Sibongile Matakane’s Post

Account Management: In FMCG Account Management in the FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) sector refers to the management of relationships with key clients or retail partners to ensure the smooth flow of products from manufacturers to consumers. It focuses on maintaining and growing business relationships with large retailers, distributors, and wholesalers. Account managers work to maximize sales, improve product placement, and optimize pricing strategies through these partnerships. Key Elements of Account Management in FMCG: 1. Key Account Management (KAM): KAM involves managing relationships with high-priority clients, often large supermarket chains, wholesalers, or distributors. The goal is to foster long-term partnerships, negotiate better shelf space, and create tailored promotional strategies. 2. Trade Agreements and Negotiation: Account managers negotiate contracts with retailers, discussing terms of sale, volume discounts, payment schedules, and promotional allowances. 3. Category Management: This involves working closely with retailers to manage product assortments within certain categories, ensuring that the FMCG products are aligned with shopper trends and market demands. 4. Sales Targets and Performance Tracking: Account managers are responsible for meeting sales targets for their accounts and continuously monitoring performance to ensure growth. They analyze sales data and market trends to inform pricing and promotion strategies. 5. Promotional Planning: Working with marketing teams, account managers develop promotional strategies such as in-store displays, price reductions, or special promotions to boost product visibility and sales. 6. Relationship Management: Building and maintaining strong, trust-based relationships with key accounts is crucial. Account managers often act as the liaison between the FMCG company and the client, resolving any issues and ensuring smooth operations. 7. Supply Chain Coordination: Account managers collaborate with supply chain teams to ensure product availability, minimize stockouts, and handle logistics and delivery schedules efficiently.

Basics of Sales Force Management in FMCG industry. Sales force management in the FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) context involves overseeing and optimizing the performance of a company's sales team to achieve sales targets and drive market penetration. Given the competitive nature of FMCG markets, effective sales force management is crucial for success. Its key aspects include: 1. Recruitment and Training Hiring skilled sales representatives who understand the FMCG market and training them on product knowledge, sales techniques, and customer relationship management. Continuous training is essential to keep the team updated on new products and market trends. 2. Sales Strategy and Planning Developing clear sales strategies aligned with business goals, including target setting, territory management, and account planning. This involves identifying key accounts, setting sales quotas, and determining the most effective routes and channels for product distribution. 3. Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Using sales analytics and KPIs (e.g., sales volume, market share, customer acquisition) to track individual and team performance. Regular assessments help identify areas for improvement and recognize top performers. 4. Motivation and Incentives Implementing motivational strategies, including commission structures, bonuses, and recognition programs, to drive sales force productivity. Keeping the sales team motivated is critical, given the high-pressure environment of FMCG sales. 5. Customer Relationship Management Ensuring the sales team effectively manages relationships with retailers, distributors, and other key stakeholders. Strong relationships are vital for securing shelf space, negotiating terms, and ensuring product availability. 6. Adaptation to Market Changes FMCG markets are dynamic, so the sales force must be agile, adapting to changes in consumer behavior, market conditions, and competition. This requires ongoing market research and flexible sales tactics. Generally, sales force management in FMCG is about driving efficiency, maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction, and ensuring that the company’s products achieve maximum market penetration and visibility. #SalesTraining #TeamDevelopment&Mentorship

*"Boosting Sales in FMCG: Core Functions of a Sales Executive"* *Sales Target Achievement:* Exceeding sales targets for products within their assigned territory. They drive sales growth by actively selling to retailers & wholesalers. *Field Sales & Market Visits:* The role involves extensive fieldwork, visiting stores & retailers to ensure that products are well-stocked, and displayed, and that new products are introduced effectively. *Distributor & Retailer Management:* Maintains close relationships with distributors and retailers, ensuring they receive adequate product supplies, addressing stock issues, and supporting them in selling products. *Market Intelligence & Competitor Analysis:* Gathering data on competitors’ activities, including pricing, promotions, and product launches. *Promotions & Merchandising:* Implement promotional strategies, including in-store displays, and ensuring product visibility and merchandising according to company standards. *Customer Relationship Management:* Building and maintaining strong relationships with retailers, ensuring they are satisfied with the products and services and resolving any issues they encounter. *Order Processing & Payment Collection:* Sales process from placing orders to ensuring timely delivery and processing payments. This includes following up on outstanding payments and maintaining healthy credit terms with customers. *Sales Reporting:* Preparing regular reports on sales performance, market conditions, and distributor feedback. *New Product Launches:* Assisting in the introduction of new products to the market, educating retailers and customers about product benefits, and ensuring smooth market entry. * Route Planning:* Efficiently planning routes and visit schedules to cover the maximum number of outlets, optimizing time spent in the field. #sales #saleslife #FMCGSales #SalesGrowth #FieldSales #MarketPenetration #CustomerRelationships #ProductMerchandising #SalesReporting #NewProductLaunch

A must known FMCG sales terminologies

The Power of Planning and Preparation FMCG sales representatives operate in a highly competitive landscape, where multiple brands vie for shelf space and consumer attention. To succeed, it is crucial to make every sales call count. This requires effective preparation, which is the key to unlocking successful sales calls. Without proper preparation, you risk losing credibility, failing to address customer pain points, and missing opportunities to upsell or cross-sell. On the other hand, being prepared enables you to: - Build trust and rapport with customers - Tailor your pitch to their unique needs - Close deals and drive revenue growth To prepare for your next sales call, consider the following essential steps: 1. Assemble and review store profiles: A comprehensive document providing valuable information, including store details, product range, categories, and sales data. 2. Analyze customers' current situations and objectives, including:    - Business challenges    - Goals and initiatives    - Current processes and systems    - Market and industry trends 3. Review notes from previous calls by examining and analyzing records of previous interactions with the customer. Want to learn more about preparing for effective sales calls and other fundamental skills for FMCG sales success? Explore the BICMAS FMCG Sales Fundamentals module, designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in the industry. Visit www.bicmasinstitute.org to get started. Invest in your professional growth and take the first step towards becoming a top-performing FMCG sales professional.

FMCG SALES WORDINGS OR TERMINOLOGIES... Cont'd 4. BEAT: A beat in FMCG Sales is a specific area, or region assigned to a salesperson or distributor for sales activities. It could be a particular neighborhood, city, or district where they focus on selling products to retailers or directly to consumers. A beat can also be a market covered by a salesman in one particular day. A salesman can have various number of outlets in each market covered. e. g 36,40,37,38 etc. Therefore, a beat is a collection of outlet that a salesman covered in a single day. A salesman can have 12 beat in a route. Then what is a Route? 5. ROUTE: In simple words, A route is a collection of beats. A route is also the planned path or journey that a salesperson or distributor takes to cover their assigned beats. It includes the sequence of stops at different retail outlets or locations within their beat where they sell or distribute FMCG products. Effectively managing beats and routes is crucial in FMCG sales to ensure optimal coverage, efficient distribution, and maximum sales volume within a given area. It involves planning the most efficient routes to minimize travel time and costs while maximizing sales opportunities at each stop. 6. PRIMARY SALES: These are sales from the company to the distributor. The amount of products that a distributor purchases from a company is called primary Sales. Normally, Area sales managers and Regional managers targets are set on primary sales. 7. SECONDARY SALES: These are sales from the distributor to the wholesaler and retailers. 8. SKU(stock keeping unit): This refers to a specific product from a range of products of a company. For example, 35cl of RC Cola is an SKU of RC drinks of FIRSTBEV LIMITED (Firstbev has other SKUs of RC drinks like 50cl bottle in different flavours etc). #Sales #FMCGsales #Salesmanship #Salesmanagement

Area Sales Manager Span of Control At #ZA consulting when we build the #Sales Strategy and #GTM for an organisation, #Sales structure and heirarchy is a critical part of that process and the one constant question that we get is how to decide on the span of control of a Area Sales Manager. The structure employed by an established and large FMCG company will not work for a medium or a small or new organisation. Here are some considerations for determining the appropriate span of control for an Area Sales Manager: 1 . Nature of the Sales Process: -Complex Sales: If the sales process is intense and involves multiple metrics - Simple Sales: If the sales process is straightforward, with a focus on volume 2. Geographic Distribution: - Concentrated Area-If the Sales is focused in a limited geographic area - Dispersed Area- When sales are spread over a wider expanse of area and distance . 3. Product and SKU Portfolio : - Extensive portfolio -If the number of categories and SKU’s are very high - Limited Portfolio - When there are limited SKU’s to sell . 4. Use of Technology: - High Tech Integration: CRM and Data analytics - Low Tech availability : Manual data collation and communication 5. Distributor/channel partner involvement - Extensive involvement : The distributor provides the primary sales and supply team - Low Involvement : Company is responsible for order generation and collation and distributor is responsible only for supplies 6. Experience and Skills of the Sales Team and Manager -Experienced Team: A team with experienced and skilled sales team - less experience/low skill : Team with less experience need more guidance There are other subjective and overarching corporate criteria which would also determine the span of control 7. Performance Expectations 8. Rate of growth and pace of expansion 9. Organisational Structure Generally, a span of control between 5 to 12 direct reports is common, but this can vary based on the specific circumstances and needs as outlined above. Sandeep Zutshi Suresh Venkat Arvind Venkatachary Vivek Bhatnagar Sheetal Mahurkar-Mukherjee S P Subramanian Suresh Ramachandran

The Span of control of a Manager is a critical decision as it has a direct corelation to Efficiency , Performance and Productivity and importantly it varies for each organisation depending on its size , shape and stage of the organisation. #ZAConsulting##SalesStructure

I am looking for a proactive Sales Monitoring Executive to manage and streamline sales operations. Key tasks include preparing sales reports, tracking primary and secondary sales, ensuring timely order completion, and maintaining distributor stock levels. The role also involves sales forecasting, stock audits, and coordinating with teams for smooth operations and accurate reporting. #salesmonitoring #salesoperations #fmcgjobs #salescareers #dataanalysis #salesforecasting #jobopportunity #salesreporting #salescoordination #msproficiency #careeropportunities #stockmanagement #salesgrowth #jobsinFMCG #timelydeliveries

Dear Sales Managers, Setting the sales pace in an FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) business requires a combination of strategic planning, goal setting, and continuous monitoring. Here are key steps to help set the sales pace effectively: 1. Set Clear Sales Targets: Break down annual sales goals into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and even daily targets. Ensure these targets are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). 2. Analyze Market Trends: Regularly monitor market dynamics, consumer behavior, and competitor actions to adjust your sales targets. Staying agile will help you respond to market changes faster. 3. Focus on Key Accounts: Prioritize high-value customers and retail partners that contribute significantly to your sales. Building strong relationships with key accounts can boost sales volumes quickly. 4. Optimize Route-to-Market Strategies: Evaluate your distribution channels, ensure that the right products are reaching the right outlets, and focus on expanding coverage in high-potential regions. 5. Promotions and Trade Marketing: Implement effective promotional campaigns and trade marketing strategies. Timely offers, discounts, and in-store displays can drive up sales velocity. 6. Sales Team Alignment and Incentives: Ensure your sales team understands the sales goals and is motivated to meet them. Providing regular performance feedback, offering incentives, and conducting training will keep the team focused and proactive. 7. Regular Monitoring and Adjustments: Continuously track key performance indicators (KPIs) like coverage, productivity, drop size, market share. Adjust the sales plan if necessary to maintain momentum. 8. Leverage Data Analytics: Use real-time sales data to monitor progress. Sales dashboards, Secondary sales systems, and analytics tools can provide insights into what’s working and where improvements are needed. By implementing these steps, you can set a pace that encourages steady growth and maximizes sales potential in the FMCG sector. #sales #salesandmarketing #salescareers #salesforce #salescoaching #salesexecutive #salesexcellence #salesexcellence #salesdevelopment #salesenablement #saleseffectiveness #salescoach #salesforcedeveloper #salesautomation #salesconsultant #salesforceconsultant #salesdirector #salesforceadmin #salesexpert #salesandoperationsplanning #salesforcecertified #management #innovation #humanresources #digitalamarketing #career #motivation #growth #achievement #partnership #businessgrowth #fmcg #fmcgproducts #fmcgindustry #fmcgbusiness #hamdard #dhasuffa #greenwich #kasbit #suffa #pafkiet #karachiuniversity #universityofkarachi #KU #iobm #cbm #iqrauniversity #szabist #lums #IBA #farrukhwaseem