Assignment 3 - Skaggs Manufacturing Case Study

CASE 5.1 Skaggs Manufacturing

John Andrews arrived promptly for his 10 am meeting with Martha Gillespie, the buyer for Skaggs Manufacturing. At 10:15, when she hadn't arrived, John asked her secretary if she was out of the office for the morning. The secretary smiled and said, "She'll probably be a few minutes late." John resented this delay and was convinced that Martha had forgotten the appointment.

Finally, at 10:20, Martha entered her office, walked over to John, said hello, and promptly excused herself to talk to the secretary about a tennis game scheduled for that afternoon. Ten minutes later, Martha led John into her office. At the same time, a competing salesperson entered the office for a 10:30 appointment. With the door open, Martha asked John, "What's new today?" As John began to talk, Martha began reading letters on her desk and signing them. Shortly after that, the telephone began to ring, whereupon Martha talked to her husband for 10 minutes.

As she hung up, Martha looked at John and suddenly realized his frustration. She promptly buzzed her secretary and said, "Hold all calls." She got up and shut the door. John again began his presentation when Martha leaned backward in her chair, pulled her golf shoes out of a desk drawer, and began to brush them.

About that time, the secretary entered the office and said, "Martha, your 10:30 appointment is about to leave. What should I tell him" "Tell him to wait; I need to see him." Then she said, "John, I wish we had more time. Look, I think I have enough of your product to last until your next visit. I'll see you then. Thanks for coming by."

John quickly rose to his feet, did not shake hands, said "OK," and left.

Review case 4-1 on page 129.

1. List a minimum of 5 nonverbal cues that John Alvez experienced during this meeting.
2. For each of these actions, how should John have responded and why?
3. How could John have reduced his stress when he found out the client was running late?
4. Based on the client's behaviour, which communication barriers do you think were present?
5. Determine if the client showed Caution or Disagreement signals. Describe the attributes and logic of your choice and the keys steps for overcoming this problem.
6. Explain how John could have used empathy in this situation and why empathy is important in sales success.
7. Find an image that represents John's feelings during this meeting. Include Image Citation.