UPSA Vice-Chancellor, others launch book to address sales challenges in Africa

A book that seeks to equip marketing practitioners with requisite techniques and skills to help achieve their sales vision has been was launched in Accra.

The book titled ‘Sales Management: A Primer for Frontier Markets (2019),’ aims at “educating” practitioners, scholars within the sales industry and students preparing to enter the field of sales and marketing on how to enhance sales, retain customers, build good business relationship with customers and compete effectively on the global market.

Speaking at the launch which took place at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) last Wednesday, February 27, Prof. Ogechi Adeola who spoke on behalf of her co-authors highlighted the need for Africa to address current and future sales challenges confronting the continent.

She noted that modern sales management was beyond merely buying and selling of goods and services and such as, there was the need for countries like Ghana and Nigeria to manage sales processes that created value for customers.

“In our book, the solutions to the current challenges experienced by business owners, marketers, sales practitioners are addressed in a way that will help businesses grow, and look beyond certain goals for short-term profitability,” Prof Adeola stressed.

The 229-page book was jointly-authored by the Vice-Chancellor of UPSA and Professor of Marketing, Prof. Abednego Feehi Okoe Amartey, Prof. Ogechi Adeola, an Associate Professor of Marketing and Academic Director of the Sales and Marketing Academy at the AACSB Accredited Lagos Business School at the Pan Atlanta University as well as the Head of the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the University of Ghana Business School, Prof. Robert Ebo Hinson.

Describing the book as a must-read, Prof Okoe Amartey added that the book successfully combines academic discourse with series of sales techniques and best practices from higher-level strategy to down-in-the-trenches tactics, that would assist sales managers in Africa and beyond better execute their visions.

The CEO of ‘J in G’ Insurance Brokers, Dr. Gideon Amenyedor, who chaired the event bought the first copy for ten thousand cedis (Gh? 10,000) and congratulated the authors for bringing their rich professional and academia knowledge to bare, which he said would be of immense benefit to the country and Africa as a whole.



Review

Reviewing the book, the Head of the Marketing Department at UPSA, Dr. Andrews Akolaa observed that the authors delved into the selling process and takes readers on a ‘voyage’ through various selling stages - from prospecting to making appointments and delivering excellent sales targets.

He said the authors again introduced readers to the concept of marketing and marketing mix with its historical antecedents in the African setting and builds integrated marketing communication and a step-by-step sales management process.

Dr Akolaa also revealed that the book throws the spotlight on sales force compensation and reward system, an add-on, he said, was a motivation to any sales team and a catalyst to achieving high sales performance in a business environment.



About the Book

The ideas in the easy-to-read book are presented in 11 chapters. The first two chapters introduce the concept of personal selling and the personal selling process based on the principles for effective sales. These chapters shift the focus from hard selling to what is known as 'consultative selling'.

The useful framework for managing a successful sales process is provided in the next four chapters of the book. These chapters include general sales management, developing sales forecasts, reviewing sales management, sales planning, and recruitment. Readers would again learn about the sales management process as well as the crucial role of sale forecasting- a particular challenge in frontier markets, personnel recruitment, and customer retention.

Chapters seven to eleven discuss the important relationship between management and staff. Chapter titles here include sales training, sales force reward system and compensation plan, information management and customer relationship management, leading the sales force and evaluating sales force performance.

These chapters provide readers with compelling guidelines that will offer sales managers strategies not only to manage but to motivate, lead and support the sales force.