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EFFECTS OF MOTIVATION ON SALESFORCE PERFORMANCE IN GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC AND MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORK

EFFECTS OF MOTIVATION ON SALESFORCE PERFORMANCE IN GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC AND MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORK

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EFFECTS OF MOTIVATION ON SALESFORCE PERFORMANCE IN GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC AND MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORK

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to assess the effects of motivation on sales force performance at Guinness Nigeria Plc and MTN in the South-East. The primary goal of this research is to investigate the comparative effects of motivation on sales force performance in manufacturing and service industries.

Salespeople are not active and productive because they are frequently late for appointments, fail to fulfil business appointments, provide incorrect information to customers, supply the wrong product brand, return to the office before replying to customer inquiries, and inadequately manage client relationships.

The survey design was chosen, and data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. The generated data was displayed and analysed using tables, simple percentages, and the mean.

The questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 400 marketing and sales people drawn from a population of 892 using the Taro Yamane methodology.

Cronbach Alpha was used to validate the study and test its reliability, yielding an alpha of 0.97. The hypotheses were investigated using ANOVA. The test of hypotheses found no significant variation in the degree of sales force motivation at Guinness Nigeria Plc.

And MTN; it was observed that salary increase, bonus, profit sharing, wages, and team-building were some of the motivational tools mostly used in manufacturing and service companies;

it was disclosed that preferred leave period and participation in decision making did not have a significant effect on sales force performance in Guinness Nigeria Plc and MTN;

it was revealed that insurance scheme, commissions, and regular salary payment had significant effect as the most effective mo Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made: financial support, commission, and compensation should be maintained and increased in manufacturing and service companies because they are effective motivators;

every employee should be highly motivated because satisfied employees will never consider acting negatively. Bonuses and team-building should be considered as motivational factors in any businesses to motivate staff to do their jobs well.

Participating in workshops, providing organisational support, and continuously educating the sales staff are all empowering actions that should be promoted.

In conclusion, phone recharge card allowance, vehicle fuel allowance, luncheon voucher, travel/tour allowance, and dressing allowance were identified as modern sales force motivator measures.

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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

To compete in global marketplaces, organisations prioritise efficient and effective delivery of both physical items and intangible services. Human labour is an important component of the value delivery process in the service supply chain, while physical handling of a product leads to standardised and centralised procedures and controls in manufacturing supply chains (Sengupta et al 2008:1).

Efficient service supply chain management focuses on capacity management, resource flexibility, information flows, service performance, and cash flow management. Demand management, customer relationship management, and supplier relationship management are critical components of both manufacturing and service supply chains.

Salespeople in any organisation, large or little, manufacturing or service, are responsible for generating product sales from assigned client accounts in independent territory.

However, the current selling environment is far more complex, necessitating considerable changes in performance measurements, goals, management, and reward.

The South-East zone is the pinnacle of developing and concentrated firms that employ a sales force east of the Niger. Sales and marketing are becoming increasingly crucial to manufacturing and service enterprises (both large and small) in the Southeast. Unfortunately, the majority of these organisations do not incorporate sales management theories into their sales operations.

They typically rely on previous experience or judgement. Sales management is recognised as a management process activity that requires planning, setting objectives, developing policies,

procedures, strategies, and tactics, organising and coordinating, directing operations, motivating, communicating, developing staff, supervising and controlling, and evaluating results.

In sales management, the Alexander Hamilton Institute said in Kalu (2005:29) that incentive and monitoring are two of the most significant themes. Four success variables for sales success are product and application,

selling skills, time and territory management, and motivation. Only motivation is crucial in any type of selling. Ubanagu (2006:190) defined motivation as the efficient managerial deployment of tangible and intangible rewards.

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to boost employee performance. The obvious and distinguishing element of sales force activity is that it requires personal contact with consumers, i.e., the need to convince through personal visits, as well as the necessity to engage in other activities that are not immediately related to personation.

Thus, all types of sales force or salespeople, including route salespeople, sales clerks, detail salespeople, account representatives, sales engineers, and creative salespeople, require appropriate and proper motivation.

Ubanagu (2006:190) identified three prominent strategies for compensating salespeople: straight salary, straight commission, and combination programmes. He further described as follows:

1. Straight salary: This approach is typically used when management wants to push salespeople to reach goals other than short-term volume. The straight salary method of remuneration is employed in the following situations:

a. Measuring the influence of individual salespeople on sales volume can be challenging and time-consuming.

b. Where salespeople are engaged in missionary selling, such as in MTN Nigeria; and

c. When the selling process is complex and requires a team or multi-level selling effort, like in the case of Guinness Nigeria Plc.

2. Straight commission: A commission is a payment for meeting a specified level of performance and is calculated as a percentage (%) of the sales essence unit volume.

MTN and Guinness, on the other hand, base their commissions on sales profitability in order to incentivize their salespeople to focus their efforts on the most successful products or customers.

3. The Combination Plan combines the basic wage with commissions/bonuses or both. If salary and commission are combined, the commission is connected to sales volume, just like a straight commission plan.

A bonus is a reward granted at the discretion of management for meeting or exceeding a certain level of performance. Meeting quota is frequently the minimum criterion for a salesperson to earn a bonus, as is the case at Guinness Nigeria Plc.

The goal of motivating subordinates/sales force is to get them to attain objectives (results) that benefit the organisation. Managers continue to face the issue of inspiring personnel.

This study will thus evaluate the impacts of motivation on sales force performance in manufacturing and service organisations with a view to creating a comparative analysis, highlighting the areas of differences and similarities, and projecting more effective and current ways of

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Motivating the sales personnel to maximise productivity. Guinness Nigeria Plc and Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) in South-East Nigeria were used for this purpose.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Customers are more demanding now than ever before. The target market requires better goods, services, and more timely and dependable assistance than they had in the past.

The field sales force, which should have a wealth of knowledge and experience about the products, market, competitors, and industry trends, does not appear to be active and effective, as evidenced by failure to keep business promises, providing inaccurate information to customers, and poor customer relationship management.

Specifically, a higher percentage of the sales force in manufacturing and service organisations has been a major perpetrator in these activities, such as being late for work and failing to keep appointments at all.

Others may be extremely unfriendly, even hostile, while serving customers. Some salespeople lose concentration and end up selling the wrong brand of products to customers.

These lead to extended wait times for clients to acquire the goods and services they require, as well as poor performance as some customers lose patience and quit, even turning to alternatives.

Poor sales force attitudes, such as tardiness, delayed sales calls, and a lack of awareness about customer concerns, may contribute to low sales force performance growth in manufacturing and service firms.

The preceding discussions of the sales force in manufacturing and service companies in terms of economic performance raise questions about whether these companies can achieve and sustain high rates of output and growth, generate and sustain large numbers of employees, and compete effectively in the global market.

The failure of a sales force may have industrial, management, and marketing ramifications, which this study intends to investigate and address as a research problem.

Particularly in terms of how the sales force is encouraged to improve productivity through the use of incentives such as salary, sales call allowances, sales bonuses, access to sales vans, product availability, and ongoing sales force training and development.

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1.3 Objectives of the Study

Based on the study’s context and problem statement, the researcher will attempt to:

i) decide the direction from extremely high to very low levels of motivation in the sales force.

Guinness Nigeria Plc, and MTN.

ii) Determine the variations between manufacturing and service firms’ incentive methods for their sales forces.

iii) Determine whether employees’ chosen leave periods and participation in decision making have a substantial impact on sales force performance in the two organisations.

iv) Determine the most effective motivational incentives – insurance plans, commissions, and regular pay – employed by either of the organisations under consideration.

1.4 Research Questions.

Based on the study’s background, problem statement, and aims, the following research questions were raised to lead the study:

1. What is the level of sales force motivation at the two manufacturing and service organisations under consideration (Guinness Nigeria Plc and MTN)?

2. What are the many motivational methods that manufacturing and service organisations utilise on their sales forces?

3. What are the motivational impacts of staff desired leave period and participation in decision making on sales force performance in the two organisations under consideration?

4. What are the most effective sales force motivators employed by either of the companies?

under investigation.

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1.5 Hypotheses of the Study

Following the issue statement, study objectives, and research questions raised, the following hypotheses were created to lead the survey:

1. There is no substantial variation in sales force motivation between Guinness Nigeria Plc and MTN.

2. There is no major difference between the sales force motivational methods employed by manufacturers and service organisations. 3. Preferred schedule vacation period and involvement in decision making had no meaningful effect on sales force performance at Guinness Nigeria PLc or MTN. There are no most effective motivational incentives employed by Nigerian industrial and service organisations.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study examines the effects of motivation on sales force performance in Guinness Nigeria Plc and MTN Nigeria will have a significant impact on the economy’s manufacturing and service output growth.

The study will help marketing managers improve their conceptual, human, and technical skills for analysing and boosting the efficiency of their sales force and other levels of employees in reaching both personal and organisational goals.

This report will also be useful for companies operating in Nigeria. The management of these organisations will be refreshed and educated further on the necessary knowledge and use of appropriate motivational tactics to improve industrial harmony and growth.

This will promote peace, dedication, and interpersonal relationships. The study will urge management at various organisations and corporations to implement rules that will result in “happy sales force, happy company” circumstances.

In the educational sector, the study will provide teachers and educational administrators/managers with the necessary mindset to “invite students to learn”. This study will provide them with more reasons to dedicate pupils to a successful teaching and learning process in a helpful but objective manner.

This subject will equip students to handle some economic responsibilities involving human resource management, namely sales force concerns. This

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The assignment is meant to prepare students for the additional management duties they are likely to face in the real world.

1.7 Scope of the Study

This study will focus on examining the effects of motivation on sales force performance in Guinness Nigeria Plc and MTN, both manufacturing and service organisations in the South-East states.

This study will identify the available sales force motivational techniques, as well as whether or not the two organisations employ them differently, and will recommend a course of action.

rather, due to a lack of suitable time and funds, the study will not be extended to their head offices; rather, it is expected that the information acquired from their South-East branch offices will represent the overall genuine condition.

1.8 Area of Study

This study will be conducted in Nigeria’s south-east region. Because of the time constraints, this study will focus on Aba, Onitsha, Enugu, and Owerri. Guinness has its South-Eastern production factory in Aba, while MTN has service centres in Aba,

Onitsha, Owerri, and Enugu. The two enterprises will be evaluated as representations of manufacturing and service companies in Niger’s East.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

There are numerous challenges to conducting research in Nigeria, as well as in all poor countries. In this study on the effects of motivation on sales force performance in Guinness Nigeria Plc and MTN in the South-East, the following challenges were encountered:

a. The most serious issue in this study is the lack of a reliable power supply. Sometimes there will be no light for a month or more. When the light is turned on, it becomes very epileptic,

causing the researcher to invest further costs to power the generator; otherwise, nothing is done. Inefficient power supply hampered browsing, studying, data processing, and other activities across many sectors of the Nigerian economy.

b. Family distractions: This research requires juggling and coordinating office work, family responsibilities, and demanding intellectual activity. Furthermore, hostel accommodations were not available to make studying easier.

c. Problem with data collection: Respondents delayed completing and submitting the questionnaire. This required repeated trips to the two enterprises evaluated, as well as the impoverished.

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Attitude of some target respondents who did not use the tool at all. In fact, obtaining data from corporations was a very challenging case because the staff were secretive, the extent of which depended heavily on the level of exposure and mindset of the two organisations’ employees, as well as the individual peculiarities of everyone involved in this research.

d. Financial issues: This illustrates the country’s current economic situation and the financial state of the average Nigerian student. Financing this research was thus a major undertaking. There is nothing like a research grant to support a self-sponsored project.

e. Time constraint: Because time waits for no one, the time frame for this study did not allow for the application of numerous analytical approaches or the expansion of the scope.

Due to academic pressure, programme lapses, and concern of NUC screening negatively impacting the researcher’s work, the study duration cannot be extended.

1.10 Definition of Terms.

Throughout this study, the following terminology will be defined definitively: Motivation: Motivation refers to the desire and effort to satisfy a wish or objective (Akpala 1990:237). It is a result-oriented human resource management action focused at the sales force in order to elicit their best performance. Motivational Practice:

This refers to all of the activities that management regularly performs and directs towards organisational members in order to elicit loyalty and an acceptable degree of task performance (Carter 1990: 216). Motivational Reward: Cash or other forms of liquid asset reward for services given, task performance, or merit attained (Chime 1990:196).

force: The word refers to salespeople (men and women) employed by a firm or company to discover prospective purchasers of their commodities, convert these prospective buyers into customers, and guarantee that they are consistently happy in order to allow repeat performance (Nwokoye 1988:154).

Marketing is the set of corporate operations that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers. The Institute of Marketing, London defines marketing as “the management of processes responsible for identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customers’ needs profitably” (Onah and Allison 2007:124).

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Communication is defined as the exchange of ideas or information in order to foster mutual understanding, confidence, and healthy human interactions. It is an interaction including words, letters, symbols, or messages in which one organisation member conveys meaning and understanding with another (Osuala and Okeke 2006:118). Manufacturing is the business or industry of mass-producing goods and services in factories.

The sales team presents these products and services to potential buyers/users, persuades them, and earns their business. A service is a system that gives something relevant (intangible) to the public and is organised by the government or a private firm.

It is a service industry that serves clients in hotels, shops, restaurants, and other establishments rather than manufacturing goods (Hornby 2000:1075).

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