Internal Benchmark - Expert Danmark

Expert Danmark
Internal Benchmarking
The Bachelor Degree in International Sales and Marketing Management
Author: Henrik Aabo Christensen
Project: Bachelor project
Date: 5 January, 2011
Characters: 93.752
Supervisor: Jonna M. Fonnesbæk Hansen

Expert - Internal Benchmarking
Bachelor Project
Henrik Aabo Christensen
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction...........................................................................................................................................................................................3
1.1. Background Description.........................................................................................................................................................3
1.2. Specification of Purpose.........................................................................................................................................................3
1.3. Problem Formulation...............................................................................................................................................................4
1.4. Delimitation..................................................................................................................................................................................5
1.5. Methodology.................................................................................................................................................................................6
1.5.1. Choice of Theory................................................................................................................................................................6
1.5.2. Data Collection ...................................................................................................................................................................7
2. Internal Analysis .................................................................................................................................................................................9
2.1. History and Development......................................................................................................................................................9
2.2. The McKinsey 7s Model..........................................................................................................................................................0
2.2.1. Strategy ...............................................................................................................................................................................10
2.2.2. Structure.............................................................................................................................................................................12
2.2.3. Systems ...............................................................................................................................................................................13
2.2.4. Staff........................................................................................................................................................................................14
2.2.5. Skills......................................................................................................................................................................................18
2.2.6. Style.......................................................................................................................................................................................20
2.2.7. Shared Values...................................................................................................................................................................22
2.3. Part Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................................22
2.4. Quality Assessment................................................................................................................................................................23
3. The Stores............................................................................................................................................................................................24
3.1. The Ideal Store .........................................................................................................................................................................24
3.2. What are The Successful Stores Doing Right............................................................................................................26
3.3. What are The Less Successful Stores Doing Wrong..............................................................................................29

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3.4. What can be Improved.........................................................................................................................................................32
3.5. The Willingness to Learn ....................................................................................................................................................34
3.6. Store Variables .........................................................................................................................................................................34
3.6.1. Ownership .........................................................................................................................................................................35
3.6.2. The Manager.....................................................................................................................................................................35
3.6.3. Number of Staff Members..........................................................................................................................................36
3.6.4. Surrounding Area...........................................................................................................................................................36
3.6.5. Activities and Involvement in the Local Community...................................................................................36
3.7. The Stores......................................................................................................................................................................................0
3.7.1. What Separates the Efficient From the Less Efficient Stores..................................................................37
3.7.2. How to Make the Less Effective Stores Better and More Efficient .......................................................38
3.8. Utilization of Customer Relationship Management..............................................................................................38
3.9. How to Deal With the Problematic/Hostile Stores................................................................................................39
3.10 Part Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................................39
3.11. Quality Assessment.............................................................................................................................................................40
4. Knowledge, Skills and Attitude.................................................................................................................................................41
4.1. Identification of Crucial Skills for the Store Manager..........................................................................................41
4.2. Identification of Crucial Skills for the salesperson................................................................................................41
5. Plan of Action/Store Guidelines...............................................................................................................................................43
6. Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................................................................................47
7. Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................................................................48
8. List of Appendices ...........................................................................................................................................................................52

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1. Introduction
Expert Danmark A/S is a retail group that own several companies – Expert, punkt1, Lysmesteren,
ELplus, just to name the larger ones – together they generate a turnover exceeding 4 billion kroner
per year, making Expert Danmark A/S the biggest non-food retail group in Denmark.
1.1. Background Description
Technology in the electronics field is moving extremely fast, like personal computers did 10 years
ago. What is state of the art today can to some degree be outdated in just a few years, which is
underlined by the current MPG2/MPG4 situation, where televisions bought a few years ago do not
live up the current requirements to receive television signals.
This report will focus solely on the Expert brand. At the moment Expert is comprised of 104 stores
spread across Denmark which is 6 less than in the beginning of the year, indicating that the
recession has hit this line of business pretty hard. 77 of the stores are owned by franchise takers and
the rest are capital chain stores owned by Expert Danmark A/S. With this many stores it is important
to have some clear and indispensable guidelines, in order to communicate the same brand quality in
every Expert store. A visit in an Expert store should result in the same experience every single time
regardless of ownership, geographical location and other variables. If a customer has a bad
experience, he or she is likely to perceive the whole Expert chain as bad and vice verse. This can be
truly help build loyalty across the country, instead of just in a single store, if Expert manages to
create a good and streamlined service that is excellently executed every time.
1.2. Specification of Purpose
The purpose of this report is to identify how Experts stores can create most overall value, and what
must be done in order to achieve success.

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1.3. Problem Formulation
The focal point of this report is to uncover what options and possibilities Expert have in order to
improve the turnover, service, customer satisfaction, etc. of their stores in Denmark. An internal
benchmarking will be conducted in order to identify weak and strong points. In order to ensure the
best possible view of the current situation, and how to achieve better results in the future, the
following questions will be sought to be answered within the report.
What initiatives are required to heighten salespeople’s desire to improve their skills?
What are the traits of a good salesperson and those of a successful store manager/owner?
What is needed for the less efficient stores to reach the same level as the best stores?
What are the primary influences of distinguishing the best stores from the rest?
Afterwards a plan of action/suggested guidelines section will be created, in order to use the findings
of the report to suggest changes, as well as developing some guidelines for all stores to follow or
gain inspiration from.

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1.4. Delimitation
A short, but important, qualitative questionnaire was distributed to all the Expert store managers,
but disappointedly only 6 only of the 104 stores cared to answer, even though it could be answered
in 15 minutes. One store manager even had time for a 35 minute phone interview, which puts it in
perspective. To put it short the willingness to cooperate was sparse, and a feedback percentage of
barely 5 % makes it is next to impossible to use the information in a reliable manner. A follow up
was planned in order to increase the response rate, but unfortunately this was declined due to the
fact that some stores had actually called and asked why they had to answer a questionnaire when
they already had more than enough to do with the Christmas sales. In general it was hard to get
useable information, because of classification issues.
The 360 degree evaluation tool was considered but it was found that it would be more useful and
reliable if the store manager evaluated his employees and not the other way around. This also
increases the chance of getting useable feedback, since it only requires the cooperation and time of
one person and not the whole store. Even though it might be a versatile tool, in order to help the
salespeople understand themselves and others more in depth, the time span and resources of this
report would have made it hard to get reliable and useful information.
Only overall financial information was available. The finance of the individual stores were
classified, and only available with the individual store manager’s consent, making it pretty much
impossible identifying good stores in terms of turnover and profit.
The findings of the report will be based on the Danish market alone as this is the only market that is
covered by the Danish headquarters in Søften.
The traditional value chain model was left out, as it primarily focuses on production companies, and
not companies with their primary focus on service as Expert.
The product life cycle (PLC) of a given electronic product is decreasing, due to the fact that many
new products are invented or improved on a regular basis. There is no such thing as a product that
can be guaranteed to live up to new requirements in 5 years (service manager Poul Hansen), as the

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evolution on the electronics market is moving at a rapid pace. This will be briefly touched in the
report.
Customer lifetime value (CLV) will only be discussed briefly in relation to customer acquisition
and retention. The loyalty of the consumer electronics market is perceived as being moderate,
primarily due to the fact that it is easy to compare prices between all the sellers online and pick the
cheapest, but on the other hand some customers prefer to buy in a physical shop to get professional
guidance, and this is where Expert can increase their CLV through very competent and service
minded employees.
The benchmark will be conducted over a fairly short span of time of a little more than 1 month.
Expert has not done an internal benchmark before, so there are only limited and miscellaneous
information available.
1.5. Methodology
The methods used in this project are divided into two main parts; Analysis and suggestions. The
studies will be primarily descriptive and explanatory. In the following section the choice of theory
will be elaborated upon.
1.5.1. Choice of Theory
The service value chain, also called the value shop will be used in order to identify current
problems, and how to deal with them. Through looking at sales channels, service demands, follow-
up, customer retention, control and evaluation.
The competency wheel will be used to assess and identify current gaps in employee competencies,
and how to fill them through careful planning and implementation of a new training model and/or
schedule.
Herzberg’s and McClelland’s motivational theories will be included in the analysis of the leadership
style adapted by the store managers.

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McKinsey’s 7s model has been chosen as it provides a clear overview of the current organization
and is used to identify and elaborate on the soft values in particular as there seems to be an uneven
communication between the main office and the stores.
For identification of Experts training processes and their needs for supplementary training the sales
training model will be used In order to identify, develop, deliver and assess the best training
possible.
Multichannel/cross channel communication will be used to illustrate how Expert can ensure that the
communication reach the intended receivers to increase customer awareness and to find out how
much time and effort the average customer spends acquiring knowledge about a given technology
or product before they visit the store. Additionally it will be investigated how Expert can get
synergy effects from having both online and offline outlets. To illustrate this the communication
continuum will be used.
The business market processes will be investigated in order to understand what value is to Expert’s
customers, then how to create value and finally how to deliver value in a satisfactory manner.
1.5.2. Data Collection
Through qualitative interviews with various Expert employees, primarily at the main office, primary
data will be collected. Secondary data and miscellaneous articles will be collected through the
internet and the various online sources available through Business Academy Aarhus and finally
Statistics Denmark will be used to gather and verify data.
A questionnaire primarily consisting of quantitative questions will be distributed online for users of
expert.dk to answer. The survey is accompanied by a minor competition in order to increase the
amount of answers. It will be online at least for the duration of a full week, as this should ensure a
fair amount of responses which in turn should increase the reliability of the survey.
Additionally Expert had mystery shoppers in all their own stores, as well as 15 Fona stores, the
findings of this investigation will only represent a minor contributing factor to the writing of this
report, due to the fact that the stats are somewhat vague, random and inaccurate because it is based

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solely on one sale with one salesperson, and thus represent the salesperson more than the store
itself.
Furthermore an exit poll was conducted based on 343 respondents distributed on 21 unnamed
Expert stores which measured:
The customers’ reason to visit Expert
Their knowledge about Expert marketing
Evaluation of price, product range, etc.
The behavior of the salesperson
Knowledge and evaluation of the Expert Extra concept
And finally about their loyalty towards Expert
The results were divided into eastern and western Denmark, but in the rest of the report the average
of the 2 will be used.

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2. Internal Analysis
In this part there will be a short description of Expert and its history, and then an analysis based on
the Mckinsey’s 7s model. The last point in this section will focus on identifying and improving the
right competencies.
2.1. History and Development
Back in 1964 (Kaj Knudsen – Expert store owner in Rudkøbing and board member) 40 Jutlandish
radio dealers that wanted to cover all of Denmark – they united under the name SARAC A/S
(SAmarbejdende RAdioforhandlerses Centralkøb). The following year Hardy Larsen was hired as
the very first managing director and in 1967 the name of the chain was changed to Expert. The
following 10 years Expert experienced decent growth, but in 1978 bankruptcy was declared.
Surprisingly, it was actually the beginning of something new and better, as 45 radio dealers
established a new subsidiary which enjoyed growth for many years. In 2002 the franchise model as
we know it today was developed.
Expert has no official mission statement, they do however have a formulated vision, and it is
“Making life easier and more exciting!” Expert wants to inspire and motivate their customers to see
and understand the advantages and possibilities of their products. Through dialogue the focus will
be on how the products can enrich people’s lives rather than talking about technical specifications.
But most importantly is gaining a higher customer retention rate through providing the best service
available on the Danish market, and that is best done through putting emphasis on the customer.
The assortment is quality products covering the areas: Television, sound, photo, phone, computer
and entertainment. Expert has historically been perceived as being an expensive brand, but in the
course of the last few years that image have changed, and the perception of Experts prices today is
equal to those of its competitors (Expert Campaign Manager Peter Kjeldsen). None the less it is
important to excel at customer service before, during and after the sale in order to justify any
perception gap.

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2.2. The McKinsey 7s Model
The McKinsey 7s model consists of hard and soft values within the
organization. Hard values are fairly easy to map, identify and define,
and thus easier to influence. Soft values on the other hand are more
fluent and intangible, and it is strongly affected by corporate culture
and the environment at the workplace.
2.2.1. Strategy
Back in week 35 Expert launched Expert Extra. It is a new service concept that offers the customer
great convenience after any purchase. E.g. if a customer has bought a new TV, Expert offer to
deliver, install and mount it, along with any system the customer might also have bought. In short,
Expert offer to do all the work, while the customer now is able to focus on other things than
technical issues, transporting a big 46 inch TV or hooking up the wires to connect to a console or a
Blu-Ray player.
Every store has to follow the general guidelines created by headquarters. Like always having the
entire G1 product range in the store - the G1 product range are products that are mandatory for all
stores to have at all times. Additionally it is important to have the required items in the store – e.g.
the Expert Extra signs, boxes and offers easily visible, as well as decorations for special occasions
like anniversaries, birthdays and seasonal events.
The stores that do follow the guidelines and suggestions from headquarters and take advantage of
being a part of the Expert brand will have a greater chance of success, than those who spend their
time squabbling (consultant Anders Riksted). On the other hand stores that have built a good local
reputation thrives both with and without Expert guidelines (consultant Ole Evers).
36% of all Danes aged 16-74 has bought an electronic product online in 20101
, that equals 1.43
million people. Every fourth Christmas gift of 2010 is expected to be bought online, and the
1 Appendix iii
Figure 1: McKinseys 7s Model

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predicted amount of money spent online in 2010 will be in the neighbourhood of 40 billion kroner
(www.fdih.net).
An extra emphasis is likely to be put on Expert’s online universe in 2011, as they only possess 2‰
of the Danish online market for electronics (Marketing Manager Michael Gade), which is not very
much, especially taken Expert’s physical size into consideration.
The online expansion is being considered at the moment, although nothing has been decided yet.
But if Expert wishes to be a serious player on the online market, they have to take action and invest
the required time and capital. Because as Expert states in their marketing plan for 2010-2012 8 out
of 10 consumers use the internet to gather information about a product, so it very important to be
approachable online as well as offline to answer any and all questions and approaches.
Right now an average month yields 379 orders from expert.dk, and generates in the neighbourhood
of 1 million kroner2
based on January-November 2010.
As of now one of the primary sources of getting a competitive advantage over the competition is
through the Expert Extra concept, and providing the most superior customer service in the
electronics line of business in Denmark. By 2012 it is the stated goal to have a market share of no
less than 17.5 % through improving the 6 P’s (place, price, product, presentation, promotion and
personnel)
2.2.1.1. Communication Continuum
When looking at the communication
continuum model it is obvious that there are
an abundance of ways and opportunities to
promote the Expert brand, but of course it
differs how effective these outlets are.
The model shows that the communication
channels move from impersonal medias like
2 Appendix vii
Figure 2: Communication Continuum

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televison, radio, billboards, magazines and and catalogues, towards a more personal selling which
improves the communication as it becomes extremely personal and creates a dialogue instead of a
monologue. This is exactly what happens whenever a customer enter an Expert store.
At the moment Expert primarily utilize TV, magazines and their own website to communicate, all
of which are impersonal and unadressed, but reach a huge audience. On the other hand they send
out newsletters on a regular basis, which are a little more personalized. The reason that it is only a
bit more personalized, is that even though the recipient has the option to select the categories in
which he or she wants to receive offers, it does not matter since there has not been implemented a
way to separate the categories, so the newsletter is exactly the same for a person who wishes to
receive offers and news about audio and for a person who wants an offer for a new flatscreen TV.
The reason this has not yet been corrected is primarily due to lack of resources.
Additionally the system Globase that Expert use when sending out the newsletters also offer a SMS
solution, but it has not yet been verified that the ROI is positive, which is why it has not yet been
implemented (online sales manager Hanne Bang Vorre).
2.2.2. Structure
Expert employs around 130 people at headquarters and roughly 450 people work in the stores on a
nationwide basis.
The overall guidelines are decided centrally at headquarters in Søften and enforced in the stores by
the various consultants, but micromanagement is run decentrally by the individual store manager.
The overall communication between headquarters and the stores is not as good as it could be. A
common saying at the office is that when business is good the store itself is responsible, but when
business is bad it is because of poor or insufficient marketing.
Through a weekly update on ConnectNU (Expert’s intranet where everybody within the Expert
Danmark organization have access ) the most important and current issues could be addressed. A
problem with the current information flow is that there simply is too much information, and it is
hard to separate what is important from what is not. All the news and information that are uploaded

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should be prioritized, so the stores can manage their time a little better, and skip information that is
not relevant to them.
Another way to go could be to use digital signage updates that automatically change at preset
intervals (e.g. as seen in 7-eleven, just for the employees instead). Through continuous updates
Expert could make it easier for the stores to keep themselves updated with a minimum of hassle.
With a touchscreen monitor it should be easy and fast to navigate the news categories, and thus find
any relevant information with the tip of your finger.
Expert has a flat organization3
which makes the information flow and communication faster, easier
and less expensive as decisions can be made very fast, unlike taller organizations where minor
issues can result in major expenses if handled in a strict manner. E.g. Siemens Windpower in
Brande, where approval of getting a new lamp has to pass several instances before authorisation is
granted, and thus making the lamp an estimated 5-10 times more expensive than its initial price
(Cand. Merc. Supply Chain Management Steffan Hvilsom Bækhøj Jensen).
Another advantage of the flat structure is a higher level of empowerment of mid and bottom level
employees, which ceteris paribus will increase both efficiency and job satisfaction of the individual.
2.2.3. Systems
Today the there are 4 different systems in the stores which makes alignment difficult, but the plan is
that by 2012 it will be reduced to just one main system. Unfortunately it is probably going to be
quite a struggle, since some stores have no expenses with the system they are currently using, and
the system that is going to replace it, is going to cost around 10.000 kroner each month (Marketing
Manager Frank Poulsen Kirk ), but the alignment will ease and quicken the job for many
employees.
Expert has a large intranet where documents, plans and finances are stored and thus always easily
accessible, that is if you have the proper clearance level of course. ConnectNU has lots of
miscellaneous information which is accessible from any computer hooked up to the internet. Here
the stores can compare themselves to each other, read news and an abundance of other things.
3 Appendix ix

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2.2.4. Staff
When talking about staff, it is important to look at both existing employees working in the store
today, but also to have an idea of what might be needed in the future, since it is imperative to have
skilled employees with the right competencies’ for the job for any business to be successful.
Even though the sample is small, 5 of the 6 store managers that answered the questionnaire made it
very clear that they were satisfied with the competency level of their employees. The final store
manager felt that some were good, and some were not. But did not have a plan for how to improve
job satisfaction for those employees lacking the will to achieve, the solution mentioned was simply
firing them, which is clearly not a good option as it is time consuming and expensive to train a new
employee from scratch. A more thorough employment process is advisable to avoid hiring
personnel that does not have the necessary competencies and drive.
The staff in the Expert stores is the arrowheads of the company, and their performance is the
foundation for the perception of Expert. So naturally Expert should invest resources to heighten the
skill level of this area, because when the salesperson fails, Expert has not their job well enough and
is a part of the failure.
In order to properly analyze the competence
level of the employees, the Competency
Wheel has been chosen, as it is a great tool for
this. The model identifies current competency
gaps, and additionally focuses on both
assessing and developing competencies – it
also overlaps into the fifth part of the
McKinsey model - skills.
According to the 6 stores that contributed to
this report, the most important skills for a
salesperson, in prioritized order, are:
Listening to the customer, knowledge about the product and asking the right questions. These 3
primary skills were mentioned as 1 of the top 3 most important skills by 2 or more managers. The
Figure 3: Competency Wheel

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secondary skills, that were mentioned by a single manager, included: Being kind, contacting the
customer fast, being mentally present, having a good connection with the customer, being down to
earth, being a good colleague, being helpful, being on time, uncovering the need of the customer,
being honest and finally being believable.
There is an almost infinite list of competencies that can make a salesperson a better seller, but that
will be elaborated upon in the next section. The primary focus in this part is on assessing step 1
through 3 of the Competency Wheel.
Step 1 – Examine business goals and KPI’s
In order to build and maintain a high educational standard and secure the core values of Expert are
being followed in the stores, it is important that as many as possible attend the courses held by
headquarters.
In 2010 Expert started keeping their courses mainly internal, instead of outsourcing most of them.
But unfortunately the attendance leaves something to be desired. In total the 6 benchmarked stores
accounted for 29 course participations (HR consultant Nikolai Schmidt), where 17 of these were
from a professional fair which cannot really be assessed as professional development, but more as a
presentation of current and future products.
So that leaves 12 visits for 2010, which averages 2 per store. Even though it does not sound like
much, the importance does not necessarily lie within these numbers. The crucial goal is to improve
profit and turnover through more competent employees, not filling the course benches.
Step 2 – Define competency needs
Identify the required competencies – what
does an employee have to be able to do, and
what does the employee have to know in
order to be able to do so. In order for any
strategy to be effectively implemented, it is
imperative that the organization possess a
competent force of employees.
Figure 4: Sales Training Cycle

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As can be seen in the Sales Training Cycle model above, the first thing on the agenda should be to
identify Expert’s training needs. The main objective from an organizational point of view is getting
the employees “upgraded” to the desired competency level. Training is a crucial factor, not only
will it improve the skills of the individual salesperson, and thus turnover, but it also likely to
increase the job satisfaction, as a competent employee is more like to be a happy employee. This in
turn raises the ego part of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as the professional pride amplifies, and if
the employee is additionally granted responsibility through empowerment it is very likely they will
seek to go beyond what is expected of them in order to underline that they are worthy of the trust
they have been shown.
The training program should at the very least include improving the following:
Communication skills
Sales skills
Product knowledge
Technology skills – future requirements and possibilities of a product
Today it is simply not enough having the skill set to do a satisfactory job, every single employee
must excel in knowledge of their area, whether it is TV, audio or computers. But extensive product
knowledge alone is not by a long shot enough to selling effectively to every customer.
Not all competencies are necessary some might be of minor importance and not worth the resources
and effort put in, in terms of spending time in a classroom instead of generating sales in the store.
Whenever an employee participates in a course, it should have a defined goal, and an explanation of
how and why this course will help them to be more become successful sellers, it is all about
identifying and improving the right competencies. Below is a list of competencies that any
salesperson could benefit from.
Vital competencies: Important Competencies:
Listening to the customer Kindness
Product knowledge Contact the customer fast
Asking the right questions Down to earth
Mentally present/empathy Being a good colleague
Creating a good connection Helpful

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Honest/selling the right product Punctual/reliability
Trustworthy Flexibility
Communication skills Being a team player
Judgement/customer assessment Good (and appropriate) humor
Customer orientation
Knowledge sharing
Presentation skills
Being service minded
A salesperson always needs to act like a true professional towards the customers, take note of the
situation, and act accordingly, because there are no two customers who are alike.
Step 3 – Assess current competencies and map competence gaps
The third step of the Competency Wheel emphasizes the importance of assessing the competencies
of the employees, and focuses on identifying the competency gaps.
So now that we know what competencies are needed, the next step should be to identify the gaps of
the current staff, so it can be figured out if the employees live up to the updated requirements and
then map the areas that need improvement.
This could be done either in the store with mystery shoppers and/or through courses that create
hypothetical situations where the different competencies come in to play and closely monitor the
behavior of the salesperson. Both options are viable in different ways. Mystery shopping could
easily prove be a costly and time consuming solution, but very reliable. Internal courses on the other
hand would be more focused and goal oriented, but here the salesperson knows they are being
tested, and are thus more on their toes which could limit the reliability of any tests performed.
Another option altogether could be self-assessment, where every individual salesperson could rate
himself/herself on all the listed competencies on a 1 to 5 scale. A fourth and final option would be
to let the employees appraise each other through the 360 degree evaluation tool. This alternative
secures a more objective assessment, as people rarely perceive themselves as others do, and with a

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sample of 3-10 (depending on the size of the store) people, the results should have a high degree of
dependability.
It is not possible to force people to come to courses, nor would it be a good idea. Every attendee
should have incentives enough to participate, it should just be communicated in precise and easily
understandable way. The course not only improves their ability to sell effectively, but hopefully
also develops them as individuals and improves career opportunities.
2.2.5. Skills
It is very important that the employees have the right skill and mind set, both in order to represent
Expert in the best possible way, because they are the face of the company to the consumer, but also
of course to be able to sell the right products. Above all it is crucial that the salespersons in the
stores are armed to the teeth with knowledge and skills – because a competent employee is more
likely to be a happy employee.
Step 4 – Plan closing the gaps and implement training solutions
The fourth step of Competency Wheel focuses on how to close the current competency gaps and
includes the second and third part of the Sales Training Cycle model.
In order to streamline the experience the average customer gets when seeking advice and browsing
in an Expert store, the above mentioned list of competencies should be mastered by every single
employee, sales assistants as well as managers, within the next 18 months or whatever time horizon
that is perceived as both acceptable and realistic.
In order to get there headquarters could create 5 courses as a 5 step program to reach the desired
competency level. Human Relations (HR) should develop the training program internally to get the
content aligned most accurately and keep the knowledge within the company, but get external
instructors to tutor the attendees in order to reach the desired goal.
After each of the 5 steps the participants should be able to review their experience in order to make
the program better. Additionally the course should both be taped and uploaded to the intranet
together with a written summary with the main points, where those who have taken the course can

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watch or read the content again whenever they feel like it, in order to refresh their memory.
Furthermore a test comprising of questions solely from the course should be made and uploaded as
well, that way it is easy for the participants to check if they understood the content fully and
correctly. Whether passing the test is mandatory to proceed to the next step, or merely attending is
enough should also be decided.
Now it is time to:
Determine what content to include in the different steps of the programme
Develop the objectives of the course – what should the outcome be?
Determine the programs staffing needs – hiring external lecturers if required
Determine how to deliver the education and make it accessible afterwards
Schedule the training
Where should the courses’ be held – around the country or primarily at headquarters?
As mentioned above it is important to remember to monitor and evaluate the performance of both
the presenters and the participants, in order to continuously improve the course.
Step 5 – Review results
This final stage assess’ the impact of all the previous steps and here it is determined what the
trainings value is to both the individual salesperson and the organization. This is the last part of The
Sales Training Cycle.
This training program fits perfectly into Expert’s core values, as a good service level is of huge
importance in this line of business. It should also benefit each and every one of the salespeople that
undergo all the training phases. But how much do the participants really learn - are the courses
worth the time, money and effort? To what extent does the programme unite and connect with the
training need of the staff?
As mentioned earlier it is very important to get the opinions of those who partake in the courses, as
that is the best way to continuously evaluate and improve it, or maybe decommission the project if
it does not yield the desired results after a predetermined period of time.

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2.2.6. Style
“It has been verified that if we take 2 stores with the exact same conditions regarding geography,
demography, size, etc. The store and manager with a positive attitude towards the guidelines and
campaigns from headquarters will be able to create a profit, whereas the stores and managers that
call and complain about numerous issues and spend their time being negative and indolent, will
have a hard time generating profit” (Chain Manager John Birkemose-Andersen).
The perception of Expert varies greatly from store to store, which is not in line with the purpose of
being part of a chain, a customer should experience the same environment and service level
regardless of which store he or she visits, no matter the geographical location or other variables.
The personality and leadership style adapted of the individual store manager affects the public
opinion greatly. Because a manager that takes care of his/her employees in terms of education,
social thriving, securing a healthy work environment, etc., will without a doubt have a happier staff,
and a happy staff, is much more likely to perform well than a content or unhappy one.
According to Herzberg there are 2 things that influence job satisfaction, hygiene (X) and
motivational (Y) factors. Hygiene factors are factors that prevent dissatisfaction, whereas
motivational factors allow and create personal growth. From what can be derived from the stores
that answered the distributed questionnaire it is fairly obvious that they all believe that a
motivational approach is the way to go, and that is hard to contradict. The way these managers
motivate their employees is through social thriving, responsibility, daily talks, courses, bonus (X),
good work environment, providing good off work experiences, cooperation and competitions where
everybody have an equal chance of winning. All these are excellent incentives for the employees to
do a better job, because not only does it yield a higher job satisfaction, it also provides a feeling of
accomplishment through experiencing that they really contribute to running the store in an efficient
manner. When a salesperson feels he/she makes a difference it is also much more likely that they
want to become better at their profession, and thus increasing the likeliness that they participate in
courses and enter a positive spiral.
Another motivational theory was developed by David McClelland who divided needs into 3 groups:
Achievement, affiliation and power. The achievement factor is relevant for manager and
salesperson alike and can effect whether action are dynamic or stoic. A person with a high
achievement (nAch) level will set goals that are hard to accomplish and require a lot of dedication,

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whereas people with a low nAch level will set fairly easy obtainable goals that they can realize with
almost certainty.
A person with a high affiliation (nAff) level is the equivalent of a person that desires harmonious
relationships with other people, and need to feel accepted. They prefer work that provides personal
interaction, so obviously many salespeople should belong in this category, and preferably the
majority of the employees in Expert stores. People in this category also perform best in a
cooperative environment. On the other hand there are people with a low level of nAff and they are
similar to those with a low nAch level, as they do not seek challenges.
The last element of McClellands motivational theory is power (nPow) which is divided into 2
categories, namely personal and institutional (social). Those with personal power wish to direct
others, and are quite similar to the Herzberg X theory and can be described as laissez faire dictators,
and thus very undesirable. People with institutional power want to organize the efforts of others to
further the goals of the organization and are comparable to the Y theory of Herzberg.
Every store should set their own individual goals in order to improve their performance. These
goals can vary and could include items such as turnover, profit, B2B share, customer satisfaction
level, social events – both internal and external, employee retention and development, a minimum
of sales of TV’s, etc. What is important is that there is something to strive for.
A good tool to use in this context is the SMART model.
Specific – A clear definition of what, why and how the goal is going to be reached
Measurable – The goal must be measurable and concrete to identify success or failure
Attainable – Setting sub-goals so the final goals never seems out of reach
Realistic – Do-able, not easy. Set the goal high enough for the achievement to be satisfying
Time-oriented – Set up time schedule that is measurable, attainable and realistic.
Expert Danmark’s own another major brand - punkt1. Even if punkt1 and Expert have the same
owners, the buying condition varies. Expert has a nationwide exchange guarantee, but it expires
after 14 days, and if the customer comes into a store after 8 days they are only offered a voucher,
not money back. punkt1 also have nationwide exchange guarantee, but they offer the money back
for 30 days.

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2.2.7. Shared Values
Expert's shared values are made up of the 6 previous steps.
Expert was founded on thought of Danish nationwide cooperation and wants to be perceived as a
service minded company with a good product range, approachable and competent employees. Focus
is on being truthful and spot on in their sales as well as being competitive on the price parameter, so
every customer leaves the store satisfied, and remains that way. Value is the cornerstone of Expert.
Value to Expert is service, very satisfied and loyal customers that are being created through
inspiration and motivation (through the mantra “the customer is king”), happy and competent
employees and customer intimacy. At Expert headquarters the corporate culture is focused on
employees are friendly and helpful towards each other, which in turn create an excellent working
atmosphere. The work ethic is high - and it has to be in order to match the work load.
2.3. Part Conclusion
The goal is for Expert to achieve the position of the company in the electronics line of business with
the best and most competent employees, with a high degree of customer orientation and selling the
right products at an affordable price. This should create better and more accurate sales, as well as
generating customer loyalty through excellent service on all levels – before, during and after a sale.
Additionally competent employees are likely to take more pride in their work, and with
empowerment they will go beyond what is expected of them in order to underline the correct
decision of giving them extra responsibility.
Focus on creating and improving the right competencies is of major importance, as spending time
and resources on courses that develop competencies that are not a substantial factor for creating a
successful sale, is equivalent of a complete waste of resources.
Every store should set their own individual goals in order to have something to strive for, whether it
is related to turnover, customer retention or satisfaction or something completely different. The
goal(s) must not be too easily achievable, but should not be too hard either, as that could easily
result in a disappointing experience – every goal should follow the guidelines of the SMART model
to ensure a structured approach.

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The online communication should be improved by utilizing the possibilities that are already
available in the currently used programs, once the resources are available and it has been verified
that it yields a positive ROI.
2.4. Quality Assessment
The information in the internal analysis is based on countless conversations throughout the author’s
internship period at Expert headquarters, and is assessed as having a very high level of truthfulness
and validity.
Due to the limited response rate from the stores, several of the competencies listed in step 2 of the
Competency Wheel are based on the author’s personal opinion, as well as conversations and
interviews with Expert’s consultants and members of the HR department.

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3. The Stores
In this section it will be covered what defines an ideal store. As well as pointing out good and bad
approaches to operating and running a store.
3.1. The Ideal Store
Regarding turnover the stated goal is set at kr. 3.500.000,- per salesperson (consultant Anders
Riksted). As can be seen in appendix 10 none of the stores are even close to that number. Of course
it has to be taken into account that all employees of the store are included in the equation, including
technicians and part time workers, so the actual number is higher than calculated for some of the
stores. The ideal number of employees in a store is not a definite number as it varies with the
physical store size.
What skill level is required or should be set as an absolute minimum? It is hard to say, as it again
varies from store to store. All the major stores, both franchise and retail alike, have employees that
specialize in an area. Whereas the majority of stores in smaller provincial towns have employees
with diverse knowledge, so they can more easily cover for each other in case of vacation or illness.
But some guidelines from HR would make it clearer what is expected from the different stores –
these guidelines should be divided into two groups. Because what might work in a big store in
Copenhagen will not necessarily work in a smaller store in Struer. Both manager and salesperson
should try to visualize the set goal, that way it becomes clear what exactly they are working against.
But what should be aligned throughout the entire chain is the service/sales competency level. What
good is superior technical product knowledge if the salesperson confuses the customer
unnecessarily, and as a result is not able to complete the sale. An example of this is a salesman who
knew his category 110%, but he overanalyzed in his explanations of the customers question, which
ended up confusing the customer (consultant Anders Riksted). Instead he should have been focused
on a solution and a sale.
Stores in provincial areas are naturally smaller than those in Copenhagen, Odense and Aarhus. But
these stores enjoy a higher degree of customer loyalty, both because of less competition and higher
familiarity but also due to the fact that these stores are more on their toes. Because with a limited
customer base it is extremely important to provide a good service and make just the right sale every

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single time, in order to make the customer return next time and talk positively about them and
create a positive perception of the store in the local community. The stores are aware of this, and
that is why many of the more successful stores are from areas where the population is sparser than
in the bigger cities where the competition level is higher. An example of this is the store in Tønder,
who enjoy a very high level of customer loyalty as they provide their customers with excellent
service, as well as being the sole supplier of electronic goods in the area (consultant Anders
Riksted).
Each store should clarify goals and sub goals. That way there is always something to work towards.
As mentioned earlier, it does not have to be financial goals, it could be everything from interior
redecorating to improving sales conversion rates. But it should be done in stages – e.g. redecorating
one section at a time, and several checkpoints in raising the conversion rates. Of course financial
goals are fine, but it does not improve the store in any way. On the other hand some salespersons
might oversell at the end of the month to reach a predetermined quota, resulting in sales that are not
in the interest of the customer. So goals that add no real value besides financial gains, can possibly
backfire and ultimately result in losing a future customers just to reach a set number.
The ideal stores also look inwards, instead of blaming trouble on their surroundings, headquarters
and anybody but themselves. It is always the easy solution to blame others and act like a victim, but
instead of complaining about every obstacle, the store should see it as a challenge, and seize the
opportunity to think creatively. The positive mindset alone can do wonders, since no matter how
dire a situation is, an optimistic attitude will contribute to keeping spirits high, and all things aside
that will reflect the atmosphere in the store, because April showers bring about May flowers.
Roughly translated the store manual distributed from headquarters state that sales is a concept so
wide that is has to be broken down into something tangible, in order to talk about it in a meaningful
way. The word sale covers being a professional wish-maker, which means that you cannot sell
anything to anyone, but we can help them make a good decision.
The ability to understand what value is to the customer, know how to create it and finally how to
deliver it in the best manner is of crucial importance. Whenever a customer enters an Expert store
they should be greeted within the first minute, so they do not have to wait around. If all of the

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personnel are occupied they should at least acknowledge that they have seen the customer. To
understand what value is to the customer we can take a look at appendix 8 which show the results of
an online survey. Products of high technical quality, competent staff, leaving the store with the right
product, friendly and helpful staff, truthfulness and the ability to put the customer first are those that
rank the highest.
Once we know how to understand what value is to the customer it is time for the second step -
creating value. Once the initial need has been clarified it is time find just the right product for the
customer. Through asking relevant questions the range should be narrowed down in order to
identify the product that fits the customers need perfectly. Then it is time to find out if there is more
the customer could benefit from, e.g. if we are selling a TV then it would be a good idea to explain
about how to create synergy effects either through a surround sound system, a Blu-Ray player, a
new console or something different.
The last step is delivering the value. When the product(s) has been chosen Expert offers several
opportunities which customers can benefit from. Through financing the customer can pay at a later
date or in intervals, in order to get more instant liquidity. An insurance that covers all damage, even
self-inflicted, over a 3 or 5 year period should be offered as an option. Finally there is Expert Extra
where Expert can take care of everything post-sale, including delivery, mounting and installing, this
concept offers the customer the highest level of convenience possible.
Satisfied customers are nice, but thrilled customers will generate so much more, both in terms of
goodwill and turnover, so every store should make it their mission to go above and beyond.
3.2. What are The Successful Stores Doing Right
It takes two to create a win-win situation, and for that to happen, the salesperson and the customer
will have to “speak the same language” in order to cooperate in a manner that makes it possible to
identify what is the best solution.
When the salesperson is selling a TV or any product for that matter, it is always important to
underline if there is any kind of insecurity connected with that product regarding future
requirements, as there is no such thing as a future secured product, because as the history of

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MPEG2/MPEG4 signals clearly showed, that a product that is state of the art today, can be rendered
obsolete within the time span of a few years.
Even though that in this particular matter it has yet to be decided if all electronic stores have to
compensate kr. 500,- to the customers that felt ill informed when they bought their TV, it is still of
extreme importance to pay attention to avoid similar cases in the future, as government decisions
can affect the PLC of a given product to a great degree due to the rapid development in the
electronics area.
In the Connect Magazine issue of September 2010 there was a story about the young salesman
Danni Jensen from Expert Lyngby. Danni had made an excellent impression on a customer who
sent her story to CEO of Expert Danmark Lars Christensen. The customer had encountered a
lacking service and knowledge level at several different stores before she encountered Danni Jensen
in Expert. She describes her experience with Danni Jensen as fantastic because he was service
minded, patient and gave her an exceptional professional service. Furthermore she appreciated his
down to earth attitude and focus on finding exactly the right product for her.
In the article Danni explains his approach to selling. A professional presentation of the product
without too many technical terms, as well as assessing the customer’s need right, so time is not
wasted trying to sell something that is not in the right scope. Additionally he tells how the
professional pride and the ability to explain have to create synergy and trust which is important to
make the customer come back, that is why Danni believes that good service is more important than
offering a discount. On a final note Danni adds that it important to be physically ready in order to be
mentally ready, which can be hard during the Christmas sales.
The good stores have self-igniting salespersons. These employees are thrilled about their job, and
always give it their fullest. They are honest and make it their mission that every served customer
leaves the store with the right product, as well as having been offered financing, insurance and
Expert Extra. These salespersons connect with the customer on the right level and provide a service
and experience so good that the customer with a high certainly will choose Expert again the next
time they need an electronic product, advice or service.

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The Expert benchmarked stores in Svendborg and Aars have their own workshop, and are both in
top 2 in 3 out of 4 categories4
and might also have been in the last category if their technicians and
part time employees were not included in the equation. By having their own technicians they can
reduce the average time spent on service significantly, which of course is a major plus, so customers
only have to wait 1 week instead of 4. Unfortunately the tendency is going the wrong way, with less
and less workshops.
There was no definite picture when looking at how much time the store manager spends on selling
in the store or doing administrative work. In Svendborg and Aars which clearly were the 2 best of
the benchmarked stores, the manager respectively spent 60% and 95% of their time selling. On
average from all 6 stores 64% of the time was spent on selling. Time spent selling always gives
additional experience, which the managers can utilize when training and giving pointers to their
employees.
Cooperation between the store and its attached consultant is somewhat related to the perception of
the collaboration with headquarters. But naturally a good mutual relationship between the
consultant and the store is preferable as they this way can spar with each other instead of fighting,
and ultimately help each other to get better at their respective jobs and thus creating the synergy that
is the whole point of the relationship.
A good store draws attention to itself thorough ads in the local newspapers. It is not necessary to
advertise constantly, but instead focus on quality. Aars advertise once a month and Svendborg even
less, but their focal point is on being innovative and gaining the readers’ attention, because often a
standard ad results in an unread and turned page.
5 of the 6 stores have established B2B connections in their local community and the yearly turnover
from these companies represent from 5-20% of yearly revenue, which is a very nice extra profit. If
the store can deliver exactly want to the buying company are looking for there is a good chance they
will continue to buy from them in the future, which could easily generate a great deal of profit.
Once a successful relationship has been established, and the store has gained some valuable
4 Appendix x

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experience, they can start expanding to more companies. A large part of Expert’s product range is
something that is needed by pretty much all companies, from computers and software to everyday
work to televisions and sound for internal presentations. For example the store in Rønde sells quite
a lot to local companies and the store in Ribe has a great servicing of local business.
Internal social events should be held on a regular basis, whether it is going to the cinema, going go-
cart racing or competing in paintball. That way the employees will get to learn to know each other a
little better, and that knowledge can help them in the workplace as they will be familiar with each
others’ strengths and weaknesses, and is very likely to improve the working environment in general.
On the other hand it is very important to find out where the line is regarding how often these events
should be arranged, because if it is too often the participation will likely suffer from it, because the
employees might get fed up, and the preferred intervals can vary from store to store. These events
also help creating a more exciting and attractive place to work, which is important to attract the
right employees in the future, because a store with a good reputation both regarding customer
service and employees satisfaction can pick the best employees instead of settling with someone
acceptable.
The good stores also prepare for the upcoming magazine by being proactive instead of reactive and
always a step behind. This is especially important in the larger cities with a fiercer competition
level. Numerous times during the authors internship period customers wrote to headquarters and
complained about stores not having the promised products Monday morning and sometimes even
refusing to order it home for the customer, which of course is unacceptable and a text book example
of bad service. The good stores have secured a healthy supply of the most attractive products and
are willing to order more if or when it is necessary. The retail stores are very dependant of the
magazines because of the high concentration of competitors in their area. E.g. the store in Kolding
are surrounded by 3 major competitors ElGiganten, Fona and Bilka, so if the salesperson is not
quite sharp enough the customer will get advise at Expert, but end up buying the product from one
of the nearby competitors.
3.3. What are The Less Successful Stores Doing Wrong
Overhyped sellers might come off to strong, and be perceived as too aggressive and untruthful. The
stores that deviate more from the concept and strategies than the successful stores are often

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unsuccessful. These less successful stores are primarily a part of Expert because they have been for
a long time, and also partially because of the marketing. For them there really is not any alternative,
which is why they stick around.
Actively asking the customer about their needs in order to uncover what is the right solution for
them. According to the mystery shoppers, this was lacking way too often. This will in turn result in
customers choosing one of Expert’s competitors the next time they need an electronic product,
because they went home with something that did not fit their needs or they did not fully understand.
Expert make use of pull-ins (good offers from the magazine) in order to get the customer into their
stores. Every pull-in has 1-4 alternative products for up selling/cross selling (Expert campaign
manager Peter Kjeldsen) that offers greater or additional profit compared to the pull-in. If the pull-
in is some kind of combo offer (TV + Blu-Ray), it is important to keep both products in mind, as it
should not be necessary for the customer to bring it up themselves.
According to the exit poll5
only 2 % in eastern Denmark and 7 % in western Denmark were offered
the option to choose an Expert Extra service product. This a major flaw, as it not only generates
profit, but also loyalty and goodwill. E.g. a customer buys a TV, surround sound system and a Blu-
Ray player, and makes full use of the Expert Extra concept, that way Expert install all the products
in a, hopefully, flawless manner. Afterwards when the customer show of his or her new living room
solution, their friends and family will see the job Expert has done, and in turn be more likely to buy
the service themselves, compared to a person who has not encountered it. Additionally the thought
of not having to spend time on setting up the product themselves can affect the customer positively,
if they have a hectic everyday schedule, maybe just feel lazy or simply lack the technical abilities to
create a proper setup.
A story of horrible service hails from a store that was remodeling. It was a chaotic scenery with dust
everywhere, the customer had a hard time getting the attention of a salesperson, but eventually
managed. The customer wanted to buy an article from the current magazine, but the salesperson
was not able to find it, and a colleague added that he knew nothing about it. Instead the customer
5 Appendix iv

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was offered a different and more expensive model, it was an exhibition model and the last in the
store, covered in dust from the remodeling, but despite of this the customer was not granted a
discount. Then when the customer asked to get the product gift wrapped, it was declined even
though both tape and gift paper was clearly visible. The customer then wrapped the gift himself, and
left the store after 30 minutes of frustration.
Far too many salespersons neglect to ask the customer about both financing and Expert Extra. This
is a huge mistake as both options are easy ways to create cross selling and improve customer
satisfaction. Financing may even allow up-selling as the customers do not have to pay right away
and thus is able to buy a product of a higher quality. Some salespeople fail to ask because they are
afraid to insult the customer, but a standard reply to an annoyed customer could include some kind
of courtesy phrase that states that it is just a standard offer given to all customers.
The attitude and willingness to change and the success of the store are closely tied together
(consultant Anders Riksted). Stores that rely solely on a traditional approach to selling and never try
to change or implement something new, will never improve and just fall further and further behind
as other stores evolve. These stores also lack the will to improve competencies through courses, and
cannot utilize the full potential of their employees when they have huge competency gaps.
Additionally the focus on product knowledge exceeds the ability to be a good salesperson, so the
manager keeps sellers with a high level of product knowledge, even though they often fail to sell
because the customer do not understand what they are saying.
As mentioned in the
previous section ads that
catch the eye are important,
but the ad on the right that
Expert Risskov brought in
Århus Onsdag in week 42 is
a text book example of a bad
advertisement. It is literally
littered with spelling
mistakes which gives an
impression of a store that

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rushes things, seem incredibly unstructured and not very credible. This mistake could easily have
been avoided if they had just spent a few minutes looking at the ad before submitting it.
Stores with a large number of households in their geographical area are lacking the service level
many of the smaller stores. This is mainly because they are aware that there are plenty of customers,
so they tend to think what difference does it make, when there is customers in the store all day
anyway.
3.4. What can be Improved
Everything can be improved. Attitude and willingness to change are very important factors in order
to be successful, so the first step should involve initiatives to heighten morale and fight to improve
the negative attitude of some managers.
Expert in Kolding yields a too small margin and lack focus on full solutions, which is costly when
surrounded by competitors. But in the end all it took to double the turnover for one single day was a
sales coach that guided the employees throughout the day (HR consultant Nicolai Schmidt). So an
in-store education of the sales force seems to be an excellent way of approaching competency
enriching training decentrally, as well as an alternative and cost efficient way for the sales force to
learn in praxis instead of advancing through theoretical lectures at headquarters.
Expanding the Expert Extra concept to include classes instead of one on one training could both
lower the price for the single participant, more efficient time usage for the salesperson as well as
help generating a greater turnover. Of course these classes have to gather a minimum of attendees in
order to be profitable, but schooling 5 course members instead of 1, even to a slightly lower price,
will certainly improve revenue.
As an expansion to the regular school period, which focuses mainly on product knowledge, the
sales trainees should also have some dedicated sales academy courses including exams like the
other parts of their school education. This way customer orientation will get a notch upwards, and
focus will be split between a high degree of product knowledge and providing an excellent service
level to each and every customer, thus hopefully replacing the current and outdated view that
superior product knowledge is by far the most important aspect of successful selling.

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As of now there are hardly any career opportunities as a salesperson in Expert. After completing the
traineeship period and becoming a regular salesperson, there is only Assistant Admistrative Director
and store manager left as well as the working hours are not very attractive. So it is very important to
create the best environment possible to create happy employees. Additionally offer them other
opportunities like participation in courses, social events arranged by the chain, and so on.
Many franchise stores do not utilize provision because most of the sales force is S profiles of the
DISC model (consultant Anders Riksted). This mean they have to emphasize softer values and not
focus too much on numbers in the sale as this is not much of a motivational factor for them.
Another approach could be focusing on getting them out of their comfort zone, as this is a superb
way to get them to evolve, but of course this is not something that everyone is going to like, but
then the store should play a little more hardball, because in the end it is the profit that counts, and if
an employee cannot deliver action should be taken.
A hiring manual from headquarters should be able to help getting the right profiles and employees
to work in the store. In the future the stores should focus more on getting other profiles employed,
preferable persons with a high I level and the counselor pattern. They easily connect with customers
and form a light kind of friendship through an optimistic attitude and trying hard to understanding
their needs, which in turn increases trust, credibility and hopefully loyalty.
According to the Exit poll6
47.5 % of the customers were greeted by a salesperson within their first
minute in the store. This number should be increased, and can be done so in a very simple manner.
If the salesperson is busy he or she should at least acknowledge the arrived customer, either with a
nod or a short greeting and let them know that someone will be with them shortly.
58 % of the customers experienced that the salesperson was genuinely engaged in their errand. 43
% felt that the salesperson asked the right questions regarding their needs. 51 % believed that they
got adequate advice. Finally 62.5 % experienced the salesperson as trustworthy and honest. All
these parameters can and should be improved. It is crucial (69-70 % rated this as important or very
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important) for the salesperson to take a genuine interest in the customer in order to make the right
sale. Failure to identify a fitting product for the customer will result in the loss of that customer.
When looking at the online survey conducted7
the performance of the store is lower than the
customer expected in 21 of 26 areas. This is of course not satisfactory. Especially the competency
level of the employees is lacking according to the respondents. A possible explanation could be
some of the problems mentioned above, as Expert put quite a lot of effort into giving their
employees a high level of product knowledge, but if something in the communication between
salesperson and customer is misunderstood, it could lead to the a perception of a lacking technical
and product knowledge.
3.5. The Willingness to Learn
Attitude and willingness to learn are important factors in order to operate a business in a successful
manner. Some managers believe that if they do things the way they always have, things will be fine.
But in reality they lose terrain, because if they are not moving forward they will be overtaken at
some point as their competitors evolve and adapts to the market demands. There is always
something to learn and if a manager possess new knowledge he is better equipped to make the
necessary changes in due time, and with additional knowledge it is also much easier to be
innovative and proactive.
3.6. Store Variables
Some stores have special products like Apple computers, Bose, B&O etc. But surprisingly this does
necessarily add additional value, on the other hand Expert has helped several stores with B&O in
their product range to get rid of these products as they simply did not sell well enough (consultant
Anders Riksted).
A concrete plan for up selling and cross selling is very important especially in relation to offers
from the magazine and all stores even receive a concrete list of suggestions from headquarters. 3 of
the benchmarked stores have a plan for selling in the different categories, so the salesperson is
always aware what products are appropriate for up selling and cross selling.
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3.6.1. Ownership
Service manager Poul Hansen has estimated that around 80 % of the complaints Expert receive
come from the retail stores, even though they only represent roughly 25 %.
As mentioned earlier in the report not many franchise stores utilize provision. That leaves no
financial incentives to try to increase sales, and might end with indifference towards the sale of the
product. Also all the service products are neglected which means that the average basket size easily
could have been bigger.
Retail managers have no financial incentive to generate more sales as their salary stays the same no
matter the turnover. Franchise owners on the other hand have to live of their sales, so naturally they
are willing to put in a greater amount of effort and work, e.g. Jan Sabroe Thomsen store owner and
manager in Svendborg spends a whopping 50-55 hours weekly8
in his store and he is always trying
to find new a innovative ways to increase sales and utilize his experience in creative ways.
3.6.2. The Manager
As stated earlier the manager is the single most important aspects of a store. Is he a positive person
with a “can do” attitude who tries to continuously renew him- or herself and being innovative? Or is
he on the other hand the negative archetype who complains every chance he gets over minor
indifferent issues, instead of trying to do something positive and economical responsible with the
resources at hand. Almost every aspect of success depends on the store manager.
The manager in Varde is always ready to seize an opportunity and create changes if he sees a
possibility. Furthermore he makes sure his employees become complete salespersons through daily
internal coaching, that way he makes sure they are skilled in all the desired areas (consultant Anders
Riksted). It is managers like this that generate profit and contribute to a positive perception of
Expert.
Age and experience are not as important as a positive attitude according to all the consultants.
8 Appendix xi

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3.6.3. Number of Staff Members
Wages of all employees, including the manager must not exceed 11 % of the stores turnover. That
makes it very important that every member of the staff generates the required sales in order to keep
up with their quota. Careful planning must secure that staffing is sufficient at all times so customers
do not have to wait around for too long before getting served. But on the other hand it is equally
important that the staffing does not exceed what is necessary, because a salesperson standing and
waiting for a customer is equivalent of wasting money.
3.6.4. Surrounding Area
Expert was originally primarily based in the province, and did not own stores in the major cities, but
after purchasing Merlin, Expert is represented pretty much everywhere in Denmark.
Convenience and proximity are important in smaller communities, whereas the areas with many
households the greatest focus is on the price due to the high level of competition. This can hit some
stores very hard. An example is from Kolding where they currently are working are changing most
of the product range, because if they try to match the prices from the local ElGiganten store, they
will get very little or negative profit, so they have to identify the products where they can offer a
competitive price.
3.6.5. Activities and Involvement in the Local Community
A good way to create goodwill is through involvement in the local community, and this can be done
in numerous ways. A common and popular way to show interest is to sponsor local sports teams.
But different activities like cooking in the store and offer all visitors a portion, hosting yearly
tournaments in golf, football or other sports will give the store positive attention and most likely an
article in the local newspaper. Other activities could include having a Kinect or Move (Xbox 360
and Playstation 3 add-ons) competition, both to get people into the store, but also to generate
awareness about the product and let people try it out for themselves. This could also be a national
completion where the winners from the different stores meet in a grand finale to compete for prizes,
where the audience can watch it live in the store or maybe stream it live from the Expert website.
Local and national CSR is worth considering. Even though the line of business Expert is in is not
exactly the obvious choice to work with environmental issues, since all the products consume

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power, it is possible to make a little difference with a wholehearted effort. An approach to this
could be to provide advises to the customers, with information regarding how to save power
through special sockets, that does not use power when the electronic product is off, and possibly
selling them in the store. Another way could be by dedicating a day to cleaning a local forest and
inviting the locals to help, because not only does it signal that they care, but also serves as a good
opportunity to bond with the community in a less formal manner. It is important to keep in mind
that it must be done full heartedly or else it could do more harm than good if the project comes of a
more of a stunt rather than genuine interest.
3.7. The Stores
This section will cover what distinguishes the
good stores from the not so good, and what
initiatives these stores could utilize in order to
identify their weak spots, should they not be
aware already. Also the service value chain
will be used to show how to create value from
problem recognition to solving and evaluating.
3.7.1. What Separates the Efficient From the Less Efficient Stores
When a successful store encounters a problem within reasonable limits they will immediately start a
problem solving process in order to continuously being able to provide superior service. It could an
unsatisfied customer that returns with a broken product, then the store must assess whether the
problem is their responsibility or it may be mishandling on the customers part. Afterwards they
must choose if they are going to fix the product or inform the buyer that the flaw is due to his/her
own neglecting of the product. If the store opts to repair they will send it to the repairman if they do
not have a workshop of their own. The final step is to uncover why the product was damaged in the
first place, and devise a plan how to avoid it in future scenarios.
As mentioned several times the manager is the overshadowing influence when it comes down to the
success of a store. Managers that reward their employees, create a positive working environment,
focus on satisfied customers through the right sale and always try to exploit new opportunities when
they appear will ceteris paribus have a greater chance of success.
Figure 5: Service Value Chain

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3.7.2. How to Make the Less Effective Stores Better and More Efficient
The values from the successful stores should be transferred to those that have a hard time generating
profit. A change in attitude is the first step to turn less thriving stores around, and Expert should
ensure that action is taken in order to achieve this, because at the moment it is accepted that some
stores run their own show, and deviates from the overall concept. This will be elaborated upon in
section 3.9.
3.8. Utilization of Customer Relationship Management
Proper use of CRM will increase CLV and it is 10 times more expensive to win a new customer
than keeping an existing one, plus the cost of bringing a new customer to the same level of
profitability as a lost one is 16 times higher (Hollesen, 2010, p. 10).
Only Frederiksberg and Aars of the benchmarked stores utilize CRM, unfortunately it was not
explained how they approached it. One way of doing it could be to save the information from a sale,
data like the name of the buyer and what he/she bought. Using iPads in the sale is something that
Expert is working on implementing at the moment. This can be used in connection with CRM if the
iPads can access customer information while being used in the store, that way the salesperson can
find user data on the customer to find out what they have purchased in the past, and in that manner
find products that can work in synergy with those.
Also a better utilization of the newsletters, where those who have subscribed can choose the
categories of their choice, and thus only receive offers that is in their interest. When the stores have
local offers they can also benefit from this by sending them to subscribers in the vicinity.
Additionally these subscribers can receive special offers that are available only to them as an
incentive to sign up for the newsletter.
Through Facebook it is also possible to gather “fans” of Expert, and expose them to products in
regular intervals, and give them offers that only apply to members of this group. These members
can also be used to gather useful information about a great many things, like preferred TV brand,
which computer game they are looking forward to or what their perception of Expert Extra is.
Furthermore it is a good way to connect on a more personal level through questions that not

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necessarily are tied to business, e.g. what is their New Year resolution for 2011 or what they think
of Denmark’s performance in the latest football match.
3.9. How to Deal With the Problematic/Hostile Stores
When a store manager calls and complains time and time again, reject to cooperate with his
appointed consultant and refuse to use the materials that are given to him, e.g. a store declined to
utilize the Expert Extra concept at all, then action should be taken. Some managers are impossible
to make happy and are generally unsatisfied no matter what and waste not only their own time, but
also those who have to listen to their constant criticism. Such behavior is not acceptable, and a
reprimand should be given, as it offers nothing but trouble and nothing constructive. If the
reprimand does not alter or improve the attitude expulsion could be used as a last resort, but
hopefully that will not be necessary.
When looking at famous franchise chains the common denominator is streamlining. Whenever you
enter a McDonalds or a 7-eleven you get the same service, treatment and products every time, with
Expert it is inhomogeneous and a little like playing the lottery if you pick a random store. The
stores that do well should be left alone, but those that contribute mostly with negativity should be
critically assessed to find out if they are worth keeping, or Expert is better off cutting them loose.
Alternatively a smiley system with 5 levels could be developed. A level 1 smiley could illustrate
that store barely lives up to Experts values, whereas a level 5 smiley shows that the store is
perceived as being of the highest quality of Expert itself. If having the smiley both online and in the
store was mandatory the managers would have to shape up or accept the poor branding. Of course
this could also lead to stores leaving the chain, which obviously would have a negative financial
impact when thinking short term, but in the long run the quality and perception of Expert will
improve drastically and as a bonus, time can be spent in a much more constructive manner.
3.10 Part Conclusion
To run a successful business it important to have competent employees, that not only possess
product knowledge, but also know how to identify the needs of the customers and act accordingly in
order to sell the perfect product every time.

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Different guidelines for rural and urban stores should be developed, as what works in big cities
might not be as successful in smaller communities.
Individual goals should be set by every store so they have something to strive for, these goals
should have checkpoints so the next step never seem out of reach. The goals could include
expanding into the B2B market to increase revenue or steadily improving the skill level of all
employees.
The manager should try his best always to radiate a positive attitude to inspire his/her employees to
do the same, and thus creating a comfortable atmosphere in the store. When a problem emerges a
good manager will perceive it as a challenge and use the opportunity to create something positive
from it. Ideas to make Expert visible in the community through local initiatives like hosting sports
tournaments.
The 2 examples of good and bad customer experiences illustrates the huge difference an appropriate
service can provide. A more aggressive approach towards the stores that provide nothing but
complaints and negativity should be taken in order to provide Expert with a higher level of quality
and improve the perception of the chain as a whole.
3.11. Quality Assessment
The amount of useful data available was very limited, which led to parts being based on
assumptions. Only 6 of 104 stores opted to answer the distributed questionnaire, so the results can
hardly be called representative.
Consultant Anders Riksted participated in a questions and answers session which was very helpful
and assessed as being of the highest quality as he spends most of time working with the stores.

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4. Knowledge, Skills and Attitude
In this section the author will try to identify all the crucial capabilities of both the store managers as
well as their employees, as well as pointing out which skills are less desirable.
4.1. Identification of Crucial Skills for the Store Manager
A manager must have extensive experience and knowledge of the electronics line of business, in
order to being able to run a store in a successful manner. This knowledge is acquired primarily
through working on the floor where countless sales has given the experience and knowledge
needed. With this knowledge the manager can share and help educate, coach and develop the
personnel, and help them to becoming better and more complete salespersons.
Leadership skills are extremely important when having the responsibility for creating a thriving
store. Since no one can be everywhere at once the manager must be able to delegate responsibility
and empowering those employees that are deemed able to handle it. Motivational skills are essential
in order to make the whole staff perform at their highest level constantly. When times are tough as
they are now, the manager must strive to create a unity in the store, a way that all staff members feel
as a part of a winning team, a team that has its own little community and helps each other out no
matter what happens. Proactive planning is a valuable skill in order to always being one step ahead
and facing challenges prepared instead of having to react. A manager must also be able to make
hard decisions when it comes down to running a profitable store, this could for instance be laying
off personnel or being willing to take a calculated risk when the opportunity arise.
As mentioned countless times another important aspect of being able to run a successful store is a
positive attitude and willingness to change, adapt and evolve. The ability to turn a problem into a
challenge or opportunity instead of dwelling at the negative aspects is invaluable. The personality
and mood of the store manager affects all their employees, and they should always be aware of that.
4.2. Identification of Crucial Skills for the salesperson
The competencies of the salespeople have more or less already been described in the second step of
the Competency Wheel in part 2.2.4., so this section will just elaborate a little.

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As with the store manager, extensive product knowledge is expected and required in order to find a
suitable product for every customer.
Quick wits and a sharp tongue are major advantages when selling. The ability to respond fast and
accurately to customer objections, questions and unexpected problems instead of hesitating and
mumbling is an invaluable skill. Unfortunately this kind of emotional and social intelligence is next
to impossible to teach, so it is quality to be take note of at a job interview. Being polite and
approach the customer in a courteous way to signal professionalism is the best way to start a
conversation to identify what the customer might be looking for. After the introduction the
salesperson must use his/her situational awareness to find the appropriate communication and
presentation style, as it differs greatly whether they are dealing with a male teenager or a female
senior.
A positive attitude is, as for the manager, very important for the salesperson. If the customer is
greeted by big smile, the following conversation and need identification will run a lot smoother.
Furthermore a smile radiates assertiveness, which is comforting and reassuring for the customer.
Situations where there are several people waiting to be served, or maybe a difficult customer that
show signs of aggressive behavior and ask questions that the salesperson do not know, then the
ability to keep a cool head is important, to avoid becoming nervous and frustrated, which lowers the
quality of the work.

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5. Plan of Action/Store Guidelines
First of all these suggested guidelines is not meant to be definite, but mainly serve as inspiration to
how Expert can improve their current situation. It is rarely a good idea to force anyone, so in
cooperation with the stores Expert could identify areas of common interest.
In order to find out how both the manager and the salespersons use their time in the store, they
should fill out an activity log every day for a month9
. That way they can map and analyze how they
spend their time in the store and find out if they are using their time efficiently, or if some changes
have to be made in order to improve the utilization of their hours.
On a regular basis, preferably once a month, every member of the sales personnel should have a
short conversation with the manager to identify what went well, and what could have been done
better in the period, and it additionally serves as a kind of performance measurement. It also offers a
great opportunity for self assessment and the manager can give pointers to how he/she would have
handled the situations that did not reach their full potential.
Every member should clarify some goals they wish to reach at a certain time. It can differ from
person to person, but it is important work towards something and not just getting by. These goals
could be on a daily basis, e.g. “I want to sell for at least kr. 100.000,- today” or a goal for the week
like “It is my goal to provide the best service to thrill my customers, and make me feel good about
myself” or it could be a long time goal as “Within the next 2 years I want to get promoted and
acquire new competencies”. But the overwhelming purpose of this is not necessarily the goals
themselves, but instead having something to strive for and a plan of how to get there. This should
also contribute to developing the personnel, so they become more than walking and talking
technical encyclopedias.
“Making life easier and more exciting” is Expert’s vision statement, this has to be obvious to the
customer through putting action behinds these words. Always telling and showing how a certain
9 Appendix i

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product can provide something new, and illustrate how the experience form the product surpasses
the product the customer already have at home, and to what extent it is possible to create synergy
with other products from Experts range and thus creating individual customer solutions.
A training program with 5 steps much similar to the suggested smiley system, could be developed.
The salesperson has to pass the first course in order to proceed to the second step and so forth. The
level reached could be put on the salespersons name badge, which could work as an extra incentive
to participate in the courses. Of course this should not be implemented before all employees have
had a chance to take these courses, so from when the initiative begins until being put into action in
the stores, there should probably go no less than 18 months. This kind of centralized training is
important to both create alignment and streamlining, but decentral training both from the manager
as well as external teachers, with the Kolding case in mind, is at least equally important.
It is important for managers never to settle with the current situation, whether it is good or bad, they
must always look for opportunities to sharpen the blade to remain competitive. It requires a
continuous effort to stay at the top once it has been reached, actually it is often harder to stay at the
top. A way to generate new ideas could be through a monthly brainstorm in the store, where
manager as well as personnel sits down and discuss any and all thoughts they have had since their
last meeting. Should a store hit a gold vein with one of their initiatives it could be copied and
transferred to the all of Experts stores. These initiatives must be well thought through and equally
well executed to be successful, as a halfhearted effort will certainly fail.
Happiness and loyalty of the employees are crucial factors for any healthy business. That means
that the store manager must create a positive and healthy working environment. Taking the staff out
for dinner, a football match with the local team or something entirely different, what is important is
that they do it together and have a good time, which in turn hopefully will get the employees to
bond and creating closer relationship in order to make Expert a more attractive place to work.
Furthermore it is advisable to always promote from within when the need arises, because not only
does the managers know what they get, but also lets the employees know that their hard work can
pay off.

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