Water Chromatography Case Analysis

Would you try to keep Burnett on your team? Give your assessment of Burnett as a salesman?

Ray Burnett is a strong relationship manager as he is very focused on existing book of business. He has excellent skill set that enable this:

• Technically Sound
• Customized Solution
• Self Motivated
• Focused on customer relationship
• Time management
• Selling Skills
• Takes initiative
• Ready to help

He spends the bulk of his day (75%) on service although his job is to prospect new business. While this may not make him a stellar sales person it wins him favor with this existing client base that trust him and seek him out as an expert. The focus on service is time consuming and taking a toll on Burnett who works most days until 8pm. On the other hand despite his focus on service he is projected to meet 82% of his quota of $1.7M whilst only dedicating 25% of his time to prospecting. This leads to the conclusion that he is effectively utilizing that time on high potential deals. He has a smart selection of customers as 20% of his accounts gave him 80% of his sales.

While Ray has done an adequate job as a sales professional thus far his skills on the team could be better utilized. Burnett may be better suited for the NAM position because of his ability to maintain relationships and manage accounts and of his experience as a telephone-lead screener. He could also be a great service representative, that is what he already spends the majority of his time doing. Moreover, I recommend keeping him on as he has dedicated nine successful years to Waters and I believe that his experience in and passion for the industry is beneficial to the company. He also has a good understanding of customer needs and perception of the changing market. Based on annual sales, Burnett has performed well in a weaker territory in Boston, grossing $1.4 million in 1983 and a projected $1.5 million in 1984, which is greater than that of the average salesperson of $1.3 million.

How did Waters Chromatography's sales management processes affect Burnett's performance?

In my opinion Waters Chromatography’s sales management process has affected Burnett’s performance. Burnett fits the mold of the type of sales representatives Waters targets: a good technical background with experience in HPLC, however I do not think enough emphasis is placed on skills development. Additional training programs should be offered aside from the mandatory new hire training. Furthermore, Burnett notes that the service personnel in his territory are overextended and turnaround time is slow. Knowing how important customer support is to new customers, he ends up spending a lot of his time doing the work himself in order to keep his customers satisfied. Surly this is one reason he is not meeting his current personal quota.

Territory management is a big factor affecting Burnett’s performance. Over the last 3 years the RM has realigned the territories and it is difficult to create customer loyalty if territories continue to be split to give reps a mix of accounts. The high turn over has not helped maintain continuity and build trust with the customer.  Longer periods before rotations could help strengthen relationships with customers.

Ray understood the importance for prospecting for new customers, but could not find the time to pursue this adequately. For this reason Ray believes that salespeople should be paid more through salary as it would encourage greater support and service towards customers. If on the other hand he were able to dedicate more time to sales prospecting and had better support from a service team he would look favorable at the commission structure.

What recommendations do you have for Water Chromatography management to improve their sales performance?