Veleučilište „Lavoslav Ružička", Vukovar, Croatia
Internacionalni univerzitet Travnik , Travnik, Bosnia
Veleučilište „Lavoslav Ružička“, Vukovar, Croatia
The global competitiveness of the market, as never before, is so pronounced that the reaction time to internal and external market variations must be instantaneous, in order to maintain the market position, achieve planned sales and create added value for the company. Company management, with a clear vision, well-structured strategic plans and key ideas elaborated in detail in operational plans, creates preconditions for immediate reactions in the specific field of sales promotion. Sales promotion, as a key tool for short-term sales increase, revenue growth, creation of additional value and preservation of the image of the brand itself, that is, of the company as a whole, occupies an increasingly important role in strategic thinking. Operational plans for the improvement of sales must be implemented as efficiently as possible through the sales force on the target market. Through the presentation of a parallel planning approach, two-way, with a top-down and bottom-up approach, the almost equal value of all stakeholders in the planning process and the implementation process will be realized. The motivation, education, proactivity and assertiveness of the sales representative as an operational executor of the guidelines set by the operational plan for sales improvement becomes a comparative advantage in relation to the competition in the target market. The paper provides a theoretical overview of the concept of planning from the aspect of the planning level, with special emphasis on operational planning and operational plans. Also, the work aims to show the course of the sales improvement process, from the creation of an operational plan to its implementation on the target market through the sales force, using the example of a regional meat industry that is a leader in its industry.
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