Salm Assign q 2011 2 v3 Am u

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IMM Graduate School of MarketingAssignment: 2

ndSemester 2011 SALM/SAM101

ASSIGNMENT 2ND SEMESTER : SALES MANAGEMENT (SALM)SALES MANAGEMENT 1 (SAM101)

CHAPTERS COVERED : CHAPTERS 1 - 5

DUE DATE : 3:00 p.m. 16 AUGUST 2011

TOTAL MARKS : 100

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES FOR COMPLETING AND SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTSThe complete Instructions to Students for Completing and Submitting Assignments must becollected from any IMM GSM office, or the relevant Student Support Centre or can be downloadedfrom the IMM GSM website. It is essential that the complete instructions be studied prior tocommencing your assignment. The following points highlight only a few important notes.

1. You are required to submit ONE assignment per subject.

2. The assignment will contribute 20% towards the final examination mark, and the other 80% willbe contributed by the examination, however, the examination papers will count out of 100%.

3. Although your assignment will contribute towards your final examination mark, you do not have toearn credits for admission to the examinations; you are automatically accepted on registering forthe exam.

4. Number all the pages of your assignment (e.g. page 1 of 4) and write your name and surname,student number and subject at the top of each page.

5. The IMM GSM requires assignments to be presented in a typed format, on plain A4 paper.Unless otherwise specified, this assignment must be completed within a limit of 1500 words,excluding the bibliography.

6. A separate assignment cover, which is provided by the IMM GSM, must be attached to the frontof each assignment.

7. Retain a copy of each assignment before submitting, in case the original does not reach the IMM

GSM.

8. The assignment due date refers to the day up to which assignments will be accepted for markingpurposes. The deadline is 3:00 p.m. on 16 August 2011. Late assignments will be accepted, but 25marks will be deducted from the maximum mark if received after 3:00 p.m. on 16 August 2011 andup to 5:00 p.m. the following day, after which no assignments will be accepted.

9. If you fail to follow these instructions carefully, the IMM Graduate School of Marketing cannotaccept responsibility for the return of the assignment. It may even result in your assignment notbeing marked.

Results will be available on the IMM GSM website,www.immgsm.ac.za, on Friday, 7 October 2011.
http://www.immgsm.ac.za/http://www.immgsm.ac.za/http://www.immgsm.ac.za/http://www.immgsm.ac.za/


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Prescribed text: Johnston, M.W., and Marshall, G.W. 2009. Relationship Sellingand Sales Management. 3rd edn. McGraw-Hill. The 2008, 2nd edn may also beused.

Answer ALL the questions

QUESTION 1 [25]

Read the following case study and answer the questions that follow:Sue Wilson, purchasing manager for the Humboldt, Tennessee, plant of National

Agri-Products Company, is back in her office reviewing her notes from a meeting she

just finished with Tom Roberts, Vicki Sievers, and Greg Runyon. Tom is the plant

manager of the Humboldt plant, Vicki is the plant engineer, and Greg the production

manager. The four met for the last hour to discuss the equipment National needs to

buy to complete expansion of the Humboldt plant.

National Agri-Products Company produces various agricultural products at its four

manufacturing locations throughout the Midwest. The Humboldt plant was built

seven years ago to produce cornstarch and dextrose for use as food ingredients.

Five and a half years after the plant was completed, top management decided to

expand it to produce corn syrup, which is an ingredient in soft drinks, candy, and

various baked goods. Humboldt will be the second National Agri-Products Company

plant with the capability to produce corn syrup.

As Sue reviews her notes, she notices that Tom, Vicki, and Greg have various

requirements for the equipment that would be needed to produce the corn syrup.

During the meeting, Tom said it was very important to "get everything right" in

completing this project. The company already had invested a lot of money in the

expansion, and Tom didn't want to risk that investment by installing equipment that

would produce syrup inferior to National's standards. Tom said that although he

expected to be consulted when needed, he thought Vicki and Greg could handle this

assignment without his daily input.


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Vicki knew that quality equipment would be needed to produce high-quality corn

syrup. She wondered if the plant could meet the deadline National's home office had

given of producing corn syrup in six months. Vicki said she was already working on

equipment specifications and she would get them to Sue as soon as possible.

Greg's main concern was producing the corn syrup efficiently and making sure his

maintenance people could "keep the stuff running." Both Vicki and Greg asked Sue

to let them know when she had more information about potential suppliers.

After reviewing these notes, Sue knew this was going to be a big job. She has no

direct experience buying equipment to produce this type of product line. She decided

to call Vijay Sethi, National's VP of purchasing, to discuss a few options. Vijay

reminded Sue that National's policy is to get three bids on purchases of this amount

and suggested that she start with the storage tanks and tubing since they are the

most time-consuming items to fabricate. Vijay also gave Sue the number of Larry

McDermott, a salesperson for New Products Steel Company, as a potential supplier.

Finally, Vijay asked Sue to keep him up to date on progress, as this was the most

expensive expansion project the company was undertaking this year.

After talking with Vijay, Sue decided to call Larry McDermott.

LARRY: "Larry McDermott, New Products Steel. May I help you?"

SUE: "Larry, this is Sue Wilson at the Humboldt, Tennessee, plant of National Agri-

Products Company. Vijay Sethi gave me your name as a potential bidder on the

stainless-steel tanks and tubing we are installing for our new corn syrup product

line."

LARRY: "I'll certainly be glad to help you out with that, Sue. As you may know, we

provided similar equipment for your Hawarden, Iowa, plant when they added the

corn syrup line there. We worked with Jim Fisher in Hawarden."

SUE: "I didn't know that but I'll certainly give Jim a call. Anyway, our plant engineer

will have specs on the equipment available early next week. When can you come in

to go over them?"

LARRY: "Next Wednesday around 2:00 looks good to me. How does that sound?"

SUE: "Great. I'll get our team assembled here and we'll look forward to meeting you

next Wednesday."


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1.1 Who are the various members of the buying center that Larry should

take time to get to know? What role or roles within the buying center is

each person filling? (10)

1.2. What are the primary needsof each member of the buying center? Howmuch influence do you expect each member of the buying center will have

on the final decision? (10)

1.3. Discuss the buying process being followed by National Agri-Products

Company. How does this buying process differ from that discussed in

chapter 2 of the prescribed text book? At what stage of the buying

process is it most beneficial for Larry to get involved? (5)

QUESTION 2 [20]

Consider the following six critical drivers of change in relationship selling and sales

management. Research these drivers in a sales organisation of your choice. From

your research, how is the organisation doing in leveraging these change drivers to

enhance success? Be as specific as possible.

2.1 Building long-term relationships with customers.2.2 Creating sales organisational structures that are more nimble and adaptable

to the needs of different customer groups.

2.3 Gaining greater job ownership and commitment from salespeople.

2.4 Shifting sales management style from commanding to coaching.

2.5 Leveraging for sales success.

2.6 Evaluating salesperson performance more accurately.

QUESTION 3 [10]

What do you think are the most important ways sales can contribute to an

organisations marketing and vice versa?

QUESTION 4 [15]


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You are head of sales for a large company with operations around the country. The

top-performing saleswoman in your western region has come to you with a sexual

harassment complaint. She says her immediate boss, a 20-year veteran with the

company who is well liked and in line for a promotion to regional vice president, has

made improper comments and touched her inappropriately. He denies everything

and says she is upset because her performance has been slipping over the last two

years. What do you do?

QUESTION 5 [20]

List eight (8) ways a CRM system would aid in prospecting and sales call planning.

If a CRM system were not available in your firm, discuss six (6) methods you will use

to perform prospecting and sales call planning.

PRESENTATION [10]

ASSIGNMENT TOTAL: 100

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Salm Assign q 2011 2 v3 Am u