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Hearts On Fire, a successful branded diamond producer, established the position of Brand Development Manager (BDM) to build the company's presence, sales, and relationships with its retail customers. After 1 year, the CEO, CFO and President must evaluate the impact of the BDM on retail customers, the type of person required to be successful in this position, internal coordination issues with the company's sales force, and the financial returns versus other uses of capital for the company. The case raises issues in aligning business strategy and sales management systems, motivating and managing resellers, people selection, and financial analysis of alternatives.

The marketing director of a new minor-league baseball team must design, conduct, and then interpret survey research to determine optimal ticket pricing that will yield large attendance figures and contribute to the owner's goal of breaking even in the first year of play. The pricing assignment becomes more challenging when other variables like concessions revenue are considered. Students are asked to complete a quantitative assignment as part of case analysis, but they must grapple with less quantifiable factors as well.

The management team of an industrial equipment supplier is debating the company's method of compensating salespeople. Different executives have offered different alternatives to the current method of straight salary plus expenses. Each option has different implications for business strategy, organization, control systems, and sales management requirements. As a result, the case raises issues and analytics relevant to topics such as aligning strategy and organization, strategy implementation, and cross-functional incentive systems as well as sales management.

Fusilier Technology is in disarray. Its vice-president of sales is leaving, the company's new growth strategy to sell customized business solutions has stalled, and sales have been flat for five years. Bill MacLeod, Fusilier's CEO, has to choose between two very different candidates for the top sales job: a veteran sales director who has excelled under the old order and a brash outsider who has experience selling solutions but doesn't know the industry. With an outside board director pressuring him to accelerate the pace of change, MacLeod ponders which candidate can best help the company make the transition. Fusilier's new solutions strategy has made the decision that much more difficult. Under this model, the company must revamp its incentives, training, and processes for deploying the sales force. Historically, compensation has been based largely on an individual rep's results, and sales training has focused on product features and cost-performance advantages, not on the business issues facing customers. Now salespeople need to understand, promote, and select from an entire portfolio of products and services offered both by Fusilier and its business partners. What's more, they need to collaborate with Professional Services, the new consulting unit whose mission is to jump-start the solutions-centric approach. Whom should MacLeod hire for the top sales job, and what should he do to put Fusilier back on a growth track? In R0607A and R0607Z, four experts comment on this fictional case study: Alston Gardner, founder of OnTarget, a sales training and consulting firm; Steve Kerr, a managing director and the chief learning officer of Goldman Sachs; Randall D. Kelley, a partner of the executive search firm Spencer Stuart; and Andrea L. Dixon, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati.

Fusilier Technology is in disarray. Its vice-president of sales is leaving, the company's new growth strategy to sell customized business solutions has stalled, and sales have been flat for five years. Bill MacLeod, Fusilier's CEO, has to choose between two very different candidates for the top sales job: a veteran sales director who has excelled under the old order and a brash outsider who has experience selling solutions but doesn't know the industry. With an outside board director pressuring him to accelerate the pace of change, MacLeod ponders which candidate can best help the company make the transition. Fusilier's new solutions strategy has made the decision that much more difficult. Under this model, the company must revamp its incentives, training, and processes for deploying the sales force. Historically, compensation has been based largely on an individual rep's results, and sales training has focused on product features and cost-performance advantages, not on the business issues facing customers. Now salespeople need to understand, promote, and select from an entire portfolio of products and services offered both by Fusilier and its business partners. What's more, they need to collaborate with Professional Services, the new consulting unit whose mission is to jump-start the solutions-centric approach. Whom should MacLeod hire for the top sales job, and what should he do to put Fusilier back on a growth track? In R0607A and R0607Z, four experts comment on this fictional case study: Alston Gardner, founder of OnTarget, a sales training and consulting firm; Steve Kerr, a managing director and the chief learning officer of Goldman Sachs; Randall D. Kelley, a partner of the executive search firm Spencer Stuart; and Andrea L. Dixon, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati.

Fusilier Technology is in disarray. Its vice-president of sales is leaving, the company's new growth strategy to sell customized business solutions has stalled, and sales have been flat for five years. Bill MacLeod, Fusilier's CEO, has to choose between two very different candidates for the top sales job: a veteran sales director who has excelled under the old order and a brash outsider who has experience selling solutions but doesn't know the industry. With an outside board director pressuring him to accelerate the pace of change, MacLeod ponders which candidate can best help the company make the transition. Fusilier's new solutions strategy has made the decision that much more difficult. Under this model, the company must revamp its incentives, training, and processes for deploying the sales force. Historically, compensation has been based largely on an individual rep's results, and sales training has focused on product features and cost-performance advantages, not on the business issues facing customers. Now salespeople need to understand, promote, and select from an entire portfolio of products and services offered both by Fusilier and its business partners. What's more, they need to collaborate with Professional Services, the new consulting unit whose mission is to jump-start the solutions-centric approach. Whom should MacLeod hire for the top sales job, and what should he do to put Fusilier back on a growth track? In R0607A and R0607Z, four experts comment on this fictional case study: Alston Gardner, founder of OnTarget, a sales training and consulting firm; Steve Kerr, a managing director and the chief learning officer of Goldman Sachs; Randall D. Kelley, a partner of the executive search firm Spencer Stuart; and Andrea L. Dixon, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Cincinnati.

Norman Windom, the chairman of Tiverton Media, may not know much about the world of popular music, but he does fancy himself a careful planner and a superb judge of managerial talent. That's why he's been grooming COO Sean Kinnane, a Wharton-minted numbers man, to take over an important division, Aleph Records, and one day Tiverton itself. But Derek Solomon, Aleph's 68-year-old CEO and founder, remains a creative force and a father figure to the label's artists. What's more, he's touchy about anything that might slow down Aleph's responses to the market's ever-shifting preferences--or that might call into question his indispensability. Though Sean dutifully participates in Tiverton's broad-based and elaborate executive development plan, he senses that Aleph's future leadership structure is uncertain. As impatient as he is ambitious, he announces that he's leaving Tiverton for more suitable pastures. Several of his associates, also unsure about their fate within Aleph, are following him out the door. In one fell swoop, they've torn Norman's proud succession plan apart. What kind of plan should the board adopt going forward? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0406A and R0406Z are Francis N. Bonsignore, a senior vice-president at Marsh & McLennan; Michelle L. Buck, a clinical associate professor of management and organizations at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management; Jon Younger, who heads leadership development at National City Corp., a financial holding company in Cleveland; and Thomas Leppert, the chairman and CEO of the Turner Corp., a large construction company in Dallas.

Norman Windom, the chairman of Tiverton Media, may not know much about the world of popular music, but he does fancy himself a careful planner and a superb judge of managerial talent. That's why he's been grooming COO Sean Kinnane, a Wharton-minted numbers man, to take over an important division, Aleph Records, and one day Tiverton itself. But Derek Solomon, Aleph's 68-year-old CEO and founder, remains a creative force and a father figure to the label's artists. What's more, he's touchy about anything that might slow down Aleph's responses to the market's ever-shifting preferences--or that might call into question his indispensability. Though Sean dutifully participates in Tiverton's broad-based and elaborate executive development plan, he senses that Aleph's future leadership structure is uncertain. As impatient as he is ambitious, he announces that he's leaving Tiverton for more suitable pastures. Several of his associates, also unsure about their fate within Aleph, are following him out the door. In one fell swoop, they've torn Norman's proud succession plan apart. What kind of plan should the board adopt going forward? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0406A and R0406Z are Francis N. Bonsignore, a senior vice-president at Marsh & McLennan; Michelle L. Buck, a clinical associate professor of management and organizations at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management; Jon Younger, who heads leadership development at National City Corp., a financial holding company in Cleveland; and Thomas Leppert, the chairman and CEO of the Turner Corp., a large construction company in Dallas.

Norman Windom, the chairman of Tiverton Media, may not know much about the world of popular music, but he does fancy himself a careful planner and a superb judge of managerial talent. That's why he's been grooming COO Sean Kinnane, a Wharton-minted numbers man, to take over an important division, Aleph Records, and one day Tiverton itself. But Derek Solomon, Aleph's 68-year-old CEO and founder, remains a creative force and a father figure to the label's artists. What's more, he's touchy about anything that might slow down Aleph's responses to the market's ever-shifting preferences--or that might call into question his indispensability. Though Sean dutifully participates in Tiverton's broad-based and elaborate executive development plan, he senses that Aleph's future leadership structure is uncertain. As impatient as he is ambitious, he announces that he's leaving Tiverton for more suitable pastures. Several of his associates, also unsure about their fate within Aleph, are following him out the door. In one fell swoop, they've torn Norman's proud succession plan apart. What kind of plan should the board adopt going forward? Commenting on this fictional case study in R0406A and R0406Z are Francis N. Bonsignore, a senior vice-president at Marsh & McLennan; Michelle L. Buck, a clinical associate professor of management and organizations at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management; Jon Younger, who heads leadership development at National City Corp., a financial holding company in Cleveland; and Thomas Leppert, the chairman and CEO of the Turner Corp., a large construction company in Dallas.

Every company makes choices about the channels it will use to go to market. For instance, traditionally, customer demographics guided the decision to sell through a discount superstore or a pricey boutique. It was a fair assumption that certain customer types were held captive by certain channels. The problem, the authors say, is that today's customers have become unfettered. As their channel options have proliferated, they've come to recognize that different channels serve their needs better at different points in the buying process. The result is "value poaching." For example, certain channels hope to use higher margin sales to cover the cost of providing expensive high-touch services. Potential customers use these channels to do research, then leap to a cheaper channel when it's time to buy. What does this mean for your go-to-market strategy? The authors urge companies to make a fundamental shift in mind-set toward designing for buyer behaviors, not customer segments. A company should design pathways across channels to help its customers get what they need at each stage of the buying process. Customers are not mindful of channel boundaries--and you shouldn't be either.

In response to a potential competitive inroad at a key account, managers at Becton Dickinson are considering a multidivisional marketing effort.

Concerns the development, introduction, and first-year sales performance of Vision, a telecommunications service aimed at small- and medium-sized businesses. Introduced in 1990, Vision surpassed goals in that year, but was significantly below target in the first quarter of 1991. A divisional vice president must analyze the situation and recommend appropriate actions.

Dendrite International is a $23 million (1992 revenues) supplier of sales automation software to pharmaceuticals companies in Europe, Japan, and the United States. The firm's strategy has depended on being a full-service supplier to multinational firms. Impending changes in the pharmaceuticals industry, as well as technological and competitive developments, have raised issues concerning the best means of future growth and accompanying account-management procedures.

The marketing manager for the Imaging Systems business unit (ISY) at Hewlett-Packard Medical Products Group is considering channel strategy and channel management issues raised by the upcoming introduction of a new cardiac imaging product. Product marketing's plans call for the use of indirect distribution channels to enter a new segment; important managers in ISY's direct sales force disagree.

The marketing director for the largest division of a health care products company is reviewing the structure and staffing of the division's marketing organization. The division has authorization to hire an additional marketing manager. Hence, the immediate case decisions are: 1) whether to hire an additional manager; and 2) if so, what should be the role and responsibilities of a new manager within the marketing organization. Industry developments, budgetary considerations, and changing field sales and service requirements make this a complex decision with larger implications for the division's marketing strategy and implementation.

In 1992, the president of MEM (a producer of personal care products, including men's fragrances) considered a redeployment of field sales efforts and changes in sales compensation policies. Any changes, moreover, must consider the context of strategic decisions concerning English Leather, the firm's major product line. The case provides data concerning consumer behavior and attitudes in the product category, as well as information concerning how changes in competition and distribution channels affect the brand.

Concerns issues involved in coordinating sales efforts with product management and customer service activities. First, discusses environmental factors that increase integration requirements among these groups, and why these factors make the field sales force a crucial crossroad in organizing and implementing marketing efforts. Second, outlines some common roles, responsibilities, and interdependencies among product, sales, and service groups in the marketing organization.

Becton Dickinson, a phenomenally successful company with an 80% market share in the blood collection needles and syringes market faces a change in the customer buying environment (cost containment pressures at hospitals). This forces a reevaluation of the company's highly successful product policy and channel strategy. One of the company's largest customers threatens to leave them for refusing their "low-price" request. It is obvious to students that giving in to this customer's threat would compromise the company's "value-added" thrust, yet the potential business at stake makes it difficult to be inflexible.

Traces the 12-year career of a pharmaceutical salesperson, Bob Marsh, from recruitment to termination. Mr. Marsh has had an uneven career with Cooper Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPI) and, after a probationary period, is asked to resign. Following his termination, a number of Marsh's former customers complain vigorously, and CPI's vice president of sales is asked to investigate the matter and to decide what, if anything, to do about it. A rewritten version of an earlier case by D.A. Newton.

Written for a module in the Marketing Implementation course (a second-year elective in the MBA program). Provides a brief introduction to common issues involved in recruiting, training, compensating, and evaluating field salespeople. Also offers questions to consider concerning these topics in case analysis.