The main themes to be covered are:

• The international personal selling process;

• Market research in the context of planning the sales effort internationally;

• The role of national cultures in international selling;

• Structures and relationships for organizing the international sales force;

• The management of the sales function; and

• The performance evaluation of salespeople and control mechanisms of the international sales effort.

The module schedule is as follows:

INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL PERSONAL SELLING

1. International Personal Selling defined

2. Types of International Salespeople

3. Activities of International Salespeople

4. The International Sales Process

THE INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGEMENT

1. International Sales Management defined

2. Schools of thought and issues on Strategic Management

3. Challenges and opportunities

THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETING RESEARCH

1. Purpose of International Marketing Research

2. Process and Evaluation of Marketing Research

3. Applications of Marketing Research in Sales

UNDERSTANDING CULTURES

1. Culture defined

2. Components of culture

3. The impact of culture on International Sales Management

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES AND RELATIONSHIPS

1. Organisational types

2. Sales organisation structures

3. Sales force deployment

4. Developing forecasts

MANAGING THE SALES EFFORT INTERNATIONALLY

1. Recruitment and selection

2. Developing International Salespeople

3. Supervising the sales effort

EVALUATING AND CONTROLLING PERFORMANCE

1. The control process

2. Criteria for evaluation

3. Performance outcomes and job satisfaction

4. Sales revenues, cost, and profitability analysis