Dale Arseneault writes in LO1658 about a challenge to develop a training
strategy for a national sales force. Dave commented:
>2.) What is (are) the purpose(s) of this sales force? Can it be
>defined by outcomes from the customers eyes?
>
> Car sellers mission is to sell cars. Having a sales person
> there (should make) it possible for me to
> COMFORTABLY travel from point A to point B in a
> car that FITS ME TO A "T".
I would just like to add a farthing's worth in relation to IBM. Big
Blue's original mission was to maximize market share in the "big iron"
computer business. When it redefined itself in terms of meeting
*customers'* business needs instead of its own, it turned itself around.
I'd suggest applying the same thinking - whatever the sales force is
"selling", it should be trained to spot customer needs and feed back that
information to the product development, marketing and engineering parts of
the company. What they're selling may not be the best way for them to tap
into what the customer wants, so it's possible they may be more successful
by shifting their product line a bit to take advantage of an untapped
sub-market (e.g., do we want to sell cars, or devices that enable drivers
to use their car phones without holding onto them?). The sales force is
the most direct contact with the customer and therefore the best source of
this kind of information.
-- David E. Birren Phone: (608)267-2442 Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources Fax: (608)267-3579 Bureau of Management & Budget Internet: birred@dnr.state.wi.us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "To know, and not to act, is to not know." --Wang Yang Ming, 9th-century Chinese general