Centroid Computer Corporation Case Studies Examples

Alan is not doing a good job in his new sales management position. His management technique is micromanaging and he is creating a lack of confidence between his sales staff and their customers. Even though it might be beneficial to both Alan and the sales people he manages to observe their selling techniques and to offer feedback concerning their methods, the time to provide that feedback is not in front of the customers. Even if he does not agree with the sales pitch that is being presented, he should not disrupt the salesperson during their presentation.
Alan’s responsibilities include planning, deploying, performance management, selling/market development, and company administration. Planning sales goals establishes a tangible amount of sales to be achieved and should take approximately 17% of his time. The deployment of his sales people outlines the specific goals for the day by determining the customers or areas the salesperson should focus on, and should take approximately 13% of his time. Managing the performance of his sales people should take approximately 29% of his time and includes monitoring the sales and prospecting activity of the sales people. Selling and marketing development includes the training and development of the sales people and meeting with customer, with the majority of the time spent on this task focusing on the sales person. This should take approximately 32% of his time. Company administration should account for 10% of his time (Fritz, 2008). By spending the majority of his time in the field, Alan is unable to attend to his other responsibilities.
Alan’s behavior could have a long-term effect on his sales people, their customers, and the company. Constant supervision can make the members of the sales people lose confidence in themselves as it adds pressure to their performance. It could also lead to an increase in the employee turnover rate. The reported comments from customers indicate that Alan’s presence is unwelcomed and is creating a lack of confidence, which negatively affects the reputations of both the sales people and the company. To moderate the situation, Alan needs to step back and try a different management style. With a seven state territory, he could use e-mail and text messages for contact with his sales people. He could also use programs such as TeamViewer or GoToMeeting to conduct group or individual sales meetings or training sessions. Sales meeting should be seen as a way to boost the morale of his group. Training sessions would be a better method of sharing his expertise and further develop the performance level of his sales people. He needs to build up his sales people instead of knocking them down.
Fritz, D.J. Improving Sales Manager Effectiveness: A Survey of Sales Managers’ Time Utilization July 2008. The Sales Management Association. 2008. Web. 5 February 2015. <http://salesmanagement.org/web/uploads/pdf/03f9fd5703759664d645977963445171.pdf>.