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MKTG 420 All Discussion Questions Week 1 – 7

MKTG 420 Week 1 DQ 1 Successful Sales Management
Read the Team Exercise, “Who to Promote” on page 13 in the text, and then discuss the following questions.(graded)
a) What are the most important qualities that your company should look for in an area sales manager?
b) Which of the two candidates would you recommend for the job? Why?
c) Each of the candidates has some strengths and weaknesses they would bring to the job. What do you consider the major weaknesses of each candidate? Why?

MKTG 420 Week 1 DQ 2 Sales Organization
Refer to the Developing Your Competencies heading starting on page 55 in the text. Refer to #5 Self-Management (p. 57). Read the scenario about the H.R. Chally Group. For additional information, visit www.chally.com.
a) Assess yourself on the four self-management dimensions (closing, consultative, relationship, and display dimensions) described in the scenario. How do you rate on these dimensions?
b) Give two examples of sales positions that would rate high on each of the dimensions.
c) How important are each of these dimensions in a transactional account relationship? 

MKTG 420 Week 2 DQ 1 Account Relationships
Review Earning Buyer Trust and read about the five trust-earning components identified in research on trust. Rank the relative importance of these five components based on your experience.
a)  Explain your rationale for your selection and ranking.
b)  How do you think that you measure up on earning buyer trust? What are your strengths and weaknesses?

MKTG 420 Week 2 DQ 2 Sales Opportunities
Read the Shield Financial “Lead Generation” Case on page 109 at the end of the chapter in the text. (graded)
a)  What is your opinion of Doug’s approach to create a standard plan?
b)  If you were the sales manager, how would you deal with the sales representatives’ lack of motivation to follow up on leads?
c)  How might some of the leads react if they are not contacted by Shield? 

MKTG 420 Week 3 DQ 1 Building Customer Relationships
A key to building a strong customer relationship is to demonstrate relating skills with the customer.
a) What are some of these skills?
b) Describe ways that a sales representative can demonstrate these skills in a customer relationship?
c) What behaviors can cause tension in the relationship between the customer and the sales representative?

MKTG 420 Week 3 DQ 2 Telemarketing
According to the text, business-to-business telemarketing is experiencing significant growth.
a)  What are some of the reasons for this accelerated growth?
b)  What are some of the challenges associated with increased use of telemarketing? 

MKTG 420 Week 4 DQ 1 Recruiting 
The recruitment and selection of salespeople are certainly among the most challenging and important responsibilities of sales management. Please comment. (graded)
a) How can sales managers use the recruiting process to ensure that the salespeople that are hired are good team players?
b) What kinds of questions can be asked in the interview to test if a candidate has strong teamwork skills and experience?
c) What are some of the problems associated with poorly-executed recruitment and selection of sales people?

MKTG 420 Week 4 DQ 2 Training
The first and most important step in designing a sales training program is the assessment of training needs, which provides the starting point for setting training goals and designing the program. (graded)
a) Discuss the methods of assessing sales training needs.
b) What are some examples of training objectives?
c) Discuss some of the different methods of delivering sales training and their effectiveness. 

MKTG 420 Week 5 DQ 1 Sales Leadership
How has the Internet affected your own buying behaviors? Given the effects that the Internet has had on individuals’ buying behaviors, how do you think that salespeople’s jobs have changed? How should sales managers manage these changes?

MKTG 420 Week 5 DQ 2 Motivation
Nick Pirrone, VP of sales and marketing for Steeltime, Inc. recently invested over $250,000 in a customer relationship management (CRM) system. He has a problem, however. His 10 salespeople either do not know how to use the system or simply do not want to use it.
The CRM system was to be used to move prospects through Steeltime’s sales cycle more efficiently and to improve the level of customer satisfaction. When the system was introduced seven months ago, the sales and marketing staff embarked on extensive training to learn the system. Thus, Pirrone feels that his salespeople have the knowledge to use the system, but that they are simply ignoring his wishes and choosing not to do so.
a) How can Pirrone convince his salespeople that the CRM system can actually benefit them?
b) How can he motivate them to start using the system? 

MKTG 420 Week 6 DQ 1 Ethical Dilemma 1
You recently received a promotion to district sales manager. You are eager to show your leadership ability and ready to implement a strategy to make your company successful. Your boss has come to you to explain a new selling strategy that he would like to see you implement. It involves having your salespeople be a little more aggressive with their customers. Essentially, he would like them to oversell their customers.
For instance, a salesperson should attempt to convince a customer that he needs an $8,000 copier, even if a $4,000 copier would satisfy his needs. Your boss explains that customers will still be receiving what they need. Albeit perhaps a little more, and the company will reap greater profits, resulting in larger bonuses for your salespeople. What would you do and why? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a strategy? Is this good for long-term growth?

MKTG 420 Week 6 DQ 2 Ethical Dilemma 2
Read the Shield Financial: Overheard Trade Secrets on page 276 in the text. Discuss the questions at the end of the case:
a) What are the ethical issues involved in this case?
b) What are the possible actions Bloom could take?
c) What are the possible reactions from the customers to Rowland’s information?
d) What is an ideal course of action given all of the issues involved? 

MKTG 420 Week 7 DQ 1 Compensation 
What challenges do sales managers face when using team-based compensation?
a) What are the advantages and disadvantages of using team selling?
b) If a team of five salespeople can sell six times as much as five individual salespeople, doesn’t it make sense to use that team instead of the five individually?

MKTG 420 Week 7 DQ 2 Evaluation
Read the Shield Financial “Missed Quota” case on page 345 in the text.
a) Should Bloom keep investing his time in helping MacAllister to improve?
b) Should he let MacAllister try to prove himself on his own?
c) Is there a better approach, and if so, what do you recommend?