Quiz 7: Sales Dialog: Creating and Communicating Value

TEXAS PAINT COATINGS (TPC) Background Texas Paint Coatings (TPC) is a producer of specialty paints and coatings for industrial and agricultural equipment manufacturers. In business for more than 25 years, TPC has established a strong reputation as a competitive supplier of high-quality acrylic and resin-based coatings. Working with the NASA Space Research Center in Houston, TPC is rolling out a breakthrough, self-priming paint product that offers several significant benefits to equipment manufacturers. By totally eliminating the need for any form of a primer coat, the new product can cut applica­tion time in half and eliminates about one-third of the material cost involved in the typical paint process. The self-priming paint can be directly applied to any clean metal surface using either a low-pressure spray or roller. An additional benefit is its flash-drying characteristic, which means it dries and cures after only three to five minutes of exposure to room temperature air. In just five minutes after application, it is fully cured, rock hard, and highly scratch, chemical, and fade resistant. Current Situation Richard Henry is an account manager for TPC and has been working to establish John Deere's Fort Worth, Texas, facility as an account. With the previous line of traditional paint products, he had been successful in gaining about 10 percent of the plant's annual paint requirements. However, that seemed to be the limit. Even with the great relationship he has established with Tim Dickerson, head paint and coating buyer for Deere's Fort Worth construction equipment plant, Henry has not been able to gain additional share of the plant's paint requirements. Henry sees the self-priming product as his path to capturing a majority share of the plant's paint needs. The cost and time savings will certainly be a major item of interest. But first, he must convince Dickerson that the new paint meets and even exceeds the performance specifications. As he is looking through the information he has in his database, he sees that there is a wealth of NASA test data and competitive information that will document the performance of the new coating, but he is pondering how he might organize and present it in a way that will be most effective. He is also trying to think of an effective demonstration he might provide that will give Dickerson a hands-on experience with the paint's superior performance. What are the benefits of self-priming paint?

TEXAS PAINT COATINGS (TPC) Background Texas Paint Coatings (TPC) is a producer of specialty paints and coatings for industrial and agricultural equipment manufacturers. In business for more than 25 years, TPC has established a strong reputation as a competitive supplier of high-quality acrylic and resin-based coatings. Working with the NASA Space Research Center in Houston, TPC is rolling out a breakthrough, self-priming paint product that offers several significant benefits to equipment manufacturers. By totally eliminating the need for any form of a primer coat, the new product can cut applica­tion time in half and eliminates about one-third of the material cost involved in the typical paint process. The self-priming paint can be directly applied to any clean metal surface using either a low-pressure spray or roller. An additional benefit is its flash-drying characteristic, which means it dries and cures after only three to five minutes of exposure to room temperature air. In just five minutes after application, it is fully cured, rock hard, and highly scratch, chemical, and fade resistant. Current Situation Richard Henry is an account manager for TPC and has been working to establish John Deere's Fort Worth, Texas, facility as an account. With the previous line of traditional paint products, he had been successful in gaining about 10 percent of the plant's annual paint requirements. However, that seemed to be the limit. Even with the great relationship he has established with Tim Dickerson, head paint and coating buyer for Deere's Fort Worth construction equipment plant, Henry has not been able to gain additional share of the plant's paint requirements. Henry sees the self-priming product as his path to capturing a majority share of the plant's paint needs. The cost and time savings will certainly be a major item of interest. But first, he must convince Dickerson that the new paint meets and even exceeds the performance specifications. As he is looking through the information he has in his database, he sees that there is a wealth of NASA test data and competitive information that will document the performance of the new coating, but he is pondering how he might organize and present it in a way that will be most effective. He is also trying to think of an effective demonstration he might provide that will give Dickerson a hands-on experience with the paint's superior performance. What different sales aids might Richard use to enhance his presentation of the new self-priming paint?

TEXAS PAINT COATINGS (TPC) Background Texas Paint Coatings (TPC) is a producer of specialty paints and coatings for industrial and agricultural equipment manufacturers. In business for more than 25 years, TPC has established a strong reputation as a competitive supplier of high-quality acrylic and resin-based coatings. Working with the NASA Space Research Center in Houston, TPC is rolling out a breakthrough, self-priming paint product that offers several significant benefits to equipment manufacturers. By totally eliminating the need for any form of a primer coat, the new product can cut applica­tion time in half and eliminates about one-third of the material cost involved in the typical paint process. The self-priming paint can be directly applied to any clean metal surface using either a low-pressure spray or roller. An additional benefit is its flash-drying characteristic, which means it dries and cures after only three to five minutes of exposure to room temperature air. In just five minutes after application, it is fully cured, rock hard, and highly scratch, chemical, and fade resistant. Current Situation Richard Henry is an account manager for TPC and has been working to establish John Deere's Fort Worth, Texas, facility as an account. With the previous line of traditional paint products, he had been successful in gaining about 10 percent of the plant's annual paint requirements. However, that seemed to be the limit. Even with the great relationship he has established with Tim Dickerson, head paint and coating buyer for Deere's Fort Worth construction equipment plant, Henry has not been able to gain additional share of the plant's paint requirements. Henry sees the self-priming product as his path to capturing a majority share of the plant's paint needs. The cost and time savings will certainly be a major item of interest. But first, he must convince Dickerson that the new paint meets and even exceeds the performance specifications. As he is looking through the information he has in his database, he sees that there is a wealth of NASA test data and competitive information that will document the performance of the new coating, but he is pondering how he might organize and present it in a way that will be most effective. He is also trying to think of an effective demonstration he might provide that will give Dickerson a hands-on experience with the paint's superior performance. Once he has established the superior performance of the new paint, what should Henry do?