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Chapter 17 – Personal Selling and Sales Management
Teaching Objectives
The problems of managing marketing and sales personnel in global markets is the focus of this chapter.
The unique qualities of American management thinking are contrasted with the variety of cultural
contexts in which American executives must operate around the world. The teaching objectives are:
1) Understanding the crucial role of interpersonal selling in international marketing.
2) Accounting for cultural and other differences in designing an international sales force.
3) Understanding the nuances of recruiting, selecting, evaluating, and motivating international sales
representatives.
4) How to design training programs and compensation systems for international employees.
5) How to prepare Americans for assignments abroad.
6) The important characteristics of the global manager of the 21st century.
Comments and Suggestions
1. One of the key themes of this chapter is well represented in Exhibit 17-4, that is, Japan is the toughest
market for American firms. More adjustments have to me made in sales force management there than
in any other single country. Case 4-4 (National Office Machines) works quite well to make the
differences between the American and Japanese business systems quite clear.
2. A useful homework assignment is asking students to interview a local foreign executive asking
questions about his/her foreign company prepared them for the overseas assignment.
3. A class discussion might be organized around students from other countries (or American students
who have lived in other countries) talking about what aspects of cultural adjustment were most
difficult when coming to the States.
Lecture Outline
I. Designing the Sales Force
II. Recruiting Sales and Marketing Personnel
A. Expatriates
B. Local Nationals
C. Third-Country Nationals
D. Host Country Restrictions
III. Selection of Sales and Marketing Personnel
IV. Training for International Marketers
V. Motivating Sales Personnel
VI. Designing Compensations Systems
A. For Expatriates
B. For A Global Sales Force
VII. Evaluating and Controlling Sales Representatives
VIII. Preparing U.S. Personnel for Foreign Assignments
A. Overcoming Reluctance to Accept a Foreign Assignment
B. Reducing the Rate of Early Returns
C. Successful Expatriate Repatriation
IX. Developing Cultural Awareness
X. The Changing Profile of the Global Manager
XI. Foreign Language Skills
