VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS TA THI MAI LOAN SALES FORCE MANAGEMENT IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCAITON THE CASE OF FPT UNIVERSITY Major: Business Administration Code: 60 34 05 MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION THESIS SUMMARY Supervisor: Dr Tran Doan Kim Hanoi – 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEGEMENT i ABSTRACT ii TÓM TẮT iv TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES, CHART ix INTRODUCTION 1 Problem background Objectives and aims Research Question Scope of work Data collection Methods Significance Limitation Expected results CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition and Importance of Sales force management 1.2 Formulation of a strategic sales program 1.2.1 Set goals and objectives 1.2.2 Forecast sales 1.2.3 Determine sales force size and structures 1.2.4 Design sales territories 11 1.2.5 Set sales quotas 13 1.3 Implementation of the Sales program 14 vi 1.3.1 Recruiting sales personnel 14 1.3.2 Selecting sales personnel 16 1.3.3 Training the sales force 18 1.3.4 Motivating sales personnel 22 1.3.5 Compensating sales personnel 24 1.3.6 Sales meetings and sales contests 25 1.4 Special considerations of sales force management in education sector 25 CHAPTER 2: ANALYSIS OF FPT UNIVERSITY SALES FORCE 27 2.1 Introduction about FPT University 27 2.1.1 History of FPT University 27 2.1.2 Organization structure 28 2.2 Sales forces management at FPT University 29 2.2.1 Model 29 2.2.2 Implementation of sales force management at FPT University 31 2.2.3 Measuring sales force productivity 36 2.2.4 Customer satisfactions 40 2.2.5 Some overview on Education market and Sales force management in some other Universities and Institutions 42 2.2.6 SWOT analysis 44 CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS 48 3.1 Restructuring sales department 48 3.2 Building Compensation and Promotion policies 50 3.3 Improving recruitment and training 54 3.4 Applying CRM software 64 3.4.1 What is CRM? 64 3.4.2 Why should FU apply CRM in sales activities? 65 3.5 Improving customer satisfactions 65 REFERENCES 68 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Staff’s satisfaction 35 Table 2.2: Sales Volumes at FPT University 37 Table 2.3: Percentages of remain students 39 viii LIST OF FIGURES, CHART Figure 1.1: The Forecasting Process Figure 1.2: Question To Answer To Improve Chances Of Figure 1.3: Line Sales Organization 10 Figure 1.4: Line and Staff Sales Organization 10 Figure 1.5: Functional Sales Organization 11 Figure 1.6: Factors to consider when designing territories 13 Figure 1.7: A selection System 16 Figure 1.8: A Sales Training Model 18 Figure 1.9: Maslow's hierarchy of needs 24 Figure 2.1: FPT University structure 30 Figure 2.2: Sales department structure 31 Chart 2.1: Number of Training Cource 33 Chart 2.2: Bonus rate 34 Chart 2.3: Staff’s Satisfaction of Promotion 35 Chart 2.4: Work Love 35 Chart 2.5: Quit Reasons 36 Chart 2.6: Sales Volumes at FPT University 38 Chart 2.7: Percentages of Remain Students 40 Figure 3.1: Sales Structure Recommended 50 Figure 3.2: Recruitment Process 59 Figure 3.3: New Staff training Process 60 Chart: 3.1: Staff’s Training Course Required 63 ix INTRODUCTION Problem background Sales force is a powerful asset of selling organizations It is a crucial factor contributes to the success and stable development of the firm A good sales force management can help the company to increase productivities as well as its competitive advantages In the past, Vietnamese always think traditionally that there is not the relationship between the buyers and sellers in the education in Vietnam They believe that education belongs to the government and they think that the relationship between students and professors, between purples and teachers are some things respectful which cannot be bought and sold In some recent years, with the open door policy of the Ministry of Education, there have been many Schools and Universities both State owned and private being born There are more than 200 all kinds of Universities in Vietnam up to now With the population of more than 80 million, the demand of training, which cannot be satisfied by the state owned University system, is very high The appearance of the private high standard Universities like FPT University, Dai Nam University, Van Xuan University, Chu Van An University… is more and more, especially the corporate training programs in Vietnam like Troy, Latrobe, Grigg, RMIT, North Central… In which FPT University is one of the model of University of company in Vietnam To compete and survive, FPT University has considered the university like an invisible product to sales and organized its sales force At the first time, the university had a certain success because of the high appreciation on sales as well as the way it sales in undergraduate education However, after some years of operation, the competitors has quickly copied the way it sales and it seems that the university has some difficulties now The thesis “Sales force management in undergraduate educaiton the case of fpt university” is aimed to study and propose solutions to improve sales force management at FPT University as well as it can be applied in other undergraduate institutions in Vietnam Objectives and aims In order to study an overview of sales force management in education in Hanoi and analyze the case of FPT University, the study aims to achieve the following objectives:  Summarizing basic theory about sales force management  Showing an overview of sales force management in education sector  Analyzing FPT university activities in sales force management  Giving the conclusions and recommendations to improve the sales force management at FU Research Question To fulfill the objectives of the study, the following research questions need to be answered:  How is the sales force management in undergraduate institutions?  What FU has done so far?  What FU can to improve the sales force management? Scope of work The thesis studies on sales force management in undergraduatie education in Hanoi, focusing on private universities and corporate programs which have high tuition fee and need so much effort to sales Base on the study on the overview of sales management in undergraduatie education in general the thesis also point out some recommendations for FU sales force management Data collection The data is collected from textbook of sales force management, human resource management and some websites related to this topic It is also collected from the experiences when I worked for sales department of FU for two months Methods This study applies the two following methods:  Reviewing of related literature  Interviewing relevant people Reviewing of related literature: This will examine the multidisciplinary theories of sales force management and compare between theory and practical activities Interviewing: Questions will be developed and structured interviews are conducted for those who are professors in this field and who are people in charge of FU’s sales force Significance In the perspective of increasingly high competition and sales pressure, the study focuses on analyzing and recommending useful solutions to enhance the effectiveness of sales force management and competitiveness of FU Besides, this study also gives the overview of the sales force management in education- the conception has been recognized but not yet mentioned directly Limitation The limitations of the study lay on analyzing only FU Date sources are not rich enough to have a bigger picture of this industry Moreover, most information collected from inner operation therefore it has been hard to approach and collect As a new field that not yet mentioned before, it is also hard for the author to get references from other researches and sources Expected results The study will give a general overview of sales force management in Vietnam’s education industry, which is an old but new conception By the observation, analysis and report on the current situation of FU, the author hopes that her solutions given in this study will be applied in reality and will bring some certain effectiveness for FU sales force CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition and Importance of Sales force management Sales force serves as a critical link between a company and its customers The salesperson can represent both buyer and seller They represent company to the customer and customers to the company Salespeople are becoming more market-focused and customer-oriented The old view was that salespeople should be concerned with sales and the company should be concerned with profit The new view is that salespeople should be concerned with more than just producing sales- they must know how to achieve customer satisfaction and company profit - Definition by Wikipedia, it is defined as follow: “Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations It is an important business function as net sales through the sales of products and services and resulting profit drive most commercial business These are also typical the goals and performance indicators of sales management” - Definition by the American Marketing Association [1] “The planning, direction, and control of the personal selling activities of a business unit, including recruiting, selecting, training, equipping, assigning, routing, supervising, paying, and motivating as these tasks apply to the sales force.” - Definition by Richard R Still; Edward W Cundiff and Norman A.P Govoni [2] :“Sales management originally referred exclusively to the direction of sales force personnel Later, the term took on broader significance – in addition to the management of personal selling, sales management meant management of all marketing activities, including No Work content Personal in charge FPT university and a suitable time for themreading and understanding about organization and product Giving help whenever candidates need the information from organization Planning for skill tests like presentation or consuntancy Passed candidates will be discussed and signing the working agreement Contract negotiation Providing the compensation policy like salary and otherorganization policies concern to sales man and HR department 10 If the candidates agree with organization policies will go to contract If thereis no candidates qualified, taking the recruitment processat the beginning HR Contract Aftergetting the treatment negotiation and the other requirments, cadidates will be sent working invitation letter consisting of the following contect: - Job title 11 - Job description - Salary and other compensation - Direct manager - Working place - Starting date - Probationary period and working time 57 No Work content Personal in charge - Kinds of paper needed to fill in the new comer profile - Contracting at the first workingday HR & SD Welcome new staff HR department welcome new staffs and hand over 12 for sales Save new staff profile FU’s sales recruitment is not emphasized It is only recruitment process like the other administration positions Sales man is an important force of the organization.Therefore, it should be taken care of the recruitment channels Besides printing recruitment announce in FU and vietnamwork.com websites, FU HR also need to pay effort for head hunter for sales men from other organizations Direct sales manager sometimes not know when and how he have a new staff The recruitment steps that FU still be weak are the and At step three, it should be paid more attention to the advertising channels to attract the most suitable and quality candidates 58 Recruitment demand HR plan Proposed recruitment form Aproved proposal Recruitment channel Internal recruitment External recruitment Database Application selection Database Testing plan Writing exam Skill test Role play test Contract Negotiation Signing contract HR management, save profile Figure 3.2: Recruitment Process 59 Head hunter Recruited staff Training plan Product training Skill training Situation test Role play test Dismissal Training evaluation Job assignment Save records Figure 3.3: New Staff training Process Staff training can be considered as a vital tool for organizational effectiveness However, staff training is also not emphasized at FU through the last years During the last years, the most royal staff has taken past in one training program and one guest speaker conference The sales staff work like a path, there is no changes or experiences sharing It also must be deal with traning for new staff Almost the new staff not be trained carefully When they are the new comers, they work in sales department depends on sales manager requires immediately Without understanding about product 60 and skill will make the new comers may make mistakes and maybe loose the potential customers It is recommended a training timeline for new staff such as: Time Training activities Personal in charge Week one Organizational training: HR manager + Organizational structure Sales manager + Policies… Sales manager Product training: + Market, industry and service, work content…3 Sales skill training Week two Presentation on organization Presentation on product (two – three Sales manager times on this week to be sure that new staff remember the necessary product characteristic) Week three Sales skill tests: situation test and role Sales manager/ play test face to face experienced sales men Competitor understanding Observing activities at sales department Week four Observing sales activities Involving consultant activities with 61 Sales manager/other supports of sales manager Week five sales men Sales skill test (continue): situation and role play testing Sales department Taking part in consultant and sales members activities Week six Final product and skill test Sales manager and staff from other department Week seven Involving sales activities Week eight Trial Evaluation Sales manager With job description of sales at FU, a sales man needs many skills like: presentation skill; consultant skill; organizing events; persuading It is recommended that FU should build a new staff training process as well as required training Courses for sales every year step by step like recommended table below: 62 Courses required 1 - years - years - more than years Average course per year Chart: 3.1: Staff’s Training Course Required According to recommending required training course, every per year each sales man should be attended in at less one to two course with different contents like presentation skill, customer persuasive skill, professional sales skill… Training courses not only improve the sales skills but also increase one kind of indirect compensation for sales men One of the reasons why FU does not building training course for sales staff is a few number of sales and the different level among sales It is difficult to build a FU own training course but they can attend to the suitable training course at the other FPT companies like FPT software, FPT information system, Tienphongbank …or the training courses organized by FHO This will help reduce the training course as well and create chances for sales at FU exchanging experiences with sales at other FPT organizations This is also suitable with FPT strategy is “One_FPT” Moreover, training content is also diversified to choose Besides training courses for sales man, sales manager also should have training for motivation skill, management skill… because sales manager at FU relatively young and less experiences 63 3.4 Applying CRM software 3.4.1 What is CRM? CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management It is used to learn more about customers’ need and behavior to have a good relationship with them as well as to have a good strategy to follow up There are many technological components to CRM but thinking of CRM as technological terms is a mistake It should be thought of a process that helps to bring the information about customers, sales, marketing… The goals of CRM are to help businesses use technology and human resources to gain inside the behavior of customer and the value those customers If it works as hoped, a business can: - Provide better customer services - Make call centers more efficient - Cross sell products more effectively - Help sales staff close deals faster - Simplify marketing and sales processes - Discover new customers - Increase customer revenue Using CRM is not simply buying software and installing it CRM is truly effective when the companies must decide what kind of customer information they are looking for and how they use the information 64 3.4.2 Why should FU apply CRM in sales activities? It is necessary to apply CRM at FU now There are more than ten thousands of applications at FU every year and the reapplied applications is a big number CRM will help sales men have historic information about customers to decide how to take care and by what way as well as how much time should be spend for each customer This will help to increase the rate of successful sales Besides, applying CRM will help the sales managers manage sales activities better fox example they can know the information about how many potential customers they have, taking care customer activities of each sales man every day Based on the data, sales managers can have the right decision on what next campaigns are instead of using exel program at the moment 3.5 Improving customer satisfactions Building a customer satisfaction evaluation system is necessary for FU Up to now, it seems that sales manager usually use the common appointment system for sales like other departments although the fact that through a small questionnaire we can know how many percent of students are attracted by 65 sales, how many percent they are satisfied with the consultants and marketing men, what are their dislike? One of the facilities is that FU students are open to tell what they are thinking and give the direct comments without fear This brings the objective views for sales manager to look at Building customer satisfaction system should needs to cooperate between quality department and sales managers Sales managers provide the skill, knowledge and attitudes needed for sales Based on that, quality department needs to build a process; methodology and frequently as well as gives the objective conclusions in order to help sales managers can apply to improve the sales personnel Assessing sales productivity in education is difficult than in other industry because besides the effort of sales personnel, the students may come from many other sources in the second chapter mentioned like PR, friendship, marketing activities… Therefore, this is also a need of creating exist of a customer evaluation system Customer satisfaction survey form Do you get the information you need? Is the attitude of consultant make you satisfy? Is the information provided correct? How is the consultant’s skill? Do you satisfy with the advice you had received? Do you have any recommend for our better consulting? 66 Not only building the criteria for customer evaluation, the delivery forms are also diversity It should be created many forms of evaluation so that the customers can feels easy and comfortable when evaluating:  A web-based tool that collects feedbacks on services provided  Direct questionnaire  Observation  Interview of customers (parents and students) In general, to improve the quality and customer satisfaction, it is necessary to build a good customer evaluation systems: 67 REFERENCES American Marketing Association, Dictionary – Definition, sales [1] management [2] Richard R Still; Edward W Cundiff; Norman A.P Govoni, Sales management, Decisions, strategy and cases, 5th edition [3] Charlesm Futrell, Sales management, teamwork, leadership and technology, 6th edition [4] W J Talley, Jr, “How to design sales Territories”, Journal of Marketing, 25, no.3 (January 1961), p [5] Richard R Still; Edward W Cundiff; Norman A.P Govoni, Sales management, Decisions, strategy and cases, 5th edition, p 341 [6] Rosann Spiro; William J Stanton; Gregory A Rich; Management of a sales force, 10th edition, 2000 [7] Del I Hawkins, Roger J Best, Kenneth A Coney, Consumer Behavior, 7th edition, 1998 [8] Alan J Dubinsky and Merry E Lippit, “Managing Frustration in the sales Force,” Industrial Marketing management, 8, (1979), pp 200 – 06 [9] J A Belasco, “The salesman’s Role Revisited”, Journal of Marketing, 30, no (April 1966) p [10] A H Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 2nd edition, 1970 [11] http://vietbao.vn/Giao-duc/Giao-duc-dai-hoc-va-co-che-thitruong/45159153/202/ [12] http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danh_sach_truong_dai_ 68 13 FPT University employment process 14 www.fpt.edu.vn 15 http://www.chungta.com/Desktop.aspx/GiaoDuc/Thuc-Trang-GD-DaiHoc/Giao_duc_dai_hoc_Viet_Nam-Mot_vai_con_so/ 16 http://www.giaoducvietnam.vn/ 17 Mark W.Johnston, Greg W Marshall, sales force management, 10th edition 18 Gary B Connor; Jonh A Woods, Sales Games and Activities for Trainers 69 APPENDIX BẢNG HỎI Xin anh, chị vui lòng giúp đỡ cách trả lời thông tin bảng hỏi Thời gian Anh/Chị làm Phòng tuyển sinh Đại học FPT a Dưới năm b Từ – năm c Từ – năm d Trên năm Cơng việc phụ trách phịng tuyển sinh là? a Tư vấn viên b Marketing Hàng năm Anh/Chị có phải ký kết tiêu công việc cho cá nhân phận? a Có b Khơng Thu nhập Anh/Chị là: a Dưới triệu VNĐ b Từ – triệu VNĐ c Từ – 10 triệu VNĐ d Trên 10 triệu VNĐ Các anh, chị có hài lịng với mức thu nhập có? a Khơng hài lịng b Bình thường c Hài lịng d Rất hài lịng Theo Anh/Chị phân cơng cơng việc phịng có hợp lý khơng? Nếu khơng, anh chị có ý kiến đề xuất khác? a Có b Khơng c Khác:……………………………………………………………………………………… Số lần họp phịng tuyển sinh là: a Một lần tuần b Hai tuần lần c Họp cần d Không họp Khi bắt đầu cơng việc phịng tuyển sinh, anh, chị có đào tạo chun mơn phịng? a Có b Khơng Thời gian đào tạo để bắt đầu công việc bao lâu? a Dưới tuần b Một tuần c Hai tuần d Một tháng 10 Quản lý cấp có kiểm tra đánh giá kỹ chuyên môn định kỳ không? a Có b Khơng 11 Số lượng khóa đào tạo chuyên môn anh, chị tham dự a Một năm khóa b Hai năm khóa c Khi có tham gia d Khơng tham gia 12 Sau khóa đào tạo nhà trường tổ chức, anh chị có phải kiểm tra báo cáo đánh giá khóa học khơng? a Có b Khơng 13 Anh/Chị có hài lịng với động viên, khích lệ cấp trên? a Khơng hài lịng b Bình thường c Hài lòng d Rất hài lòng 14 Mức độ tâm huyết Anh/Chị với công việc cho điểm từ - 5: 15 Lộ trình thăng tiến bạn có rõ ràng khơng? a Khơng hài lịng b Bình thường c Hài lịng d Rất hài lịng 16 Bạn có hài lịng với mơi trường làm việc khơng? a Khơng hài lịng b Bình thường c Hài lịng d Rất hài lòng 17 Mối quan hệ bạn với quản lý cấp có tốt khơng? a Khơng tốt b Bình thường c Tốt d Rất tốt 18 Mối quan hệ bạn với đồng nghiệp phịng có tốt khơng? a Khơng tốt b Bình thường c Tốt d Rất tốt Cảm ơn hợp tác giúp đỡ anh chị! ... applied in other undergraduate institutions in Vietnam Objectives and aims In order to study an overview of sales force management in education in Hanoi and analyze the case of FPT University, the. .. Functional sales force, Consultative sales force, Enterprise sales force, Transactional sales force, Hybrid/Queuing sales force A highly motivated sales force is instrumental in increasing the sales. .. positions of the University CEO of FPT University is Professor, Dr Truong GiaBinh 28  Board of Management: consist of members Managing board of the University has the responsibility of operating the