Job in Sales and Marketing arena is considered to be a lucrative and glorious job option. But qualifying for the same is not easy. One needs to manage team, attend company meets, set targets, analyze its effectiveness, meet targets and ascertain market demand. Setting a career in sales and marketing is quite difficult and challenging and therefore sales managers need to have certain skills and requirements. In order to pursue a career in sales and marketing, one needs to have following skills:

•    Leading a team that works in the field and interacting with the customers so as to garner the marketing skills of sales team.

•    Must possess excellent marketing skills

•    Managing product development and marketing campaigns

•    Manager ensures taking reviews if all the reports on basis of which he maintains accounting, shipping and plant production.

•    One can identify the persuasive skills in sales team members and prompts them to the required departments.

Globalization of Indian economy has gifted Indian youth with specialized career opportunities. There are very few Indian companies that advertise their products abroad and therefore taking up career as domestic sales position in an international firm would be a great option. So the pre-requisites for the same are fluency in foreign languages and experience in living in another country.

As you must be aware that a sales manager has to communicate with all kinds of people from the marketplace, to the organization or people from advertising firm, therefore, marketing professionals need to have outstanding command over English language. With the present age of rapid changing technology, knowledge of computers always helps. The efforts of marketing professionals result in overall sales turnover of the company and therefore sales executives occupy some of the vital positions in the modern multi-national organizations.

Sales managers are supposed to be analyzing market demands and working accordingly to meet targeted sales figures through the sales team. Additionally, the sales executives have to predict sales forecast, market requirements by carrying out extensive market and consumer research. Also, keeping in mind that marketing entirely depends on assessing the demands of customers and then meeting those demands by implementing some product planning strategies.

Marketing and sales management also forms an essential component of MMS and MBA programmes and therefore students from all streams such as science, social sciences, commerce must study marketing. There are several universities offering short term courses in sales and marketing, but usually these courses lack in developing strategic proficiency mandatory for marketing and sales. This makes large amount of employers looking for professionals with MBA degrees.

Allied Course

The allied course can be divided in various sub-sections which are

•    Marketing Concepts

•    Sales Management

•    International Marketing

•    Marketing Communication

•    Database Marketing

•    Web Marketing

•    Customer Satisfaction

•    Research Methods

•    Consumer Marketing

•    Social Marketing

•    Marketing Management

•    Logistics Strategy

•    Retail Management

•    Branding

•    Advertising and Culture.

There are four basic elements for study in marketing and sales management courses that include:

•    Products and services required by clients.

•    Prices that buyers are comfortable in paying

•    Communicating with potential clients through advertising

•    Role of wholesalers and retailers

Sales and Marketing Management- An Overview

Globalization of the Indian economy brought the arrival of more and more multi-national organization to India as well as lucrative career option for marketing professionals. These sales and marketing professionals identify potential customers and prove helpful to these fast growing MNCs. India’s liberalized economic policies have surely attracted number of multi-national companies and therefore marketing and sales management is catching up as a hot career avenue for the aspirants today.

Sales and Marketing is emerging as an important function in all enterprises and therefore the focus remains the same; creating more and more customers and retaining them. Statistics show that the top executives of most of organizations belong to the marketing realm and therefore a need for skilled personnel in MNCs today is immensely required.

Marketing is that business activity that directs the course of organization strategy towards luring consumers or potential users. The sales and marketing arena includes the identification of requirements of customer all across the globe with a strategy to make profit on behalf of the company. Marketing and sales professionals need to offer customers with the goods and services just the way they want at a competitive price. Pertaining to the fact that marketing also requires a perfect marketing campaign, professionals work dexterously towards meeting their objectives

With number of multi-national companies making their way into the Indian economy, there are number of ways in which marketing and sales professionals can boost the performance. Marketing is carried out for the following products:

•    Consumer goods such as food stuff, drinks, toiletries

•    Durables such as furniture, gadgets, washing machines

•    Industrial items including machine tools, engine parts, laboratory equipment, etc

•    Theatres, schools, colleges and institutions

•    Financial, computing, travel, educational services

Personality Traits

Marketing managers need to excel in communication skills and must be able to talk and write clearly. Subsequently, they must be able to persuade people at all levels of the company. All they require is ability to understand others and their thoughts without compromising on the objective to be achieved. Also, their ability to organize a team, motivating them, setting goals, encouraging co-operation amongst the team and accepting responsibility are considered to essential for sales and marketing managers. Managers are supposed to be willing to adapt with the emerging requirements of the market so as to analyze sales and research data so as to plan and price.

Industrial marketing people need to be technically qualified, good at trouble shooting, willing to learn and outstanding in communicating. Additionally, they must give attention to every minute detail and should have mature judgment traits to identify profitable business opportunities.

Career Avenues

Marketing Manager

Sales and Marketing are inter-dependent fields; marketing is a business activity that includes assessing and setting sales targets and working out to implement various profitable strategies. Sales executives are known to make potential customers aware about the products, execute orders and ascertain uniform supply. There are various steps and things that marketing managers need to take care about and that is how they learn to make beneficial decisions. Their functions include:

•    Market-pattern study- Extensive research about various campaigns provides a well-prepared database to the managers to which they can comply. Managers analyze customer attitude towards the similar products and services they require through these findings.

•    Product development- Marketing managers communicate with design and production wings regarding the customer requirements and ascertain to introduce a helpful product. Marketing campaigns including publicity offers and packaging are discussed with the media and advertising agencies.

•    Sales and Distribution- Managers need to ensure the demand and supply is kept uniform as they analyze the usefulness of sales promoting campaign.