Araphahoe Pharmaceuticals Company Case Study

Araphahoe Pharmaceuticals company case study:

Some of the key issues result from John's inability to comprehend the difference between sales representative and a sales manager. He was overly enthusiastic about his position and disregarded Phil Jackson's tips on how to be successful as a sales manager. Sales managers must be multi-taskers who plan, organize and lead the functions of all customer contact and ensures that these methods of contact maximize the profit and sales goals of the company which hires them. A salesperson is responsible only for his/her own territory – a sales manager is responsible for the entire sales force and their productivity and revenue that they contribute to the company. Even with redundant reminders from other managers that salespeople and a sales manager are two very different positions, he failed to heed the wise advice from his colleagues and simply went into the work without a true plan. John's disorganization within the past year had been his ultimate downfall.

ISSUE 1: LARRY PALMER

He started off spending far too much time recruiting a new sales representative for the territory that did not have one that he was only able to have a brief introduction to the existing sales representatives. He did not follow Phil's first rule of advice: Give the sales reps time to get to know him and he them. This territory was a region that was open for almost a full month. John spent far too much time not only screening the applicants, but also finding one that would be the ideal candidate for the position. There were two instances in which Larry's references were questionable, both of which were overlooked by John. Most of his references simply stated that he has an excellent personality and would make an excellent salesperson but did not offer any additional information beyond that regarding actual skills. Even Phil Jackson was a bit wary about hiring Larry onto the team, but John proceeded to hire him.

Larry was definitely a likeable person. All of his clients liked him, his colleagues liked him, and basically anyone he crossed paths with seemed to love his personality. His downfall – he lacked the product knowledge and the scientific communication skills that the job required. Upon completing sales training, the sales training manager did not give a good report on Larry, which is where John should have cut all ties. Instead, he proceeded to coach and drill Larry extensively, taking time away from getting to know the ins and outs of his more productive sales reps and working with them. It had been months before John could get back on the field with his above average sales reps, months that could have been spared should he have realized his mistake sooner and let Larry go a while ago. He compromised the company standards and overlooked questionable areas just to fill a position quickly – now, it will take twice

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