Page 298 - Using MIS

ethics Guide

dIAlInG for dollArS

Suppose you are a salesperson and your company’s With another customer, you try a second strategy.
CRM forecasts that your quarterly sales will be substantially Instead of offering the discount, you offer the product at full
under quota. You call your best customers to increase sales, price but agree to pay a 20 percent credit in the next quarter.
but no one is willing to buy more. That way you can book the full price now. You pitch this
Your boss says that it has been a bad quarter for all offer as follows: “Our marketing department analyzed past
the salespeople. It’s so bad, in fact, that the vice president sales using our fancy new computer system, and we know
of sales has authorized a 20 percent discount on new that increasing advertising will cause additional sales. So, if
orders. The only stipulation is that customers must take you order more product now, next quarter we’ll give you 20
delivery prior to the end of the quarter so that accounting percent of the order back to pay for advertising.”
can book the order. “Start dialing for dollars,” she says, In truth, you doubt the customer will spend the money
“and get what you can. Be creative.” on advertising. Instead, it will just take the credit and sit on
Using your CRM, you identify
your top customers and present
the discount offer to them. The
first customer balks at increasing
her inventory: “I just don’t think
we can sell that much.”
“Well,” you respond, “how
about if we agree to take back
any inventory you don’t sell next
quarter?” (By doing this, you in-
crease your current sales and
commission, and you also help
your company make its quarterly
sales projections. The additional
product is likely to be returned
next quarter, but you think, “Hey,
that’s then and this is now.”)
“OK,” she says, “but I want
you to stipulate the return option
on the purchase order.”
You know that you cannot
write that on the purchase order
because accounting won’t book
all of the order if you do. So you
tell her that you’ll send her an
email with that stipulation. She
increases her order, and account-
ing books the full amount.
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