CASE 1 – What They Didn’t Teach Us in Sales Class Mr. Vico Reyes…

Question Answered step-by-step CASE 1 – What They Didn’t Teach Us in Sales Class Mr. Vico Reyes… CASE 1 – What They Didn’t Teach Us in Sales Class Mr. Vico Reyes was depressed and miserable. He was cold and damp from the rain as he sat in his van in the parking lot of SM. He had just telephoned the Nabisco division sales office and talked with Ms. Connie, the office secretary. Vico had asked her, “What are we supposed to do when it rains like this?” Vico could hear her repeat the question to Mr. Padilla, the division sales manager, who just happened to be in the office. Vico could hear the reply in the background, “Tell him to buy a raincoat!” When Ms Connie repeated the response, Vico replied to her, “OK, have a nice day” with a slightly embarrassed tone in his voice. As he hung up his mobile phone and sat back in his van he thought, “What a heck of a way to make a living.” As a new salesman, it was clear that Vico had much to learn. He had only been on the job for one month, but he had about decided that it was no “piece of cake.” It had all seemed so much easier when he watched Mr. Padilla make calls during his two-week on-the-job training period. Now that he was making calls on his own, it was quite different and much more difficult. Interestingly, the sales class Vico had taken at LCCB the previous year had covered many reasons to go into selling, but few disadvantages of pursuing a career in sales. Vico was now learning about these firsthand. Vico’s family—his parents and two younger sisters—had lived in Bacolod for many years. Mr. Reyes (father)  was an Accountant, and Mrs. Reyes (mother)  was a nurse. Vico was an average student in high school, where he was a varsity. After high school he accepted a partial athletic scholarship to La Salle. His grades in college were about average overall but were low in basic math classes. The chief reason he selected business as his major was that it required no algebra. Following two years in La Salle, Vico transferred to LCCB and continued to work toward a B.S. degree in Business Administration. There had been three specific job opportunities, all in sales, but he chose the job with Nabisco because it was a big company with many benefits. He also thought highly of Mr. Padilla, the local recruiter and division sales manager. Vico started to work on Last September 1. The first week was spent reviewing sales training manuals and completing employment paperwork. He also stocked his new van with merchandise, advertising materials, and displays. The following two weeks were spent “working the trade” with Mr. Padilla, who made most of the calls while Vico learned by observing. Toward the end of the third week of employment, Vico was starting to make the sales presentations while Mr. Padilla observed. They would discuss each call after they returned to the van. During the fourth week, Vico worked alone. The present week had been difficult … there was so much he didn’t know. On Friday it rained, and this was not helpful. It was about two o’clock when he called the office and was told to buy a raincoat. As he sat in the van waiting for the rain to let up, he began thinking about the situation in which he now found himself, and it was depressing. The rain was not the only reason for his low morale. He thought about his life had and how his friends thought that he was in public relations rather than sales. Although they had not discussed it, Vico assumed that his friends did not particularly like the title salesman. Somewhere in the back of Vico’s thoughts, there was clearly an image that selling has low occupational status. Maybe it came from his father. He couldn’t remember. Another troublesome aspect of the new job was the calloused way that some retailers treat all salespeople. Others simply try to brush them off or avoid them altogether. This job, Vico thought, certainly does not build up one’s ego. There are other negative aspects of being in sales. One is that selling is physically demanding. It is a requirement to carry the sales bag into all calls. Properly loaded, Vico’s sales bag weighed 38 pounds and contained advertising materials, new products, sample merchandise, a stapler, and the selling portfolio. In addition, in some calls, salespeople must transport cases of merchandise from the storage area to the shelves. A great deal of bending and lifting is simply a part of the routine workday. By quitting time each day, Vico’s clothing was wrinkled and damp from perspiration. Yesterday he had snagged a hole in the trousers of his new suit. At the end of each day, Vico had to prepare reports and submit them to their home office. It was also necessary to reorganize and restock the van for the next day’s work. Sometimes there were calls that had to be made. By the time these chores were completed, it was almost bedtime. There was not much time left to do his hobbies. The last annoying concern involved the knowledge that a good part of his success, or lack of it, depended on events over which he had no control. In several calls this week, a competitor had persuaded dealers to reduce shelf space for Nabisco products. These dealers reported that the competitor had a special promotion going on and the deal was just too good to pass up. There was no way that Vince could recover the lost shelf space in those calls. This did not look good on the salesperson’s daily report. As the rain continued to come down, Vico felt very alone. Mr. Padilla was not there to help or provide answers. The physical and emotional obstacles just seemed too big to overcome. The only way out of this mess, it seemed, was to quit this job and try to find another one that was not this depressing. “Maybe I could get a job in a bank, where customers are always nice and the work is easier,” Vinco thought. As he started his van and drove away toward the division office, he felt relieved that he would soon be free of this impossible responsibility. 1. If you were in Vico’s shoes, will you turn in the keys? Elaborate your answer. 2. How should Mr. Padilla handle this situation? What should he say to Vico? Elaborate your answer.  Arts & Humanities Communications Marketing BSBA 123 Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)