Mortejo, Shan Danielle M.

February 16, 2021

BMM 2209 10:30 – 12:00 NN (TTH) BSBA MM 2nd Year

Case 2.1: "Reynolds & Reynolds"

1. How is the effectiveness of team selling demonstrated by the Reynolds team, and what
are some of the disadvantages to this method in this particular case?
The Reynolds team was able to showcase their effectivity by first, having the courage
and ambition to seal a deal with Ben Frothingham’s American Ford Dealership. Ideas,
opportunities, and essential knowledge comes first before persuasion and implementation
of such. It is with no doubt that each member of the group had their own specialty to bring
on the table; diversification is a must to enhance overall effectivity of the retention plan to
boost service sales and to limit redundancy of roles and unnecessary costs. Bob Sherman, is
a Minneapolis-area sales associate with Reynolds who would discuss the reports with the
customer, Tim O’Neill is a regional sales manager who will be the backup if ever further
inquiries and the like shall be asked while Chuck Wiltgen is their marketing specialist who
will be the implementation person of their plans. With such diversification in the team, they
were able to produce a detailed and step-by-step procedure on how to increase customer
loyalty and service retention. They primarily focused on the numbers; the existing data
which is to know the average customer retention rate and existing customers in their
database system before they began the first stage of their plan which was the report. In here,
they discovered that American Ford should run reports every 90 days to use as a diagnostic
tool for all the possible and lost opportunities of service sales. Second stage was the analysis
wherein they determined the amount of active, inactive and new customers. Moreover, the
customers were broken down into area codes and the top zip codes and came to a conclusion
that the dealership needed specific service reminders tailored to the kind of customer they
are trying to get a sale from. Third stage was the program which was the “Preferred
Customer Card” which will aid in cleansing databases to increase the efficiency and
effectivity of the service program. Fourth stage focused on introducing Reynolds "Direct
Drive" software for Bemis and Greenberg. The dealer will adapt their mailings for the active
and inactive customers. This software helps the dealer by classifying customers by vehicle
such that each customer receives a mailing tailored specifically for his or her needs. Final
stage was the closure wherein the team projected the overall possible gains if the company
decides to incorporate such plan.
“Not all plans are designed to perfection”. Despite the team’s success, this plan does
have its disadvantages as well which will mainly rely on the key people involved. Team
selling requires immense teamwork and alignment of goals and values. Even if it just takes
one member to have ulterior motives that are not fully aligned with their client’s interests, it
may greatly affect the momentum and outcome of the retention plan. Moreover, there is a
huge possibility that the client may also sense the subtle inconsistency of the objectives per
plan. Another disadvantage is that in a team, it is normal for members to desire a sense of
glorification and recognition. However, it is inevitable that although one member may have
contributed more compared to others, his or her efforts may be neglected because outsiders
only see the success and brilliance of the plan generated by the team, as a whole. This may
get discouraging in the long run and members may tend to lose motivation which will
eventually tilt the momentum of the team.

2. How did the Reynolds team successfully execute the following critical roles in sales:
client access, client education/persuasion, and fulfillment?
Client access – Bob Sherman took the initiative to establish contact with American Ford’s
service department. Before his team made a move to expound their marketing idea, he first
discussed the possible opportunities and gathered verifiable and crucial quantitative
information regarding two reports to determine the dealership’s customer base before
meeting with Carol Benis, new parts and service director, and Brad Greenberg, service
manager. Through this, even during their first meeting Bob was able to present very detailed
information and amounts that immediately translated to the loss opportunity and sales the
company could have earned which made Carol and Brad understand how serious Bob was
in finding a solution to that “gap”.

Client education/persuasion = Bob and his team had a very detailed and accommodating
approach when it came to educating their client about the numbers of their company
database and performance. They were not arrogant about how well they understood the
gathered information and they properly explained to their client in what areas they were
lacking. The team was very open to criticism, comments, suggestions, and they made sure
their clients wouldn’t feel ignorant once they explained their findings and their plans. They
persuaded their client by being specific with the amounts of loss opportunities and possible
sales while also giving very detailed strategies that encompasses all angles of customer base
from the actives, inactives, and new customers.

Fulfillment = The team already had a specific person assigned to do the task which was
Chuck. Hence, all they needed was the go signal from their clients and rest assured the plan
will be put into action.