Fundamentals of Selling 13th Edition by Charles Futrell

Exercise 10

It was Al Kantak's first day on the job, and he was anxious to get started. Al knew that what he needed to do would be one of the biggest challenges of his life. Al's job title was Field Sales Employment Manager for United Cosmetics, Inc. (UCI). UCI is a national manufacturer and marketer of consumer goods sold primarily to retail grocery stores.
As Al began unloading boxes in his new office, the telephone rang. "Al, this is Sparky [the company's executive vice president of sales]. Come on up to my office, and let's discuss some ideas to help you get started, and let's talk about the employment information received this morning from our regional sales managers."
As soon as Al entered the office, Sparky started in, "Al, as you know, I asked our four regional managers to send in a report on employment activities and costs for their areas. You'll find this interesting.
"We have sales territories sitting vacant for a great deal of time while the district managers go out and recruit, hire, and train new people. This year, I calculated that there will be 2,700 days of vacant territories. Someone said this represents as much as $10 million in lost sales opportunities. I just cannot believe that, but I do feel we are losing sales due to having vacant territories.
"This year we will have 68 new hires, with 55 found through employment agencies. This is costing us $5,000 for each person. That's too much money to spend on these people. Many of them quit after a short time.
"I feel the worst thing about all of this is the drain on the DMs' time and the way people are trained to take over their new territories. Each time someone leaves, the DM has to recruit, hire, and train an individual. With the number of new hires we have each year, many of the DMs are spending too much time training the new people. Managers are not spending enough time working with others in their district. Some salespeople are complaining that their managers work with them only a few times a year. The new person is often left to 'sink or swim' after being trained, and many people are quitting because of this.
"We don't have a centralized training program. We could have 10 managers individually training 10 people at the same time in 10 locations. This is inefficient and costly and results in some salespeople not being properly prepared to operate their sales territory.
"Al, I'm not even sure our DMs know how to properly screen and interview people. They get almost no training in this area. Maybe this is the reason for so much turnover. I'm not sure. I do know that sales are rapidly increasing, and we need to begin expanding the size of our sales force.
"This is what I want you to do. [Sparky began writing this list on a blackboard.] As quickly as humanly possible,
Begin to decrease the cost per hire.
Establish a uniform recruitment program.
Increase the quality of new hires.
See that our managers spend less time recruiting.
Decrease the number of vacant territory days per year.
Eliminate our dependence on employment agencies.
"Al, don't waste any time getting started, we need a new employment program yesterday. We may be losing millions of dollars in sales each year due to vacant territories. The cost of recruitment, training, and our managers' time also may run into the millions. I'm afraid to calculate that figure.
"If I can help you in any way, if you need more money, let me know. Your program will have a direct impact on our bottom line. Keep me up to date on your progress. We have a meeting of the regional sales managers in three weeks. I want you to present your ideas on what we should do."
"Sparky," Al said, "I can't do this overnight. It is too big a project. What I have in mind is to develop a five-year plan. At the end of five years we will have accomplished everything you have asked for and more. However, we will see major results in just a few years. To hire the number of people needed, we'll have to recruit primarily on college campuses throughout the United States. To plan and implement a national sales employment program is a big undertaking."
"OK, OK, OK," said Sparky. "I understand. But at this meeting I want you to outline what we will do. We'll get input from the regional managers and see what they think. The field sales managers will have to believe in this program or it will be a hard row to hoe."
When Al got back to his office, he asked his assistant to hold all of his telephone calls. He might as well start outlining his new sales employment program.
Assume you are Al Kantak. What would be your recommended college recruitment program