Case 2.2 (p. 38) Burgauer Business Computers

* Based on the outcome of Olivia's meetings to date, what next steps are appropriate to pursue the Burgauer account? Using the ADAPT method described on page 23, and specific individuals in the target account, structure the questions by individual and goal of the next meeting.

38 Part One Describing the Personal Selling Function any chance that he would be able to sell to Wick's in the future? It was now Friday night, and Tom was heading home. It had been a tough week, and he was looking forward to the weekend. The Wick's situa- tion with Best Night had not gone the way he hoped it would, but now that he had decided what to do, he was feeling better. Tom did not like to lose, and as he drove home, more than once he thought, "I'll show Wick's. If you don't play ball with me, I'll take the business through Good Food Wholesalers." Tom planned to call Grace Lamkin over the weekend and run the plan by her. Next week, he planned on hitting all of the Best Night Inns with the Good Food Wholesalers salespeople. CASE 2.2: BURGAUER BUSINESS COMPUTERS Background Burgauer Business Computers (BBC) is a 20-year- old company operating throughout the United States, providing large retail customers with hand- held computers and proprietary software to support the retail sales cffort. The basic idea is that BBC works with electronics and home improve- ment retailers to store information that help retail salespeople as they attempt to make or facilitate sales in the store. Typical information includes product availability, specifications and technical information, pricing, product reviews and compari- sons, and installation guidance when appropriate. Questions 1. How likely is it that Tom Olivia will be success- ful in the short term with this strategy? 2. What are the longer-run implications of this strategy for Tom Olivia and Jordan Wholesale Marketplace? 3. If you were Grace Lamkin, what advice would you give Tom? Role Play Situation: Read Case 2.1. Characters: Tom Olivia, Jordan Wholesale Mar- ketplace sales representative; Grace Lamkin, Jordan Wholesale Market- place sales manager Scene: Location-Tom and Grace talk on the phone on Saturday morning, Action- Grace expresses some concerns about Tom's plans for gaining the Best Night Inn business. She thinks that it is important that Jordan Wholesale Marketplace rekindle its relationship ROLE PLAY with Wick's and feels that Tom's plan could have a major negative impact on any chance of doing business with Wick's in the future. Tom is focused on making his numbers and thinks that Grace is unfairly holding him back. Upon completion of the role play, address these questions 1. With an existing customer (Good Food Wholesalers) and two potential customers (wholesaler Wick's and end user Best Night Inn), how would you assess Tom's focus? Is it customer-oriented? Is it based on delivering cus- tomer value! 2. Assume that Tom proceeds with his plan to call on Best Night Inn with the Good Food Wholesalers salespeople. Would this preclude Current Situation Olivia Hartsell is a major accounts representative for BBC, serving five states in the Midwest. She is responsible for sales multi-store electronics retail chains that are headquartered in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Olivia is respon- sible for securing new retail customers, upgrading and reselling to existing customers, and working with technical support personnel to ensure smooth installation and ongoing operations in the retail stores. A month ago, Olivia heard about an interesting new sales opportunity. Brighter Office, a Web- based office supply retailer, had announced plans to build five stores in Illinois and Michigan over the next 18 months. In addition to office supplies, com- puters, and furniture, Brighter Office announced that its stores would move aggressively into several consumer electronics categories, including televi- sions and related audio-video items. BBC had not previously sold to office supply retailers, but Olivia had been given the go-ahead to pursue the Brighter Office account Olivia moved quickly to set up introductory meetings with several Brighter Office executives to explore the possible use of BBC handheld computers by Brighter Office salespeople. Over the course of two weeks, she met with Jim Denver, director of purchasing, MaryAnn Eden, director of manage- ment information systems, Bob Porter, director of retail sales operations, and Kirk Wolfe, chief finan- cial officer. After meeting with these four people individually, she met with them together in an hour-long session to be sure that she fully under- stood what Brighter Office hoped to achieve with the electronics category and what they expected if a Chapter Two Overview of Personal Selling 39 indication if a lease arrangement might be a pos- sibility if an outright purchase was not feasible. Questions 1. What additional information does Olivia Hartsell need before she can attempt to make the sale to Brighter Office? 2. Using the ADAPT questioning method dis- cussed in this chapter, develop 5-7 questions for the first two stages-A assess the buyer's situa- tion) and D (discover the buyer's needs)that could be directed to MaryAnn Eden and Bob Porter. Note that there may be some questions that would be appropriate for both Eden and Porter, but some unique questions for Eden and Porter would definitely be appropriate. ROLE PLAY decision was made to utilize handheld computers as a retails sales tool. Following the meeting, Olivia made some notes about her impressions of the key players from Brighter Office: Jim Denver, director of purchasing-Jim is the key contact person and was helpful in setting up the group meeting. He will not have much to say about the go or no-go decision on hand- helds, but he will expect prompt delivery and installation, mistake-free billing, and reassur- ances before the sale that BBC will be a reliable source of supply. MaryAnn Eden, director of management infor- mation systemsshe will be very influential in making the go or no-go decision and selecting a supplier if it is a go. She is an information tech- nology expert and seemed rather impatient when other Brighter Office personnel expressed opin- ions about how the handhelds should be uti- lized. In particular, MaryAnn wants all the information stored on the corporate server and have it accessible on a password-protected portion of the Brighter Office home page. The handheld computers would be used only to access the Brighter Office home page. She thinks that handheld may be an unnecessary expense, and thinks that the retail sales associates can access the Brighter Office home page from a small number of stationary computers located in scat- tered positions in the stores. Bob Porter, director of retail sales operations- Bob couldn't care less about the details of the handheld technology, and he was quick to point out that he needed to know how these "gadgets would increase sales and customer satisfaction, He seemed worried that retail operations would be charged for the expense of the handhelds and he is very interested in the payback. In a nutshell, will the handhelds be a worthwhile investment? He is somewhat concerned that, if Brighter Office does not go with the handhelds, the company may be perceived as lagging in technology Kirk Wolfe, chief financial officer-hard to read him. He said very little during the meetings and would not reveal whether Brighter Office had a budget allocated for handhelds, or even a general category for retail sales support. He gave no Role Play Situation: Read Case 2.2. Characters: Olivia Hartsell, BBC sales representa- tive; MaryAnn Eden, Brighter Office director of management information systems. Scene 1: Location-MaryAnn Eden's office. Action-Using the questions previ- ously developed for question 2, Olivia Hartsell tries to learn more about MaryAnn Eden's situation and her particular needs. Scene 2: Location-Bob Porter's office. Action-Using the questions previ- ously developed for question 2, Olivia Hartsell tries to learn more about Bob Porter's situation and his particular needs Upon completion of the role play, answer these questions: 1. Did the Olivia Hartsell character adequately assess the situation and determine the buyer's needs for both MaryAnn Eden and Bob Porter? 2. What should Olivia Hartsell try to accomplish in her next sales calls on Brighter Office Chapter Two Overview of Personal Selling 23 features do for their customers) of their offerings to buyer motives. Salespeople also need to be knowledgeable about their competitors and developments in the marketplace Specific skills that are important in the sales process include listening, questioning, sales dialogue skills, and sales presentation skills. Listening and questioning go hand in hand and are extremely important in understanding the buyer's viewpoint and deter- mining their unique needs. Questioning methodologies such as SPIN (to be discussed later) and ADAPT are helpful to salespeople in determining relevant questions that can ultimately lead to productive interactions with buyers. The ADAPT method suggests that questions should be used to Assess the buyer's situation, Discover the buyer's needs, Activate the buying process, Project the impact of solving a problem or realizing an opportunity, and make a Transition to the sales presentation or the next step in the buying process. One purpose of the ADAPT method is to develop an efficient, relevant line of questioning that will help both the salesperson and the buyer find common ground for sales dialogue and sales presentations. In addition to questioning and listening, salespeople must have sales presentation and sales dialogue skills. The term sales presentation is traditionally used to describe the face-to-face interactions between buyers and sellers. The term implies more information flowing from the salesperson, though buyers certainly participate during most sales presentations. Key presentation skills include explaining the features and benefits of the product, producing additional information to reinforce claims made, using audiovisual sales aides, and, in some cases, demonstrating the product. Sales presentation skills remain essential for salespeople, but sales dialogue skills are also important for an easing number of sal Sales dialogue involve conversations that take place over time as salespeople attempt to initiate, develop, and enhance relationships with customers. Common sales dialogues include: determining if a prospective customer has the financial resources and an adequate interest in making a future purchase to warrant additional follow-up assessing the prospective customer's situation and buying processes discovering the prospective customer's specific needs and requirements confirming the prospective customer's strategic priorities illustrating how the sales organization can create and deliver customer value negotiating an agreement to do business building customer value by providing additional opportunities assessing the extent to which the customer is satisfied with the value received These and other business conversations comprising sales dialogue should be driven by a clear purpose and should be customer-focused. Otherwise, time can be wasted, some- thing both buyer and sellers would like to avoid. Sales dialogue features a back-and-forth, two-way conversation between buyers and sellers, with both parties benefiting from their participation. Trust-Building as a Sales Foundation To be successful at trust-building with their customers, research indicates that sales- people should demonstrate five key attributes: customer orientation, competence or expertise, dependability, candor or honesty, and compatibility Carew International, a leading sales training and consulting company, understands the importance of trust- building. Noting that business relationships seek mutual benefit, profits, efficiency, and growth for both buyers and sellers, Carcw cmphatically states that the foundation these beneficial relationships is trust. Carew urges salespeople to demonstrate on a daily basis a firm commitment to doing the right thing. According to Carew, the right thing is a multidimensional concept, with telling the truth, being reliable, and dedica- tion to the customer's well-being as key sales behaviors. It is important to note that salespeople's trustworthiness and overall reputation is casily shared within buyers' networks of professional acquaintances. With communications technology making