Description
Persuasive message
You are the manager of a group of sales professionals for a company that sells products to other businesses. Your
company is based in Mississauga?a Toronto suburb. The work of your sales team has traditionally involved travel
and face to face meetings, but a larger number of your business-to-business orders are now arriving online
through your website. The percentage of each sales person?s orders and commissions that result from processing
online orders has been steadily increasing for the past five years, and is now almost 60%. And the commission for
an online sale is the same as a person-to-person sale. However, during this time, travel costs for the sales team has
also been increasing, and the amount of time out of the office for some sales people has also increased. This
means that some sales people are using more time to chase a declining number of deals closed in person.
Your sales team works in a fairly independent manner?they make their own meeting and travel arrangements. In
addition, you know that many members of the sales team consider travelling and meeting customers in person the
most enjoyable and fulfilling part of their job. You also know that salespeople believe that making personal contact
with customers is vital in developing a long-term relationship with clients. However, you have heard more and
more stories from salespeople about the frustrations of spending time stuck in traffic.
But you know that your team will not like being told that they have to change. However, they have to change. The
price of gas is starting to rise again, and travel expenses are already costing you too much. You have drafted an
email message to persuade members of the sales team to cut back on the amount of travel they do. Revise the
message so that it is more likely to accomplish its purpose.
You may add or make up reasonable details to strengthen your case.
Subject: Your Runaway Travel Expenses
Please be reminded that travel in the greater Toronto area is time-consuming and expensive for the company.
From now on we are asking you to only set up meetings that cannot be done in another way?that is, by phone or
email or via video conference.
I know that you value meeting customers face to face, and you believe in the value of these personal contacts, and
that these give you a good chance to escape from the office. But your travel is a luxury that the company pays for.
And with the latest sudden increase in the price of gas?the amount you are asking the company reimburse you
for gas is now unreasonable. While your travel is costing us more and more, less and less of your sales are coming
out of these ?personal? meetings. Let?s face it?driving two hours to meet a client for fifteen minutes is now way
out of date. It was for this reason?as you should remember?that the company installed a range of video meeting
and chat and conferencing software on your desktop machines and on your laptop computers. We trained you to
use this software, but your adoption of this technology has been frustratingly slow for me. You should know that
you can ask the tech support team to help you with this software at any time if you have forgotten how to use it.
We can have another training session if you really need it. If you use it properly, this software will make it easy for
you to create and maintain a personal relationship with clients. You just have to shift your mindset to make it more
st
up to date with the 21 century.
Of course, I know that?however expensive?you will always need to travel to meet with our established and
important clients. We are not asking you to give up on this travel. We are just saying that you will have to learn to
be up to date. Several sales people have adopted these video conferencing or video chat methods of staying in
contact with clients, and they have seen their orders and commissions rise. Their clients are happy with these new
ways of meeting their needs and orders from these clients have?if anything?increased. The bottom line that you
have to appreciate is?travel is still important, but you need to use it properly or you will lose it altogether.
I trust that you will understand and accept this news as necessary.
mgmt 3602: written lab 02 – persuasion
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