“I’m like the quarterback of the team. I manage 250 accounts, and anything from billing issues, to service issues, to selling the products. I’m really the face to the customer,” says Alison Capossela, a Washington, DC–based Xerox sales representative. As the primary company contact for Xerox customers, Alison is responsible for developing and maintaining customer relationships. To accomplish this she uses a sophisticated selling process which requires many activities from making presentations, to attending training sessions, to managing a team of Xerox personnel, to monitoring competitors’ activities. The face-to-face interactions with customers, however, are the most rewarding for Capossela. “It’s an amazing feeling; the more they challenge me the more I fight back. It’s fun!” she explains.

Questions
1. Why was Anne Mulcahy’s experience as a sales representative an important part of Xerox’s growth in recent years?
2. How did the sales approach change after Mulcahy became the CEO of Xerox?
3. (a) How does Xerox create customer value through its personal selling process?
(b) How does Alison Capossela provide solutions for Xerox customers?
4. Why is the Xerox training program so important to the company’s success?