Dave Parrett, sales manager for Ace Chemicals, is wrestling with the issue of how to get Kay Powers back on track. Kay has been with the company for 20 years. Historically, she had been one of the company’s top salespeople, but her performance has fallen off during the past three or four years. That concerns Dave, because Kay calls on some of Ace’s largest accounts. She earned each of those assignments. When she joined Ace Chemicals, Kay turned heads with her performance. She secured business in companies the firm had never previously served. Customers were extremely pleased with the service she provided. Ace received more unsolicited compliments on how she serviced her accounts than on any other salesperson. Her call reports indicated she made more calls in a week than almost any other salesperson with the company, and her sales showed it. She regularly exceeded the quotas she was assigned. All this has changed in the last few years. Kay has developed very few new accounts. Complaints from customers, while not the highest in the sales force, have shown a marked increase. Kay seems to start later and quit earlier than she used to. She makes fewer calls most weeks than most of the other salespeople. She has barely met her quota in three of the last five years and fell short of it once. Yet she is still a good enough salesperson that her annual income (salary and commissions) exceeds six figures. Senior management is pushing to increase productivity. Several younger salespeople are eager to move into larger, more demanding accounts. Dave contemplated the future and considered his next move.

Questions

1. Why has Kay’s performance deteriorated? Suggest ways to help improve her performance.
2. If you were Dave Parrett, what would you do in this situation?
3. What do you with a salesperson who is no longer great?