Case 1: Predicting Sales Success Preamble: A life insurance company has developed a test believed to measure succ ess

at personal face-to-face sales. The test has been used to choose new life in surance agents, believing that it will contribute to higher sales. However, this does not happen. Why is this happened? Questions 1 Do you think the test of selling ability might be at fault?. For instance, could it be that this test is not really valid? How would you find out if it is or is not. Answer: The test on Selling Ability might be at fault. The definition and role of personal face-to-face selling according to Fill (1999 ) personal selling can be defined as an Interpersonal Communication which involv es face-to-face activities undertaken by individuals often representing an organ ization in order to inform, persuade or remind an individual or a group. The insurance industry is an unique business orientated industry, where there is no product visibility to convince a potential client. Hence by conducting a tes t on the Selling Ability might not address the total issue faced by an insurance agent when he is out in the open market. The company may test the agent for his Selling Abilities but then as to how he i s going to perform will be the end result. i. ii. Selling Abilities consists of the following tools:Consensus Continuance Commitment Communication On the other hand, Standard Insurance Sales process relies on:-

Prospecting Taking Appointments Counselling Objection Handling Negotiation Closing Even if you have good selling abilities, you need to master sales technique to c lose an insurance business. It is common for individuals to fail as an insurance agent, if you are not the type of individual who would like to market oneself a s well as the insurance product. The test may not have covered the crucial areas and how to overcome or tackle su ch situations as follows: Time Management Prospecting Product Knowledge Business Etiquette Customer Service Follow-up Relationship Building Organization iii) The most important thing then training or testing is to equip the agents with effective marketing strategies. They will be very confident to initiate a conversation with a potential customer if they are equipped with better prospect ing ideas. iv) New agents find it difficult to remain in the insurance business because they are not prepared to face the challenges. A good agent should know how to build port folios and to establish a relationship with the potential clients.

Question 2 What other factors might be involved ? Assuming the test is valid, could the fa ct that the new agents lack experience be contributing to their relatively poor performance ? If so, would you expect this will improve as they gain experience? 2.1 Lack of experience New agents might face problems when they deal with real situation. Existing agen ts already face a lot of challenges while facing customers. Moreover, new agents dont go training yet. It might affect the test. 2.2 Lack of product knowledge Existing agents expert in product knowledge compare to new agents. In order to i mprove it, new agents should be exposed to insurance products 2.3 Customer- Agent relationship One of the other factors involved is relationship factors between customers and agent. Existing agents has performed relationship with customers but new agents doesnt go through the stage yet. This will affect the test by existing agents ans wers the test based on own experience By going through training, new agents able to expose with products and building relationship with customers. Moreover, existing agents also need to be train to keep up-to-date with product knowledge and external market knowledge regarding i nsurance line Question3 If you conclude that the test of selling is not really valid, how could you help the company develop a better test one that really measure this important abilit y? i. Develop the test with the goal to predict success on the job, not descr ibe the individual. Assess the specific personality traits of the candidates th at match the requirements of a particular sales job. ii. Develop tests that keep in mind the outcome, criteria and the behaviors the end-user wished to predict. iii. Develop tests that focus on predicting performance in specific areas (cl osing skills, presentation skills, etc). Don t utilize a test purely that measur es descriptive personal characteristics (assertiveness, extraversion, persuasive ness);

Case 2: Howard Schultz: The Personality Behind Starbucks Preamble: Howard Schultz had acquired and developed Starbucks from a small chain to a globally respected company. The success of Starbucks is very much attribut ed to his leadership that encompasses positive traits of a leader. Schultz relen tless pursuit for excellence through employee and customers engagement has positi on Starbucks in a class on its own Question 1 What particular Big Five personality traits and what elements of core self-evalu ation appear to characterize Schultz? Schultzs Personality Traits Howard Schultz seems to have all the positive elements of the Big Five personali ty traits, in particular: 1. Extraversion Schultz had demonstrated this trait in his commitment in en gaging his employees. His passion and care for his employees push him to go extr a miles to listen to them and also Starbucks customers.

2. Agreeableness His compassion over the employees are evident in many case s. This is clearly demonstrated in his effort to provide the best for his employ ees. Starbucks has one of the best employees benefits, including health benefits for part time employees. Its not about coffee, but all about people. 3. Conscientiousness Schultz is willing to go extra miles to achieve his am bition. This is demonstrated in his commitment to details, visiting stores and u nderstand their problems 4. Openness to experience Shultz has been committed in gathering everyones i deas and treating his employees fairly so that they are interested in sharing th eir ideas. Schultzs elements of core self-evaluation Howard Schultz seems to have all the positive elements of the Big Five personali ty traits, in particular: 1. Self-Esteem Schultz has high level of self esteem as demonstrated his gre at commitment and effort in meeting the challenges faced by the company. He had brought up the company to a new level on its own. 2. Generalized Self Efficacy This is evident in many instances where Schultz continuous effort to grow Starbucks and never give up in his effort 3. Locus of Control Schultz demonstrates a high Locus of Control as evident in continuous effort to improve Starbucks and put the company ahead of competito rs 4. Emotional Stability Shultz is a highly confident person and willing to ta ke challenges that resulted to Starbucks great success. Question 2 What evidence, if any points to the possibility that Schultz has a high level of achievement motivation? Schultzs high level of achievement motivation can be observed in few situations: 1. Flying off to Seattle to investigate the increase in the purchase of his coffee roasting machine. 2. Raised $1.25 million to buy Starbucks from the original owners 3. Took the effort to visit Starbucks stores to identify customers trend and taking necessary measure to accommodate customers need. 4. Schultzs believe in building successful relationship with people has driv e him to keep his employees, and customers satisfied. Question 3 How do you think Schultzs social skills may have contributed to the success of St arbucks? What other special skills and abilities do you think he has that helped the company grow and prosper Schultzs social skills had contributed to Starbucks success in many ways. His comp assion towards the employees had motivated them to give the best to the company. I. Excellent communication skill inspirational and charismatic Powerful communication skills define a leader who knows not only what he stands for, but also the values he promotes, and who knows how to make an emotional con nection with his listeners I. Creative - Ability to identify opportunities and leverage on them Schultzs trip to Italy had given him an idea to change Starbucks into a meeting and soci al networking place, not just for having coffee. II. Caring and empathy Schultz had shown his care and empathy towards his em ployees. In many occasions, he shared his employees grievances and lend a helping to ease their pain. Lesson Learnt Personal traits are very important for any individuals to excel in their careers . Extraversion, skepticism, need for achievement, risk taking, desire for independ ence, locus of control, self efficacy, confidence and intuition are among person al traits that will contribute to individual and organization excellence. Almost all successful entrepreneurs have positive personal traits that drive the m to achieve their dreams and drive their organizations to greater height.