Mary Edie Mobley

John Humphreys

Bob Carlton viu o pace car decolar e os 43 carros que estavam empilhados atrás dele rugirem a todo vapor. Sempre foi uma visão emocionante: eles estavam lotados mais apertados do que minivans em um estacionamento do Wal-Mart. Ele estudou a primeira volta de corrida deles e depois se curvou para mexer nos botões do scanner. Ele tirou os óculos escuros, o que não é fácil com fones de ouvido. Depois de escolher a frequência certa, as brincadeiras da cabine encheram seus ouvidos. Mas alguns minutos depois, ele o desligou. Ele não conseguia se divertir e, de qualquer forma, precisava pensar.

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Reprint: R0604A
When Bob Carlton decided to expand OptiMotors, the Alabama engine-parts manufacturer he had founded, he knew he&#8217;d have to take on a lot of debt. So he followed a headhunter&#8217;s advice and hired Galen McDowell to bring new energy to sales.
No question, Galen knew how to sell. He quickly hooked a big-league outfit, Kinan Motors, as a potential customer. He invited their representatives to come take a tour of the company and, while they were in town, visit the Red Ruby Club.
The Red Ruby? That&#8217;s a strip club.
Galen assured Bob it was upscale and full of businesspeople. He said his reps had often made use of the club to woo important accounts away from rivals. As if to prove his point, Kinan quickly signed a multimillion-dollar contract with OptiMotors after the visit.
Then April Hartley, Bob&#8217;s first salesperson, quit. She had been trying to build relationships with customers, but the really big accounts, it seemed, were looking for &#8220;more exciting stuff&#8221; than she could give them. Now Joan Warren&#8212;another saleswoman, and one who would happily close a deal anywhere she got the chance&#8212;is complaining because Galen won&#8217;t let her go to the Red Ruby with him. &#8220;I won&#8217;t stand by and be disadvantaged simply because I&#8217;m a woman,&#8221; she says.
When does client entertainment cross the line? Four experts discuss this fictional case study: John Brown, the director of institutional sales and customer relations at Fortis Investments; Katherine Frank, a former dancer who is now an author and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin&#8211;Madison; Das Narayandas, a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School; and Denise Rousseau, a professor at Carnegie Mellon&#8217;s Heinz School of Public Policy and Tepper School of Business.

How Low Will You Go?

Reimpressão: R0604A Quando Bob Carlton decidiu expandir a OptiMotors, a fabricante de peças para motores do Alabama que ele havia fundado, ele sabia que teria que assumir muitas dívidas. Então, ele seguiu o conselho de um headhunter e contratou Galen McDowell para trazer uma nova energia às vendas. Sem dúvida, Galen sabia como vender. Ele rapidamente contratou uma grande empresa, a Kinan Motors, como cliente em potencial. Ele convidou seus representantes para fazer um tour pela empresa e, enquanto estavam na cidade, visitar o Red Ruby Club. O rubi vermelho? É um clube de strip. Galen garantiu a Bob que era sofisticado e cheio de empresários. Ele disse que seus representantes costumavam usar o clube para atrair contas importantes dos rivais. Como que para provar seu argumento, Kinan rapidamente assinou um contrato multimilionário com a OptiMotors após a visita. Então, April Hartley, a primeira vendedora de Bob, se demitiu. Ela estava tentando construir relacionamentos com clientes, mas as contas realmente grandes, ao que parece, estavam procurando “coisas mais interessantes” do que ela poderia oferecer a elas. Agora Joan Warren, outra vendedora que ficaria feliz em fechar um negócio em qualquer lugar que tivesse a chance, está reclamando porque Galen não a deixa ir ao Red Ruby com ele. “Não vou ficar parada e ficar em desvantagem simplesmente porque sou mulher”, diz ela. Quando o entretenimento do cliente ultrapassa os limites? Quatro especialistas discutem esse estudo de caso fictício: John Brown, diretor de vendas institucionais e relações com clientes da Fortis Investments; Katherine Frank, ex-dançarina que agora é autora e pós-doutoranda na Universidade de Wisconsin-Madison; Das Narayandas, professora de administração de empresas na Harvard Business School; e Denise Rousseau, professora da Heinz School of Public Policy da Carnegie Mellon e Escola de Negócios Tepper.

Qu&atilde;o baixo voc&ecirc; vai?

Reprint: R0604A When Bob Carlton decided to expand OptiMotors, the Alabama engine-parts manufacturer he had founded, he knew he’d have to take on a lot of debt. So he followed a headhunter’s advice and hired Galen McDowell to bring new energy to sales. No question, Galen knew how to sell. He quickly hooked a big-league outfit, Kinan Motors, as a potential customer. He invited their representatives to come take a tour of the company and, while they were in town, visit the Red Ruby Club. The Red Ruby? That’s a strip club. Galen assured Bob it was upscale and full of businesspeople. He said his reps had often made use of the club to woo important accounts away from rivals. As if to prove his point, Kinan quickly signed a multimillion-dollar contract with OptiMotors after the visit. Then April Hartley, Bob’s first salesperson, quit. She had been trying to build relationships with customers, but the really big accounts, it seemed, were looking for “more exciting stuff” than she could give them. Now Joan Warren—another saleswoman, and one who would happily close a deal anywhere she got the chance—is complaining because Galen won’t let her go to the Red Ruby with him. “I won’t stand by and be disadvantaged simply because I’m a woman,” she says. When does client entertainment cross the line? Four experts discuss this fictional case study: John Brown, the director of institutional sales and customer relations at Fortis Investments; Katherine Frank, a former dancer who is now an author and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison; Das Narayandas, a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School; and Denise Rousseau, a professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz School of Public Policy and Tepper School of Business.

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