The Sales Force Management Audit

A narrow definition of the term audit would denote the performance of activities that are diagnostic and descriptive but not prescriptive in nature. We feel, however, that because the firm is expending resources to have the sales force management audit performed and because the audit should be performed with considerable objectivity—which will be discussed later in the article—the audit should not only be diagnostic and descriptive, but prescriptive as well. The auditor should make recommendations to management based upon the results of the audit.

Schuchman A. , “The Marketing Audit: Its Nature, Purposes, and Problems,” in Thompson H. A. (ed.), The Great Writings in Marketing (Tulsa: The Petroleum Publishing Co., 1977), pp. 132–141.

See, for example, Kotler P. , Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1975), p. 55–75; Kotler P. Gregor W. Rodgers W. , “The Marketing Audit Comes of Age,” Sloan Management Review, Vol. 18 (Winter 1977), pp. 25–43; Schuchman , op. cit.

United States, Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977).

Enis B. M. , Personal Selling: Foundations, Process, and Management (Santa Monica, Ca.: Goodyear Publishing Co., Inc., 1979). 6; “Down with Commissions?” Sales and Marketing Management, Vol. 124 (4 February 1980), p. 12.

“Cost of an Industrial Sales Call Climbs to $96.79,” Laboratory of Advertising Performance, McGraw-Hill Research Department (1978).

See Robertson D. H. Bellenger D. N. , Sales Management (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1980); Still R. R. Cundiff E. W. Govoni N. A. P. , Sales Management: Decisions, Policies, and Cases (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976); Hall W. P. , “Improving Sales Force Productivity,” Business Horizons, Vol. 18 (August 1975), pp. 32–42.

Kotler Gregor Rodgers , op. cit.

“Xerox Goes Retail,” Sales and Marketing Management, Vol. 124 (17 March 1980), p. 26; “IBM Tries Low-Cost Selling,” Sales and Marketing Management, Vol. 124 (17 March 1980), p. 11.

For a detailed discussion about the necessity of getting input from sales training personnel, sales managers, and salespeople when designing a sales training program, see Dubinsky A. J. , Sales Training: An Analysis of Field Sales Techniques (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1980).

Schuchman , op. cit., p. 140.

For a discussion about how to select an outside consultant, see Wittreich W. J. , “How to Buy/Sell Professional Services,” Harvard Business Review, Vol. 44 (March-April 1966), pp. 127–138.