32 DEVELOPING SALES STRATEGY AT VACOM JOINT STOCK COMPANY

MINISTRY OF FINANCE ACADEMY OF FINANCE  STUDENT: NGUYEN THI NGOC ANH GROUP: CQ55/51.01 RESEARCH PROPOSAL TOPIC: DEVELOPING SALES STRATEGY AT VACOM JOINT STOCK COMPANY Major: English for Finance and Accounting Student code: 1752220201003 Supervisor: M.A Phan Thi Ha My Ha Noi, 2021 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance TABLE OF CONTENTS Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance DECLARATION I, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, being a student of Faculty of Foreign Languages, hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: Thesis: “Developing sales strategy at VACOM Joint Stock Company” I declare that the thesis and the study presented in it are my own and have been generated by me as the result of my own original research Hanoi, May , 2021 Graduation thesis author Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance ABSTRACT This graduation thesis examined sales strategy at VACOM joint stock company The study was conducted based on theoretical background of sales strategy and current situation of business strategy at VACOM joint stock company The thesis was done with the implementation of documentary review, the questionnaire survey and SWOT analysis From this constructive approach, the study sought to investigate the difficulties in sales strategy and solutions proposed to improve business strategy at VACOM joint stock company Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks and gratefulness to my supervisor, Mrs Phan Thi Ha My M.A., lecturer of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Academy of Finance Her kindly support and continuous advices went through the process of completion of my thesis Her encouragement and comments significantly enriched and improved my work Without her motivation and instructions, the thesis would have been impossible to be done effectively I acknowledge my thankfulness to all staffs at VACOM joint stock company who have supported, helped and provided me valuable suggestions and data during internship period Without their helps, it would be impossible for me to finish this thesis I also would like to show my sincere thanks to all the lecturers in the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Academy of Finance for tireless devoting time and efforts to enrich, broaden and deepen my knowledge over the past four years My heartfelt gratitude goes as well to the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Academy of Finance for giving me the opportunity and permission to implement this thesis I furthermore thank to all the lecturers who will mark and give constructive comments on this thesis My special thanks approve to my parents, my colleagues and my friends for their advice and encouragement to me I also deeply thank to all the people whose direct and indirect support assists me to accomplish my thesis in time Thank you all, in advance Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS % PBT Co., Ltd Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Percent Profit before tax Limited company Page Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study In the market economy with the current strong globalization trend, customers have more conditions to access innovative products and services that are constantly innovating along with the development of the department learn technology To attract customers and dominate the market, each company uses different methods and the goal of administrators is to make differences Therefore the closure of loss companies and the development of highly effective companies significantly depend on business strategy of that company Strategy is a word derived from the military field, which is the way to win a war However, the social is growing and strategic thinking is not dedicated only in the military field, business activities also use with the elements like strategy and leadership Recently, Johnson and Scholes (2008) defined that strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long term: which achieves advantage for the organization through its configuration of resources within a changing environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectations Obviously, in an area where consumer needs are constantly changing such as information technology especially software supply, sales strategies need a lot more special attention According Vietnam economic news (2018), Information technology (IT) has been growing at an impressive rate of 30 percent per year, playing an important role in Vietnam’s socioeconomic development Aware of this, more and more businesses are entering the information technology field This also means that competition between companies becomes increasingly fierce Therefore, in order to attract customers and dominate the market, each company uses different methods Because in the consumer's mind, the "winner" emerges with the important characteristics that satisfy their needs, the goal of administrators is to make differences Thus, each company needs to find its own methods and effective strategies to be able to develop sustainably and strongly Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance As a business enterprise in the field of information technology, production of accounting software, all activities of VACOM Joint Stock Company are through the sales network Therefore, for the company, building a reasonable and effective sales strategy has a direct influence on the existence and sustainable development of the company From the above perception, and the trend of the business environment as well as the current situation at VACOM Joint Stock Company, at the same time, being aware of the practical importance of business strategy for businesses, I have carried out the topic "Developing sales strategy at VACOM Joint Stock Company" as the topic for my thesis with hope to be able to come up with some solutions to help VACOM Joint Stock Company develop a more effective sales strategy Aim of the study The thesis was concentrated on how to develop sales strategy at VACOM joint stock company by answering two questions below: What was the current situation of sales strategy at VACOM joint stock company? How to develop an appropriate sales strategy at VACOM joint stock company? Scope of the study Due to limited time and space, as well as limited practical experience, the strategic direction was only within fiscal years of 2019-2020 In particular, the main task was to focus on developing sales strategies with high potential for efficiency The study would be conducted with the participation of the head, the sales team leader and 18 sales staff from the sales department of the VACOM joint stock company Methodology of the study There were two main methods used in this study, including (1) documentary review and (2) questionnaire survey Firstly, the author collected the material by researching books, magazines, newspapers or websites related to sales strategy from reliable sources, then, Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance proposing to develop better and more reasonable in developing a sales strategy for the Vacom Joint Stock Company Secondly, questionnaires survey was designed to collect information from employees of VACOM Joint Stock Company and customers about the current situation of sales activities at the company, thereby offering solutions to develop an appropriate sales strategies The questionnaire consisted of two parts Part A included questions The first was about the frequency of activities to develop sales strategy, including: searching for potential customers, exploiting the market, managing distribution channels/ agent systems, making weekly sales plans and reports, proposing new sales plans and organize daily sales management The second was about the effectiveness of current sales activities Questions focused on evaluating the company's sales process, including pre-sales, while-sales and postsales Part B was to propose solutions to build an appropriate business strategy at VACOM Joint Stock Company Besides, SWOT analysis is also used to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of current business activities, thereby identifying opportunities as well as threats to the company This method was created in the 1960s by Albert Humphrey of the Stanford Research Institute, in a study conducted to determine why business planning repeatedly fails Bonnie Taylor, director of marketing strategy at CCS Innovations, told Business News Daily: “It's impossible to accurately map the future of a small business without judging it from all angles, including a holistic view of all both internal and external resources and threats "A SWOT accomplishes this in four simple steps that even rookie business owners can understand and grasp.” Organization of the study Besides the Introduction, Conclusion and References, the thesis consists of three main section: CHAPTER 1: Literature review refered to the theoretical background on sales strategy CHAPTER 2: The study focused on the current situation of sales strategy VACOM joint stock company Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 10 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance program/ software Paying the bill with customers Managers 0 0 0 44,44 55,56 Customers 0 0 20 50 10 25 10 25 Staff 0 0 11 26,8 20 48,78 10 24,4 Managers 0 0 0 44,44 55,56 Customers 0 0 20 50 10 25 10 25 Others… Post- sales activities Rating No Sales activities Warranty and aftersales customers care Others… Very bad No % Bad No % Ok Good Excellent No % No % No % Staff 0 0 11 26,8 20 48,78 10 24,4 Managers 0 0 0 44,44 55,56 Customers 0 0 20 50 10 25 10 25 0 10 24, 10 24,4 10 24,4 11 26,8 2.3 Assessment on sales strategy development at VACOM., JSC 2.3.1 Achievements of sales strategy development at VACOM., JSC Through the process of researching and studying the current situation of activities to develop sales strategy of VACOM Joint Stock Company, I found that the Company has achieved quite important achievements In general, the company's organization from the leadership to the departments is very organized and stable The company's business is also developing quite stably Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 41 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance Specifically, the company first sets out initial goals, the mission is very clear, and everyone from management to employees strives for a common goal The company has paid special attention to the factors affecting the company's strategy, finding important goals and solutions, mainly to achieve the set goals Next, VACOM Joint Stock Company fully assesses the impacts of the business environment as well as reveals the company's internal environment The company also finds out the impact of the business environment and proposes appropriate options to adapt to reality Furthermore, the company's strategies and goals are set on the basis of suitability with the company's capabilities and are carefully considered in light of the influence of the external business environment Customers are also quite satisfied with the company's operations, software and services In the future, companies will need to develop more effective strategies 2.3.2 Limitations of sales strategy development at VACOM., JSC In addition to the achievements that the company has made, there are still problems or limitations that VACOM Joint Stock Company must find solutions The most restrictive is the stage during the sales, specifically the first one is the search for potential customers Staff is definitely having a hard time with this Next, there are limitations in quoting and persuading customers and closing sales orders/contracts There are still some unhappy customers about this and low rating Sales staff are sometimes not flexible and creative in solving customers' problems and difficulties This means that the sellers are having a hard time during this period The company should find out and plan further training for its employees In addition, there is a problem that the company's employees have not been exposed to reality, so there are many problems with customers when encountered, which will be difficult to respond and solve flexibly Moreover, in the face of the current situation of the Coronavirus pandemic, the world economy in general and Vietnam in particular are facing many difficulties This caused some of the company's sales activities to come to a halt This also Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 42 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance shows that the development of policies on sales and disease response has not been implemented and applied effectively Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 43 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS SOME RECOMMENDATIONS TO DEVELOP THE SALES STRATEGY AT VACOM JOINT STOCK COMPANY 3.1 Orientations to improve business strategy development at VACOM Joint Stock company With the mission that the company has declared and to gradually implement this mission, in the period of 2019-2020, the development goal of the Company is to grow and expand the market while ensuring product quality Especially bringing VACOM online accounting software, tuition management software, tuition fees, mchemical electronic invoices to businesses all over the country Therefore, the success of VACOM Joint Stock Company is measured by the following criteria: The scale of the company The expansion of the market and finding new sources of customers is a decisive factor for the survival of the company So in the future, in addition to providing products for businesses, the company will focus on a much more potential market that is primary schools, middle schools, universities etc If this market is well exploited, then this is a promising market that will lift the mind and take the company further on its business path The power of corporate brands In the current competitive trend, branding is considered an extremely important task Especially in case we want to expand into new markets, potential markets, the company's brand plays a part in the success The 2019-2020 strategic orientation identifies brand building as a priority investment goal Human resource development The company's operations are expanding, recruitment and training will play a very important part Strategy to attract highly qualified human resources (College, University ) is considered a priority The professional training plan for employees Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 44 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance continues to be maintained according to the job requirements and aspirations of the employees 3.1.1 SWOT analysis Identify strengths - weaknesses - opportunities - threats: Strengths of the company The software brand of VACOM Joint Stock Company is gradually being positioned The firt is product quality is stable Get the credit of the customer Have a good relationship with customers Ability to provide and install software very quickly Flexible sales tactic, can meet customer requirements such as adding or improving features (on request) In addition, the company is currently receiving a lot of interest from other companies and sectors in the industry Weakness of the company The distribution channel has not been completed In addition, product prices are not very competitive In particular, sales and marketing activities are not very strong, the Marketing and sales staff are still inexperienced, for example in the stage of finding potential customers and persuading customers Especially, the equipment did not meet the requirements of development and expansion of the company Opportunities Customers are increasingly demanding on product quality In addition, the market is growing strongly and steadily Moreover, the supplier capacity is very stable Especially, a large source of customers Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are home to many Universities, companies…etc Threats Challenges from competitors, more and more manufacturers appear capable of providing The price of software products is not stable Slow restructuring and innovation: this challenging content is often overlooked Market volatility: the market volatility for the field of providing accounting software in the information technology industry is very sensitive Notably, science and technology develops continuously, so the possibility of substitute products cannot be excluded Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 45 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance In short, with the open-door policy of the economy in the process of industrialization and modernization of Vietnam today, choosing a development strategy for the business industry in general and VACOM Joint Stock Company in particular is indispensable Choosing a strategy helps the company exploit and develop all its existing advantages At the same time, avoid avoiding emerging risks and choosing the company's strategy not only for the purpose of achieving high profits 3.1.2 Selection strategies Market expansion and development strategy There is always a best strategy to choose from However, we can also choose a few strategies to execute in parallel, in which one is the dominant strategy, the others play a complementary role The implementation of this depends on the human resources of the enterprise Through SWOT analysis and other related factors, I decided to choose "Sales market development strategy" as the core to build a sales strategy for stationery products of VACOM Joint Stock Company The first is market expansion and development strategy The essence of market development strategy is to take advantage of opportunities to promote their own opportunities and promote sales This strategy is based on the basis of stable product quality, brand reputation, customer relationships and trust as well as government policy, to meet the increasing needs of customers quantity as well as quality On the basis of advantages in the information technology industry, VACOM Joint Stock Company focuses on the expansion and development of the business market Consider this as a vital factor for them, set out reasonable business directions and maintain a stable, sustainable and long-term development rate Expanding bidding activities for exclusive software supply to universities in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and through neighboring provinces Exploiting markets in neighboring provinces: Long An, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong (Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park, My Phuoc Industrial Park), and Binh Phuoc In the period of 2019 Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 46 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance - 2020, try to expand customer search to these markets To achieve the above goals, market research and brand promotion play an extremely important role The second is determining short-term sales goals (annual goals) Setting annual sales goals is a distributed activity that directly involves departments within the business Active participation in annual goal setting can lead to acceptance and cohesiveness across sales departments Annual sales goals are essential to the execution of a sales strategy because they: They are the basis for the allocation of resources It is the primary mechanism for evaluating strategy implementation It is a key tool for controlling progress towards achieving longterm goals - Set priorities for member periods It is essential to ensure that the annual sales target is well-conceived, aligned with the long-term goals, and that support for the sales strategy is implemented The third is policy development Policies facilitate the resolution of repeat problems and guide sales enforcement Sales policies tell salespeople what they want, thereby increasing the likelihood that the sales strategy will be successfully executed Sales policies also clarify what is done by whom, encouraging employees to actively work In order to support the market development strategy, VACOM Joint Stock Company has introduced the following policies: Regular and periodic contact with customers to promptly grasp needs as well as strengthen relationships Sales staff is encouraged to meet after hours with customers Sales staff is required to report periodically, regularly, in detail about each customer as well as the market situation and competitors Sales staff is encouraged to go on business trips to areas where there are no permanent employees in that area Company managers are required to visit customers every six months In addition, excellent sales staff will be highly rewarded at the end of the year, and get company-sponsored travel In particular, sales staff who not meet the standards are required to explain by reporting and questioning, there is a possibility of being fired if they not meet the requirements Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 47 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance The fourth is allocating, managing sales resources and securing sales resources Allocating sales resources is an important management activity of the implementation of sales strategy Strategic sales management allows resources to be distributed according to priorities established by annual sales goals There is nothing more harmful to the process of strategic sales management and the success of sales goals than when the resources are allocated not in line with the stated goals Sales resources are understood to include software products, policies, sales teams and administrators, financial resources, facilities, etc Besides, it is very important that sales resources are guaranteed for the implementation of the sales strategy A common mistake is the provision of sales resources that not correspond to the intended sales strategy Competitive strategy in the market The company needs to develop a sales distribution network in order to effectively exploit its advantages, high quality software products Developing the domestic market, strictly implementing the signed contracts with traditional customers inside and outside the city This is a very important factor in the competitive strategy Horizontal diversification strategy The business has a long-term vision of the future Target market includes: State agencies, companies, schools in the city and neighboring provinces The area is concentrated in industrial zones and residential areas Identify key products for business association including: VACOM accounting software, electronic invoices, digital signatures Targets: Provide more types of electronic software for public schools company Generate revenue from sales Less dependent on the supply of the market 3.2 Recommendations to improve sales strategy at Vacom Joint Stock company Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 48 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance 3.2.1 Consolidate relationships with customers, gradually expand product consumption markets In order to promote and make good use of the existing opportunities of the Company, I would like to recommend the following issues: Maintain and strengthen traditional customers by regularly improving product quality, performing well in business tasks for customers and always listening to customers' opinions, doing well in sales and organization people in the business of "unifying the management of the construction market in the Company" Developing the network to many provinces in the region and outside the Southeast economic region regularly researching the market, grasping the tastes of customers to come up with business strategies appropriate to the current environment In addition, based on the consumption contract with the customer In particular, the company needs to create a sales and business management mechanism that can converge all economic sectors in the industry and in the region to be able to exploit advantages in the City area, as well as other regions in the region country 3.2.2 Build an effective information system Today, to win the competition is not simply capital-assets, experience, current position but also a source of information, having timely information to make the right decisions There is information to build plans, check information about the market, competitors Therefore, an effective information system must be built Build a diagram of the company's internal information system at all levels, the communication network, tools, and ways of transmitting information so that the delay and error of information transmission is minimal, building a shared database for the whole company Clear regulations on the level of information that can be accessed by all levels, tasks on information, security regulations, storage, methods of inspection and supervision, information protection, shared databases, and usage Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 49 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance and efficient exploitation Develop methods to find information sources from outside, evaluate information sources for planning and business activities, and make lists of information sources to refer to when necessary It is necessary to change the perception of the importance of information systems in leadership Develop a method to evaluate the effectiveness of the information system 3.3.3 Planning to train company employees regularly The company needs to have a plan to train and add knowledge for sales staff in sales skills, potential customer skills, and skills to convince customers to buy products and close contracts Solve problems faced by sales staff In addition, the company needs to provide more sources of customers for employees Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 50 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance CONCLUSIONS Currently, the country is on the way of development and integration into the gradual improvement of company management in which strategy building is inevitable, the upward development of the company to this day is a relative step forward long for VACOM Joint Stock Company However, to be able to develop the company to a new and more sustainable level in today's competitive and risky environment, the company needs to consider the following recommendations: It is necessary to make profound and comprehensive changes in the environment way of thinking, managing to suit the times and the new environment Changing the way of thinking is the hardest and most positive change before you can change the company Taking human as the main driving force for development, human being is what is capable of doing and has the greatest strength among the three advantages of "time, earth, and harmony" Therefore, there must be a plan to develop human resources of the Company Need to develop the sales department further if the company wants to grow more Information systems need to be rebuilt Stay up to date with market changes and developments Always appreciate even the smallest improvement in all business processes of the Company The most important thing is to increase capital to have a solid financial foundation Only strong finance can carry out the weak problems of the Company Only then can the company develop well Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 51 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance REFERENCES Johnson, G., Scholes, K., & Whittington, R (2008) Exploring corporate strategy Prentice Hall Quynh, N (2018, November 7) Vietnam Economic News - Ministry Of Industry And Trade IT Industry in Vietnam Enjoying Boom http://ven.vn/it-industry-in-vietnamenjoying-boom-35716.html SWOT analysis: Definition and examples (n.d.) Retrieved May 08, 2021, from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4245-swot analysis.html#:~:text=A%20SWOT %20analysis%20is%20a,in%20making%20a%20business%20decision Philip Kotler, Principles of Marketing, Prentice -Hall, 1980 What is Sales | Sales Definition by Act! (2021) Retrieved 28 March 2021, from https://www.act.com/en-uk/what-is-sales Harris, Ira (2000) The Strategy/Structure Debate: An Examination of the Performance Implications Journal of Management Studies 37 587-604 10.1111/1467-6486.00195 How Indirect Sales Can Grow Your Business Business News Daily (n.d.) https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15945-what-are-indirect-sales.html Wasserman, E (-1, November 30) How to Find New Customers and Increase Sales Inc.com https://www.inc.com/guides/find-new-customers.html *, N (2021, February 4) How to Develop a Sales Strategy Plan for Your Business ForceManager https://www.forcemanager.com/blog/sales-strategy-plan/ Vietnam information technology industry in 2019 is booming (n.d.) Retrieved April 24, 2021, from https://officience.com/business-economics/vietnam-information-technology-industry-in-2019is-booming/ Vietnam's it sector: industries to watch (2019, November 06) Retrieved April 24, 2021, from https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/vietnams-it-sector-5-industries-to-watch.html/ Information and communications technology - Vietnam - For Australian exporters Austrade (n.d.).https://www.austrade.gov.au/australian/export/exportmarkets/countries/vietnam/industries/ict Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 52 Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance APPENDIX SURVEY ON DEVELOPING SALES STRATEGY AT VACOM JOINT STOCK COMPANY This survey is a part of graduation thesis entitled “Developing sales strategy at VACOM Joint Stock Company” All of the following questions are intended to obtain measureable data to evaluate the effectiveness of business strategy at VACOM Joint Stock Company Please answer questions below Thank you very much for your support! A Current sales strategy at VACOM Joint Stock Company Current activities to develop sales strategy at VACOM Joint Stock Company Please rate the frequency of current activities to develop sales strategy at VACOM Joint Stock Company Number s Rate Activities Searching for potential customers Exploiting the market Managing distribution channels/ agent systems Making weekly sales plans and reports Proposing new sales plans and organize daily sales management Never Seldom Others… Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 53 Sometimes Usually Always Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance Effectiveness of current sales strategy at VACOM Joint Stock company Pre-sales Number s Rate Activities Presales Others … Very bad Bad Ok Good Very good Preparing: products information , quotes Search for potential customers While-sales Number s Rate Activities Whilesales Accessing to customers in order to introduce products Proposal/quotation Negotiating/convincin g customers Creating a contract on the software and schedule an appointment to sign the contract Pre-installation staff training Installing program/ software Paying the bill with customers Others … Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 54 Very bad Bad Ok Good Very good Graduation Thesis - Academy of Finance Post-sales Rate Number s Very bad Activities Bad Ok Good Very good Warranty Postsales and aftersales customers care Others … B How to improve the sales strategy at VACOM Joint Stock Company? To manager(s): To staff: Hanoi, May 15, 2021 Writer Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Anh – CQ55/51.01 Page 55 ... was concentrated on how to develop sales strategy at VACOM joint stock company by answering two questions below: What was the current situation of sales strategy at VACOM joint stock company? How... situation at VACOM Joint Stock Company, at the same time, being aware of the practical importance of business strategy for businesses, I have carried out the topic "Developing sales strategy at VACOM. .. strategies 2.3.2 Limitations of sales strategy development at VACOM. , JSC In addition to the achievements that the company has made, there are still problems or limitations that VACOM Joint Stock