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Answer & Explanation:Leadership Challenge: Characteristics of The Great Salesperson
Thad Williams had the kind of problem many sales managers
wish they could experience more often. He just came out of a strategic planning
meeting with senior management at his company, Logistics Logic (a leading
supplier of logistics solutions for manufacturing companies). The emphasis in
many organizations on supply chain management had created huge demand for the
products and services offered by Logistics Logic. Started by Eric Lemaster in
1985 and originally based in London, the company had developed an excellent
reputation by helping companies become more efficient and effective in managing
the flow of goods in and out of the organizations. Logistics Logic worked with
key players in the supply chain management industry (FedEx, UPS, DHL, and
others) to develop custom-designed hardware and software for unique logistics
solutions. The company had found a great niche for its products by focusing on
medium-sized companies around the world.
Thad had been with the company for 10 years and worked
his way up to Vice President of sales. In the last 15 years the company had
experienced huge growth in Asia. As result, while maintaining offices in
London, Mr. Lemaster decided to move Logistics Logic’s senior management and
operations to Hong Kong in 2001. Revenue exceeded $350 million last year, and
the company had a

worldwide sales force of 150. At this meeting, Thad had been
given the go-ahead to hire 20 new salespeople, primarily in Asia. This would
represent one of the largest increases of salespeople in the company’s history
and was based on the goal of taking the company to $400 million in the next two
years.
The typical salesperson was a male in his early 40s with
a technical background in logistics. Interestingly, however, Thad had noticed
that most of the new salespeople (those hired in the last three years) were
women (7 out of 10). Salespeople needed a very good knowledge of logistics and
the fundamentals of contemporary selling. The compensation system allowed
salespeople to earn a good living, with many earning in excess of $125,000 per
year.
Thad had also noticed the typical customer had changed in
recent years. When he started, customers were often men in their 50s who had
little formal education in logistics. Now customers were most often experienced
men and women with formal training in supply chain management.
Logistics Logic, and more specifically Thad Williams,
knew the company’s new salespeople were critical to the organization’s
continued success. The question was, what would make a successful Logistics
Logic salesperson now? (Johnston & Marshall, 2013). 
Questions:
1. 
What qualities and characteristics do you
think are important for a new salesperson at Logistics Logic? Why?