Sales Management Practices at Ryder - Case Study Example

Ryder Truck rental leasing Introduction The success of a salesperson greatly relies on their ability to think strategically about their territory and individual customers (Anderson et. al, 2001). More often than not, this skill is only present in some sales persons and that is what differentiates successful sales persons from the rest. The approaches to personal selling can be classified as; Stimulus Response Selling Mental States Selling Need Satisfaction Selling Problem Solving Selling In this case, the last approach is relevant since the relationship between Ryder and its clients is based on clients’ needs (Boone, 2012). So far, the decline in sales is a pointer to the dissatisfaction with the products presently. In order to win them back, the company has to convince them that these issues are now fully taken care of. Sales Management Practices at Ryder Sales management is a crucial part of any big business since to a great extent; it establishes the rapport of the business with the clientele while implementing the marketing tactics that have been settled on by top management (Anderson et al, 2006). While the written meaning of sales management focuses on the hiring, training, supervision and rewarding of sales persons, in a company like Ryder, the scope is much wider. There are other roles that the sales management function ought to fulfil including customer satisfaction and other organizational goals (Boone, 2012). Clearly, Ryder keeps tabs on its past customers and this is important since most of their customers are big companies; losing one client translates to huge opportunity cost monetarily. Again, in the service industry, referrals are very important and effective in both a positive and negative way. Losing one client due to a bad reputation could lead to loss of potential clients (Stranger, 2000). At Ryder, apart from their primary duties, sales persons are also charged with the role of ensuring proper customer relations. Paying a courtesy call to customers in order to find out their thoughts on Ryder’s services is part of customer relations management (CRM)- a critical concept in businesses today (Smith et al, 2006). This serves to wipe away an image of non concern for the customer’s welfare. The fact that a sales representative, Jim Harris, was giving a talk at a luncheon to some of Ryder’s big customers is an indication of the diversity of the sales job at Ryder’s. This creates more opportunities for networking and building business relationships. The informality of such situations enables friendship building thus cementing the bond that already existed before that (Smith et al 2006). Ryder definitely appreciates the effect of personal touch when dealing with customers. The instructions to their sales persons in this case were explicit- to call on customers. Personal contact is quite important in ensuring a long term relationship with clients as they feel more appreciated while the sales persons can draw a more sincere reading on the customer’s perception of the company (Boone, 2012). The sales management at Ryder also serves as a way of finding out the weak areas of the company’s services. By listening to as many customers, past and present, management can point out the areas with most complaints and respond appropriately. Customers can also serve as a pointer to practices adopted by competitors that may be wooing current and potential clients. The image saving role of the sales team is also evident in the way both Harris and Eccles address the weaknesses pointed out by the respective customers. Breakdowns are bound to happen and the role of keeping in check the negativity attributed to them is a prerogative of all departments in the company. Though roles may be divided between the various functional divisions but the complexities on the ground demand otherwise (Luo & Homburg, 2007). This explains the many hats that sales persons wear at Ryder. Scott Eccles Being sales a representative, Eccles is expected to deliver the message in such a way that it appears as if he were the organisation itself (Boone, 2012). Apart from being honest, any sales representative should be good enough to win the attention and trust of the client. Sales persons were once thought of as calling on peoples ‘doors trying to convince them to buy things they do not require (Stranger, 2000). Those days are gone since their role has transformed to one that requires extensive knowledge in other fields including finance, marketing and even legal issues. Customers are wise nowadays and extensive training only serves to earn their trust and confidence (Brown, 2005). Even though advertisements are favoured for the desire they create in customers, they do not close deals. But personal selling opens this avenue and salespersons are expected to do so (Stranger, 2000). However, Eccles is not able to because of a number of reasons. First, as stated, personal selling nowadays is much broader than before and the sales persons are expected to exhibit their expansive knowledge in all matters concerning the business. After all, it is their business to know (Stranger, 2000). Eccles fail to demonstrate this quality by failing to acknowledge he knew of the incident that Dan Kemp referred to. In fact, Kemp pointed out that Eccles should know as a representative of Ryder. Secondly, a first-rate sales person ought to concede any problems the customer has faced while using their product apologise and give and proceed to assurance that the matter is being looked into (Brown, 2005). Eccles however tries to brush off the experience that Kemp had with Ryder. This seems to irritate Dan Kemp and the recounting the incidence brings back bad memories about Ryder which makes it even harder for him to give them another chance. If Eccles had apologised at first, he would have had a chance to explain what Ryder has done to improve their services. When Eccles makes an attempt at explaining what Ryder has done to remedy the situation, the explanations are shallow. When communicating to a client, the focus should be on what a product or an amendment to it will do to cater for the needs of the customer. This is not evident as the stand out statement for Eccles was about their new fleet of Ford trucks. That statement was not directed to any problem Dan Kemp was experiencing at the time. The issue Dan Kemp had raised was to do with the time lag between booking and delivery of trucks. Lastly, even though persistence can be exasperating at times, a good sales person should put effort through assurances that centre on potential gains for the client. Personal selling is supposed to be a win-win situation for both client and customer(Stranger, 2000). When Kemp turns down the offer by Eccles, Eccles should have probed a little further to find out future truck requirements of Kemp’s company and put in a more concrete offer. All in all, Eccles did not perform a proper preparation for the session with Kemp. If he would have demonstrated a little more understanding of the issues that Kemp had faced, the response would have been a little different. Jim Harris The striking quality about Harris is his approach to Ms. Pepper’s disapproval- he offers to listen to her account about the delays. This provides an opportunity for Harris to know her problems as well as generate the selling points for his eventual proposal. Patience is key for any salesperson because sometimes the lack of it can lead to misjudging initial resistance to listen to an offer as total indifference. Harris strategy was to first establish a connection between them by spending a little bit of time before making an offer. He was clearly not in a hurry to seal the deal putting in mind that different customers require different styles of personal selling (Stranger, 2000). Another quality in Harris’ personal selling is the ability to arouse curiosity in the client. He got Ms Pepper to ask a question about what was being done about the problems she and other customers had experienced at Ryder. As stated earlier these qualities are almost impossible impart in sales people but are rather built by an individual over time (Boone, 2012). The responses given by Harris are another display of the level of understanding he has of the organization's activities. Such knowledge gives the client an assurance that she is dealing with a senior person in the organization and can rely on their word (Stranger, 2000). Having listened to the clients' complaints, he knows what her needs are and focuses on them. The emphasis is clear that after the installation of a new reservation system, all Ms Pepper had to do was make a single call and her booking would be ready. By contrast with her previous experience with what she has not yet tried, Harris creates a desire to find out what the news is like. The billing scheme is obviously complicated but Harris manages to break it down for her in layman terms. This is part of a sales person’s job to reach to all kinds of customers, those with technical understanding and those without. Not only does he state how that will help solve her expressly stated needs but also points out benefits accrued to loyal customers. The way it’s packaged is enticing and got Ms Pepper wondering what the experience would be like. Despite her reluctance at first, Harris moves on to array her fears and she actually points out his confidence in his product. This is paramount in any product promotion activities since customers are smart and can tell the attributes of a product from the way the sales person speaks of it (Brown, 2005). Lastly, when she resolved to grant a deal to Harris ‘company, she pledged to phone them. However, Harris being a shrewd sales person offered to call her instead so she could state a precise time when she would be in need of their trucks. This goes to show that personal selling can never really be taught but is rather an on the spot thing which calls for quick thinking and personal appeal (Boone, 2012). Comparison of Jim Harris and Scott Eccles CRM is integral cog in personal selling. This is basically being able to make the customer feel that the relationship between them and the seller is a win-win for both. Proper CRM is a result of strategic steps taken to appreciate the customer’s needs and personalize the service given to them in order to satisfy them perfectly (Anderson et al 2001). Harris does this well than Eccles and is likely to be a more successful meetings with clients. First and foremost, the choice of potential clients should be more calculated than random. No reason is given as to why Eccles chose to visit Dan Kemp whereas in the case of Harris, Ms Pepper divulged in a chat that she used Ryder but ended their business relationship. Harris then proceeded to offer a listening ear to her complaints. Secondly, Harris displays a deft understanding of the issues and explains them to the customers in a simple but detailed way. Eccles on the other hand does not really address himself to the needs of the customer and is unable to draw the attention of the client to the improvements made at Ryder over the past few months. Lastly, the persistence that is present in Harris when closing the deal with Ms Harris was lacking in the case of Eccles. A sales person should be able to array fears that customers have not only with words but also using the confidence they ooze while addressing the customer (Smith et al 2007). Conclusion As businesses grow and expand, the relationship between sales persons and customers needs to shift from being transaction oriented to a relationship driven one. This means that rather than focusing on short term gains, companies need to look at potential gains from a long term engagement with clients. Sales representatives therefore need to present themselves as not competing with the client but rather as proposing a collaborative bond for mutual gains. By shrewdly customizing services to various clients, the sales person has the potential to make every client feel that the product was indeed tailored to suit them (Luo & Homburg, 2007). REFERENCES Anderson, E. W., Fornell, C., & Mazvancheryl, S 2004, Customer satisfaction and shareholder value, Journal of Marketing, vol. 68, no. 4, p. 172-185. 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Smith, T., Gopalakrishna, S & Smith, P 2004, The complementary effect of trade shows on personal selling, International Journal of Research in Marketing, vol. 21, no. 1, p. 61-76. Stanger, W 2000, Personal selling, New York, The Biddle Pub. Co. Read More