Reference no: EM132183278

ALICE’S SALES CALL Background Alice Befuddled joined Computing, Inc., 18 months ago. She was interested in working for a progressive company with growth potential. Computing, Inc., appeared to be such a company. The company sold a variety of business computing systems. Alice was assigned to sell computerized cash register systems. The salesforce was taught to practice adaptive selling in which salespeople learned how to probe for customer needs and respond to customer wants. This method of selling has proven to be very successful for the company. In fact, the company credits its move in market position from number five to number three in the last three years to its implementation of adaptive selling and its salesforce’s ability to build strong customer relationships. Current Situation Alice was running behind as usual. She had a major presentation scheduled with a well-qualified prospect that could bring a substantial payoff to both her and her company. As a result, she had to cancel her first scheduled appointment of the day so that she could finish preparing her presentation for this prospect. This was not the first time she had to cancel an appointment. Just last week she canceled an appointment because she realized she would be unable to make it to the client’s firm before it closed. She had failed to budget enough time into her schedule to allow her to travel from one appointment to the next. Alice arrived at Hometown Hardware five minutes late. Luckily for Alice the owner of Hometown, Tim Tools, had been on an important conference call that ran a little longer than anticipated. Tools was hoping to purchase a new cash register system that could track his inventory. He was concerned about inventory loss, particularly in terms of pilferage and the possibility of employees inaccurately (both on purpose and otherwise) ringing up sales. Moreover, he hoped to implement a system that would allow him to track sales better, while at the same time expedite the checkout process. Currently, he is using antiquated equipment that does not provide him with the ability to scan merchandise or systematically track inventory and sales. After introducing herself and her company, Alice got right down to business. She went into a 30-minute presentation explaining the CR2000, a cash register system she believed would be appropriate for Tools’ store. What follows are excerpts from her meeting with Tools: Alice: Although we sell several systems, Mr. Tools, I believe the CR2000 cash registers would be good for you. They are relatively inexpensive, provide a more rapid system for checking out customers, and are superior to what you now have. Tools: As I mentioned earlier, I want a system that provides me with the ability to track inventory and total sales. Does this system do that? Alice: No, it doesn’t. We sell systems that can monitor inventory, but they are more expensive. You presently have some type of system for tracking inventory, don’t you? Tools: Yes, but it is time-consuming and I have always been concerned about its accuracy. Alice: We could provide you with an inventory tracking system. But, in your case, it may not be worth the extra cost. Tools: I’d really be interested in a system that is quicker than my present system and can track sales and inventory. I would also like to begin using bar codes, rather than individually pricing each item. Alice: We carry the CR2500. This system would provide you with the ability to do these things. However, this system runs quite a bit more. Tools: Will this system allow me to monitor sales hourly? Alice: I believe it will. This is a fairly new system. It’s an update of an earlier model. Some changes were made, and I’m not sure exactly what has been changed. Tools: Can the system break out sales by department? Alice: The older version of this system could. I am sure the new version can also. If you would like, Mr. Tools, I can write you a proposal for installing the CR2500. When I finish the proposal we can meet again to further discuss the CR2500.

Questions

With regard to Alice, what sales training needs can you identify?

If you were Alice’s sales manager and you discovered that several of your salespeople had training needs similar to those of Alice, what methods would you suggest for training the salesforce to improve in deficient areas?

What are the effects of sales training on salesforce motivation and morale?