Changing Sales Strategy

     Right now we are in the era of cut throat competition and every categories of products are available in surplus through three channels, they are local (unbranded), branded (Indian companies) and Multinational Companies. It means over supply of products then demand. This make every categories of company always at their feet to cut input cost by new innovative sales ideas to woo customers so that their products leave behind competitor products and get most of the chunk in the market through the shelves of retailers, but at the same time ironically now a days companies have to spend more money on marketing/sales then ever before until it reaches to the end user that is consumers like to let public know about schemes they have to do propaganda through advertisement in both media print and electronics; pass on incentives to retailers and also attractive schemes at end level that is customers all it increase the cost of products .From the period of monopoly which was before 1990 companies use to sell their products across country through age old conventional sales style that is from company premises’ prepared products sent to different cities distributors through transport via bank builty and local party after retiring bank builty use to collect goods from transporter and company suppose to reimburse the expenses of freight through credit notes and then through distributor goods reaches to the surrounding areas of dealers and stockiest of cites and through them then to the customers. 
     Then after liberalisation policy of Indian Government which was started in the year 1991, lot of companies enter in the market, some Indian groups also entered in the market after having tie up with establish companies of develop countries and it was based on technology base plus multinational companies also found India as potential market where they can take advantage of liberalisation by entering market with their well known brands thus they set up subsidiaries in India and started operating from India ,their products cost fall significantly in India comparing to other develop countries because of cheap labour. Advent of new sales strategy also begin from conventional way to C&F pattern ,which was –
    Companies started appointing one Carry & Forwarding (C&F) agents in a state whom they gave somewhere in between 3 to 7 percent margin on to their off take plus C&F were also entitled for additional benefits like companies bear the expenses of go down as per city category and goods reaches their go down on Free on Road (F.O.R.) basis mean company bear all the expenses of transportation and goods reached without freight expenses in their go down and office maintenance but from then it was the responsibility of C&F not only to had proper care of products but also he sent the goods to second level sales parties which were two super stockiest in the state and then from super stockiest goods pass on to different dealer/stockiest of all the cities of states and responsibility to send goods to them was of super stockiest and in return they also get 3 to 5 percent of profits, on company extra burden reduce from very first stage when goods it come out from the premises of companies and taken care by subsequent parties.
     From last five to seven years lot of companies are now relying on new concept of sales/marketing which is based on western countries where it is hugely successful and it also reduce cost in the era of stiff competition that is Multi Level Marketing (MLM) in this concept companies directly sell their products to end user and also give them chance to earn money, it is adopted by different companies with some modification but basic rule remain the same that is companies asked customers to purchase products from them which they will get on discounts then he/she have to motivate two more persons to purchase the goods from companies of same amount and on to the sale of next two persons recommended person will get incentive from companies then next two persons also bound to recommended two new persons and this way first person and later person will keep on getting money on to purchase but selling this way company reduce cost to zero on to goods by appointing persons and selling goods among them plus they must have to make two persons in stipulated time otherwise his/her membership will comes to end, but companies products keep on selling and beauty of this sales strategy is that they are selling their products in the market without spending single penny on advertisement, scheme, transportation, distributor, dealer and stockiest, yes they pass on this to the members who able to generate sales through appointment of new members, under term and condition of companies, the disadvantage of MLM to the persons who become members on later stage is that if company is operating in the market for two to three year period then they find difficult to appoint new members, so anybody if going to become members of MLM then he/she enquire from how long company is in the market doing MLM ? Early the best otherwise it will give tension and financial loss to the concern.