Case Study- Clover Valley Dairy Company

Case Study: Clover Valley Dairy Company Rebeca Aquino DeVry University Case Study: Clover Valley Dairy Company Statement of the Problem(s) The main issue in this case study is the reluctance of the salespeople to comply with the implementation of the new Fist-Plus plan. As a consequence the sales department over the Des Moines office is not meeting the monthly quota. Summary of the Facts

From the moment Doug Bloom got to the new office over at Des Moines it was clear that it would be a struggle to get the salespeople to accept and put in action the new First-Plus plan that was forced upon everyone directly from corporate. Doug tried to talk to all the salespeople in a group and individually as well with the intension of helping them understand the importance of following through with this new plan. After reviewing the negative first’s month results where the department had failed to meet their quota.

Doug took immediate action and fired a memo to all salespeople requesting a written weekly schedule of their activities. This was with the intention of reviewing the way salespeople were managing their time and find ways to help them improve their time managing and this way close more accounts and meet the monthly quota. The sales reps did not like when told how to best manage their time and one of the employees took it even further and took it personal, got really offended and even resigned his job.

When the results of the second month came up negative again, Doug decided to take over some of the most promising accounts that some of the sales reps had failed to close. The sales reps did not like this and complained to Doug about it. Even after Doug explained to them that he was going to do the closing of the accounts but that they would be returned to them as soon as the closing had occurred and they would be benefitting from the commissions of these accounts the sales reps were still not satisfied.

This entire struggle had Doug considering quitting his job before corporate decided fired him. All the efforts Doug seem to make did not seem to be enough to get through his sales reps. Analysis The group of sales reps Dough was assigned to manage are very reluctant to change. First of all because they do not consider this new plan to be a good idea due to the fact that most of their sales come from small business and this new plan is specifically focused on big companies which is a game changer for them.

How to make them see that they do not need to drop or stop pursuing small accounts instead what they need to do is add additional large accounts. Would selecting some sales reps to pursue this new plan and leave the sales reps that bring in large business from smaller accounts continue the way they have being doing successful sales? Would new rival issues and work un-satisfaction arise from this decision? How can Doug deal with this new issue? If Doug selects some of the sales reps that appear to be more open to the idea and that are also promising sales reps.

He can work with them more closely and help them acquire new big customers. This way he would not have to deal with all the sales reps and he would have more time for this group dedicated to target big customers. If he does that the other sales rep can focus on what they do best and would ensure that the monthly quota is reached. If the plan works out and new big customers start purchasing insurance from this selected group it will not be long before the rest of the sales reps will want in to the new plan, after all they all work for commissions.

Bigger companies more business for the company and more commission for the sales reps. Recommendations It would be recommended that Dough select a quarter of sales reps to carry-on the new plan implemented by corporate. The selection of these sales reps would be based on their abilities and also on the amount of business they bring in to the company. Their productivity should be significant but not definitive to the department’s quota. Leave the salespeople that bring in a lot of business continue the way they have being working for the time being.

I also recommend to get rid of sales reps that do show good results and that are also reluctant to cooperate with Doug’s leadership ideas. He does not need to clean house but he needs to set an example that he means business. Conclusion When dealing with salespeople afraid of change there is always a way to make them see the bigger picture. It is not always easy and most of the times managers need to be creative to achieve the goals set for the department. However, it can be done when the right person is in charge.