GB533 Unit 6 Seminar Reflection Example

"Seventy-Eight Percent of Quota" and Then Silence: A Unit 6 Seminar Reflection on a Coaching Conversation

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

GB533: Salesforce Management

Unit 6 Seminar Reflection

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The distributor, the representative's figures and the seminar role-play are composite; the sources cited are real.

The Exercise

The seminar paired us to rehearse a conversation between a sales manager and a representative who was behind plan, using figures from the course's composite dental distributor, Palmetto Dental Supply. I played the manager. My classmate played a territory representative in the Florence area who, after two quarters, stood at 78 percent of quota.

My Opening

I opened with the number. "You're at seventy-eight percent of quota at the halfway point, and I want to talk about how we close the gap." My classmate looked at the table and said nothing for what felt like a long time. When the reply came, it was that the representative had been working harder than ever and did not know what else to do.

I had started with the conclusion of the conversation, so there was nothing left for the representative to contribute except a defense.

The group's debrief was blunt. A classmate who manages a team of field service engineers said that leading with a shortfall figure puts a person on trial before any facts are on the table. Johnston and Marshall (2016) describe coaching as a process of joint diagnosis, in which the manager helps the salesperson understand the causes of performance rather than simply reporting it.

The Second Attempt

We ran the conversation again. This time I opened by asking how the territory looked from the representative's side: which practices were growing, which were not, and where the hours were going. The answer described a territory of mostly small practices spread across rural counties, with long drives between calls. The call records showed planned frequencies being met on A and B practices and more prospecting than most representatives managed. The equipment pipeline was thin, but the territory had few practices large enough to buy imaging systems.

Then came a question I had not expected: how had this quota been set? I checked the course figures. The quota had been set as the same percentage increase over last year that every representative received, before the territory redesign estimated that the Florence territory held only about $5.3 million of potential against an average near $7.7 million. Measured against potential, this representative's sales share was among the highest in the region.

What Surfaced

The number I had led with was not wrong, but it measured the wrong thing. Seventy-eight percent of a quota built from history was a weak result; the share of potential was a strong one. Churchill et al. (1985) found that salesperson performance depends on several factors, including aptitude, skill, motivation and role perceptions, and that organizational factors such as territory potential also shape results. A manager who looks only at quota attainment can mistake a territory problem for a person problem.

What the Pay Plan Would Have Done

Under the old quota, this representative's incentive for the half-year was well below target. Steenburgh and Ahearne (2012) argue that pay plans motivate best when salespeople believe targets are attainable, and a quota out of line with potential undermines that belief across the whole team, not only for the person behind. The potential-based quotas in the new plan would have put this representative near target.

What I Would Do Differently

First, I would prepare for a coaching conversation by looking at the territory's potential, the representative's activity and the pipeline before looking at attainment. Second, I would open with a question, not a number. Third, I would separate two issues that my first attempt mixed together: whether the representative is doing the right things, and whether the target is fair. In this case the first answer was largely yes and the second was no.

What I Learned About Myself

I tend to treat numbers as conversation starters because they feel objective. The role-play showed me that a number delivered first can end a conversation instead. It also showed me that the manager's preparation is as much about checking the system, the quota, the territory, the pay plan, as about judging the person.

Next Time

In real coaching conversations, I will bring the territory's potential and the representative's activity data to the meeting, ask the representative to describe the territory first and hold the attainment figure until we both understand what produced it. If the conversation shows that a target is unfair, I will say so and raise it with the people who set quotas, because a representative who sees a manager defend an unfair number learns not to bring problems forward.

References

Churchill, G. A., Jr., Ford, N. M., Hartley, S. W., & Walker, O. C., Jr. (1985). The determinants of salesperson performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marketing Research, 22(2), 103-118. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378502200201

Johnston, M. W., & Marshall, G. W. (2016). Sales force management: Leadership, innovation, technology (12th ed.). Routledge.

Steenburgh, T., & Ahearne, M. (2012). Motivating salespeople: What really works. Harvard Business Review, 90(7/8), 70-75.