Because the National Copier Company (NCC) has been in business for only five years, Pooja Krishna is concerned that most of her competitors are have more experience than she does. The prospective customers she has been calling on state they know they can count on her competitors because they have a long track record. As NCC expands into new markets some of her prospects are not familiar with her company. One prospective customer, who works for one of the most prestigious and largest medical offices (30 doctors) in the area, told her he has been buying copiers from the same company for more than 25 years. He also told he is sales representative for the company has been calling on him for more than seven years, and he knows that when he call on his copier supplier for advice, he can count on him for a solid recommendation. Pooja realizes these are going to be tough accounts to crack.

Pooja does have an advantage because of the high quality of NCC products. NCC's copiers tied for first in the industry on ratings of copier quality and dependability. NCC was also given a high rating for service. Pooja has had this information for 2 weeks now and has brought it up in conversations with her perspective customers without much success. To make matters worse, one of her competitors must have started rumours about NCC. In the past month, she has heard the following rumours:

- NCC is going out of business because of financial troubles

- NCC has missed several delivery deadlines with customers

- NCC copiers have a software glitch that cannot be corrected

- NCC has cut its service staff

Pooja knows that these rumours are not true, but prospects might believe them. At a recent sales meeting, Brenda's manager suggested that their competitors must be getting nervous about NCC's success, causing them to tell those lies.

Pooja is sitting at her desk trying to figure out what to do next and she is not exactly sure how to proceed.

Questions:

1. What would you recommend Pooja do to handle the challenges she faces?

2. Pooja appears to have an advantage with her products and services. Develop a plan for Pooja to build trust in NCC with prospective customers.

3. What do you recommend Pooja do to compete effectively against competitors that have a long and successful track record?

4. How should Pooja go about handling the rumour mill?