Creating a Top Sales Team From two Merged Companies

InterClean, Inc. has just merged with EnviroTech and, as a result, has taken on a new strategic direction. The company will no longer sell only cleaning products, but will also provide full- service cleaning solutions for organizations in the health care industry. As a midlevel sales manager, select new members for your sales team and create a development plan to help your team succeed with the company's new strategy.

Identify the 5-7 employees to represent your team and explain why they were chosen. Include their knowledge, skills, abilities, and what role you think they will play with your new team.

The Employee Profiles are as follows:

Jim Martin, Vice President of Sales: InterClean
Jim is a 54 year-old Caucasian male who was recently hired by David Spencer of InterClean to be the new VP of Sales, taking sales leadership away from Tom Jennings, VP of Marketing. Jim is an experienced and knowledgeable sales manager in the industrial cleaning and sanitation industry and he has a reputation for taking great care of the customer. He prides himself on meeting and exceeding his sales plan each year and is not afraid to try new ideas to achieve sales.

Shane Huck, Sales Manager: InterClean
Shane is a 36 year-old Caucasian male who has been with InterClean for the past 8 years. He was hired by Tom Jennings initially as an Outside Sales Representative, but was promoted to Sales Manager 5 years ago because of his aggressiveness and success in achieving sales results. Shane enjoys closing on new accounts, but does not enjoy maintaining accounts, answering customer complaints or asking customers for late payments.

Tom Gonzalez, Sales Manager: EnviroTech
Tom is a 47 year-old Hispanic male who has been with EnviroTech for 5 years. He was recruited by Sally Lindley, CEO of EnviroTech, because of his ability to lead a team and for his expertise in developing solutions-based products for the customer. Tom has been in the industrial cleaning industry for over 25 years. Tom enjoys establishing long-term relationships with customers and being the point person for customers to come to if there are problems.

Donna Wilson, Outside Sales Representative: InterClean
Donna is a 27 year-old Caucasian female who was hired by Shane Huck 2 years ago to work at InterClean. While Donna had no experience selling cleaning or sanitation products, she is an aggressive sales rep who likes to close the deal. Unfortunately, she does not see the value in maintaining long-term relationships with customers except to make additional sales. Donna is currently paid a base salary plus commission, and she is being converted to straight commission.

Mark Pierce, Outside Sales Representative: InterClean
Mark is a 24 year-old Caucasian male who was hired by Shane Huck 8 months ago from a competitor (non-compete agreement is still valid) in the sanitation industry to work at InterClean. He is an aggressive sales rep who has a "get the sale at all costs" reputation in the local market. Shane knows Mark personally from playing on the fraternity alumni softball team for the past 3 years. Mark is currently on a base salary compensation plan.

Susan Burnt, Outside Sales Representative: InterClean
Susan is a 62 year-old Caucasian female who was hired by David Spencer, Sr., the founder of InterClean. Susan has performed numerous jobs during her 24 years at the company, achieving success in each role. She transferred to sales 6 years ago and has met her sales goals each year. Susan is aggressive in closing the sale, but she understands the importance of providing excellent "after the sale" service (from her previous roles in Customer Service, Collections, Purchasing, and Distribution). Susan is paid straight commission, but because of a grandfather clause in her employment agreement, she is eligible for restricted stock grants each year.

Dennis White, Outside Sales Representative: InterClean
Dennis is a 28 year-old Caucasian male who was hired by Shane Huck 4 years ago to work at InterClean. Prior to coming to InterClean, Dennis was in automotive sales. He is an aggressive sales rep who likes to hunt for new customers and close the deal. He is most happy when he is convincing a customer to buy a new product. Dennis is paid straight commission.

Eric Borden, Outside Sales Representative: EnviroTech
Eric is a 41 year-old African-American male who was hired by Sally Lindley, CEO of EnviroTech. Eric has a solid reputation for servicing the customer and helping the customer get the best products for the best prices. During his 14 years with the company, in addition to performing his duties as a sales rep, Eric has performed the role of team leader on several special projects which contributed to the financial growth of EnviroTech. Eric prides himself on keeping current with the latest industrial cleaning and sanitation industry developments, as well as on the changes to regulations and compliance issues affecting the industry. Eric is paid a base salary and is eligible for the Sales Bonus program.

Ving Hsu, Outside Sales Representative: EnviroTech
Ving is a 42 year-old Asian male who was hired 12 years ago by Sally Lindley, CEO of EnviroTech. Ving enjoys working with customers and performs training seminars on a regular basis in order to help train the employees of his customers. Customers know that if there is a problem they cannot handle, they can contact Ving. He knows how to obtain appropriate answers through his personal network of industry professionals. Ving is paid a base salary and is eligible for the Sales Bonus program.

Terry Garcia, Outside Sales Representative: EnviroTech
Terry is a 56 year-old Hispanic female who was hired 6 years ago by Sally Lindley, CEO of EnviroTech. Terry was a former high school teacher who was hired by Sally for her ability to communicate, educate, and her use of critical thinking skills in problem resolution. Terry understands the value in working as a team in order to get the final outcome. She is an educated consumer who is happy with the product and trusts the vendor who sold it. Terry is paid a base salary and is eligible for the Sales Bonus program.

Notes on the Employees

a. Employees hired by Shane Huck are all Caucasian and under 30.

b. Employees hired by Sally Lindley are diverse in race, color and age.

c. Sales reps at InterClean are aggressive "hunters" who prefer to closing the deal more than to taking care of the customer and their compensation is straight commission.

d.Sales reps at EnviroTech believe in developing long-term relationships with their customers ("farmers"), work as a team, and their compensation is base salary with a bonus potential.