Mr. Roger Wiles was asked to defend Novel Solution's Smart Expansion initiative before the board of investors. The project has struggled over the past year with sales staying with several small, local competitors. In his speech, Mr. Wiles focused on the history of Smart Expansion's past successes in new regions and the growth potential of the target Western region. He avoided discussing current down sales numbers, competition from a large corporate competitor, and employee morale issues. Mr. Wiles argued that as the Western region and its population grows, demand for Novel Solution's more affordable and reliable products will rise above its old competitors.
1. DISCLAIMER: The speechhereinispurelyfictional.The charactersandscenariowere draftedforthe
purposesof writingaspeechina formal businesssetting.
Speech2
Defense ofa Vulnerable Initiative
Scenario: Mr. Roger Wileshasbeenaskedtodefend Novel Solution’sSmartExpansioninitiative before
the board of investors.The projecthasflounderedoverthe pastyeardue to salesleeching/stayingwith
several small,local competitors.Mr.George Hall is the leadof the project;however,he hasasked Mr.
Wiles,arespectedaccountantwithinthe company,tohelpkeepSmartExpansionalive.
Mr. RogerWilesdoesnotlike tospeakinpublic;thushe has requestedthatIkeep hisspeechasshortas
possible. ForthisspeechIinterviewedMr.George Hall,to learnwhathe wantedoutof the speechand
more of the historybehindSmartExpansion;Ialsospoke withseveral salesmeninvolvedinthe
expansionefforttogeta feel of morale;andI spoke withMr. RogerWilestosee whatinformation
wouldneedtobe conveyed.
What I FocusedOn:
The history.
o Smart Expansionisn’tnew.It’sbeenusedbefore,andeachtime hasbeenasuccess.
The target region.
o Remindthe boardwhythe WesternRegionisa valuable.Focusonitsgrowthpotential
and therefore the expandingmarketNovelSolutionswouldhave afootholdin.
What I Avoided:
Salesnumbers.
o Salesinthe WesternRegionare down;thus,I wantedtofocuson long-termpotential,
not short-termloses.
Mentionof the corporate competitor.
o Thiscompetitorisequal orgreaterin size toour company.Theirpricesandservicesare
competitive;yet,theyare notthe average inthe region.Theyestablishedtheirbranch
there a yearago, thuscompetitionisstill completelyviable.
Morale.
o The salespeople range fromdeterminedtofrustrated.Ichose toavoidthistopicand
focuson historyinstead.The passionof these employeesmaybe inspiring,butsuch
detailsmightbe betterlefttotheirsalesmanager,Mr.Hall.Itwouldalsoveeraway
fromthe statistical tone thatMr. Wilesseemscomfortable with.
Speech:
2. Good afternoonladiesandgentlemen,itisanhonorto standhere before thisboard.My name is Roger
Wiles,and I am a senioraccountantwithinthiscompany. Inrecentyears myefforts have beento
provide logisticandadministrative supporttoour SmartExpansionprogram.
Smart Expansionhasbeenaprogram reliablyusedbythiscompanyfornearly20 years.Itsfirstuse
helpedourfounder,Mr.Fargo,extendourcompany’sreachfroma familystore to half of the Eastern
Region.Itwas usedagain,15 yearsago,to acquire thisoffice,ourfootholdinthe Central region.The
Westernregion will be ourfifthsuchexpansion.Itwaschosenin2015, and workbeganin2016 to make
it happen.The reasonforthat choice is growth:not justours,but that of the surroundingarea.
The Westernregionof our state isquicklyshiftingawayfromsmall townsandmore towardssuburbs,as
industry pushesoutfromthe Central region. The growthrate of the Western regionin2015 was 6.5%;
an improvementonthe previousfigureof 4.3%.Yet,that numberhas not remained static.2016 saw this
numberjumpto 8.9%, withall indicatorsshowingonlymore growth. Ourexpansionoffice isinMook
County;a countythat justpassedthe 300 thousandmarklast month.
Our marketisgrowing;but,as the market grows,so too does the numberof our competitors.From
consumerandon-the-groundreports,Ihave learnedthatNovel Solutionsbeats ourcompetitors’prices
by 10% per product. We offerthe more affordable andreliable product.Oursalesstaff undergoesan
average of 2 monthsof training,while ourcompetitorsofferlittle tonotrainingfortheirownstaff.
Ladiesandgentlemen,the successof thisprogramisa matterof time.Ourexpansionis intoanareaof
small townsbeingforcedtogrowup. Oldsentimentspreferafamiliarface;but,I argue-andthe
numberssupportme-thatasmore youngpeople move in,the demand forthe mostefficientand
affordable productwill riseabove thatof the old guard.Such was seeninMr. Fargo’sexpansionintothis
Central region,whichiswhyseveral of ourwarehousesare those of oldcompetitors.
I wantto thank youagain foryour time andallowingme tospeakhere today. Before Ileave,I’ll pass
arounda reportI wrote.Mr. Hall will lookoverwithyouandaddressany questions. Mayyouall have a
wonderful evening1
.
1 In lieu of offering to answer questions,I suggested that Mr. Wiles preparea report that could be handed to each
of the board members. His speech anxiety was the primary reason for this.I aided in editinghis report, which took
the form of a question and answer.
