Wesley C. and Rhonda A. Wickum - Page 5

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               All of Combined’s insurance agents were required first to              
          attend a 2-week sales school and then undergo field training that           
          lasted 7 weeks.  The course of instruction at the sales school              
          was uniform nationwide, whereas the field training was designed             
          to educate the trainee regarding conditions and practices in his            
          local sales territory.  The sales school cost between $1,000 and            
          $1,500 per agent, of which petitioner, as district manager, paid            
          $150, and Combined paid the remainder.  Field training was                  
          usually conducted by a sales manager, although sometimes by a               
          district manager.  Petitioner, as district manager, usually                 
          conducted the first week of field training himself.  The 7-week             
          field training period was not devoted exclusively to training,              
          but rather consisted of a schedule, devised by Combined, of items           
          to be covered in each week of the 7-week period.  The manager               
          conducting the field training was supposed to follow the program            
          schedule for field training, but managers often did not, and                
          Combined’s senior management was aware of this fact.                        
               The agents learned an organized sales presentation during              
          sales school.  When selling Combined’s insurance products, they             
          were required to use the organized sales presentation, which                
          included an initial sales pitch as well as responses to possible            
          questions from customers.  The agents were taught the same                  
          presentation for a given product, regardless of where it was to             
          be sold.  The presentation was designed to function as a script             
          for the agents, whose responsibility was to deliver it.  The                




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Last modified: May 25, 2011