Telenor Sales Report free essay sample

Telenor Pakistan Sales Management Report Submitted By: Humair Ahmed Khan Kandhari M. Moiz-Ul-Haq Submitted to: Mr. Javed Mehmood Contents Acknowledgement3 Vision and Values4 Company Overview4 Telenor Products and services6 Products6 Services7 The Competition9 The Hierarchy11 Departments within different regions11 The Sales Channels12 The Sales Hierarchy14 Selling Methodology15 Prospecting15 Qualifying15 Foot in the door15 Presenting the sales pitch15 Closing the Deal16 Follow Up16 Sales Forecasting17 Sales Budgeting17 Compensation18 Employee Motivation18 Reward System18 Compensation and benefit plans18 Salary policy19 Performance Appraisal System19 Frequency of the Performance Review19 Practices at Telenor for Performance Appraisal System20 Performance Review20 Recommendations23 Appendix24 Acknowledgement We extend my heartfelt gratitude to Telenor Pakistan for this wonderful opportunity and experience. We would specially like to thank Ms. Saadia Pervez, Area Manager, South 1, Mr. Athar Ali Shah, MNP Executive, Mr. Muhammad Raza, Postpaid Executive and the Sales Distribution Department specially the Operations Team for helping us on our report. Most importantly, we are grateful to the Mr. Javed Mehmood and the Institute of Business Administration for empowering us with enlightening education that is constantly being reinforced by all our experiences with the professional world. We thank everyone sincerely and deeply. Vision and Values The vision of Telenor is: â€Å"Were here to help† Telenor deeply focuses on facilitating its customers to get full benefits through the different communications services. A lot of credit to achieving this goal needs to be given to the Telenor sales team. The vigilance and dedication with which they work enables that Telenor remains accessible at even the most distant places in Pakistan. Telenor’s four core values provide the guiding principle for their entire sales team. The core values are: * Make it Easy * Keep Promises * Be Inspiring * Be Respectful From the perspective of the sales team their main task is to make it easy for Telenor’s products and services to reach the customers and deliver the promises that the company makes. Amongst the sales team the seniors or the team leads lead from the front and inspire the best performance out of their teams. But in the entire process the sales persons are required to respect each other irrespective of their rank, status, caste, influence or any other factor. These core values are made an integral part of the culture at Telenor through constant trainings of the employees so that these values are ingrained in their every activity. Company Overview Telenor Pakistan acquired a GSM license in 2004 and began commercial operations on March 15, 2005. At the end of May 2010 it had a reported subscriber base of 23. 65 million, and a market share of 24% making it the countrys second largest mobile operator. Telenor Pakistan is the countrys single largest European investor, with investments in excess of US$2 billion. Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by the Telenor Group, an international provider of high quality voice, data, content and communication services in 14 markets across Europe and Asia. Telenor Group is among the largest mobile operators in the world with over 195 million mobile subscriptions in 2010 and a workforce of approximately 34,000. Offering mobile financial services In November 2008, Telenor Pakistan acquired 51% of Tameer Microfinance Bank. In 2009 Easypaisa was launched. This made Telenor first telecom operator in Pakistan to partner with a bank to offer mobile financial services. Contributing to Pakistans economy The Company continues to contribute to Pakistans economy. Here are some of the key features: * Telenor has created 2,500 direct and 25,000 plus indirect jobs. * Expansion of Telenor’s sales network has resulted in 29 sales ; service centers, more than 250 franchises and around 150,000 retailers. This has provided means to livelihood to thousands. * For 2010 it is estimated that Telenor Pakistan contributed around Rs30 billion in various forms of direct and indirect taxes to the economy of Pakistan. Internet service provider Telenor Pakistan provides wide EDGE connectivity across the country. It has one of the largest data networks (GPRS) in Pakistan providing Internet services to customers. Environmentally conscious Telenor Pakistan has taken and continues to implement a number of environmentally-friendly initiatives. These include mainstreaming energy efficiency and alternate energy solutions, and implementing occupational health ; safety practices that comply with international standards. In January 2010, Telenor became the first telecom operator in Pakistan to receive ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certification for Information Security Management System for mobile banking services. Corporate Responsibility Khuddar Pakistan is Telenor flagship corporate responsibility program. This program aims to create dignified opportunities for persons with disabilities. The purpose is to become the most disabled-friendly organization in Pakistan in terms of employment, service, and community support. Telenor Products and services Products Telenor provide products of two types 1. Prepaid 2. Postpaid Prepaid packages are * Dejuice * Talkshawk The prepaid customers after purchasing the connection need to pay upfront for the service charges. These charges can be paid through the scratch card or easy load facility that is available at retail stores. The sales teams ensure that both these facilities are available at the maximum number of retail outlets. To ensure availability, the retailers are offered several incentives. For instance under one of the schemes the retailer was given a particular target to achieve for the month and on achieving this target certain gifts were given to him. Once a target is achieved it is revised and a new target is assigned. On achieving three months targets a bigger price such as motorcycle or television were kept. The key for the sales team is to maintain strong relationship with the retailers. The sales people in the telecom sector are considered fortunate since retailers are often very keen to keep their scratch cards and easy load. This makes it imperative for the team leads to continuously reminding the sales team that no matter what they need to respect and maintain a strong bond with the channel members. Postpaid offers are * Persona individual * Persona karobar Bills are sent to the postpaid customers who pay their dues just like any utility bill. Usually corporate purchase the persona packages for their individual or company needs. For the sales corporate sales is challenge. Sales person have to visit several companies and individuals whom they prospect to be their customer. Services Apart from the usual communications services, Telenor Group provides a wide range of innovative services. Here is a selection. Mobile Fun Following are the mobile fun service of Telenor. Mobile Sports Sends a text message alerting about a sportive highlight at the instant it happens. Mobile Music The Telenor music service allows around 1 million songs ready to be downloaded to the mobile. These songs can easily be shared by the customer because these songs are digital rights management-free. Mobile TV The customer has available his favorite TV shows in his pocket and watch them anytime, anywhere. Live TV channels can also be accessed on the move by the customer through the fast EDGE internet service of Telenor. Mobile Communities With Telenor the customer can access communities such as Windows Live MSN and Facebook on his mobile. Mobile Interaction Following are mobile interaction services providing by Telenor. ApnaPCO Share a Mobile ApnaPCO is a business-in-a-box solution, which allows people in remote areas to share a mobile phone where there are no other alternatives. TeleDoctors Through Telenor the customers can get expert medical advise by simply dialing 1911. This connects the customer with experienced doctors who can help him with his problems wherever he is in the country. Mobile in Flight The consumer can call your colleagues, customers, friends and family whilst in flight from his mobile phone using AeroMobile secure mobile communication technology. Mobile at Sea Maritime Communications Partner enables mobile phone coverage by installing and operating the ship borne radio networks, linking the vessels with public networks via satellite. Mobile Marketing The customer needs to register his phone number with his favorite shops and services. This will allow him to receive sms’s regarding the latest events and offers. Child Internet Protection The Security Shield technology offered by Telenor protects children from accessing sites that have not previously been approved or from coming into contact with unsuitable people on the Internet. Children have their own login with a protected desktop controlled by parents. Mobile Commerce Mobile commerce services of Telenor are as follow: Easy Paisa Easy paisa is a unique service offered by telenor. This service allows the customer to send your mony nationwide. The customer just needs to present his id at the Easy Paisa outlet and his money can be transferred to the desired person within seconds who can collect it from his nearest easy paisa outlet. CellBazaar Marketplace in Your Pocket This service has truly bridged the gap between the urban and rural areas by making trade very convenient between them. Using CellBazaar, buyers and sellers in Pakistan can trade basic goods from their mobile phones. BillPay Pay by Phone BillPay is an innovative service, the first of its kind in Pakistan. This service provides for the bill payment of utilities services and for other companies electronically via the cell phone. Customers can pay their utility bills and other bills through this service regardless of whether they own a mobile connection or not. The Competition The telecommunications sector of Pakistan has seen tremendous growth over the last decade. From a subscriber base of merely 0. 3 million the number of telecom users has exploded to over 90 million users. The growth has stalled over the last couple of years due to market saturation and general drop in the income levels of the country. There are five prominent mobile operators that are currently active in Pakistan: 1. Mobilink is the market leader with a market share of 33%. The market share for Mobilink has gradually eroded due to competition coming in. However due to its strength in the corporate sales it still sits comfortably at the top. The prominent products for Mobilink include: a. Jazz- Prepaid b. Indigo- Postpaid 2. Telenor has the second highest market share in terms of subscribers of 24%. 3. Ufone has a market share of 19% and is known for its strong marketing campaigns. Ufone is the closest competitor to Telenor in terms of subscriber base. Ufone also has separate prepaid and postpaid products but has a name for each package within these categories. 4. Warid is next with a 17% market share. Zem is its prepaid product whereas it also offers a postpaid product. 5. Zong entered into the market by acquiring PAKTEL and since then has gained a market share of 7%. The Hierarchy Telenor Pakistan is divided into the following five regions. Its corporate headquarters are in Islamabad, with regional offices in Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, and Hyderabad. These regions are divided into further departments. Departments within different regions The regions are divided into various departments which include: 1. People Excellence- looks after recruiting, training and developing employees. At Telenor Pakistan the Human Resource Department is called the People Excellence. 2. Sales ; Distribution- looks after the sales and distribution of various products through the franchise, retailers and sahulat ghar. 3. Sales ; Service Centre- looks after the sales and distribution of various products through the walk in centers which are company maintained and managed. 4. Corporate Sales- handles direct postpaid sales done to organizations, SMEs and other corporate individuals 5. Technology Departments; Radio Frequency Handling Department, Networking Department, Field Operations, Real Estate Management- all these departments handle the technology related works and manages the issues pertaining to networking and the functioning of GSM network. 6. IT Departments- handles the IT issues faced by employees. 7. ESS- works on software development thereby providing an easy and user friendly interface for employees to communicate. 8. Organization Support ; Service- looks after managing the activities at the office, performs the task looked by the administration department. The Sales Channels From the sales perspective the functioning of the sales and customer services departments is critical since they are the face of the company and at the forefront of all company challenges. Sales department Indirect sales * Manage the franchise network * Ensure achievement of sales target of franchise * Coordinate with other departments for development programs * Training of franchise staff Direct sale (corporate sales) * Meet assigned sales targets throughout the  year * Maximize customer satisfaction and minimize churn * Generate new accounts and manage old ones * Strong follow-up Customer services Department The customer services department handles the following responsibilities: * To facilitate and guide the customer * To resolve customer’s queries, requests and provide  optimal solution in minimum turnaround time, keeping both companies and customer interest in focus. * To inform and update customers about upcoming promos, AS and products. * To minimize cost and  increase revenue The Sales Hierarchy The smallest unit of division of the sales force at Telenor is a territory which is assigned a territory sales supervisor who is responsible for around five territory sales officers. The territory sales supervisors report to the assistant managers. The company has been divided into five regions each with a regional manager and a regional director that oversee their regions. They report to the national sales director. Selling Methodology At Telenor the sales can be broadly divided into the indirect and direct sales (corporate sales). The indirect sales require the sales persons to visit different retail outlets and ensure their cards and POS material are in place. Corporate selling involves greater degree of personal selling where the sales person tries to convince the individual to purchase the Telenor connection. This approach is adopted for high volume customers who would purchase the connection for themselves or their company. The selling process starts from identifying the target market. The six process introduced in the sales management theory apply here as well. Prospecting The process starts with searching for leads. All business directories, journals, contact persons in SMEs, personal references, references from company colleagues and industrial and trade associations are all sought for potential leads. Most important are the current customers who are requested to refer people who could potentially buy the package. Qualifying The potential customers are narrowed down to identify which of them can actually buy the package Telenor offers. The qualifying is done on the basis of: a. Whether the prospect has the financial strength to keep the package b. Whether the prospect is influential enough to represent the company and can lead to sales from the company. c. Whether he actually needs the package or not Foot in the door When the customer is being studied all the possible links to approach him are also identified. If appropriate he is approached directly through one of these contact person. However most of the times a more formalized approach is adopted where a letter from the company is sent to the person. The letter comprehensively defines the services that are being offered by Telenor who are the current users of these services and what benefits the individual or his company can derive from the package. The letter also contains a formal request to setup a meeting time. Presenting the sales pitch The pitch is usually prepared well in advance and is tailored to the needs of the potential customer. The pitch is the most critical part and in considered as the make or break part of the whole sales process. The pitch starts with the sales person asking the potential customer about what he expects from his mobile service connection. The sales person further tailors his pitch according to the customers needs and also identifies what additional benefits can the customer derive from Telenor’s packages. Closing the Deal The sales person gradually leads the conversation towards the purchase of the package. In this process he handles all the customer complains and finally leads the discussion towards signing of the agreement. Follow Up The sales person conducts a regular follow up with his client for any problems encountered with the package in use. This is very important in establishing a relationship with the customer since Telenor relies quite a lot on reference sales from its current users. Sales Forecasting The sales forecast is essential to plan for future costs and capacity requirements. Variable cost is directly related to the sales volume made while fixed cost is not directly affected. Better sales forecasting result in better inventory management, spot trends in customer buying behaviour, help in better staffing and managing financing etc. The sales forecasting is done is a very systematic manner at Telenor. The corporate clients are assigned an individual territory sales officer who is then responsible for handling the account and servicing it as requirement arises. Sales forecasts are prepared by keeping in view the previous targets and the actual results. If a salesperson does not achieve their targets, their orecast is lowered and targets are cut down, and if a salesperson meets the target, then their target is upgraded, keeping in mind the salesperson’s potential and the market potential. Sales Budgeting A sales budget is the amount of money available or assigned for a definite period. At Telenor it is based on estimates of expenditure during that period and on proposals for financing the budget. These estimates are based on the previous sales trends. Thus the budget depends on the sales forecast and the amount of revenue expected to be generated for the organization during that period. Like any other company, budget is an important factor in the successful operation of the sales forces at Telenor. Top Sales managers spend a great deal of time trying to convince the corporate management to increase the size of their budget Using the Top Down approach, the Sales managers re-distributes the budget for the sales force among lower level managers. Budget funds are also appropriated wisely in order to properly support selling activities that allow sales personnel and total marketing group to reach their performance goals. Compensation The core compensation includes: * Base salary * Bonus/commission * Long-term incentive plans In addition, Telenor offers a total package that may include insurance, recreational activities and other benefits adapted to the local market and individual employee’s need. Sales Managers are rewarded according to their achievements. Apart from monetary rewards, such as variable pays/increments, other motivational tools such as recognition (Employee of the Year rewards) are used. Employee Motivation Telenor’s compensation plan operationalizes the sales force, get them aligned with the business goals, and get them motivated and driven to implement new strategies. Underperforming sales managers are encouraged through mentoring and counseling by their respective directors. At Telenor the goals set for the sales team are such that they challenging and get them into action. The turnover is not high as compared to that of the industry. There is no defined employee exchange program. Employees on their merit are taken up to work in the Telenor Group. Reward System Telenor considers its employees as an investment made from which it expects valuable return. Pay policies and programs are one of the most important human resource tools for encouraging desired employee behaviors. The advantage of paying above the market average is the ability to attract and retain the top talent available, which can translate into highly effective and productive work force. The incentive schemes and incentive objective are clearly communicated to all individuals and weekly progress report is also communicated to all concerned. Compensation and benefit plans Telenor has a different department that deals with staffing and compensation. This department has all the information regarding who is being employed and how he/she is performing. That’s makes it easy for them to design compensation plans because they know every employee inside out who is being hired. Compensation and benefit plans are particularly based on performance. If performance is up to the mark or standard of the company and the employee has good conduct then he/she will be rewarded for sure. After every performance evaluation, results are rechecked and matched with the standards. Based on that, proper compensation plans are designed. Salary policy The company will pay salaries of the employees as fallows * All new employees have to open bank accounts in specified banks prescribed by the company so that their salary can be credited at the end of each month. * Employees should forward this account number to HR. * Upon termination of services the employee will receive his salary within 15 days up to the time of date of his last working day. Upon resignation the employee will be paid his dues during a maximum period of 15 days from the date he left the job Performance Appraisal System Policies at Telenor for Performance Appraisal Objectives: The purpose of this policy is to provide a formal review program to evaluate work performance and to promote communication and discussion of job performance. The intent of these discussions should be to review current job performance and responsibilities, set goals, and discuss future opportunities with reference to past performance at Telenor. The Objectives of the Performance Review Program are: * To measure work performance * To identify employees with high potential for advancement * To provide objective information for making decisions on salary increases, promotions, bonus and transfers. * To motivate and support employees in improving their performance and achieving their personal/professional career goals * To identify employees for training and development * To provide a solid path for career development for each individual Frequency of the Performance Review Informal performance discussions are conducted frequently as and when the need arises. These discussions provide the basis for an objective summarization of performance during formal Performance Reviews and allow more time for discussing future plans and organizational as well as personal objectives. Formal written performance reviews is conducted with all employees annually. Notification along with Performance Evaluation Forms is sent from the Human Resources Department in advance with the scheduled performance evaluation date. All employees will be reviewed at least once at confirmation. Therefore, Performance Reviews is held on an annual basis from the date of hiring or more often if desirable to do so. Practices at Telenor for Performance Appraisal System Telenor uses the computerized performance appraisal method. It conducts performance appraisal in order to evaluate their employee’s current performance or past performance relative to company’s performance standards. Telenor try to adapt the performance appraisal in which their employees understand what his or her performance standards were and that the upervisor also provides the employee with feedback, development, and incentives required to help the person eliminate performance deficiencies or to continue to perform above par. Performance appraisal is conducted to evaluate employee’s performance, current or past, relative to company’s performance standards. Performance for the sales period is reviewed with each individual salesperson. It is noted if that salesperson met the goal that was established at the beginning of the period. If he/she did, the salesperson is given a positive review for meeting the goals. In Telenor the performance appraisal of employees is conducted in December. The Telenor HR department develops a performance appraisal sheet and downloads it on the intranet of Telenor so that the supervisor performs the evaluation of their employees. When the supervisor completes the evaluation, he/she sends the performance appraisal sheet to the employee for the confirmation, if the employee does not agree with the supervisor’s remarks or appraisal he/she will not sign the PA sheet. After the time of submitting PA sheets is crossed, HR department approaches the supervisors and employees having conflict and tries to resolve their problems. Performance Review At Telenor a review is something like an informal discussion between an employee and their Sales Team Leader/ Sales Manager. There are two phases: first in which discussion takes place over area of strength which needs to be built up on as displayed by the job holder over the past year. The second phase is concerned with discussion about the training needs/inputs activities that are considered to be appropriate to help the jobholder overcome some of development areas discussed in the review and also those activities that are deemed appropriate to build upon their current strengths. Appraisal categories The sales personal along with other employees are classified in one of the categories: Appraisal category| Definition of category| % Of total numbers of employees which can be rated in this category | 1. expert| Indicates exceptional performance| 15%| 2. ery Good| Indicate performance that consistently meets the requirements of the position,† very good† indicates the individual is on track for advancements| 10%| 3. Good| Indicated performance that requires improvement (i. e. meet requirements without initiative or advancement)| 8%| 4. Basic | Performance to be improved (hardly meets requirements)| 5%| Training The methods of training differ from function t o function. In training the most important thing, Telenor believes to get across is how this training is going to increase their reps sales, as well as benefit the company. Following are some objectives of training when conducted for sales function. Recommendations Telenor is regarded as the top employers in Pakistan and is doing brilliantly on the business front. However there always is some room for improvement. One of the recommendations for Telenor is develop its muscle in the corporate sales segment. In this segment Mobilink sits comfortably at the top with other companies trying to snatch some share. The Persona package that targets corporate need a stronger push from the corporate sales team since the retail market has matured and telecom companies need to venture elsewhere for growth. Another important recommendation is the training of the sales team. On visiting certain shops and asking about sales personal from different telecom companies the general response was that sales personal have a very hackneyed approach to selling. Telenor could make a difference by adopting unique selling techniques inculcated through their training programs. Appendix Subscribers (From Telenor Resource person) [ 2 ]. http://www. telenor. com. pk/about/history. php [ 3 ]. Telenor resource person