Suggested Answers to Case Problems
Case 1.1 Chicago Blackhawks
Questions
1. What impact would dropping one or more salespeople have on the Chicago
Blackhawks Corporate Hospitality sales? You might want to review the section titled
“What Do Salespeople Do?” as you answer this question.
Since Chicago Blackhawks in this case is dealing with businesses and not with consumers,
there is a need for someone to establish and maintain a relationship with the buyers in
2. Should Emily seek an inside salesperson or field salesperson for this need? Why? You
might want to review the section titled “Describing Sales Jobs” as you answer this
question.
Student answers will vary. Encourage students to evaluate the situation from the likely
Case 1-2: DeSoto Hills Convention Center
Questions
1. As the text says, salespeople are the eyes and ears of the company in the marketplace.
Being an information provider to their firm is an important thing that salespeople do. If
you were Julie, how would you do that for the DeSoto Hills Convention Center?
2. This chapter introduces the notion of customer relationship management (CRM)
systems. These systems can maintain records of almost anything dealing with interactions
between salespeople and prospects/clients. How might DeSoto Hills Convention Center
use its CRM system to help avoid a situation like the one that occurred with Tyler?
Student answers will vary. Certainly if the CRM system tracks reasons for lost sales, then
End of Chapter Role Play Case
In this role play, students will interview for a job with Gartner. The purposes of this role
play are to encourage students to think about what the sales jobs they may want to explore
and to begin understanding what Gartner is and does for future role plays. For more
information, visit https://jobs.gartner.com.
To do this case in class, divide the class into pairs. Copy the next two pages and distribute
Hiring Manager 1 OR Hiring Manager 2 to each student. They take turns interviewing the
other. They are not to share what they have been given.
To debrief this role play, begin by noting that these are actual Gartner positions and the
requirements were taken from the website shown above. Neither of these positions
requires going out and capturing new customers but both have heavy service and sales
responsibilities. Who would prefer that type of position? Why? You may want to talk a
little about compensation – these are likely to be primarily salary plus bonus, which means
there may be a cap on earnings. Both of these positions can lead to an Executive Partner –
which do students think will move them up faster? Why? Review the types of positions
from the book – what types of sales positions are these? Of the other types, what are the
advantages and disadvantages?
identifies new sales opportunities within current accounts. There is no new sales
responsibility – identifying new customers is the job of the EP.
Characteristics needed for this job:
1. Some customer–facing experience
2. College degree
3. Strong interpersonal skills, particularly listening and relationship-building
4. Ability to solve problems in a timely fashion.
As hiring manager, you should ask questions such as:
Tell me about a job in which you had to interact with customers. What did you like? What
did you dislike?
What is your role when groups are formed for coursework?
In your classes or in student organizations, how do you build collaborative relationships?
Have you ever been faced with a tough problem? Describe how you went about solving it.
Make up a few questions of your own, as well.
Manager 2: You are hiring a Client Services Associate (CSA). This person works with an
Executive Partner on only 1 account. A CSA is assigned to one of the largest accounts
there is, and is responsible for all customer support. The CSA has to sell add-on services
and ensure the highest customer satisfaction, retention, and growth.
Characteristics needed for this job:
Highly motivated and detail oriented, requiring little to no direct supervision
Ability to prioritize and handle multiple requests concurrently
Articulate and tactful communication skills, working directly with clients
Prepare a list of questions, including some such as:
How can you demonstrate that you are highly motivated?
What are some examples in your life where your attention to detail paid off?
What type of supervision do you prefer?
Do you stay pretty busy? If so, with what activities and responsibilities? How do you
juggle those?
Have you ever had any conflict with members of a work group in school or colleagues at
work? Tell me how you handled it, and how you communicated with those individuals?
EXERCISE 1-1 YOUR ATTITUDES TOWARDS SALES.
1. In the space below list twenty adjectives that you think describe salespeople
2. Did you draw on any experiences with any specific salespeople or type of salespeople that justify
those adjectives? If so, describe them.
3. At this point, most students have listed mostly negative adjectives and experiences. Some students,
especially those whose parents are salespeople or who may be salespeople themselves, have a more
positive list. But everyone has had some good experiences with salespeople. How did those
experiences make you feel?
What behaviors did the salesperson engage in that resulted in your good experience?
4. Where does the negative stereotype of salespeople come from?
EXERCISE 1-2 HOW ARE SALESPEOPLE PORTRAYED?
1. Search the internet for five portrayals of salespeople. Do these sources reinforce a negative image of
salespeople? If so, How?
2. Call and interview someone who buys from salespeople as part of his or her job. For example, you
could visit a physician (or other health care practitioner) at the health center, a pharmacist, a locally–
owned retailer who is a dealer for one or more lines (like a car dealer, a farm equipment dealer, a tire
dealer, etc.), a manager of a department store, or the manager of a grocery store. Ask the following
questions
A. How do salespeople help the interviewee accomplish his or her job objectives?
B. What is it that the interviewee likes about his or her favorite salespeople?
C. What is it that the interviewee likes least about salespeople in general? About his or her least
favorite salesperson?
3. Compare the portrait drawn of salespeople shown on the internet with that of your interviewee.