Death of a pushy salesman

Death of a pushy salesman

Death of a pushy salesman

Edwards C. Business Week (USA), 3 July 2006, Start page: 108 (2 pages)

Purpose – To highlight how a company utilized empathy training to help its sales staff understand customer needs better. Design/methodology/approach – Reports on how chipmaker Altera Corporation has employed empathy trainers to help its sales staff identify with “customer’s situations, feelings and motives” in an effort to improve customer relationships; quotes chief executive John Daane. Describes the content of the training programme; looks at how the training is paying off; illustrates with examples. Puts forward how the training proved challenging for some of the staff not used to empathising and seeing things from the customers’ point of view; provides best practice ideas on how to make staff more empathetic.Originality/value - Looks at the benefits for companies that use empathy trainers to help their sales staff.Reference: 35AT245

Keywords: Competences, Sales force, Sales performance, Sales, Training