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- Creators: Montoya, Detra
- Creators: Department of Management and Entrepreneurship
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Workers in sales roles are often faced with a large number of time management decisions on a daily basis. Sales people must choose where they should be spending their time in order to create revenue while also maintaining a healthy work-life balance. In this thesis project, a sales process is analyzed to see if there is an opportunity to increase both revenue and work-life balance. This paper investigates a wholesale insurance brokerage company, Risk Placement Services, and their sales force of brokers. A significant portion of these brokers’ workday consists of the backend task of marketing accounts to insurance carriers to find coverage. This is necessary for the completion of the sales cycle but either limits the amount of time brokers can be out on the road or on calls trying to bring in new business or makes them work longer off the clock hours to get these accounts out to insurance carriers. The more business a broker is bringing in, the more time they have to spend marketing these new accounts to carriers, which puts them into a constant snowball of increasing tasks and goals. The main model for the analysis of this problem will be Reframing Organizations by Bolman & Deal which focuses on using their four-frame model to analyze and gain more insight into organizations. Being able to understand this problem from multiple perspectives will allow a more holistic solution to be reached. Following this analysis multiple potential solutions are discussed towards the end of this thesis project.
I conducted a study on the effective design, implementation, motivational factors, and takeaways upon completion of such contests. The purpose of this study is to find out whether or not sales contests are an effective way of motivating a diverse workforce. The results suggest that sales contests are a hyper-efficient tool to increase employee motivation but must be prepared for and implemented correctly in order to achieve efficient results. I recommend that sales managers use contests as a tool to gauge the motivational and behavioral changes in their employees resulting from such contests, instead of just trying to gain more revenue. Also, to combat the growing threat of unethical behaviors as a result of running sales contests, leaders need to implement appropriate measures, like unethical behavior diversion courses.
To bridge the gap between the growing sales industry there is the ability to properly train Millennials so they are successful and stay within their roles longer. By attacking this problem from a university level by strengthening sales programs as well as having employers understand and respond to needs of the Millennial generation, this will create an overall successful Millennial salesperson that will stay with their employer long term.
Strengths and weaknesses of this generation are also important to understand. Millennials are known to be tech-savvy, open-minded, collaborative, and connected, resourceful networkers. They also carry weaknesses and stereotypes of being lazy, lacking communication skills, impatient, entitled, and demanding of feedback and work flexibility. From an employer, they expect a large salary as well as a good culture, manager feedback, a mentor, work-life integration, an employer with a social responsibility mindset, and a sense of purpose.
An analysis of 12 sales programs at various universities across the country helped to understand what is being taught and offered to students as well as commonalities and differences that make a strong sales program. Commonalities among these programs include, about 250+ students, high job placement, sales labs, hosting and competing in sales competitions, and a desire to expand and grow their programs. Unique aspects of various programs were partnerships with the sales industry, hosting fundraisers, student ambassadors for the sales program, CRM courses, and internships and competition requirements.
Primary research was conducted to understand various sales development programs from companies in the sales industry. The 12 companies that participated in this research were from Arizona State University’s Sales Advisory Board. These companies completed a survey that provided detailed information of their onboarding and training process as well as their opinions of Millennial employees.
From this research, recommendations were formed for employers,
• creating a collaborative and innovative culture
• A mentorship program
• work flexibility
• continuous learning
• sense of purpose
As for Arizona State’s Sales Program, recommendations include,
• a mentorship program between Sales Scholars and the Sales Advisory Board
• creating a sales lab
• implementing CRM curriculum in classes
• continued support from the Board and alumni of the sales program