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ethics Guide

dIAlInG for dollArS

Suppose you are a salesperson and your company’s With another customer, you try a second strategy. Instead
CRM forecasts that your quarterly sales will be substantially of offering the discount, you offer the product at full price but
under quota. You call your best customers to increase sales, agree to pay a 20 percent credit in the next quarter. That way
but no one is willing to buy more. you can book the full price now. You pitch this offer as follows:
Your boss says that it has been a bad quarter for all the “Our marketing department analyzed past sales using our
salespeople. It’s so bad, in fact, that the vice president of sales fancy new computer system, and we know that increasing
has authorized a 20 percent discount on new orders. The advertising will cause additional sales. So, if you order more
only stipulation is that customers must take delivery prior to product now, next quarter we’ll give you 20 percent of the
the end of the quarter so that accounting can book the order. order back to pay for advertising.”
“Start dialing for dollars,” she says, “and get what you can.
Be creative.”
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
increase 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.
Source: Roman Sigaev/Fotolia

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