VALLEY WINERY CASE

STUDY ANALYSIS
Amna Fayyaz
Hooria Adnan
Sara Khan
Aown Sahi
Sec B-II
MBA 2

Decision Focus

Paul Waller is wondering how to:

better plan and organize the sales
force activities of Valley Winery

despite good sales the turnover ratio

was almost100%

Case Facts

Valley winery founded in 1933

largest domestic producer in the US. Market share

40%

Growth attributed to High quality wines & low

prices

Sales exceeded $1.5 billion (2004)

push aggressive selling strategy

Distribution done
distributors.

Valley owns 50 % of the distribution

Three sales groups responsible for making

sales.

through

nationwide

The career type (the liquor and bars)

the restaurants and resorts
chain division

Recruitment from universities 10 to 15 new sales

reps a year.

10 hires from the job search web sites.

15 to 20 reps from the local employment agencies

Large portions of the hires are college graduates

who had no experience or training

Problems

Severe turnover (100% a year, 50 sales rep hired

each year)

Sales reps practicing unethical behavior.

relocated competitive displays and

hairsprays on competitors merchandise

Competitive spirit disliked by others

No mentoring by district managers (babysitter)

spray

Winery management encouraged sales

reps to lie

Marvs current manager advised him to

stretch his estimates because it is the
only way he can meet his numbers each
month

Case of management malfunction

Dissatisfaction amongst employees due to

poor treatment by district managers

Murphy said that hed get calls late at night

from his district manager 2-3 times a week
to check his progress

Frustrating and annoying for sales reps

Problems in Recruiting

The use of 6 local employment agencies,

with fees of approximately $2,000 per hired
individual, was expensive

Too much of an emphasis on youth and

physical attributes

Core Problem

Unrealistic Quotas
to achieve

Unusual amount of pressure from

management

Nobody, but nobody, ever makes quota

Marv Flaningan
Hiring fresh college graduates

Recommendations

Attainable
Complete
Timely
Easy

Quotas should be
realistic

Set according to
the mentioned
diagram

Recommendations
contd.
Revise
hiring
and
training
process
Reduced
Turnover

Leadershi
p
Incorpora
te Ethics

Emphasis on candidates intellectual and

reasoning abilities not just physical
appearance
Focus on training process
Retain Employees
Competitive Wage Plan
Goal Setting
Quotas Should be attainable
District Managers should be mentoring
and advisable
Relationship should be trust worthy
Continuous Communication and
Vigilance
Lead by example
Value System has to be developed
Employees should not misrepresent sales
numbers otherwise they will be
penalized