Advice sought regarding being stuck in middle of a hire/fire decision...

brighterisbetter

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Greetings fellow CPF'ers. Here's my dilemma. My corporate office in Minnesota late last year terminated all of their outside salesforce in hopes of focusing their time/monies toward an email blitz and inside sales effort, about building better relationships with customers through phone contact and other means by our call center - having a "sales agent summary" if you will. At first while in shock by their move, it's proven to be wise in a sense. Sure, my competition hired up our laid off sales staff and they're now working against us, however we've experienced a 10% sales growth through the first quarter and just had our strongest February in company history.

So...the point. We have one remaining outside salesperson company wide covering the territories I sell to out of KCMO area (Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, some of Oklahoma), and I work with him on a daily basis, sometimes in person and sometimes when he calls in from the road. I consider him a personal friend and he is in fact the one who landed me my job here with the company 10+ years ago. I'm now being pressured by corporate to give insight from a local level to them whether in my mind I feel that his salary is justified or not for what we "get out of him" so to speak. Or, would that money be better spent on other sales methods (viral marketing, location specific branding, etc). I'm seeking advice from experienced business people in the CPF community on what to do. I have a conference call this afternoon after hours with the higher-ups and it sounds to me like the decision whether to terminate or not rests not entirely on my shoulders/feedback, but a high percentage of it at least. Should I overlook my allegiance to this person and look at the bigger picture? Should I speak on his behalf and attest to how he's a forward thinker who has the company's best interest at heart? I'm torn and really hate being put in this situation. Yes, I feel he's an asset to the company. Yes, I feel sometimes that money could be spent elsewhere to mix things up. Can't have both though.

Please respond with helpful insight.
 

thedoc007

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I'm no expert, nor have I been put in a similar situation. But it doesn't seem like a tough call from what you have shared. It would be a different story if he was freeloading, and not being productive...but if he is adding value to the company, why would you not support him? If the decision is made to terminate him after you give honest feedback, then at least you'll be comfortable with your role in the matter.

The other possibility is to discuss it with your friend...maybe he is looking for a change anyway. But I wouldn't go behind his back and recommend he be fired...not everyone can easily recover from something like that.

Again, I'm not suggesting that you value a friendship over a business decision...but if you are able to accommodate both, so much the better.
 

dc38

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Exactly what doc said. He is a valuable asset, not a frivolous liability. If you want to potentially lose a friend by "seeing the bigger picture", let him get fired. The "bigger picture" excuse is used by corporate bigwig *******s to express their "love" for an entity (corporation) that does not love anyone. Ask yourself, what is the bigger picture? Will the "savings" from his termination go towards the survival of the company, or towards lining the head honchos pockets? Had a similar situation where multiple locations were shafted, and everything went virtual. Even now, they are struggling to stay afloat and were purchased by another company a few years ago.

Corporate growth is permanently temporary.
 

Mmassey338

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You have to separate business from personal; your career may depend on it. Your superiors are likely watching how you handle this, so tread carefully.
Would you retain him if you didn't have a personal relationship with him and you were the one paying the bills?
 

brighterisbetter

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Would you retain him if you didn't have a personal relationship with him and you were the one paying the bills?
Precisely the decision I'm asked to contribute my perspective to.

Our personal relationship will remain intact regardless of corporate's decision. I also feel confident that I'd have a place within his rep agency should things take a turn for the worse after his departure. My mother told me to always do the right thing even if it feels wrong - in this situation that means being honest. I'll simply describe what he does for the company, the relationships he has with customers in the field, etc. Something I forgot to mention earlier was that he also reps for my direct competitor, in the same region. Doesn't that constitute a major conflict of interest?
 

dc38

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Precisely the decision I'm asked to contribute my perspective to.

Our personal relationship will remain intact regardless of corporate's decision. I also feel confident that I'd have a place within his rep agency should things take a turn for the worse after his departure. My mother told me to always do the right thing even if it feels wrong - in this situation that means being honest. I'll simply describe what he does for the company, the relationships he has with customers in the field, etc. Something I forgot to mention earlier was that he also reps for my direct competitor, in the same region. Doesn't that constitute a major conflict of interest?

"Hey, It's just business." words uttered by every man shunting the responsibility of his humanity.
 

NoNotAgain

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Something I forgot to mention earlier was that he also reps for my direct competitor, in the same region. Doesn't that constitute a major conflict of interest?

While he may also rep for another company in addition to yours, this relationship was previously disclosed. If it were being hid, then there could possibly be a conflict of interest.

I have friends that are sales folks for a major paint manufacturer. They only provide sales for that companies business entities. There are other people that I know that are manufacturers reps that list on there line card the companies that they sell for.

Provided that your company had a ethics disclosure agreement in place and he disclosed representing other companies product, I don't see this as an issue.
 

scout24

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Corporate bean counting sucks. There is NO substitute for face-to-face with your customers if he's good at what he does. None. Call centers, touchy-feely BS, emails, keep 'em. A good salesperson is gold. Product/service knowledge, client knowledge, irreplaceable. You'll need him to train the next generation of salespeople you need after the pendulum swings the other way. One old guy's two cents... :) Hang in there, Bruce.
 

HarryN

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Some of this depends on the price point of your product and how much of the sale is relationship based. I am always amazed at how much of a sale, even in high tech items, is relationship based.

The concept that he is carrying both your product and your competitors is a double edged sword. It might be that he is in fact getting his customers the "right version" for their application, and you are on the receiving end of the benefit. Obviously if you get rid of him, he will just push the existing customers completely toward your competitor.

Just keep in mind that Best Buy sells multiple brands of computers, side by side, quite successfully. If they only had one model or one brand, sales would likely drop as people like choices.
 
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