Jive Software Case
1. Put yourself in Wilson's shoes when he is first hired. You have to formalize Jive's sales functions. What are the core building blocks of the sales function you need to put in place?
Jive sales were brisk and was on the track for $2 million annualy in 2004. It was no wonder that Jive’s customer count hit the 1,000 mark by the end of the year. So, when Jive moved to Portland from New York because it is cheaper to operate there, Wilson was hired as Vice-President of sales. He had more than a decade experience in start-up software companies. In my opinion, to make clear Jive’s sales functions, firstly VP of the Jive should put the main target of how many customers to reach for example in one year period and the plan for annual sales numbers. I will also hire some representatives in each region to operate more sufficiently. One of the main challenges of sales team was identifying legitimate customers amongst the huge number. In this case as the sales manager, we need to contact with the customers personally to make them feel that the Jive cares about them and then from big pool choose the most legitimate ones. I will also hire some young sales representatives with different language skills. Because, they had problems with serving the customers with poor english. The sales representatives could be not qualified as the sales manager, so we can train them. The main thing is language skills. In my opinion the customer care will influence the improvement in sales.
2. Evaluate the strategy of using team vs. individual coverage/quota models. What are the pros and cons of each approach? Suggest an alternative coverage/quota model.
In this case study we can see that when Dennis Deveny and Sarah D...
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...on John McCracken as the new VP of Sales in Q109. What steps should McCracken take to mitigate the problems in sales?
With ref to the Sales Learning Curve - Adjust the sales strategy he learns by using the sales learning process that unfolds in three phases—each requiring a different size sales force with different skills:
Initiation: Once the products are beta-tested and have few potential customers. Should hire three to four salespeople to learn how customers will use the product and to support other parts of the company in refining the offering as well as marketing and selling strategies.
Look for salespeople who: Communicate well with teams from other functions, Tolerate ambiguity, Have a deep interest in product technology, Can bring customers together with various functional teams in your firm, Can develop their own sales models and collateral material.
Comparing the breakeven orders, trade show option will need fewer orders to reach the break-even point than sales representative option. However, the two options both have some qualitative factors need to be considered. To go to trade shows, Kluger and Orol will have a long working day, which may decrease their morale and find it difficult to predict customers’. To hire sale representatives, Kluger and Orol will have conflict with the sales representatives on structuring the commission and Kluger and Orol will not know whether the representatives will prioritize Foxy business when thinking about personal
TQL can put a single sales supervisor into place and divide teams and appoint team leaders immediately. Due to the lack of managerial experience among the account executives the Executive Sales Managers may wish to hold the sales supervisor position until a manager can be placed and properly trained. During this time, non-montary methods of rewards should be discussed for the team leaders duties. TQL should start low and move up with rewards based on performance as a team leader. Some may currently act as an unofficial team leader and may not expect significant reimbursement and TQL should take advantage of these persons.
As the salespeople’s immediate supervisor, it is the primary responsibility of the manager to provide proper training to enhance the salespersons’ effectiveness and improve their skills. Given the importance of having a productive and enthusiastic sales team, the manager needs to develop and manage effective reward and compensation packages to ensure a highly motivated and satisfied sales force. Sales managers also ensure that the company 's standards of professionalism, image, and branding are consistent with the sales team’s interaction with company customers. The manager 's presence also makes customers feel valued as well as provide credibility on behalf of the company (Pilling, Donthu, & Henson,
For sale force, we total spent $250,00 of sales office costs in two cities which is, Paris-EMEA and Shanghai-APAC that we found those two cities both have sufficient market size for our target market. The largest market size is in the Paris-EMEA which can both meet all customers need. In the Paris-EMEA, we hired total 6 people in the Paris-EMEA that 2 people for Support, 2 people for Workhorse and 2 people for Traveler. Be compared with Paris-EMEA, Shanghai-APAC doesn’t have a larger market size, but we still hire 7 people in the Shanghai-APAC, and we let 2 people for Support, 3 people for Workhouse and 2 people for Traveler.
Sales and delivery personnel have a unique system and they work well together. Large sales force of over 10,000 individuals.
Sales Force (SF) is an important aspect to any company’s success. In the past, we have known to associate SF with aggressive selling, as that was their main approach in obtaining revenue for many companies. Technological advances have changed the way companies utilize its SF. However, SF remains to be a direct link between customers and companies as they are the face associated with the brand (Kotler& Keller, 2012, p. 554). Companies must set attainable objectives and strategies that are specific to its SF. The cost per sales person at Allround is $60,000, which includes training. Having a well-trained SF is key in making the brand a success. If the SF is not well trained they may not leave a good impression, which can hinder
The sales leads are now centralized and accessible across branches rather than individually gathered and processed by salespeople. In standardizing customer information, it now makes the marketing teams, analytic teams, and customer managers on the same page. It creates a “friendly competition” that encourages close cooperation for all areas. One major cost that this new strategy created was the confusion of different areas in RBC. Product managers and customer managers often misunderstood what way of action was appropriate, which lead to another problem: it took more time to make decisions. A benefit of this change is that there was no fighting for resources and instead cooperation. Another benefit would be the divisional organization, which can be seen in Exhibits 3a and
Focus on the needs of the customer and put the needs of the employee second, follow by the need of the leader as the last so to develop and grow the relationship of the customers while strengthening the
Growing sales through service: TP came up with new methods to satisfy customers. Furthermore, employees got trained on acting in customers favour.
A Review and Assessment of Its Critiques, Journal of Management, SAGE. Viewed on5th April 2011, at http://jom.sagepub.com/content/36/1/349.full.pdf+html
Sales people are motivated to the degree that he or she believes '(1) effort will yield acceptable performance, (2) performance will be rewarded, and (3) the value of the rewards is highly positive' (2003, p.20). For sales people to reap rewards or benefits, they first need to know the expectancy of their position. During this first stage, the managers will layout the training that is needed and will set their goals. The managers are also responsible for continued follow up and coaching. Often times this type of follow up is accomplished on the sales floor, so they may continue to have a high level of performance. The coaching is kept positive so that the sales person may continue to exert a higher level of performance. Floor coaching and setting the standards helps sales people see and understand the performance levels that are required. It is also up to the manager to choose highly talented people that are able to accomplish the sales goals that are given.
3. What do you think Wal-Mart could do to develop an improved ethical culture and respond more positively to its diverse stakeholders?
Mr. Rankin is the person responsible for the technical implementation of a new customer relationship management software. The company he works for is having great success with initial sales across the country, but when it comes to repeat customers, it seems the numbers are lacking. This software, in theory, should increase the levels of follow-up service nation-wide. At this point, the company employs three hundred and ten people and maintains their low prices, which is how they get their initial business.
A sales manager has many responsibilities such as spreading product to customers, setting sales areas, goals, and analyzing sales data (“Sales Manager” What’s para. 1). Although a sales manager performs many duties, people in this position will also set a sales goal for the year, and will build a sales outlook on what they will do in the upcoming years (“Sales Manager” Sokanu para. 1).A person in this position will also manage where the goods and products their company will be distributing by giving certain sales area where a salesman will work and sell the product (“Sales Manager” Sokanu para. 2). During work time, a sales manager may be asked to hire and train a new salesman added to his team (“Sales Manager” Sokanu para. 3). Occasionally, a sales manager will interpret sales statistics in a specific area when looking where to assign certain salesman to a sales territory (“Sales Manager” Sokanu pa...
With the current revolution in the corporate world, many organizations find the need to keep up with the set trends in the corporate scene. This is essential for them to maintain relevance as well as achieve set targets and strategic objectives. One of the aspects business management is sales personnel management. This is an important business aspect that can lead to efficiency, as well as effectiveness in business, if executed accordingly. This study will seek to analyze the various tools and techniques used in sales personnel management.