Chapter IV
PRESENTATION OF DATA, INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS
AND SOFTWARE PRODUCT ANALYSIS
This chapter presents the data gathering of the study, interpretation of the results from the conducted survey and the software product analysis.
1. Demographic Profile of the Respondents
Table 4.0
Age and Gender of the Respondents
Age Gender Percentage
M F M% F% Age% 18-25 3 3 9% 9% 18% 26-33 6 8 19% 25% 44% 34-44 4 6 13% 19% 32% 45 Above 1 1 3% 3% 6% Total 14 18 44% 56% 100%
The Table 4.0 shows the age range of the respondents. Majority (44%) of the respondents belong to the 26-33 age range. The 34-44 year olds comes next which
comprises 32% of the total respondents. The lowest percent goes to 45 year olds and above which only comprises 6% of the total sample population. Out of the 32 respondents surveyed, 44% are males while 56% are females which means majority of the total sample population are females.
Table 5.0
Respondents’ Civil Status
Status No. of Respondents Percentage
Single 13 41%
Married 19 59%
Total 32 100%
Table 5.0 presents the frequency and percentage distribution of the respondents’ civil status. The table shows that majority of the respondents are married while the minority are single. The frequency is distributed to 41% single and 59% married.
Table 6.0
Years No. of Respondents Percentage
0 – 1 Years 16 50%
2 – 3 Years 12 38%
4 – 5 Years 4 12%
6 Years and above 0 0%
Total 32 100%
Table 6.0 shows the frequency and percentage distribution of the respondents according to their length of service in the company. Out of the 32 total sample population, 16 have served 0 – 1 years in the company (50%), 12 have served 2 – 3 years in the company (38%), 4 have served at least 4 – 5 years (12%) and no one has served more than 6 years.
Table 7.0
Problems Encountered by the Respondents
Problems Number of Respondents Criteria 5 4 3 2 1 Total Percentage Criteria 5 4 3 2 1 Total % There is no clear sales process to follow and guide the agents in closing every sale.
24 5 1 2 0 32 75% 16% 3% 6% 0% 100%
Keeping track of the prospect and client lists are done manually by agents.
19 12 1 0 0 32 59% 38% 3% 0% 0% 100%
Difficult and time consuming in manually keeping track of all schedules and appointments. 13 18 0 1 0 32 41% 56% 0% 3% 0% 100% Inability of managers to keep track of the agents’ sales activities. 23 8 1 0 0 32 72% 25% 3% 0% 0% 100% Storage of files is susceptible to be damaged as well as lost of files. 15 14 3 0 0 32 47% 44% 9% 0% 0% 100%
Table 7.0 shows the common problems encountered with the existing manual system of the agency and the respondents’ rating for each problem, where the scale of 5 means strongly agree while the scale 1 refers to strongly disagree.
Majority (75%) of the total respondents strongly agree that there is no clear sales process to follow and guide the agents, while only 6% disagree.
More than half (59%) of the total respondents strongly agree that keeping track of the prospect and client lists are slow and difficult due to the manual way of listing the names. No one (0%) disagreed.
Almost half (41%) of the respondents strongly agree that the manual way of keeping schedules and appointments are difficult and time consuming, while only 3% disagreed.
A vast majority (72%) of the sample population strongly agree that the inability of managers to keep track of the agents’ sales activities is a big problem with no one (0%) disagreeing.
Out of the 32 total sample population surveyed, almost half (47%) strongly agree that the storage of files are susceptible to damage while nobody (0%) disagreed.
The table clearly shows that a vast majority of the respondents strongly agree to the problems encountered with the manual system of the agency.
3. Effectiveness of the Proposed System
Table 7.0
Criteria Existing System Proposed System Accuracy 3.19 4.91 Reliability 2.56 4.91 Efficiency 2.50 4.63 Speed 2.31 4.94 User-Friendliness 2.22 4.47 Average Mean 2.56 4.77
Table 7.0 presents the mean summary of the existing and the proposed online system.
With an average mean of 2.56 for the existing system and 4.77 for the proposed system, the table clearly illustrates how it is more effective than the manual system in terms of accuracy, reliability, efficiency, speed and user-friendliness.
With the summary of the table, it only shows that the proposed system is indeed feasible for implementation and effective for the life insurance agency.
4. Summary of ROI and Payback Period
Table 8.0 Summary of CBA
COST DESCRIPTION AMOUNT IN PESO
Total Hardware Development Cost Add: Total Software Development Cost
TOTAL DEVELOPMENT COST
P 0.00 P 27,000.00
P 27,000.00
Total Present Annual Supplies Cost Add: Total Present Electric Consumption
TOTAL PRESENT ANNUAL OPERATING COST
P 26,587.75 P 5,588.35
P 32,176.10
Total Proposed Annual Supplies Cost Add: Total Proposed Web Services Cost Add: Total Proposed Electric Consumption
TOTAL PROPOSED ANNUAL OPERATING COST
P 10,349.30 P 3,500.00 P 5,868.29
P 19,717.59
Total Present Annual Operating Cost
Less: Total Proposed Annual Operating Cost
TOTAL ANNUAL COST SAVINGS
P 32,176.10 P 19,717.59
P 12,458.51
Payback Period 1 Year and 11 Months
Net Present Value P 1,031.65
Table 8.0 presents the summary of Cost Benefit Analysis. (CBA). The payback period of the company is within 1.84 years and the Net Present Value is P1,031.65 in 1 year and 11 months of payback period.
Existing System
The inability of the managers to track the sales activities of the agents serves as a burden for the existing manual system. The lack of scientific sales process to follow
also results to fewer sales of the agents. In most cases, there is a clear lack of performance in terms of speed and tracking of activities with the existing system.
Need to Develop the Proposed System
With the numerous problems encountered by the respondents and the need to maximize the sales potential of the agency, it is evident that there is a need to develop an effective online sales management system for the agency.
Prospective User and Beneficiaries
The prospective users who are the agents and managers of the agency can benefit a lot from the proposed system. The proposed system can provide easily accessibility and tracking of activities for the managers resulting to a more efficient relationship between agents and superiors. It will also provide the agents with vital tools that can maximize their sales potential and increase the chances of closing every sale. The implementation of the proposed system will minimize paper works and therefore simplify and drastically improve the focus of managers and staffs in keeping track of agents’ sales.
Components of the Proposed System
The proposed system has the following features and functions to maximize the sales potential of the agency:
General Features:
Secure Login. The system has a secured login interface provided for managers and users to prevent unauthorized persons from accessing the system.
Menu-Driven. The software has menus or list of options for different categories that leads to different locations depending on the desired purpose.
Keyboard-Driven. The users will be able to access the system through the keyboard when accessing their desired information in the system.
Mouse-Driven. The software can be explored and accessed using a point and click device such as the mouse.
User-Friendliness. The proposed system is design such that the average user of a computer can easily use or operate it without problems.
Functions of the Proposed System
The proposed system which is an online sales management system supports various functions needed to maximize the sales potential of the agency such as online tools for agents to help them in closing every sale, online tracking of sales activities of agents for the managers and a detailed step by step walkthrough of the stages in a sales process for agents.
Software development is the process of developing a system to meet the requirements of the end users. The process includes system analysis, design, programming, testing, security and back-up.
Design. The software design is specifically targeted to managers and sales agents of an insurance agency. The organization of components is analyzed well and designed to meet the requirements of a system needed by people in the life-insurance industry.
Programming. The proposed system is programmed using PHP for the server side scripting and takes advantage of MySQL for the database. Both languages are open-source as it does not aim to increase the cost of users, in fact, the languages are free and is backed by a large online community. JavaScript is also used in the proposed system for the client side scripting as well as Ajax.
Testing. The proposed system has been tested before deployment to ensure that the system is free from bugs and if there are features to be added or modified and errors to be resolved.
Security and Backup. The proposed system is secured such that access to the system requires an account with a password that is only exclusive to managers and agents. Backup of the system files can be done regularly depending on the need of the user.
Processor Pentium III or higher
Hard Disk Space 5GB or higher
Memory Capacity 128 MB or higher
Monitor SVGA Monitor (600 x 800 and 32-bit color)
Keyboard Standard keyboard
Mouse Scroll ball or optical mouse
Printer Inkjet Printer
Software Specification:
Operating System Microsoft Windows 98 or higher Web Browser Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Technical and Operational Feasibility
Based on the survey method of research which the proponents have conducted, the proposed system is feasible for implementation because it has been proven to be effective in terms of accuracy, reliability, efficiency, speed, and user-friendliness.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter discusses the summary, conclusion and recommendation of the software “Online Sales Force Management System”.
Summary
It has always been the aspiration of humankind to create devices that would simplify the work of people. With the invention of computers, many businesses have taken the leap to implement automated systems as to maximize the productivity of their business in terms of efficiency, speed, accuracy and most importantly the long term cost.
Apparently, a majority of agencies are still using the manual system in their sales force, so the researchers decided to propose and develop an online sales force management system that would maximize the sales potential of each agency while being able to keep track of all the sales activities of agents online. All these with the use of data gathering and statistical tools such as surveys and interviews, the researchers are able to determine the difference and measure the effectiveness of the existing and the proposed online system.
Findings
1. There were a total of 32 respondents in which 8 are managers, 6 are staffs and 18 are sales agents. Majority are female, married, served 0-1 year in the company and belong to the 26-33 age group. There are 56 percent females and 44 percent males. There are 59 percent married and 41 percent single. In the age group of respondents, there are 18 percent 18-25 year olds, 44 percent are 26-33 year olds, 32 percent are 34-44 and only 6% belong to the 45 year olds and above.
2. A vast majority 75% strongly agreed to the problems encountered with the existing system while only 6% disagreed, which means there is indeed a need to change the current manual system of the insurance agency.
3. The manual system does not provide agents with tools to maximize the sales potential of each agent. The current system is not capable of tracking the sales activities of agents and provides a possibility of loss of files.
4. The solution to the problems encountered with the manual system is to develop an online sales force management system for the agency.
5. The proposed online sales force management system is feasible for implementation.
Conclusions
1. The proposed online system will be a big improvement over the existing manual system such that every agent will be easily tracked by managers and can easily be guided in all their sales activities. Aside from the tracking, the ease of being able to access the system anywhere as long as there is an internet access serves as freedom for the managers to work wherever they want.
2. The proposed system will be a substantial improvement over the current system for agents such that all of their sales will be based on the scientific stages of the sales process. The implementation of the new system can therefore maximize the sales potential of each agent.
3. As a whole, the proposed system and the existing system have a tremendous distinction. The difference from the traditional to the proposed system is truly beneficial to the company, managers, employees and agents.
Recommendations
Based on the results of the findings and conclusions gathered, the researchers would like to recommend the following:
1. The proponents recommend that the company consider the proposed online system to increase the number of individual sales of agents and also maximize the full sales potential of its sales force.
2. The proponents recommend the proposed system be implemented by the managers, agents and staffs because it is more productive and more capable of delivering quality performance in sales.
3. The proponents recommend that future researchers continue to improve the proposed system.
