Cooper Pharmaceuticals Inc

What is a good salesperson and how good or bad is Bob Marsh?

A goods sales person must have following skills:
o Excellent Communication Skills
o Subject Matter Expertise
o Hard worker and Enthusiastic
o Should understand consumer needs
o Should be able to build a good rapport with the consumers
Bob Marsh was considered to be good salesperson. He was able to build consumer rapport with
effectiveness. He used his rapport and social skills to build good relationship with the medical
practioners. He was able to use this relationship to further enhance sales. He used to be a hard worker
who was receptive to feedback. He worked on improving his product knowledge as well as organizing
skills when appropriate feedback was given. However, he also had a tendency of increasing sales by any
means possible and in the process ignoring some of the rules.
What is a good DSM and how did they perform vis-a-vis Bob?
A DSM is a leader who is in charge of the sales representatives under him. A good DSM needs to do the
following:
o Provide support and guidance to the sales representative.
o Suggest and provide necessary training.
o Performance Evaluation and appraisal of the representative.
o Goal Setting
o Provide constructive feedback and help in development of the representative
The first few DSMs who worked with Bob Marsh were cooperative and efficient. They were able
to identify Bobs positive relationship with the clients effectively. They were also supportive and
constructive in their feedback. Most of DSMs who worked with Bob were concerned about his
inefficient areas. However, towards the end the feedback shifted from constructive to directive.
Also, later DSMs where more inclined towards pushing new products but did not organize any
training or provide the necessary help which would enable Bob to push these products efficiently.
What are good Sales force Management Practices and how did the company perform?
Good sales force management practices are:
o Training and Nurturing sales force and ensuring a motivated sales team
o Provide positive feedback and follow up on improvements
o Build relationship with sales force and enabling two way communication
o Flexibility in work
o Consistent appreciation and performance based incentives
The company was performing well on most of the parameters. However there was lack of flexibility and
autonomy in the work. Also some of the DSMs did not understand the need to build a good relation with
the representative before providing feedback
What to do with Bob Marsh?
Bob Marsh was an excellent representative with 12 years of excellent service. He had built an excellent
rapport with the clientele in his area and was able to achieve consistently good sales performance.
However recently, he was given directives and not allowed to perform according to his strengths. Given
his excellent record and consistent performance in the past, it would be better to reinstate him and move

Cooper Pharmaceuticals Inc

him to a different location overseas. Otherwise there is a high risk of CPI losing clientele as Bob with his
informal network can cause a great deal of damage to CPIs image.