Sherman2008 - The Death of A Salesman Revisited

The CASE Journal
The Death of a Salesman Revisited: Part A and B

Herbert Sherman Daniel James Rowley
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Herbert Sherman Daniel James Rowley , (2008),"The Death of a Salesman Revisited: Part A and B", The CASE Journal, Vol. 4
Iss 2 pp. 41 - 57
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The CASE Journal Volume 4, Issue 2 (Spring 2008)
The Death of a Salesman Revisited

Part A 1
Herbert Sherman, Long Island University – Brooklyn Campus

Daniel James Rowley, University of Northern Colorado
Gerald Mahoney was talking with his friend Stephen Hodgetts about a new job offer. They had
been friends since childhood and now in their early 50’s Mahoney and Hodgetts were as close as
brothers. Hodgetts, at least from Gerry’s perspective, was being absolutely no help at all; in fact,
he was making matters worse! Gerry had asked for Stephen’s sage advice and counsel and got
instead:
Hmmm … I really do not know what to tell you Gerry, this is a tough one. Both of my kids are out of the
house; one working, the other in College. That puts me in a very different situation than you are in, you
with a three year old daughter and all.”
The silence on the other end of the phone became deafening – maybe, Gerry thought, Stephen’s
cell phone hit a dead spot? Gerry took a long pause and replied:
Come on Stephen. You always have something to say about everything! How could you not have any
advice for me on such an important matter as me switching jobs? Do I take a chance and take a straight
commission job with a great potential for making big bucks or do I stay with a job that, because of the
change in commission structure, I can barely afford to keep though it provides a very low guaranteed base
salary? I’ve had straight commission jobs before but that was when I did not have a family to support and I
really did not care about how much I earned from week to week. You know that I’m now the sole bread
winner for my family of three, so what should I do?
Background of Gerald Mahoney

When Gerald turned 50 years old a few years ago, he started to wonder what had happened to his
life. As a bright college kid from New York City, he felt he would take the world by storm, first
through his musical and comedic talents, and then by being a super salesman. Neither plan
seemed to work out. While he had several gigs as a member of differing musical groups and had
worked the comedy clubs on Long Island, New York and Manhattan, he never really made a
name for himself. His career in sales wasn’t much better. First starting out selling condos, he
then shifted from retail sales job to retail sales job, never staying more than a year or two in one
place and never becoming more than a store manager. However, his lack of real success never
bothered him since he only had to care about himself and his needs were few.
In terms of his personal life, he had dated several women unsuccessfully, married one and
quickly obtained an annulment, and never found a reason to settle down and to find a good
paying job. Then, through a series of what he calls “unfortunate events”, he met Adrienne and
became a father to be, with the eminent birth of his daughter dramatically altering his life. He
quit his job working as a store manager in a vacuum cleaning store on Long Island to join
Adrienne, his common law wife, who lived several hundred miles away in upstate New York
with her mother. He took whatever job he could land, a shoe salesman’s job in Foley’s, a retail
department store, and was paid far less than his store manager’s job. After the birth of his
daughter, Gerald and his family moved thousands of miles to Kentucky to be near Adrienne’s
41
sister. Gerald found it was very easy to transfer his job to another store in the Foley’s chain and
found himself once again selling shoes, but in a much warmer climate and in a much larger store.
After a few months living in Texas it became apparent that his job selling shoes in a department
store was no longer acceptable since he could barely afford sustain his family on his retail sales
commissions. Money from his family and friends had dried up, as well as Adrienne’s bank
account and he was forced to admit that unless he changed jobs, his family was going to have to
apply for family assistance. He started applying for jobs on the internet and through the
newspapers, started going on interviews, networked through his family, friends, and customers.
Taking a Step Back In Time: How the Stage was set for a Job Change
Gerald quickly realized, once he and his family moved to Kentucky, that living in Kentucky
(although certainly cheaper than living in New York City) was not going to be as cheap as when
he was living under someone else’s roof in upstate New York. Besides now paying rent for a
two-bedroom apartment, Gerald had had to dump his old jalopy in New York when he went to
Kentucky and found that he had to buy a good car on credit – he now had car payments where
before his car had been paid off.
Secondly, raising a child, even with government assisted medical insurance, was no light
expense and Adrienne had to stay at home, a loss of potential income. She did baby-sit, from
time to time, but this income was minimal and unpredictable. Bills outstripped his salary and if
it weren’t for the charity of family and friends, he and his family would have become destitute.
Third, selling in his new store in Kentucky was far more competitive and variable than in upstate
New York. As the newest salesperson Gerald had one of the worst schedules (he was off at least
one Saturday or Sunday a week, the biggest selling days), had to develop a customer base from
scratch, felt like an outsider, and was being out hustled by the more seasoned veterans who knew
the market and better understood the needs of the customers in that region of the country. The
other salespeople were also less than helpful to newcomers and had a very bad habit of stepping
on his sales by taking customers away from him while he was servicing other clients. Seasonality
was less of an issue in an area that much never got below 50 degrees in the winter, and shoe sales
seemed far more sporadic and uncertain. Since his salary was commissioned-based, his
unpredictable sales led to a high variance in his weekly paycheck since there was no minimum
salary.
After just a few months on the job, Gerald read in the local newspaper that Foley’s (a subsidiary
of Mays Department stores), was being acquired by Macy’s West, a subsidiary of Federated
Department Stores. He first worried about his job but was told by the department manager that
Foley’s would merely adopt the Macy’s name and logo after a year or so and continue to offer
the same products and services and therefore retain all of Foley’s employees. He thought nothing
of it at the time and went back to work.
It was a year later in 2006 that Gerald would finally experience the impact of the changeover
from a Foley’s to a Macy’s on his sales and commission. Historically, customers who shopped
at Foley’s for shoes wanted discount prices with a retail experience, a “more for less” or value-
added philosophy. Gerald was used to dealing with this type of customer from his former job
since this customer was not very demanding of service but very price conscious – when shoes
42
came on sale they bought quickly and big and were not very demanding in terms of style and
colors. The Macy’s customer, however, was far more demanding in terms of service and quality,
and therefore Macy’s shoe product line was a step up in price and features. These customers
wanted to be pampered more and took far more time to make a decision about which shoe to buy
– salespeople had to wait on them hand and foot in order to complete a sale. The bottom line
was that Gerald sold far less shoes in volume and fewer shoes in overall revenue with the Macy’s
line that he did with the Foley’s line, and he was not alone.
The straw that broke the camel’s back came a few months after the store’s name and shoe
product line switched. A huge meeting was called in the department by the department manager
and many salespeople and stock clerks thought that the worst was going to occur – people were
going to be fired because sales were down. Rather than firing people, however, management
opted to reduce the sales commission on shoes by 50% while ensuring a minimum base salary.
They also forbid salespeople from going into the stock room and getting their own inventory –
only clerks were allowed to handle inventory and to be in the “back room.”
This was certainly a major blow to the super salespeople in the department, who realized that
they would have to sell twice the volume to make up the commission loss, while having far less
control on the timing of that service since they would have to wait for assistance from the clerks
in order to service their customers. Waiting time was a critical factor in retail sales and the
longer a customer had to wait, the greater the likelihood that a sale would be lost. Since Macy’s
was offering a higher quality shoe to a more demanding customer, service was a very critical
component and needed to be enhanced, not devalued. Although many of the salespeople at the
meeting objected to this change, the department manager was insistent and indicated that this
was a new working condition associated with the clerk’s new union, a union which had just
signed a contract with Macy’s. 2
Gerald felt that the writing was on the wall for him, given the new commission system and his
dependency on clerks to find the shoes that his customers needed. He had finally put some good
weeks together to make a decent commission and a living wage and knew that he could not
continue this sales pace under the new pay system. And the minimum guaranteed salary was not
enough to support his family. He decided then and there he just had to leave the job, but what
could he do that would earn him more than what he was earning now?
Gerald reached out to several of his friends and family members to see if they had any
connections he could use in order to get a job. Most of the referrals immediately lead to dead
ends since he had neither the background, education, nor experience in which to even apply for
whatever positions were available. The one job he did apply for, a pharmaceutical salesperson
was far more complex than he anticipated and it was clear to Gerald during the interview that he
was not the right person for the job. He certainly seemed to be correct in his judgment since no
job offer was forthcoming. He felt powerless, hopeless, and accepted his fate in a very
disgruntled manner. Yet, for all of his hard work and effort in finding a new job, he could not
find a job that would pay him substantially more that what he was currently making. And then
one day “she” walked into his store and his life would never be the same again.
43
Selling the Right Pair of Shoes to the Right Person

It was a day like any other day for Gerald Mahoney yet Gerald was to look back at this day with
both pleasure and regret. He was working in the women’s shoe department and doing the best
that he could to sell a fairly expensive pair of boots to a young lady who obviously could afford
to shop at a much classier store such as Nordstrom’s or Neiman Marcus, yet, for some
unfathomable reason, decided to bestow her good graces on Macy’s. Gerald must have gone
through every boot in her size, based upon the piles of boxes of boots that needed to be repacked
in the back room, and yet nothing he could do persuaded her to buy a pair of boots. He had
reached his limit with this customer but something inside him would not allow him to give up.
He screwed up his courage and decided to take what he thought at the time was a very bold
move.
Excuse me miss but I couldn’t help but notice that I’ve been assisting you for the past hour and I didn’t
even ask you your name. Would you be so kind as to share it with me?
She hesitated for a moment and Gerald thought he had blown the sale. He was cursing himself
under his breath when she briefly replied in a very business-like manner:
My name is Maggy Monahan and by your name tag I assume your name is Gerald Mahoney.
After a few more minutes of trying on several more pairs of boots, Gerald was able to gently
persuade Ms. Monahan to buy one of their most expensive products. He rang up the sale and
was complimenting himself on his persistence when out of the blue Ms. Monahan said:
Now that I have answered your question, and you have sold me a pair of your finest shoes, would you
answer one for me?
Gerald went from happy to apprehensive and thought “what could this woman possibly want to
know from me?” Before Gerald could reflect more, Ms. Monahan quickly blurted out her
question.
Why is an obviously highly talented man like you, who has just sold me a pair of shoes I probably don’t
even want or need, working at a place like Macy’s? I am the Director of Recruiting and Training at ABC
Home Builders and I can tell from the way that you have handled this sale that you would make a superb
homes salesperson. Here’s my card. Why not call me tomorrow morning and we can arrange a time for
you to come in. Our website is also on the card so feel free to check us out and see our job listings.
Gerald thanked Ms. Monahan for her kind words and told her he certainly would call her in the
morning and arrange for an appointment. “Perhaps this was the one break I needed all my life”
considered Gerald. “Perhaps now, I can do the right thing for my family and myself by working
in a good job with good pay and benefits. Homes are big ticket items and I am sure that I can
make a really good commission by selling just one home.” Gerald got home that night, told
Adrienne of his little adventure, and immediately checked out ABC Home Builders’ website.
Job Advertisement for Sales Counselor

ABC’s job advertisement on their web site for a sales counselor, as far as Gerald Mahoney was
concerned, seemed very straight forward and exciting. See Exhibit 1 below.
44
EXHIBIT 1
CAREERS AT ABC HOME BUILDERS 3
At ABC Home Builders, we have a simple philosophy:

“Building Homes Right the First Time, Every Time”
We know that special feeling a new homeowner gets when they walk into their brand
new house, a house that not only meets but exceeds their expectations. A house that
now is their home. It is that feeling that has launched us into a major leader in the
homebuilding industry. What do offer a possible member of this winning team? We
provide excellent pay, benefits, and real growth opportunities to the most capable
individuals who can build their careers as we build our customers’ homes.
Go With the Best

ABC Homes Builders is looking for talented individuals who have the motivation and
skill to excel at their work. Although being a self-starter is important, we know that
it is not as easy as “ABC” to build a winning team and we are therefore looking for
high caliber sales associates who can support a team effort. We provide a lucrative
compensation package including comprehensive healthcare, 401K, advancement
opportunities, and a constructive environment contributing to realizing success.
Description: High amount of energy and dedication an absolute must, outstanding

public relations and organizational skills, a burning desire to succeed, and strong
customer focus. No real estate experience required.
Requirements: Weekends a must!
Education: Previous sales experience preferred.
Location: Louisville or Lexington, Kentucky
Contact: Recruiting and Training Department
To Apply: Email Resume to: Recruiting and Training Dept.
Please reference Job Code ABCD1234
Gerald was ecstatic about the prospect of selling homes again, although his previous experience
selling condominiums was not necessary (although it would seem to be a plus) in terms of the
job requirements. He seemed to have the right background for the job and he had always wanted
to work in a job environment where he would feel like an integral member of a team. He
perused the firm’s website further and did some research on the firm before he called up Ms.
Monahan to set up an interview (see Appendix A, ABC Home Builders LP).
Getting the Interview: Persistence and Pain

Gerald called Ms. Monahan the next day as he promised and she seemed quite receptive to his
call. She asked him to FAX over a resume and that she would get back to him (or her assistant
45
would), in order to set up an appointment for him to interview with her and some of the key
salespeople in the firm.
Gerald had an old resume which he looked over to see if he could polish things up and make his
background more attractive. One thing was clear looking at his resume, that he barely stayed in
one job for more than a year or two and that when he did “jump ship” that it was not necessarily
for a better job or for a better career opportunity. This career path perplexed him to no end and
he wondered how he would explain it if the issue were ever raised during his job interview. He
decided, after a day or two of brooding about it, that honesty was the best policy and that he
would explain how his life had changed for the better and that he had found the ambition that he
had lacked most of his life. He wasn’t necessarily happy with this answer but felt that it was the
best way in which to deal with the obvious – that he had a mobicentric personality 4 (never stayed
in one place very long) and now was finally settling down.
Gerald ended up FAX’ing his resume three days after he had talked with Ms. Monahan and
waited for the inevitable phone call – however, it never came. He wondered if he should call her
and verify if she had received his FAX or not, and finally did after Adrienne persuaded him that
he should at least follow-up and find out what had happened. After several days and
unsuccessful attempts to get Ms. Monahan on the phone, her assistant did confirm that his
resume was received and that they would be getting back to him about setting up an
appointment.
In the interim, all was not going well at Macy’s. Sales continued to be slow and although Gerald
did have some good selling days (as he would say, it didn’t take much to have a good day since
the shoes were far more expensive than Foley’s), his paychecks continued to be quite low and his
family’s economic situation was worsening. He needed a new job with decent pay and he
needed one now! He continued to call Ms. Monahan’s office once a day and after a week of
calling he finally received an appointment for the following week for an interview. He thanked
God for the opportunity to better himself and went into the interview both excited and nervous.
The Interview Ordeal at ABC Home Builders

Gerald was overwhelmed by ABC’s interview process and felt that he had just gone through a
wash wringer. Having changed jobs every year or two, Gerald thought he knew what to expect
during an interview since he had been through so many. Usually he met with a store manager or
the head of personnel for about an hour and they would ask him questions about his previous
employment, why he left his last job, and why he wanted to work for their firm. These were
routine questions which inevitably lead to a discussion of salary (if they thought he was qualified
to do the job) and a job offer. Yet ABC’s interview process was a whole day event and far more
complex.
It all started at 9 AM. First, before he met with anyone, Gerald took a battery of exams and
filled out a set of questionnaires. The exams included everything from basic math questions
(which he hadn’t done since his college days, nearly 30 years ago), to what seemed to be an IQ
test, to questions about self-image, and to his preferences about the type of work he liked to do.
For three hours he sat in this little interview room, quite alone, and felt that his mind would
eventually turn to mush. They gave him a short lunch break (1/2 an hour in a small lunch room
46
with just food vending machines) and Gerald wondered was the job really worth this heartache
and grief. He thought of his daughter every time a negative thought drifted into his head and
decided to continue.
The afternoon was much better. The fact that he actually received an interview after all of the
psychological tests he had received lifted Gerald’s spirits – perhaps he had a chance to get this
job after all! His first interview seemed to set the tone for the rest of the day. Gerald had a
wonderful interview with the Sales Director, Sam Arden, and found Sam’s easy going, laid back
style a refreshing change of pace from the usual sales people he had dealt with most of his life.
Sam, after telling Gerald a little about the firm and about the homes sales market, asked Gerald a
little bit about his background and sales history and what made Gerald special enough to become
an ABC sales associate. Gerald expected these questions and was quite prepared.
The next series of questions, however, were very different than anything Gerald had experienced
during an interview and he found this approach very positive and exciting. Sam would tell him a
little story, Gerald assumed a hypothetical situation of sorts, and then ask Gerald what he would
do or say if he were the manager or sales associate in the situation. No one besides a customer
had ever asked Gerald’s opinion about anything at his prior jobs and Gerald felt that he had
finally found a firm that cared about what he thought and was willing to listen to him. Gerald
sailed through these scenarios, he thought, with flying colors and Sam’s tone was always very
positive throughout the interview. It was 3 PM when Sam finally called an end to this session
and Gerald felt invigorated and ready for more.
The next set of interviews was rather strange to Gerald but he was in such good spirits that
nothing could deter him. He walked into a small conference room where three people who
identified themselves as area managers and one person from personnel asked him a series of
questions about his selling approach, work habits, and his ability to work with a sales partner.
This session lasted an hour and was repeated in another room with another three area managers
and another person from personnel. At 5 PM the session ended and Sales Director Sam Arden,
walked in and told Gerald he would call him in a week to let Gerald know the firm’s decision.
Gerald at that point was quite tired but elated, thanked Sam for the opportunity to interview for a
job with Royce, and said he looked forward to hearing from them. When he got home he took a
long bath, crawled into bed, and had the most restful sleep he had had in months.
Waiting for Godot? 5

The next week seemed like an eternity. Every day Gerald hoped to get a call from ABC telling
him the job was his, and every day he was disappointed when the call never came. “I know I
aced the interviews,” thought Gerald to himself as he was assisting an older woman try on a pair
of finely laced shoes, “so what is taking them so long to make up their minds?” Gerald became
so fixated on the expected call that his attention to his job was waning and his sales numbers
dropped precipitously low. His manager actually tried to help him make a sale or two (“was it
out of pity or disgust,” thought Gerald) and get him out of his slump but Gerald became quite
morose and despondent. Gerald felt like a young kid on a car trip asking his parents “are we
there yet, are we there yet” – even a “no” would have been better than the waiting and the
uncertainty.
47
A week went by and Gerald had not heard anything from Sam’s office. Self-doubt was setting in
and Gerald was quite on edge. He was debating with himself whether he should play it cool and
just waits for the phone call or whether he should take the initiative and call them. He did not
want to seem overly anxious yet at the same time he did not want them to think that he wasn’t
interested in the job either – what a conundrum! After two more days of indecision, Adrienne
insisted that Gerald find out what was going on or he should be prepared to sleep on the couch
until he got an answer. Gerald immediately called and was told that a letter was in the mail to
him and he should await its arrival.
The Letter
Three days later, and with continued impatience at work and at home, Gerald received the
destined letter. The first word he read “congratulations” sent Gerald into an ecstatic frenzy. He
danced with his three year old daughter, hugged Adrienne, and had a grin from ear to ear. He
called his Stephen to share the good news, called his mom, brother and sister, and was about to
call his boss at Macy’s to resign when Adrienne called his attention to the terms of the offer.
“Hold on a minute” Adrienne exclaimed. “Have you seen the terms and conditions of your
employment?” Gerald put down the phone and walked over to Adrienne and then read the letter
slowly and carefully. “Hmmm” mumbled Gerald “this was not exactly what I had in mind.”
Three thousand a month for the first three months is much more than I make now but after that
the job is commission only, starting at 1.5% and goes as high as 3%. If the average home is
about $150k and I sell one home a month I’d make $ 2250/month, about what I’m making now.
Assuming that medical and dental packages run about the same cost and that coverage is the
same, I’d lose paid vacation time but perhaps gain in terms of their contributions to a 401(k)
plan. Doesn’t sound that great a deal to me!”
“But wait a minute” replied Adrienne “you certainly could sell more than one house a month. If
you just sell two homes a month you’re making $4500/month, that’s $54k a year, more than
double what you’re making now! You have no chance in hell to make that type of money at
Macy’s; in fact I bet even the top sales people in your department don’t bring home that type of
bacon!” “I don’t know about that” Gerald responded “but I do know that the new commission
system at Macy’s makes it all but impossible for me to really make more that $30,000 a year. I
just don’t seem to have the knack of selling Macy’s higher priced shoes.”
Gerald let this all sink in as he took a walk to clear his head. This was an important decision in
his life and he needed to think about it. “Adrienne has a point,” Gerald told himself. “I really
can make very good money selling homes whereas selling shoes is a dead end job – especially
with what Macy’s has been doing lately with my commission. However, what if I don’t sell any
homes after the third month? At least at Macy’s I have a guaranteed salary, low as it may be, if I
have a bad month; there are no guarantees with Royce. If I were living on my own there would
be no doubt in my mind that I would take the ABC offer, but I have a family to think about and I
need to make sure that the money continues to flow.”
Gerald knew that he would have to decide whether or not to take this job offer since his training
program would begin in just two days. As he continued his walk, he decided to call his family
48
and friends with his cell phone to discuss the matter further. (A tabular time line of events in this
case is presented below, see Exhibit 2.)
EXHIBIT 2
TABULAR TIME LINE OF EVENTS
1. Gerald works as a salesman, plays in musical groups, and does standup comedy on Long
Island, New York.
2. Gerald meets Adrienne, she becomes with child, and he moves to upstate New York to be with
her and works at a Foley’s department store selling shoes on a commission only basis.
3. After the birth of their child, Gerald and Adrienne move to Kentucky and Gerald is arranges
transfer to a Foley’s in Kentucky.
4. Macy’s acquires Foley’s and introduces a more expensive, higher quality shoe product.
5. After a few months, Macy’s reduces commissions by 50% but introduces a low but guaranteed
minimum salary.
6. Gerald realizes that he cannot, under this compensation system, earn enough money to
properly care for his family and decides to look for another job.
7. Gerald assists Ms. Monahan, Director of Recruiting and Training at ABC Home Builders, in a
shoe purchase, and she suggests that he apply for a sales position at ABC.
8. Gerald looks at the job description on-line then Fax’s in his resuming and awaits a reply.
9. Through persistence, Gerald obtains an interview.
10. Gerald goes through a rather intensive interview process and, after waiting a week and then
making a call, receives a letter from ABC with a job offer.
11. Gerald calls his friends and family, and specifically his good friend Stephen Hodgetts, for
advice and counsel.
49
APPENDIX A
ABC HOME BUILDERS LLC 6
With headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, ABC Home Builders LLC builds entry-level and
move-up homes in the Louisville, Lexington, and Florence Kentucky. The company's four
divisions build under the names Settler Homes, Boone Homes, ABC Home Builders, and Elegant
Homes. The homes range in size from about 1,000 sq. ft. to over 6000 sq. ft. and in price from
the $90,000s to the $600,000s. ABC Home Builders offers design services through its design
center, and it also provides mortgage services through affiliate Eloquent Financial. The company
has built more than 16,000 homes in more than 40 communities since it was founded in 1980.
The company’s website notes that ABC Builders is one of the most successful home building
companies in the region. ABC Builders ranks among the top 30 privately held builders in the
country and stands firm as one of Louisville's most respected. With nearly 10,000 satisfied
customers living in ABC Builders homes, our track record speaks volumes.
Each division of ABC Builders operates under the principles of success that have been with the
company since its inception. With ABC Builders, you will find ‘Your Idea of a Home.’ This
means that your builder will listen to your needs and wants to help you live the life you've been
dreaming. You can feel confident in your investment because your home must pass extreme
levels of scrutiny before you move in.
All ABC Builders homes receive the detailed review of a team of qualified construction
personnel, third party inspectors and the final acceptance of the one-of-a-kind ‘Helping Hands’
customer care team.
The Four Divisions

ABC Builders accommodates individual buyers’ needs, whether they are a first-time home
buyer, a growing family moving into a larger home, or empty nesters ready to downsize while
keeping their idea of a classic home. There are four divisions of ABC Builders offering new
homes from the $90s to the $500s.
Settler Homes $90s to $170s

Settler Homes makes dreams come true. We make it easy for the dream of home ownership to
become a reality. We have developed flexible financial programs that fit your budget while
providing a quality product you can be proud to call your own
Settler Homes, the homes that dreams are made of.
Boone Homes $120s to $300s

Life is all about alternatives and our ability to make choices that make the most sense to us.
Boone Homes helps you make the right choice for your home by carefully paying attention to
you, our clientele, and understanding that every buyer has different needs and tastes. That's why
we at Boone take pleasure in taking note of your ideas, considering your financial situation and
serving you by designing the right home for you. Boone offers mid-quality, custom homes where
50
you obtain an outstanding value because you pay for only the features that you want. Boone
Homes truly cares about your needs and your vision of becoming a homeowner. Yes, life is all
about making the right choices and the first choice is simple; start talking about your idea of a
home with us, we are always listening.
Boone Homes, The Best Value with First-Rate Service.
ABC Home Builders $160s to $420s

ABC Home Builders has more than 20 years of experience in the Louisville area. An ABC Home
offers better-quality manufacture standards, wide-ranging floor plan choices and an assortment
of interior and exterior features that permit homebuyers to tailor their home to fit their lifestyle.
With numerous locations, ABC Home Builders offers folks like you many prospects to find their
idea of a home.
ABC Home Builders. Your Inspiration, Our Expertise.
Elegant Homes Over $450k

Striking floor plans present the optimum in unique and extraordinary looks and designs. By
providing an assortment of selections, Elegant Homes guarantees that each home replicates the
owner’s individual taste and personality. Home designs range from 3,200 to over 6,000 square
feet.
Customer Services
ABC prides itself as being a one-stop shop; we provide customer assistance from property
location, to after closing service. Our Home and Design Centers allow the customer, from one
central location, to review community locations, floor plans, and pricing while also providing
customer decorating experts who help the customer make effective design decisions. These
consultants are educated and expert about fashion and contemporary trends, and they can help
homebuyers appreciate what products and color arrangements will compliment their new home.
Eloquent Financial makes in-house financing quick and easy; we offer complete financial
services and a wide assortment of loan packages. A handy loan application is taken on-site or
by web, phone, fax, mail, with loan programs calculated to meet customers’ specific needs, with
competitive products and interest rates. All services related to the loan (underwriting, appraisals,
closing, and marketing) are provided in-house.
Even after you have moved into your new home, ABC provides distinct after sales service
through its Helping Hands program. By assisting homeowners with proper maintenance of their
new home and by allowing homeowners to conveniently schedule and report maintenance items,
(including emergencies to a call center that is open 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, including
holidays), this program ensures many happy years of care-free living. In addition to warranty
services (this program is included for the first year), and for an additional fee, the call center will
assign certified professionals to perform and document monthly, semi-annual and annual home
checks.
51
Endnotes
1
This is a disguised case. All the names of characters, firms, and locations have been changed to protect the
anonymity of individual and firms directly involved in the case.
2
Frey, Christine (September 9, 2003). “Workers Approve Bon-Macy’s Contract” Seattle-Post Intelligencer.
Retrieved from http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/138676_bon09.html, January 2, 2007.
3
This advertisement has been rewritten in order to protect the anonymity of the firm.
4
A person who likes to travel and change jobs for changing sake. See Whyte, W. H. Jr. (1956). The Organization
Man. New York: Simon ands Schuster.
5
“Waiting for Godot” is a play by Samuel Beckett in which the two seeming vagabonds continuously wait for a
character named Godot who they hardly know, and they cannot recognize. Godot never arrives yet they await him
nonetheless.
6
This is a disguised case. All information in this section has been altered to protect the firm’s anonymity.
52
The Death of a Salesman Revisited

Part B 1
Herbert Sherman, Long Island University – Brooklyn Campus

Daniel James Rowley, University of Northern Colorado
Gerald Takes one Job and Leaves Another

Gerald must have talked and walked for several hours since his knees were pretty sore by the
time he got back home. He had received rather mixed advice from most of his friends but
Stephen Hodgetts’ comments in particular stood out. “What have you got to lose” Stephen said
“by taking this job? You can always go back to Macy’s or another low wage job and earn the
same lousy guaranteed pay. You know you’re going to kick yourself in the head no matter what
you decide to do. You always second guess yourself, so you might as well take the plunge and
try out this new job.”
Gerald talked about all what he had heard and thought about with Adrienne and they decided that
he might as well roll the dice and try out this new job. For the first time in a long time Gerald
was excited about working and Adrienne seemed very supportive of his choice. Maybe this was
the one break he had been waiting for his whole life and now was his chance to capitalize on it.
Gerald went to work for Macy’s the next day and gave his manager one week’s notice.
And Now for Something Completely Different

The week flew by and Gerald could not wait to get out of Macy’s and go to his new job working
for Royce. Gerald began his five week training program on Saturday and he quickly realized
that his weekends would never, ever be his own again. It was not that he never worked
weekends for Macy’s but weekends were critical in homes sales and he was told immediately
when he walked into the door of the training room that he was expected to be on-the-job every
weekend.
Gerald felt that first day started off with a bang – after a few quick introductions around the room
(there were ten trainees and several trainers) the trainers quickly outlined the training program.
Saturdays through Mondays he was going to spend with a mentor on-site in one of ABC’s home
developments (although this first Saturday was at corporate Headquarters) while the rest of the
week (Tuesdays off) would be spent at the corporate office going over policies and sales
procedures, the process of home construction, using the personal computer to write up a contract,
contacting realtors, and use/placement of signage. Much of the training would consist of canned
videos dealing with such issues as new home buyer orientation, closing the deal, and the laws
dealing with real estate purchases. The rest of the time would be spent focusing on the real
estate salesperson exam, a state exam that would qualify the trainees for selling real estate
through a real estate broker. The instruction for the exam included a combination of lecture and
self-study. Although this credential was not necessary for in-house sales, ABC felt that their
sales associates should be well versed in state requirements and should be as qualified as
possible.
53
As the days flew by, Gerald was at first quite impressed with the training program, as well as his
first paycheck which came at the end of the fourth week. Never in his over thirty years of work
had he experienced such intensive training. Obviously ABC took a particular interest in training
their staff and put their money where their mouth was – they were investing in knowledge
management. Gerald particularly liked the fact that his ideas and opinions were not shot down
during these sessions but were not only listened to but positively commented upon; this
reinforced his impression during his interview that sales associates would become valuable
members of the ABC family.
At the end of the fifth week, however, Gerald seemed lost and overwhelmed. “There is just so
much to know that I cannot begin to tell you what I know and don’t know,” Gerald told his good
friend Stephen. “I’m still confused over home financing options, how to fill out a contract on the
computer, how to contact realtors in order to create a large referral network, and a million other
detailed items. Let me tell you that building and selling a home is far more complex that selling
shoes and rightly so given its high sticker price. I really could have used another three to four
weeks of instruction, as well as more hands-on field work. I would have really liked to have
done at least one presentation walk-through with a customer and then had a supervisor critique
my work – I understand that they do not want to jeopardize a sale but there is only so much you
can learn from observation!”
Gerald’s Lot?
The last day of training Gerald, as well as the other trainees, received their assignments. The
training manager went out of his way to indicate to the group that Gerald’s assignment (along
with a fellow trainee named Christa Gayle), was the toughest assignment of all, a real challenge.
The area that they were going to work in basically consisted of a working trailer (rather than a
show home with an office, which was the norm), two incomplete homes that were the most
expensive models in the ABC product line, and nothing around the area for miles around;
basically a series of vacant lots in an open area without anyone or anything to see for miles
around.
Gerald was shocked and dismayed. He needed to sell homes, and needed to sell them quickly if
he was going to survive after his three month pay period was up. Yet he did not want to make
trouble at the meeting. First, Gerald was expecting to be paired up with a seasoned sales person,
not another new recruit, yet everyone seemed paired off with a fellow newbie. This seemed
counterproductive – how was Gerald going to learn the ABC way to sell successfully if someone
who was not a successful ABC salesperson was working with him?
Christa, his partner, seemed nonplused at the idea and chortled when Gerald mentioned it in
passing. In fact, she seemed to be beaming with pride! “Obviously we must have done
something right during our training session for the firm to have such confidence in our ability to
sell homes that they gave us the most challenging location without supervision” Christa
remarked to Gerald. “I’ve been in real estate before, so have you, so they must think that our
previous experience is a real asset.”
“That’s one way of looking at it” replied Gerald. He was so shell shocked that the normally
loquacious Gerald was brief and curt in his comments. Gerald thought, but did not say, that the
54
other way to look at the situation was that they put their losers in the worst situations possible in
order to weed them out – why not put your best people in the best places since you want to
maximize your sales and keep the best people around? He again felt as he had experienced in
many other job situations, unappreciated, unmotivated, lied to, and taken advantage of.
From the Frying Pan and into the Fire

The next day was Gerald’s first day on the work site. Although he left early in order to allow for
traffic and getting lost, he still managed to arrive 15 minutes late, a bad omen for the first day on
the job. They had not provided him with any directions to the sales office and he managed to
miss the turn off for the development several times because Mapquest did not show the turnoff.
Christa was already there and gave him a cold stare as he climbed up the wooden stairs and into
the trailer. Gerald was expecting a smile and a good morning from his new partner. “That’s all I
need” Gerald told himself “I’m late to work and I have already started off on the wrong foot with
Christa.” Christa had parked herself at the front desk, the one that immediately facing the door
and she was going to be the first thing a prospective buyer would see. Gerald realized that
Christa had made a very strategic decision since she would be the first person to greet anyone
walking in off the street – out maneuvered! The only other desk in the fairly run down trailer was
the one by the back window by the floor and roof samples – had plenty of room to spread out but
the desk was so old that Gerald wondered what was keeping it together.
Gerald settled himself into the old desk and proceeded to get familiar with the surroundings. He
looked over all of the blueprints on the architect’s desk, examined all of the samples and model
floor plans, and read every brochure he could get his hands on. Not a word passed between him
and Christa and not a single call from customers or the corporate office. After two hours of
getting familiar with his surroundings, and absolutely no sales traffic, Gerald walked outside to
look at the two homes that were under construction. Both had their slab foundations poured but
no other work had been done – he was basically looking at two holes in the ground with a
cement floor for each. No construction was occurring at the site and for miles around there was
merely vacant property – no homes, no commercial business, nothing. It looked like someone
had dropped a huge bomb and the trailer was ground zero; only thing remaining were the
foundations of two homes.
Gerald went back into the dilapidated office and tried to talk with Christa to see what she was
thinking. She was very hard to engage in a conversation until Gerald mentioned his daughter
and Adrienne. That seemed to have broken the ice. Christa immediately but briefly mentioned
her husband (“that 6’ 4” guy who gets very jealous and says that I can be very intimidating”) and
directly became silent. She seemed to be concentrating her efforts on the only computer in the
office that was on her desk.
“Damn it” Christa finally said (and it seemed to Gerald, quite out of character) “we have no
internet connection. There is only Microsoft Office on the computer and all of the other pre-
programmed software that usually comes with a PC, including games, has been deleted. How
are we supposed to process sales contracts if we cannot access ABC’s internet site?” Gerald did
not have an answer for her and decided to continue to scour the office for additional educational
material. He did notice that there was a shelf way in the back of the trailer that seemed to hold
55
brochures and stationary. In digging around he did find some sales contracts although they
looked wrinkled and different from the on-line form that had been trained with. He shared his
findings with Christa who simply shrugged her shoulders – Gerald could tell that she was not
going to be fun to work with. The phones at least seemed to work and there was a TV with a
built-in VCR by his desk. The TV was playing what seemed to be a canned ABC infomercial –
there was no cable hookup, no antenna, and therefore nothing to watch except any tapes they
may bring in from the outside.
Christa and Gerald each took an hour for lunch, staggering their meal time. They needed the
time so that they could exit the property, find a restaurant or deli, and grab something to eat. The
day continued to drag on. They received two phone calls in a total of eight hours, one from their
regional manager Bob Grossman who said he would pop in tomorrow and introduce himself,
another from a wrong number. No customers, nor anyone for that matter, showed up at the
office all day. The office was supposed to remain open until 7 PM and Christa volunteered to
stay until 7 PM even though Gerald had come in late. Gerald figured this was part of her way to
try to garner customers and decided to at least concede tonight to her. When he left the office at
5 PM he did mention to Christa that they should alternate taking the night shift but Christa just
shrugged her shoulders and said nothing.
If Gerald thought that his drive to work was a long one, his drive home was even longer … or at
least it felt that way. He could not imagine a worse first day on the job and was cursing himself
for thinking that this job would be any better than any of his other jobs. He thought to himself:
Of all the real estate offices in all of ABC Home Builders’ operations’, I had to end up in this one! I left
my stable job in retail selling shoes because I thought that I could make a better living selling homes; you sell one
home and you earn thousands of dollars in commissions, what could be easier?
Yet what I have here is a disaster in the making, and I’ve been here just one day! We have no model homes
up, we’re in a vacant area with no traffic, I’m in a trailer for a showroom, two homes just starting to be constructed
that seem far too expensive for the neighborhood, and no access to the internet or to a television in the office. And
look at my desk, if you could call it that! It looks like an antique from a World War Two machine shop. And the
worst of all is that I’m working with the saleswoman from hell, the ice princess. She has the personality of a rock
and is as vicious and competitive as a rabid wolverine. How can I possibly sell homes in this competitive market,
given these working conditions?
(See Appendix B, The Residential Real Estate Market.)
Gerald felt like he was playing Monopoly and he had just landed on the square “go to jail.” Yet
unlike Monopoly, there were no dice to roll to get you out prison, no get out of jail card, and no
way to buy your way out; there was “no exit”. 2
56
Appendix B
The Residential Real Estate Market
Although few experts predict that home values will fall dramatically in 2007, many economists say that prices won't improve
for 12 to 18 months. And without the cushion of rising home equity, which softened the blow of high oil prices last year and
kept consumers buying big-ticket items at a rapid clip, Americans may lose confidence in their finances — and the broader
economy is likely to suffer.
Ambitious building booms in many markets in the past half-decade, combined with mortgage interest rates that have
increased about 1 percent in the past year, have resulted in residential real estate stagnation. The gridlock defies
conventional wisdom, stubbornly remaining neither a buyer's nor a seller's market.
"We are currently experiencing the worst of the market freeze, which is being exacerbated by the gap between the buyer's
desire for bargains and the seller's fantasy of what they once thought their homes would be worth," said Diane Swonk, chief
economist for Chicago-based Mesirow Financial, who forecasts a rebound in early 2008. "The good news is that there are
some signs of stabilization. The bad news is that a substantial backlog of unsold homes still exists."
Global forces and U.S. monetary policies play important roles in the housing slowdown, which already appears to be
depressing the national economy.
The newest forecast by Moody's Economy.com, a private research firm, projected that the median sales price for an existing
home will decline in 2007 by 3.6 percent — the first decline for an entire year in U.S. home prices since the Great
Depression of the 1930s.
The Commerce Department reported Nov. 29 that gross domestic product grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the third
quarter, down from 2.6 percent in the second quarter. The residential construction falloff subtracted 1.2 percent from growth,
the department stated.
Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland, said artificially low interest rates over the past half-decade
encouraged China and other exporting nations to purchase 10-year bonds, which kept U.S. mortgage rates low and fueled
the housing bubble — despite a gaping trade deficit that should have sapped investor confidence years ago.
"In order to play this Ponzi scheme, the value of the homes had to go up faster than the economy grew and faster than
people could service their debt. We've reached that limit," Morci said. "The housing market sustained the economy at a time
of very large trade deficits. It's been a false prosperity."
In addition to macroeconomic forces, regional U.S. housing markets faced particular challenges. … "I don't see how the
economy can continue with these prices," said Stephen Levy, senior economist of the Center for Continuing Study of the
California Economy. … "We have to work off the inventory," said Daniel Nussbaum, a licensed investment adviser and CEO
of Calabasas-based TheUSARealty.com. "I honestly think we're past the worst of it, but if you don't take out your magnifying
glass you might not notice." … "It's definitely a friendlier market than earlier this year, but not a dramatically cheaper one,"
said Zach Chouteau, 41. "People have gotten really spoiled by the rapidly escalating prices, and it seems like they're in
denial that things have leveled out. They're just fishing for the best price."
Excerpted from CBS News Special Report 2006: Year in Review “Red-Hot Real Estate Market Cools Off: Not Much
Improvement Expected In 2007” New York, December 14, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/
2006/12/14/2006/main2269107.shtml, December 19, 2006.
Endnotes
1
This is a disguised case. All the names of characters, firms, and locations have been changed to protect the
anonymity of individual and firms directly involved in the case.
2
“No Exit” is a play by Jean-Paul Sartre and describes how three people react to being locked in a room,
presumably in hell, with no windows, no mirrors, and only one door which is locked.
57

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The CASE Journal

The Death of a Salesman Revisited: Part A and B

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

The Death of a Salesman Revisited

Herbert Sherman, Long Island University – Brooklyn Campus

Background of Gerald Mahoney

before his car had been paid off.

Selling the Right Pair of Shoes to the Right Person

Job Advertisement for Sales Counselor

At ABC Home Builders, we have a simple philosophy:

Go With the Best

Description: High amount of energy and dedication an absolute must, outstanding

Please reference Job Code ABCD1234

Getting the Interview: Persistence and Pain

The Interview Ordeal at ABC Home Builders

Waiting for Godot? 5

The Four Divisions

Settler Homes $90s to $170s

Boone Homes $120s to $300s

ABC Home Builders $160s to $420s

Elegant Homes Over $450k

The Death of a Salesman Revisited

Herbert Sherman, Long Island University – Brooklyn Campus

Gerald Takes one Job and Leaves Another

And Now for Something Completely Different

From the Frying Pan and into the Fire

(See Appendix B, The Residential Real Estate Market.)

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