improvements in the quality of life for the Indian masses. This situation still continues. After inception of the forceful industrial revolution, Indian marketing moved to production oriented marketing.

Jamshedji Tata, the indigenous and pioneer of Industrial revolution in India started his two cotton mills one in Mumbai in 1869 ( Alexandra mill) and another in Nagpur in 1874 ( empress mill) and installed first steel factory in 1907.  Jamsetji Tata is regarded as the "father of Indian industry". 

A mix of product and production orientation continued after Independence of India and till 1970s  when selling concept dominated and continued till 2000 i.e. till emergence if integrated marketing concept where in all activities of marketing were integrated and consumer orientation was then the main focus.

India was under social democratic-based policies from 1947 to 1991. The economy was characterized by extensive regulation, protectionism, and public ownership, leading to pervasive corruption and slow growth. Since 1991, continuing economic liberalization has moved the economy towards a market-based system. A revival of economic reforms and better economic policy in 2000s accelerated India's economic growth rate. By 2008, India had established itself as the world's second-fastest growing major economy.

The economy of India is the eleventh largest economy in the world by nominal value and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). In the 1990s, following economic reform from the socialist-inspired economy of post-independence India, the country began to experience rapid economic growth, as markets opened for international competition and investment. In the 21st century, India is an emerging economic power with vast human and natural resources, and a huge knowledge base. Economists predict that by 2020,] India will be among the leading economies of the world.

Author : Prasanna Shembekar



Friday, August 19, 2011

What is a teacher ?

A teacher is not just a teacher. He is a mentor, a personal counselor, a life time coach as well as a anchor which helps his students to climb the cliffs of life.

He not just teaches us, he inspires up and moreover he gives us an insight of the subject, a insight of the life.

He is a source of wisdom not just knowldge.

I bow at the feet of teachers Anjikar Madam, Khandkar Madam, Shembekar sir, Pendharkar sir, Dias madam, Digraskar sir, MM Joishi sir and Gandhe sir and Khare sir.







Wednesday, April 6, 2011

celebration after India wins the world cup.





Finally India won the world cup ! As per my routine, I continued to work in my study-room with a google tab open showing me the score updates in a corner. when 3 overs were left and India was about to win, I closed my laptop and joined the family for sharing the great moment.


Dhoni Lofted the the ball and the crowd roared with joy. The very moment of winning! I remembered the 1983 Prudential world cup  final witnessed by me. I was 11 yrs old and watching match at neighbor's television as we were not having a TV with us. Lights suddenly went off and whole city was in darkness for an hour. We listened to radio till late night. When lights came back we could watch last two wickets. I remember the last wicket and Mohinder Amarnath running to the pavilion !

Coming back to the present day. Malhar requested us that we should go to Dharampeth to witness celebrations. Raghav was anyway sleeping. So asking my father to keep watch at him, me, Aparna and Malhar went to Shankarnagar square. It was complete traffic jam at night 1.00 pm. No place to park our car. 90% of the mob were college students dancing and waving their hands shouting " India . . . India". I was trying to find out if any of  my student was there in the crowd. But I think they were stuck to their homes due to exams. I couldn't see anybody.

Finally India won. I am happy for Sachin. The honest player has never indulged in to any match fixing attempt.
Fine that India has won.

But I would still say that watching a cricket match for 6 to 8 hours is a sheer wastage of time !

I don't expect you to agree with me !!