[MUSIC] The sales operations specialization is a five-course sequence. It's designed to give you an overview and understanding of the role of a sales manager. So this is the first course, and we need to covert a number of different topics, first we want to give you a overview of this specialization and what to expect. After this, we will provide both an overview of the sales management function, as well as the concept of strategic management, and how sales fits into that activity. So much of what sales does depends on the overall goals of the firm. And if you don't have a rock solid understanding of the firm goals, it's very difficult to manage sales. We'll also cover the task of sales management, the skill sets that are required a sales manager, and the challenges facing sales managers. All of this is designed to give you a general overview of the profession. The subsequent courses in this specialization provide a deeper dive into each of the tasks of sales management. We conclude this first course with a review of the basics of personal selling. Now course two, this covers sales force design and the recruitment aspects of sales management. As part of that, you'll learn about three important documents, the job analysis, job description, and job qualification statement. We will also cover the recruitment process, as well as the sources for recruiting salespeople. >> Course three covers sales force compensation and a related topic, settings sales force quotas or goals. Of all the tools available to motivate a direct sales force, compensation is the most important. Think about it. How important is compensation to you? If you're like me, compensation is pretty important. We will focus on how compensation plans are created. How managers decide what to pay salespeople, and the various methods used to pay individuals. We'll also cover sales quotas. A sales quota is a performance goal set for a period of time. Quotas are tied to compensation, and frequently used in calculating bonuses and other forms of incentive compensation. Finally we will cover managing salesforce expenses. We will also describe goals of a salesforce expense plan, and the various methods for controlling expenses. We'll wrap up this course with some current research on today's compensation and quota practices. >> Course four focuses on a number of managerial topics. We first discuss two kinds of planning activities, sales forecast, and sales budget. A sales forecast is an estimate of sales that a firm expects to achieve in a stated time period for a given market. A sales budget is a detailed plan that begins with the sales forecast, but adds a detailed itemization of the cost of achieving those sales goals. After this, we discuss the concept of sales territories and provide two approaches to creating sales territories. We also discuss how a sales manager should evaluate sales performance, and then we conclude with a discussion of the legal and ethical aspect of sales. The fifth and final course in this specialization is a capstone project. You will be tasked with finding a business that has a sales function or operation. You are asked to identify the manager responsible for the sales function, often called the sales manager, and interview this person on the sales management practices at this firm. The interview should touch on the various concepts that we present in this specialization. Salesforce design, recruitment, motivation, compensation, training and evaluation. This will give you a chance to see how these concepts operate in the real world. While these courses can be taken individually, when you do the entire specialization, you will gain the necessary knowledge to function as a sales manager. >> Each course features a combination of lectures, readings, activities, and exams. A good place to begin is with a lecture. This provides a good overview of a particular topic. We've given you additional readings that do a deeper dive into the topics. In addition, we've supplemented our lectures with interviews with practicing sales professionals to give you a real world perspective. There are also assignments and discussion boards for you to experience some of the concepts that we cover, as well as short exams to test your comprehension of the topic. Wow, now that may seem like a lot of material, but we've broken this down into manageable pieces, and with a commitment on your part, you can succeed. This is probably a good time to talk about your responsibilities and best practices, so that you can succeed with this specialization. >> Students who do well with this course do so because they make a time commitment and are honest with themselves to stick to that time commitment. We all lead very busy lives, and if you wait for some free time to do this course, you will probably have a hard time finishing. You have to make this a priority. >> We suggest you try to complete one module per week. Most courses have four or five modules, so you should be able to complete a course in about five weeks. You need to log in regularly. The really successful students schedule a set amount of time, like 30 to 60 minutes every day for coursework. It is important that you complete assignments and exams. The assignments are designed to have you put into practice what is covered in the course. To some degree, this is like cooking. I mean you can read all the recipe books in the world, but there is no substitute to getting into the kitchen and actually cooking a recipe. Exams are an important check on your understanding of the key concepts that we're teaching. >> Finally, don't be afraid to ask for help. It seems so obvious, but there's plenty of help within the Coursera system. And should you run into a problem, please reach out. Your fellow students are also a helpful resource, don't be afraid to reach out to other students. You have taken an important step and sought out Coursera. With a commitment of time, you can succeed. So good luck.
