Case: Self Competency
Joe Salatino, President of Great Northern American30
As president of Great Northern American, Joe Salatino gauges the success of this 35-year-old company by the amount of money he pays employees. The firm's salespeople will sell more than $20 million in office, promotional, artsand-crafts, and computer supplies to more than 60,000 businesses around the country this year. Great Northern American sells more than 7 million yards of packaging tape, 8 million paper clips, and 11 million BIC and Papermate pens and pencils bearing customer logos, along with about 12,000 other products, each year. The head of this Dallas-based telemarketing company believes that spending money on commissions and bonuses is necessary to keep his 30-person sales force motivated, especially in the face of stiff competition from Internet users.
n from Internet users. The company's salesroom features all kinds of motivational devices. On a recent Friday morning, rotating blue lights signal that a special deal on pens is on. For the next hour, customers can get two for one on Stars and Stripes promotional pens. When the blue-light special is off, they're back up to 39 cents apiece. When the light goes off, a leader draws a large snowball on one of the large dry-erase boards to indicate another sale has ended. The noise and pace is fast and furious.
Many of Salatino's salespeople earn more than $60,000 a year, and top producers earn more than $100,000. Gary Gieb, aka John Johnson, because it's easier to spell and sounds more all-American over the phone, earned more than $100,000 last year. During a typical day, he makes 20 to 25 calls per hour. If a customer places an order, the entire sale takes just under 5 minutes. He earns commission of between 5 and 12 percent on the list price, depending on the merchandise. A salesperson usually needs a year to build up a good account base. Many employees who can't handle the self-starting selling intensity and bedlam usually leave within the first month. To establish loyal customers, many top-selling salespeople subscribe to their customer's hometown newspaper so that they can chat with the customer about local issues, such as who had a baby and who won the local football game. Peggy Gordon topped $70,000 last year selling educational supplies that police and sheriff's departments take on visits to schools.
Salatino believes that employees who have established solid relationships with their customers earn significantly more money than those who have not been able to foster good relationships with customers. Therefore, when hiring telemarketing individuals, he looks for individuals with who have excellent communications skills (especially listening), are respectful of customers' points of view, have an "upbeat" attitude, and are highly self-motivated. Salatino also knows that customers rarely show gratitude and his telemarketers must take personal credit for the positive results as well as blame when things go bad. Finally, Salatino looks for people who recognize their own strengths and limitations and who thrive on taking the initiative without being told what to do all the time.
Questions
1. What kind of reinforcers does Salatino use to motivate his salespeople?
2. What kind of reinforcement schedule is used by Great Northern American to pay salespeople?
3. If you were Salatino, how might the concept of selfefficacy help you hire successful salespeople?