Sales Management Practices and Performance of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The sales environment continues to change owing to various behavioural, technological and managerial forces. These changes are changing the way sales people connect with prospects, differentiate themselves from the competition, and position their products and services. Despite the acknowledgment of SMEs in the economy, SMEs have been facing many demurs, for instance, the aforementioned aspects have inhibited the companies' operational and financial success, namely insufficient financing, political instability, and economic calamity. The general objective of the study wasotooestablish the relationship betweenosales management practicesoand performance ofoSmall and Medium-Sized Enterprises in NairobioCity County, Kenya. This study was basedoon two theories, pushoand pull theory andoresource-based theory. The target population for this study comprised of the four hundred (450) SMEs registered by Registrar of Companies at Sheria House. The sample size was 90 SMEs doing business within Nairobi City County. Stratified sampling method was employed to guarantee that the data obtained is genuinely representative of the whole population. An analysisowas done using descriptive analysis, linear regressionoand correlation analyses. Itowas established that sales planning and sales implementation influence sales management practices to a moderate extent while many SMEs in Nairobi embraced sales evaluation at great extent. The study establishedoa positive relationshipobetween performance and sales management practices. It was concluded that sales planning, sales implementation and sales evaluation were positivelyorelated to performance. The study recommends that the industry maps out specifically what aspects of sales management strategies are relevant to their industry and invest heavily into those aspects so as to see tangible improvement in theiroperformance.