Running head: PROBLEM INTERVIEW AND TRAINING SOLUTION 1

Problem Interview and Training Solution

Teresa E. Sampson

Trevecca Nazarene University at Nashville, TN

PROBLEM INTERVIEW AND TRAINING SOLUTION 2

Problem Interview and Training Solution

In this paper, I will provide an overview of the key points for my interview of an Arrow

Exterminators employee on their training need. I will also prepare a proposal for a solution to

this need. At the conclusion, I will provide a link to a short presentation of the recommended

training solution.

Problem Interview

The problem interview was conducted with Christopher Sampson, a Termite Services

Professional at Arrow Exterminators in Franklin, Tennessee.

Target Audience

The target audience for Arrow Exterminators in Franklin, Tennessee consists of three

sales professionals, one inside, and two outside, as well as the employees that work out in the

field providing the products and services. Both genders are represented with varying ages

between early twenties to mid-sixties, as well as varying educational backgrounds. All

employees must be certified in pest control with the State of Tennessee, but sales professionals

have very little actual pest control experience in the field. The Sentricon, termite, mosquito, and

pest control professionals may be able to sell products in the field, but they have very little sales

experience.

Current State

Sales at Arrow Exterminators are descent, but there is always room for improvement.

Sales professionals have a gap in knowledge of real-world application of pest control products

and services. There is a need to improve customer service skills of all employees. The service

professionals that apply the products and services in the field have a lack of sales experience.

Conflict resolution is another issue when dealing with customers in the field.
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Desired State

All employees need to be able to sell every product and service to customers as they see a

need. For example, the Sentricon and termite professionals need to be able to sell mosquito and

pest control services, so they need to have a working knowledge of those products and services.

Acceptance of Learning Solution

The employees are open-minded and are willing to learn new techniques and ways of

being more effective at doing their jobs. There are no apparent barriers to employees with

accepting a new learning solution.

Red Flags

The only red flags that may arise are concerned with how the employees learn. A

learning solution that takes into consideration the various backgrounds and ages of the

employees would be most effective.

Training Solution Proposal

Target Audience

The target audience for this training proposal is the sales and service team at Arrow

Exterminators in Franklin, Tennessee. There is one inside sales professional and two outside

field sales professionals. The service professional team consists of four service groups:

Sentricon, termite, mosquito, and pest control. All of the sales and service professionals are

certified by the State of Tennessee for pest control. The sales professionals have no or very little

experience in the field with administering pest control products and services. The service

professionals have very little experience in sales. The ages of employees range from early

twenties to mid-sixties and includes one female and twelve males. Some employees are well

versed in technology, while others are not.

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Cultural Context

The Arrow Exterminators employees work well together and have a positive environment

that promotes continuous improvement and growth within the company. It is a family owned

business that has been in existence for over fifty years. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia,

with offices in Franklin, Nashville, Dickson, and Chattanooga, as well as other states. Most of

the management team were previously sales or service professionals early in their careers.

Employees are typically promoted from within, so a culture of professional growth and

development is present. The company also has a culture of safety. Employees are exposed to

several chemicals and other hazards in the workplace, so having a priority on safety is

paramount. The owners put the employees needs first and make sure they are well taken care

of. Employees are rewarded for being top sellers with an all-expenses-paid trip to various

destinations for three or four days. This fosters a culture of appreciation and value for

employees.

The Gap Analysis

There are three major areas where skills gaps were identified at Arrow Exterminators in

Franklin, Tennessee.

Knowledge of products and services. The first skill gap is the sales team has very little

experience in the field administering the products and services that they are responsible for

selling to customers. All team members must be certified in pest control, but not everyone works

out in the field every day actually applying the pest control chemicals, installing Sentricon

stations, laying poly under houses, installing vents, etc. The sales team knows about the

products and services, but they may lack hands-on experience with what they are selling to

customers. They would be more effective at selling the products and services if they fully
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understand them. The service professionals that work out in the field could benefit from some

training in this area as well. They sometimes sell additional services to customers while they are

working in the field. For example, the termite services professional may speak with a customer

about a mosquito issue and then they can sell a monthly mosquito service as needed. The

mosquito services professional may be out treating a customers home and they learn the

customer is experiencing issues with termites or with moisture. They can then sell those services

to the customer. It is important that all sales and service professionals have a thorough

knowledge of all products and services offered by the company and how they are applied out in

the field.

Sales knowledge and skills. The second skill gap is the service professional team has

limited sales knowledge and experience. The service professionals work out in the field and

have many opportunities to sell additional products and services to customers while they are

working at a customers home. Listening and observation skills are very important here.

Observing the home and any pest control or moisture control needs may be identified while the

home is being treated for something else, such as termite or mosquito. The service professionals

need to be trained on how to effectively sell additional products and services to customers as

they identify a need.

Customer service and conflict resolution. The third skill gap is that all sales and

service professionals need to develop better customer service and conflict resolution skills. In

the service industry, keeping the customer happy is very important. There are several

competitors for exterminators, so customers will look for good value and great service. The

needs of customers change throughout their lives, based on where they live, if they own or rent,

and the type of home they live in. Businesses, such as Arrow Exterminators, rely on returning
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customers and referrals to keep their business healthy. The sales and service teams are the face

of the company and must exhibit superior customer service skills. Conflict resolution training is

necessary because its impossible to keep every customer happy at all times. Employees need to

be able to calm the customers down and to find a solution to meet their needs, understand their

expectations, and to make them happy. This requires good people skills and knowing when to be

flexible and adaptable to the customers needs.

The Learning Solution to Achieve Desired State

The Learning Goals. There are three learning goals proposed for Arrow Exterminators.

The first goal is to cross train all sales and service professionals to increase their knowledge of

products and services and how they are applied in the field. The second goal is to increase the

sales and negotiation skills of the service professionals so they can more effectively promote and

sell additional products and services out in the field. The third goal is to improve the customer

service and conflict resolution skills of all sales and service professionals to better meet the

needs and expectations of customers.

The Learning Environment. Cross training of all sales and service professionals on

applying the products and services out in the field would be most effective from a hands-on

training environment, such as an apprenticeship or mentorship situation. Each employee would

need to accompany a service professional in the field to shadow them while applying the

products and services at the customers homes for each product and service that the company

offers. Since there are different service professionals that cover certain services, employees may

need to accompany different service professionals on separate occasions to be fully trained. The

training of service professionals on sales and negotiation skills would be most effective in a

workshop setting where they can use case studies and do role playing. The training of all sales
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and service professionals on customer service and conflict resolution skills can be done

effectively online and in a workshop setting.

The Instructional Technique. The sales and service professionals should be trained in

the field by their peers in the various service positions. The instructor would be the experienced

service professional for that particular product or service they are being trained on. The service

professionals should be trained in a workshop setting by an instructor or experienced sales

professional on the desired sales and negotiation skills. They would need an opportunity to

practice with their peers so that they can become comfortable with the sales techniques. The

training of all employees on customer service and conflict resolution skills can be instructor-led

or self-paced study. The online training piece would be most effective as a self-paced format,

where the workshop training would be instructor-led.

The Learning Evaluation. The best measure of the effectiveness of these three training

solutions would be that sales numbers will go up and service skips and cancels go down. If the

employees are well versed in the products and services and they can more effectively promote

them to customers, the sales numbers will increase to indicate that the training was effective for

sales and negation skills as well as product and services training. The indicator for customer

service and conflict resolution training effectiveness will be that the number of customers that

skip and cancel services will decrease due to their satisfaction with their experience.

The Influencing Learning Orientations and Why. The training for sales and service

professionals on products and services and applying them in the field is a blend of constructivist

and social cognitivist orientations. Each employee already has the pest control certification with

the state, so they can build on this basic knowledge to include hands-on, real-world experience in

applying those products and services in the field. This is a constructivist approach to learning
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because it builds on prior knowledge and experience to develop new knowledge and skills

(Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007). The employees will be learning by observing the

actions of their peers via job shadowing in the field. This demonstrates the social cognitivist

orientation because it supports the idea that we learn from watching others (Merriam, Caffarella,

and Baumgartner, 2007). The sales and negotiation skills training also incorporates the social

cognitivist and constructivist orientations because the employees will also learn from observing

others as well as building on their existing product and services knowledge for selling those

products. The customer service and conflict resolution training incorporates the behaviorist,

humanist, and social cognitivist orientations. The behaviorism aspect is because the reward

for better customer service and conflict resolution would be customer retention. The humanism

aspect is apparent because employees are in control of how they treat customers and how they

react to difficult situations and conflict (Merriam, Cafferella, and Baumgartner, 2007). The

social cognitivism approach would be seen because employees could observe the appropriate

responses and reactions to customers in a workshop or case study scenario.

Learning Solution Presentation

The link to the Arrow Exterminators learning solution presentation is provided here.
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References

Merriam, S., Caffarella, R., and Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A

comprehensive guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.