Jefferson Pilot: Growing the Sales Force
Jefferson Pilot: Growing the Sales Force
Discussion Questions
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a career sales force versus an independent sales force?
A career sales force that the company hires, trains, supervises, and compensates likely will be more loyal than an independent sales force. As the case notes, these career salespeople sell only JPF policies. They also learn and contribute to establishing and maintaining the organization’s “culture.” They learn how things work at the company and can do a better job of negotiating the bureaucratic structure of a large organization.
On the other hand, an independent salesperson by definition represents a variety of companies. He/she is not necessarily loyal to any particular company. At first, this may sound like a disadvantage. In reality, it can be an advantage. A career sales force may be used to just selling whatever products the company offers. That is what they are supposed to do. An independent salesperson, however, selects from a variety of products available in the market, trying to select the one that is best for his/her customer. Thus, the independent salesperson will put pressure on a company to have up-to-date, competitive policies. The company has to win that person’s business every day.
As the case notes, a company using independent salespeople will have to pay those salespeople more than a career salesperson. The independent salesperson is taking more risks and has to cover more of his/her own expenses. Thus, the company has to pay that person at a higher level.
Whereas a career salesperson knows the company and goes through its training, the hiring and training process takes a long time and is expensive. Further, many new recruits do not last long in the insurance business; so much of the money spent on new salespeople is wasted. The advantage of using established, already trained independent salespeople is that the company does not have to hire and train them. This allows
Discussion Questions
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a career sales force versus an independent sales force?
A career sales force that the company hires, trains, supervises, and compensates likely will be more loyal than an independent sales force. As the case notes, these career salespeople sell only JPF policies. They also learn and contribute to establishing and maintaining the organization’s “culture.” They learn how things work at the company and can do a better job of negotiating the bureaucratic structure of a large organization.
On the other hand, an independent salesperson by definition represents a variety of companies. He/she is not necessarily loyal to any particular company. At first, this may sound like a disadvantage. In reality, it can be an advantage. A career sales force may be used to just selling whatever products the company offers. That is what they are supposed to do. An independent salesperson, however, selects from a variety of products available in the market, trying to select the one that is best for his/her customer. Thus, the independent salesperson will put pressure on a company to have up-to-date, competitive policies. The company has to win that person’s business every day.
As the case notes, a company using independent salespeople will have to pay those salespeople more than a career salesperson. The independent salesperson is taking more risks and has to cover more of his/her own expenses. Thus, the company has to pay that person at a higher level.
Whereas a career salesperson knows the company and goes through its training, the hiring and training process takes a long time and is expensive. Further, many new recruits do not last long in the insurance business; so much of the money spent on new salespeople is wasted. The advantage of using established, already trained independent salespeople is that the company does not have to hire and train them. This allows