Business of Joe Salatino - Case Study Example

? Joe Salatino Introduction Joe Salatino has had a successful business for a long period of time. The success of his business lies in sales the company makes. The enormous profits realized from the sales only emphasize that they have been meeting the needs of the customers to his products. The powerful workforce that the company owns is a key factor that has contributed to the success. Apart from exceptional pay, motivation of the salespeople has proved a decisive factor in maintaining a dedicated sales force. Individuals are unique, and everyone has a distinctive way of understanding and perceiving different things. Every organization’s behavior is impacted by the customer’s perception. Perception refers to how an individual comprehends the world they live in and what is comprised in that environment. Personal perception is the kind that is pertinent to a salesperson when they approach a customer. The attribution theory proposes approaches to create vindications to assess people because people have different reactions in situations. Joe’s salespeople have to understand this theory so as to know, when approach an individual, if the cause of their behavior is internal or external. Internal behaviors are the ones that the individual can control while external behaviors are beyond a person’s capability to control. People have perceptions whose source can be positive or negative past experiences. A salesperson has to be patient and avoid making fast judgment and conclusions about a perspective customer. This will be denying the customers a fair chance in their decision making. There are various ways that people form perceptions. The examples are the halo effect, stereotyping, the contrast effect and selective perception. Selective perception is when a trait or characteristic makes a product or situation stand out. The halo effect happens when conclusions are based on one characteristic. The contrast effect is based on past experiences. In order to acquire a customer, the salesperson has to identify potential customers. Telemarketing has been mentioned as a method of identifying the customers. Establishing a solid rapport is crucial for the salesperson for it helps them to know the needs and requirements of the prospect and know if the products offerings can match with these needs. It also helps know if there are other unmet needs and can therefore, be a source of information on possible changes or innovations to be made by the organization. Joe’s employees have seemingly done a superb job in maintaining customers. The challenge remains in understanding how they form perceptions and attributions. A successful sales representative is an excellent listener to a prospect and gets to listen to their feelings and opinions on the products being offered. Customer perception is undoubtedly mandatory in customer retention. How customers form a perception on the business, will be determined about their past experiences. How the products they used turned out to be, how they were treated previously by the salespeople, the services and prices of the organization. To understand how they form their perception, it is essential to hear out their voice regarding the business. This can be done by conducting interviews, administering questionnaires and carrying out surveys to find out what they think about the company. In understanding how they form perceptions, the employees will be able to build relationships and trust effectively with customers. Joe Salatino as the president of the company has the responsibility of directing his employees so that they can work towards achieving the overall objectives of the firm. By the employees understanding how people make perceptions and attributions, they are able to know how people create a sense of the immediate world they live. Understanding them will help in providing products and services exactly how they want it, and these will guarantee profits which is one of the company’s most fundamental goals. By doing these, they are enabled to attain cognitive control and helps in understanding the reasons for the behaviors and occurrences experienced. As stated by Salatino, it is evident that employees, who have formed solid relationships with their customers, make more sales. This means that by the employees understanding and listening to their customers; they are able to make the customers build trust in them and their products. The social learning theory refers to a view point that asserts that people acquire information contained in a social context. There are three concepts in this theory, 1) observational learning; It consists of 3 models, they are; the live model, whereby a person demonstrates the sought after behavior, verbal instruction where an individual communicates the preferred behavior and gives instructions on how to carry out that behavior, the symbolic model emphasizes modeling through media where real or fictional personalities are used be helpful. The other two models are; intrinsic reinforcement and that behavior change are not a requirement for learning. Observational model is the most appropriate method of learning about people and how they form perceptions and attributions. In specific, verbal instructional model will be better because it ensures a one on one contact with the customer, guarantees feedback and the salesperson are able to read physical ques of the customer. Verbal instruction is the only method that will be effective enough to learn about people form their perceptions. A one on one contact with the prospective client is a sure way to get relevant information that will be helpful in understanding how they make their decisions. There is nothing better than communicating with a customer. Verbal instruction modeling guides the prospective client all through an assessment of their own composition, communications and patterns with the help of the salesperson. When a customer sees that a salesperson is willing and able to listen to them rather than just talk, they feel that they are valued. Verbal modeling enhances communication. Regular communication helps the salesperson adapt and grow while identifying the needs of the customer and providing them. By sale person verbally communicating with the customer, they ask critical questions for better understanding. Providing the customer with solutions they intend to take is also noteworthy. They get to feel important in the business and feel that their opinions matter. Communication eliminates misunderstandings and uncertainties. A salesperson who after the period of making a sale keeps in touch with the customer fortifies the values of the products offered. They are able to address problems that the customers enquire. This can be a source of a long term relationship which can lead to repeat sales. The customers’ needs are likely to change over time and therefore, communication will enable the salespeople to adapt to the changing requirements. For example, a customer may require an increase in the supply of pens in their shops, communicating with them will let you know that there is a need to increase the supply of pens to the shop. Finally, communication is a way to keep in touch because if they don’t, a customer may forget about the company’s products. When they need something then, they may turn to products offered by competitors. Keeping in touch lets them know that you still exist and can assist them whenever the need arises. An occasional newsletter, email or in-person visit can do the trick. Joe’s employees should use the verbal instructions model to try to understand how people form perceptions. Apart from the other benefits of this model mentioned above, there is no better way to get information from someone than to listen to them intently, listen to their views, agree with their complaints and offer opinions whenever possible. Mr. Joe’s employees have to be empathetic to customers and try to reason with their perceptions on various factors. Perception may be hard to change in a person probably because of the environment they lived or live in, but communicating openly and candidly can offer a better way to understand them and also offer opinions to fit the company’s goals. President Joe can use verbal motivation to improve employee performance. Verbal acknowledgement of their efforts makes them feel appreciated and recognized. They will be encouraged to put efforts in their work. Regular performance feedback helps the employee know the steps they are making and if more effort is required in the work. Oral communication with the employees is also beneficial. Talking with them on various matters strengthens the connection between them. For example, President Joe could call for meetings with the employees and request them to view their opinions and complaints on various matters about their work and the workplace. Listening actively for ideas and being responsive also motivates the employees to voice their thoughts. Giving them a platform where the President listens is a smart move. Verbal instruction model ensures a one on one contact with the employees. Communication systems in the workplace should be secure and improved to prevent distortion of flow of information. For example, vertical communication which is a regular flow of info can be distorted in complicated cases even before it reaches the manager. Therefore, shorter channels should be used to avoid information from being altered before it reaches the recipients. Verbal praise as earlier mentioned creates a rapport between the manager and employees and they feel free to air their views at any time to the President because it is personal. In accordance with Albert Bandura statement, self -efficacy is, “the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations” (1995, p.2). It is one’s belief in their ability to succeed in any role they partake. These beliefs are determined by how people judge and think. This trait is celebrated as Joe Salatino emphasizes. For a salesperson to be successful, they have to have self- efficacy. With selling being a challenging job, one needs to believe in themselves to make sales. The level of self-efficacy determines how many calls they make and how long a person works at the company. Self-efficacy is vital as it lowers employee turnover in the company. To ensure that Joe eventually hires a strong sales force, he should give them challenging tasks to see their resilience in handling problems. A person who believes they can do it will try their best to, and even if they don’t make a sale, it will be evident by their efforts that they did all they could. President Joe could also train people on the value of having an interest in activities given to them. Teaching them on commitment and how to handle disappointments and revive from from setbacks is also essential. Proper interviewing can enable him learn of the best traits a potential sales person has and know if they believe in their abilities. According to the American Marketing Association, (pg. 400), a person’s confidence are a determinant of self -efficacy. Individual’s examination of their abilities is sometimes constrained by their belief in themselves. Sales people with high egos have high self- efficacies. It will take Joe a lot of examination on the prospective employees to learn of their individual behavior. In conclusion, Joe Salatino’s employees have a role in comprehending how people form perceptions. The key factors have been mentioned from what perception is to the importance of employees to understand their customers. The most appropriate socio learning theory highlighted could assist in learning about people and their behavior, customer behavior. Employee performance in a company is determined by the management relations to them. A close relation is beneficial as it enhances communication in the organization. A company with no effective communication and motivation system is stagnant. A strong workforce stems from havinga management that is ready to make changes geared towards positive results. Work cited American Marketing Association. Educators' Conference 2002, AMA educators' proceedings, Volume 13 Series (American Marketing Association) , American Marketing Association publishers. Rene Y. Darmon 2007, Leading the Sales Force: A Dynamic Management Process,Cambridge University Press. Thomas N. Ingram, Raymond W,2007 LaForge, et, al Professional Selling: A Trust-Based Approach. New York, Cengage Learning Read More