The application of information and communication technology (ICT) has become a reality in selling in the South African pharmaceutical industry. Low awareness levels exist in the pharmaceutical industry about how the effective use of ICT can contribute to client services and productivity. The effectiveness of ICT in selling depends on the way it is managed and implemented by management and accepted by the salespeople and clients, on how effectively it is applied, and on the influence, it has on the salesperson. A descriptive research design was used to determine whether the introduction of ICT into the selling process has influenced the professional sales representatives' activities in a positive way. The results of this study clearly indicate that pharmaceutical sales representatives, both those appointed before the introduction of ICT and those appointed there after, are not positive about the introduction of ICT into the selling process.

Digital communication has shifted the way that communication takes place for many companies. The amount of technological communication platforms and tools available are high and are also still increasing which also entails that many companies have several ways to communicate available. Organizational decisions and Management incentives to adopt new platforms and tools for communication are in advance also influencing employees and middle managers in their day-to-day work. Research has in this manner highlighted managerial strategies to handle the implementation of technology in general and further pointed out how both technology and digital communication can influence employees in companies' different processes. Even though there is a vast amount of research about digital communication done, there is a general need for further research about the extensive amount of digital communication solutions available. A gap in earlier research was further seen as digital communication in the sales process in the national context of Sweden is lacking research. The sales process in this manner is one of the main processes within many companies that are seen to be affected by the implementation of digital communication. However, a deeper understanding of the employees and middle managers perspective is seen to be needed. To gain further insights and to shed light on the area of digital communication in a Swedish context, the influences that digital communication have on employees and middle managers are investigated, further the rationale behind using digital communication within the sales process is also studied. The empirical data that is collected through qualitative studies by conducting semi- structured interviews provided us with findings that shows three main positive influences and two main negative influences that digital communication has on the employees and middle managers within the company at hand. The positive influences can be summarized as, the convenience with using digital communication, the flexibility of location and the valuable information to be found on the platform and tools. The negative influences on the other hand were seen to be, the amount on communication channels and the inconvenience with finding information. Following the main aspects found with the rationale behind using digital communication within the sales process were identified to be, the perceived management reasoning & support, educational opportunities, ambassadors and varying use depending on work task. Both the influences and the rationale are then visualized in a model to simplify the main findings. The theoretical contributions of this study can facilitate a further understanding of digital communication. Further the study can provide managers with insights on how eventual implementations of digital communication may influence the workforce. Finally the empirical data can contribute to a broader overall understanding of digital communication. However, further research is necessary within this field to gain a more holistic view of the subject at hand.

Problem - Decision makers shape the structure of the sales function, but it is unclear how they go about it and why. The rationale for making certain decisions need to be analyzed in order to understand why different decision makers apply different sales strategies. Topic - The Swedish prefabricated wooden house industry consists of many actors with no clear market leader. The sales force seems to mainly consists of external sales agents (manufacturers' representatives, also called reps), though some manufacturers also employ direct sales agents at the manufacturing company. Prefabricated wooden houses corresponded to 86% of all building permits requested during 2015. Purpose - This thesis aims to explore decision-makers' rationale behind the organization of manufacturers' sales forces in the Swedish prefabricated wooden house industry. Method - Semi-structures interviews with decision makers at manufacturing companies in the Swedish prefabricated wooden house industry have been conducted in order to fulfill the purpose of this study. The empirical findings are then analyzed based on theory that has been collected through partly inductive, partly deductive approaches. Main results - Decision makers use different arguments to justify their strategies. Many different rationale applied translates into no clear pattern besides the one that there seems to be no clear pattern. Arguments for a rationale decision are given without analytical proof for an assumption. Some interviewees are in essence for an integrated sales force, though might also work with reps.

Market segmentation is growing as customers become more and more demanding for individual products and exclusive services. Companies are introducing new applications and products across many industries , that can be tailored easily to specific customers and markets. To be successful, the organisations have to offer a high level of customisation and customer-centric processes. However, traditional companies in financial, telecommunication and insurance industry struggle with the technological challenges associated with becoming customer focused enterprises. The aim of this thesis is to define the products catalogue framework, that will provide products bundling and customisation capabilities with user-friendly GUI. Therefore, the most of the work can be designed by business users without additional intensive development efforts. Moreover, the viability of the framework was evaluated on the solution based on IBM technologies. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

<p>This thesis is a description of the sales process for Toolox, the newest of four products produced by SSAB Oxelösund. Toolox is a tool steel, sold using eleven external dealers throughout Europe. Each dealer carries a wide range of steel grades for different uses. To increase sales volumes SSAB want to have the right support for their dealers. In this thesis the organizations and individuals who influence in the buying decision are identified as well as their buying behavior and the information that is needed in the sales situations. The requirements on the tool steel derive not only from the toolmaker itself but also from end users of a product further down the product chain. The study indicates that communication of benefits along the chain difficult because is not well integrated. The decision of what steel to buy is often made by the tool designer and these are influenced by a number of other individuals. It is also found that risk aversion and conservatism are barriers for product introductions.</p>

This thesis is a description of the sales process for Toolox, the newest of four products produced by SSAB Oxelösund. Toolox is a tool steel, sold using eleven external dealers throughout Europe. Each dealer carries a wide range of steel grades for different uses. To increase sales volumes SSAB want to have the right support for their dealers. In this thesis the organizations and individuals who influence in the buying decision are identified as well as their buying behavior and the information that is needed in the sales situations. The requirements on the tool steel derive not only from the toolmaker itself but also from end users of a product further down the product chain. The study indicates that communication of benefits along the chain difficult because is not well integrated. The decision of what steel to buy is often made by the tool designer and these are influenced by a number of other individuals. It is also found that risk aversion and conservatism are barriers for product introductions.

Sales is the foundation for all commercial business and companies that have the best sales process in conjunction with efficient deliveries will do well in the long run. The author of this report was tasked by the Organisation in South Africa to study new/alternative ways of attracting Swedish companies to South Africa and sell the services of the Organisation to these same companies (defined as the sales process in this report) by analysing how similar international service companies do the same. A benchmarking process has been conducted with four similar service organizations in South Africa to examine how these companies work in comparison to the Organization. Surveys have been used for purposes of this study, as the methodology is well suited to provide the author a view on the opinions, perceptions and experiences of the respondents. The project aimed to develop new methods to attract Swedish companies to South Africa or improve and streamline the existing methods. The aim was also to develop new ways to sell the organization's services to Swedish companies. The study concludes that there is little focus on marketing of services within the Organisation. Focus seems to lie more on general customer calls. In addition there is often a lack of clarity regarding customer requirements and needs reducing the ability of the Organisation to match companies with specific opportunities on the South African market. Furthermore, the segmentation can be improved. This report concludes with a number of practical recommendations, which should be implemented immediately in order to improve the sales process short term. The Organisation is, among other things, recommended to improve marketing of opportunities to Swedish companies in order to reach a point where the Organisation has a long term focus to increase the number of potential customers that contacts the Organisation by their own initiative. The author of this report does however,  recommend that the Organisation start a long-term process of restructuring marketing within the Organisation. Furthermore, segmentation should be reconsidered to ensure that the Organisation can identify opportunities and relay these to the right type of existing customers, alternatively to new customers. / Försäljning utgör grunden i alla kommersiella företag och det företag som på bästa sätt sköter sin försäljning tillsammans med leveransen av varan eller tjänsten kommer att vinna i längden. Författaren har fått i uppdrag av Organisationen i Sydafrika att undersöka nya/alternativa sätt för att attrahera svenska företag till Sydafrika och sälja Organisationens tjänster till dessa företag (definierat som säljprocessen i denna undersökning) genom att analysera hur liknande internationella tjänsteföretag i Sydafrika gör. En processjämförelse har därför genomförts med fyra liknande tjänsteföretag i Sydafrika för att undersöka hur dessa företag arbetar i jämförelse med Organisationen. I denna undersökning har metoden surveyundersökning använts. Intervjuer lämpade sig bra då författaren får en insikt i respondentens åsikter, uppfattningar och erfarenheter. Syftet med projektet var att utveckla nya metoder för att attrahera svenska företag till Sydafrika alternativt förbättra och effektivisera den existerande metoder. Syftet var även att utveckla nya sätt att sälja Organisationens tjänster till de svenska företagen. Undersökningen konstaterade att organisationen arbetar väldigt lite med marknadsföring av sina tjänster och förlitar sig mer på generella kundsamtal. Det är dessutom ofta oklart vad det är kunderna efterfrågar vilket innebär att Organisationen har begränsad kapacitet att matcha företag med specifika möjligheter på den Sydafrikanska marknaden. Vidare kan segmenteringen inom Organisationen förbättras. Denna rapport avslutas med ett antal praktiska rekommendationer som bör implementeras med omedelbar verkan för att på kort sikt förbättra säljprocessen. Organisationen rekommenderas bl.a. att förbättra arbetet med att marknadsföra affärsmöjligheter till de svenska företagen för att komma till ett läge där Organisationen försöker arbeta långsiktigt och öka antalet potentiella kunder som själva kontaktar organisationen. Författaren rekommenderar dock att Organisationen påbörjar ett arbete med att på längre sikt omstrukturera marknadsföringen inom Organisationen. Vidare bör man även se över segmenteringen för att försäkra sig om att Organisationen kan identifiera möjligheter och förmedla dessa till rätt typ av existerande kunder, alternativt till nya kunder.

Teorinėje darbo dalyje išnagrinėta asmeninio pardavimo samprata, asmeninio pardavimo tikslai ir uždaviniai, asmeninio pardavimo proceso etapai, asmeninio pardavimo technikos bei asmeninės pardavėjų savybės pardavimo procese, remiantis lietuvių ir užsienio autorių moksliniais literatūros šaltiniais. Tyrimui atlikti pasirinktas kokybinis tyrimo metodas – stebėjimas. Stebėjime dalyvavo parduotuvių tinklo „Mada vaikams“ 12 pardavėjų. Atlikus stebėjimą nustatyta, kad asmeninio pardavimo proceso etapus naudoja visos pardavėjos, tačiau efektyviausiai naudojami „Susitikimas su klientu“ ir „Prekės pristatymo“ etapai. Stebėjimo metu paaiškėjo, kad darbuotojos geriausiai naudoja neverbaliką ir prezentacijos technikas, o pardavimo procese labiausiai pasireiškusios pardavėjų asmeninės savybės yra prekės išmanymas, dėmesingumas, atkalumas, kantrumas ir lankstumas. Darbo pabaigoje pateiktos išvados ir rekomendacijos, literatūros sąrašas ir priedai. / Based on the scientific references from the Lithuanian and foreign authors the theoretical part of the paper considers the personal sales concept, goals and objectives of personal sales, stages of personal sales process, techniques of personal sales, and personal qualities of the sales assistants taking part in the personal sales process. Observation - the qualitative study method was elected for the purpose. 12 sales assistants of the retail network "Mada vaikams" were observed. The observation study showed that all of the sales assistants were applying elements (stages) of personal sales, however the most efficient ones proved to be the stages "Meet the customer" and "Goods presentation". The study also showed that the assistants were most successful in applying non-verbal and presentation techniques, and the personal qualities of the sales assistants showed during the process were attentiveness, persistence, patience and flexibility. Conclusions and recommendations, list of references and supplements are presented at the closing part of the paper.

Background: The result of our interactive information society is that sales business has shifted from a tactical to a strategical focus, thus companies have had to adapt to this change. The evolution of sales shows that companies have gone from one static model to another, which is discarded by the new concept ‘insight selling’ claiming that it through insights is possible to be forceful in the, these days, rough sales climate. Purpose: The purpose of the report is to form an understanding of how insight sales affect a sales process. Research question: How does insight selling affect the B2B sales process? Methodology: Process mapping through interviews in combination with organizational documents. Findings: Insight selling affects the sales process by a clearer research mindset and a change in communication in relation to the customer.

L’objectif de cette étude ne concerne pas seulement les facteurs de succès de l’internationalisation, mais plus particulièrement les facteurs de succès de la vente dans le contexte de l’internationalisation, donc le noyau réel du succès de l’internationalisation. Fondamentalement, il n’existe pas de recherche sur les facteurs de succès dans le processus de vente à l’exportation, donc de recherche plus approfondie sur les facteurs de succès généraux dans le processus de vente. La recherche discutée à ce propos a été examinée sur deux plans: au niveau organisationnel et au niveau individuel. Il s’agit d’une enquête portant sur 788 PME suisses, dans lesquelles 876 personnes ont été interrogées. Près de 80% de ces personnes étaient les CEO des entreprises qui ont pris part à l’enquête, alors que 20% appartenaient au Senior Management. La vue d’ensemble de l’analyse quantitative et qualitative fait apparaître un résultat relativement cohérent : les entreprises qui ont du succès agissent de manière fondamentalement plus personnelle et individualisée dans les différentes dimensions comme le nombre de canaux de distribution, le nombre de stratégies de traitement du marché, le focus sur une largeur d’assortiment plus limitée, le développement et l’importance du collaborateur dans la vente et du processus de vente individualisé qui repose sur le client et non pas sur des instruments standardisés (techniques de vente, matériel de présentation standardisés, etc.). Cette tendance a aussi été relevée dans la littérature émanant de la recherche dans le domaine des facteurs de succès et de la recherche sur l’entrepreneuriat dans le domaine de l’internationalisation / The aim of this study is not only to consider success factors in internationalization, but more particularly success factors for sales in the context of internationalization, in other words, the real kernel of success in internationalization. Basically, there is no available research on success factors in the process of export sales, i.e. more in-depth research on general success factors in sales processes. The research discussed on this question has been examined on two levels: the organizational level and the individual level. The survey covered 788 Swiss SMEs, in which 876 people were questioned. Close to 80% of those questioned were the CEOs of the companies which participated in the survey, while 20% were members of Senior Management. The view of the ensemble of the quantitative and qualitative analysis produces a relatively coherent result: companies that are successful fundamentally act in a more personal and individualized manner in the different dimensions, such as the number of distribution channels, the number of market processing strategies, the focus on a more limited product range, the development and the importance of the employee in the sale and individualized sales process which is based on the client and not on standardized instruments (sales techniques, standardized presentation materials etc.). This tendency was also highlighted in the literature coming from the research in the field of success factors and research into entrepreneurship in the field of internationalization