Introduction
James William is the sales manager in Hops Distributors, Inc, local beer distributor which carries one of the top national brands located in Kansas City, Kansas. The firm has 500 accounts in each of its sales territories. Recently, Hops has switched its mode of operation from geographic only sales territory to customer-oriented strategy. The new strategy has segmented the customers on the basis of cases of beer ordered into four categories. The strategy focuses on calling the high volume users only. The sales commission for the category with highest has a lesser commission for which salespeople might me less interested to make a call. So the case talks about the challenges James has to face to implement the new strategy and to make the proper guidelines for the training of the salespeople to work with customer strategy. The salespeople need to work closely with the customers due to the segmentation of the customer on the basis of case of beer consumptions.
Discussion
1. Evaluate the pros and cons of the new strategy.
Hop Distributors Inc. has adopted a customer-based strategy from geographic-only sales territories. Since the new strategy is customer based, the salespeople will be working in close relationship with the customers. The new strategy has classified its customers on the basis of consumption of the beer, this helps the company to learn about its customer's buying pattern. The working for the customers very closely by the employees can help to know the customers and their habit. This ultimately will increase the productivity of the organization.
There are also disadvantages as a result of the new strategy. The new strategy seems to be unequally distributed challenges with the four categories, calling only high earning category 4 could wipe out possible sales and earnings in other categories. The new strategy seems to hamper the sales and the organization due to unequal division and earnings of sales commission.
2. Has James properly divided the accounts? Why or why not?
No, James has not divided the accounts properly. The commission that the salesperson is going to earn in a 4th category is pretty low though it has the most difficult of a task to sell the beers in mass. The growth opportunity in other categories is quite low as compared to categories 4. Also, there seems to be favoritism to only one salesperson so it's less likely that other salesperson will not be willing to work in the organization. The divided accounts clearly demotivate the salespeople to work harder since the commission earning, and growth opportunity is low.
3. What kind of training should Hops implement to facilitate the implementation of the new territory approach?
Before implementing the new territory approach, training analysis should be conducted regarding issues about the training attendant, objectives, and topics that will be taught. The training should determine on conducting a need assessment, training objectives, training program content, responsibility, method, delivery, timing and location for training, prepare trainees, motivate trainees, reinforce training, and evaluate training.
Considering the determinant factor of training, Hop should focus on the customer-oriented training approach. The training program and its contents should be more focused on customer approach. Focusing highly on customer approach will increase the productivity of the company. The training should be focused on working closely with the customers and increasing the amount of consumption of the product.
4. What topics should be included in the training program?
The main objective of the training is to give an overall vision of the organization, who they are, what they sell, how they sell, and whom they sell. The topics that should be included in the training program
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What is the product?
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Why do people buy it?
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Who participates in the buying process?
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How do I differentiate the product?
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Who are the major competitors?
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What are the strengths and weaknesses of our
product and the competitors’ products?
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What are the product’s price and terms of sale?
So while conducting training, the trainee must know about the products what they are going to sell and make clear about the internal and the external environments regarding strength, weakness of self and the competitors. The training should focus on market penetration, and customer's behavior and requirements. The training should teach management, business, and leadership skills, and personal effectiveness and behavioral skills.
Conclusion
In conclusion, James has created a new strategy to shift the focus of the company form geographic to customer-oriented strategy. The new strategy does not seem working nicely with the categorization of its sales territory on the basis of consumption of the beer. The distribution of the responsibility unequally and improper commission distribution has been demotivating the salespeople. The commission on high selling categories is lower and also the highest selling is given on the basis of favoritism to only one sales manager. James needs to properly design the training program and teach his Salesforce to perform well, and sell more number of beer cases.
References
Unknown. Training Topics. Retrieved May 15, 2019, from
https://shop.cipd.co.uk/shop/cipd-training/courses-qualifications
Schwartz Dan. (2017, April 12). 3 Topics Every New Manager Training Should Include. Retrieved May 15, 2019, from
https://trainingindustry.com/articles/leadership/3-topics-every-new-manager-training-should-include/?utm_content=cpdc
Stevens Earl. (2011, Aug 9). 10. sales training territory management. Retrieved May 15, 2019, from
https://www.slideshare.net/earlstevens58/10-sales-training-territory-management
