We must look at STP’s history in our company and assess the effects it has had on it.
STP has had many positive effects, both psychological and financial.
Our aim is to demonstrate that by cutting out the STP it will harm our company financially and psychologically.
Facts show that the following years after the implementation of the STP, new employees’ sales have grown by 10% and more.
Another very important figure is that in relation to the industry market average the annual sales average for all employees of the company has been 15% higher, since the year STP was implemented (Rogers, 1998, p. 140).
A final important figure is the fact that returning customers account for 65% of total sales for the company.
These customers return mostly because of the positive experience with our sales personnel and this situation has been occurring after the implementation of the STP.
It is plausible to believe that the STP is the primary driver of these successes in the ways we will demonstrate below.
The major strength of the Sales Training Program was not the fact of informing employees about new technology, techniques or communication strategies.
It is the formation of a company culture of serving the customer the best way possible.
It is the formation of the sense of a team and the appropriate ‘team spirit’.
It is more than just learning how to sell to the market something, but to get to know your client thoroughly in the sense that you can offer him / her the best service or product suitable for him / her.
The new STP program also forms a sense of ‘team spirit’ among the new and old sales personnel creating the necessary connection for an increase in performance.
Customer satisfaction is what a business company needs in order to increase its sales and ultimately, its net profits (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2008, p. 4).
By making the sales staff feel more near to customers needs and try to solve their problems, the STP program helps in forming this customer satisfaction.
If our company decides to cut the STP program it will negatively influence the work culture and communication among the labor force.
This situation will demoralize the sales staff and decrease their motivation for work.
They will gradually decrease their performance in their daily sale activities.
This situation will negatively influence the communications and interacting with the customers.
We will see customer satisfaction becoming gradually lower and this will negatively influence the balance sheets for our company.
What started to be a cost cut program in order to benefit the company will, at the end, harm it more.
References
Rogers, S. Priscilla. (1998) “TechnoSport: Communicating to prevent change”, Business Communication Quarterly, vol. 60, no. 1, p. 139-146.
Gomez-Mejia, Raul. et al. (2008) Management: People, performance, situations. New York: McMillan.