The interview between Fred and victor

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Business Finance

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Case Study 5.1, Help Wanted, Page 165 in the text

The Case Study 1 assignment should include the following information in double-spaced, paragraph form in the order provided:

Paragraph 1: Provide a brief synopsis of the case study. Please include critical information you will reference in subsequent paragraphs.

Following Paragraphs: Respond to the items 1 through 4 in the case study. Please provide supporting details as necessary. Put yourself in the Victor or Fred’s position…….what would you do? Remember the resources you have available to support your responses.

Final Paragraph: Respond to item 5. Support your response with information that would be beneficial if Fred were to read your responses.

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164 Part Three Developing the Salesforce MAKING SALES MANAGEMENT DECISIONS CASE 5.1: HELP WANTED! Background Fred Sutton, sales manager for Batops, a small regional manufacturer and marketer of various grades of batteries based out of Kansas City, has been experiencing a difficult time filling an open sales rep position that was vacated by a rep who quickly left the company due to his spouse's job transfer. As the weeks and months passed, Fred began to feel significant pressure and was becoming anxious about filling this position. Reps in his dis- trict were complaining that helping to service cus- tomers in the open territory was taking a toll on relationships with their existing customers. Conse- quently, Fred was concerned with the level of service current customers in the vacated territory were receiving. Moreover, no prospecting had been con- ducted in the territory since it was vacated, making it difficult to increase sales volume. To compound matters, Fred has been helping to cover the vacated territory and it was starting to detrimentally affect his ability to properly manage his salesforce. Fred realized that the longer the position was left vacant, the greater the chances for damaged customer rela- tionships and the larger the lost sales opportunity. Fred's boss, Sean Lexington, was a tolerant individ- ual, but his patience was wearing thin. Fred knew that if he did not fill the position soon, not only would his personal income be hurt, but he risked receiving a poor performance appraisal. Given that his last appraisal was less than stellar he wanted to avoid this at all costs. Fred has been undertaking an extensive search to fill the vacant position. He placed a classified ad in the local newspaper, the Kansas City Star. Addi- tionally, he contacted the career placement offices of local colleges and universities to see whether they had any leads on potential candidates. This attracted a limited pool of candidates, several of which were interviewed for the position. However, Fred was having a difficult time finding a proper fit. Some candidates were simply unqualified for the position. The qualified candidates seemed to lose interest upon learning more about what the position entailed. The vacant position is demanding. It requires extensive overnight travel and some weekend travel. The job is also physically demanding, requiring lift- ing heavy product, assembling displays and spending grueling hours on the road driving from account to account. The salary is primarily commission-based, with the average salesperson earning about $45,000 his or her first year. Within five years, the average salesperson with the company makes about $75,000 a year. However, the earnings potential is great for star performers, with some earning $150,000 annually. Although there was money to be made as a salesperson, the company's size limited the oppor- tunities for promotion. The company offers little formal training. Salespeople are provided a training manual and most of the training occurs on the job. Salespeople at Batops are required to be very customer-oriented. In addition, they need good prospecting skills since the company is constantly trying to acquire new customers given its relatively high customer turnover rate. Furthermore, the per- son who fills this position must have outstanding planning and organizing skills, leadership skills, be persuasive, show initiative, and possess strong com- munication skills, including the ability to write, speak and listen. Current Situation Fred believes that his inability to fill the vacant position stems from not making the position look attractive enough to potential candidates. Thus, to increase the attractiveness of the position, he decided to rewrite his newspaper ad, neglecting to mention some of the responsibilities of the job. In particular, he downplayed the travel associated with the position and emphasized the high earnings potential. In doing so, he noticed an increase in job applications. Fred reasoned that if he could make the job sound attractive enough he could persuade someone to take it, who surely later would find it a rewarding opportunity. What follows are some excerpts from a recent interview with Victor Shell, a candidate attracted by the new round of advertising. Victor recently gradu- ated with a degree in marketing from a well-respected university in the area. Although he has limited sales experience, he otherwise appears to be qualified for the position. Fred: Victor, you'll be responsible for selling various lines of batteries to retailers throughout the Mid- west. You'll service existing accounts in your ter- ritory as well as prospect for new accounts. We participate in two trade shows a year, which should provide you with good opportunities to prospect. Victor: Does the position entail overnight stay? Fred: Yes, there's some overnight travel involved, depending upon where your customers are located. However, we pay for all your travel expenses, including your lodging and meals. I haven't heard many complaints from our sales- force regarding travel requirements. Chapter Five Acquiring Sales Talent: Recruitment and Selection 165 Questions 1. Assess Fred's interview with Victor. Victor: Do you have a training program? Fred: We have a fine training program. Our current salespeople have been through our training pro- gram and each one is performing quite well right now. Our training manual is particularly helpful for learning new product knowledge. Once you get into the field, you will find the product prac- tically sells itself. Victor: Are there ample opportunities for promo- tion? Fred: We try to promote from within as much as pos- sible. There is no reason why a hardworking ambi- tious person should not be able to get promoted in this company. In fact, I began my career as a delivery person for Batops, was promoted to sales, and from there moved into sales management. Victor: I understand the job pays a salary plus com- mission. Fred: That's correct. Our starting base salary is $25,000. However, with commission, you could earn as much as $150,000! With little effort you should have no problem making about $50,000- $60,000 your first year. . 2. How are the key concepts of socialization related to this situation? Explain. 3. What do you think might happen to Victor should he accept the position? 4. What responsibility does Victor have when inter- viewing for a position such as this? 5. How do you think that Fred could improve his recruitment and selection process? Role Play ROLE PLAY Situation: Read Case 5.1. Characters: Fred Sutton, sales manager; Sean Lex- ington, Fred's boss; Victor Shell, sales candidate. Scene 1: Location—Sean's office. Action-Fred meets with Sean to discuss the actions that have been taken to date to fill the vacant sales position. Sean provides Fred with advice on how to improve his recruitment and selection strategy. Scene 2: Location-Fred's office. Action-Fred interviews Victor for the position. This time he is careful to avoid misrepresen- tation and takes actions to achieve real- ism and congruence. After interviewing two candidates for the posi- tion resulting from his new approach, Fred decided he would forgo any more interviews and make a job offer to Victor, given his apparent interest, and Fred's strong desire to quickly fill the position. Vic- tor was very excited about the offer Fred extended to him. Two days ago he interviewed for a sales posi- tion at another company that also extended him an offer. Although this company was reputable, and the offer sounded like a solid opportunity, it did not sound as appealing as the opportunity at Batops. He is leaning toward accepting the offer from Batops, but he wants to talk it over with his wife. He likes the fact that there is not much overnight travel. He and his wife recently had a baby son and Victor does not want to be away from his new family too much. The fact that the company provides training also appeals to him. Although he took a sales class in college, he believes he can be more successful with additional company training. The other com- pany Victor interviewed with offered a one-week training program, which he thought might not be enough. The compensation is particularly appeal- ing. The offer from the other company included a higher base salary, but first-year earnings were expected to be only about $45,000 and there was no mention of earning $150,000. With student loans to pay off, Victor is interested in earning as much as he can as quickly as possible. Although Victor is eager to sell, he wants to land a job with a company that provides ample opportunity for pro- motion. Based on his conversation with Fred, Vic- tor sensed such opportunity existed at Batops. CASE 5.2: STUCK IN THE PAST Background Steelrock Industries manufactures and markets industrial equipment throughout the United States. Last year, Steelrock did more than $2 billion in sales and appeared to be in an upward growth trend. The company has grown considerably since its inception in 1974. Founder and CEO Carman Pulte is proud of the progress the company has achieved over the years, despite considerable aggressive competition. He attributes much of Steelrock's success to his management team, most of whom have been with him since the company's founding. David Winston had been vice president of sales and marketing at Steelrock since 1977. Two months ago, he retired and was replaced by Duane Rowland. Duane had been in product design and engineering at Steelrock since 1989. Well-educated, articulate, and likable, Rowland was believed to be the best candidate for the position. Rowland, a very methodical individual, set as his first task an assessment of the marketing program.
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Help Wanted
The interview between Fred and victor was not effective since the information given to
Victor, the interviewee was false. The information was to attract the interviewee to accept the job
and find the truth after the offer in the organization. Furthermore, the interviewer asked questions
as Interviewer answer. This indicates one-way communication. It also indicates unpreparedness
of the interviewer to conduct the interview. Therefore, the interview lacked some important
elements.
The concept of socialization relates to the case presented in some ways. The case
indicates Fred conducting an interview but without prior preparation to ...


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