Caselet 1: Patman Paper Co. Jared Hernandez graduated from college and went to work as a salesperson for Patman Paper Company, a provider of office supplies in Indianapolis. Then he got married to his...

Caselet 1: Patman Paper Co.

Jared Hernandez graduated from college and went to work as a salesperson for Patman Paper Company, a provider of office supplies in Indianapolis. Then he got married to his college sweetheart, and life seemed good. But sales were slow initially, and after six months, Jared had sold only 80 percent of his quota. At this point, he was expected to be at 100 percent. After a brief meeting with his manager, he knew he had better gain another 10 percent in the next month or find a new position. What really bothered Jared was that he knew he had an account worth 30 percent of his quota sitting out there for him to get. He had made the first call to the account on a Friday afternoon; he met Suzy McDermott, the firm’s purchasing director. The call seemed to go well, and he got a small order. “There’s a lot more where that came from,” winked Suzy at Jared. An attractive woman in her mid-thirties, she leaned over and put a hand on his knee. “What do you say we head over to O’Malley’s for happy hour and talk it over?”

Jared declined, but later wondered if he was an idiot. Entertaining clients was not unusual. He needed the sale. What should he have done?