House Handy Products manufactures plastic products and utensils for use in several situations. The company produces and sells a vast range of products that can be used in the home (plastic cooking utensils, food storage containers, dish drainers, laundry baskets, etc.), in the garage (garbage cans, workbench, and garden tool organizers), and recreationally (coolers, plastic cups, plates and eating utensils, fishing tackle boxes, etc.). The company is extremely innovative and introduces many new products every year. House Handy’s CEO has set the goal to have products introduced in the previous five years account for 65 percent of current-year sales. This goal puts tremendous pressure on the research and development department to design, test, and develop potential new products. It also requires the sales force to stay knowledgeable about the new products and work hard to have them stocked by retail partners. House Handy’s products are sold in full-line discount stores, national grocery store chains, and home and garden stores located throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Each representative is responsible for up to 25 retail outlets in his or her territory. Sales reps call on specific department managers (housewares, sporting goods, grocery) in the stores and seek to develop relationships that lead to mutually beneficial results for both the department and House Handy.
The relationship-building process includes:
1. Managing the inventory of their products in the store and placing orders when inventory needs replenishing.
2. Troubleshooting any problems (for example, shipping or billing errors) that may occur.
3. Working with the department manager to secure shelf space for the many new products that House Handy introduces every year.
4. Building end-of-aisle and point-of-purchase displays to give the company’s products more visibility and enhance the profit potential of House Handy’s products for the department.
5. Expediting orders when necessary.
6. Working with store managers when they want to run a promotion that takes their product out of the departments in which it is usually located. For example, at the beginning of spring, during the week before Memorial Day, and around the Fourth of July, coolers are moved to a point-of-purchase display near the entrance of each store.
House Handy’s sales force consists of both recruits and more experienced representatives. About 35 percent of the sales force have two years of experience or less with the company. The company recruits most of its new salespeople from universities around the country. It divides the United States into four regions and identifies 12 universities in each region as target universities. They are chosen based on the strength of their academic programs, the student body’s work ethic, and the willingness of graduates to relocate to other areas of the region. The Canadian and Puerto Rican locations follow similar strategies adapted to their specific situations. Recruits are assigned to a sales territory where they will work for a district manager. District managers typically are responsible for 15 to 20 sales representatives. The company assigns a mentor to each recruit to answer any questions he or she has. Initial training comes in the form of product manuals. Recruits are told, “Walk around the stores and see for yourself what goes on.” Training for each new product is also done through product manuals.

Questions

1. What type of training do you recommend that House Handy provide new members of its sales force? How should this training differ from that provided to the company’s more experienced sales reps?
2. Discuss the various methods House Handy could use to provide its sales force with ongoing training. What method or methods of training would make the most sense for House Handy’s sales force? Justify your response.
3. Suppose House Handy implements a comprehensive training program for not just recruits but also experienced reps.
How can House Handy’s VP of sales determine if she is getting any return on the money she invests in training the sales force? What specific items would you recommend she measure to make that determination?