The Cabinetmaker Case Study

The sales team is a very important aspect of any company that is trying to push goods to either end customers or other businesses. A business needs to be thorough in deciding which sales force structure it wishes to employ, the quality of salespeople, and how they motivate them. In the case of the cabinetmaker the strategy is rather straight forward since the company is trying to reach end customers through big box retailers. First, the sales force will be designed based on the customer sales force structure. Second, the company will utilize a high commission compensation plan combined with a new account bonus plan. Lastly, the company will take initiatives in order to maximize time actively selling and talking to potential customers. The following …show more content…
In order to effectively complete this objective the company must build strong customer relationships with major big box retailers such as Home Depot and Lowes. For this reason, the sales force will be laid out using the customer sales force structure. Teams will be formed and assigned to each of the major home improvement and hardware stores. The benefit to this structure is that it allows for the sales teams to form strong customer relationships with each of the major retailers. A strong customer relationship will enable the company to get the better and more valuable floor space and have the company’s cabinets advertised more frequently by the retailer. A good example of this structure in action would be Whirlpool, which sells major appliances in all big box retailers such as Home Depot and Best Buy. Whirlpool has successfully dominated the appliance industry through this particular sales force structure. In addition, the company should divide some employees to be inside and outside salespeople. A strong inside sales team is important when establishing relationships with the retailer. However, outside salespeople should be utilized to make sure that the displays for the cabinets are well laid out and that the retailer’s employees are well informed on the cabinet’s features. This means that the company should also have an aspect of a territorial structure to …show more content…
Most importantly, the sales team structure needs to be selected for the desired type of selling that the company plans to do. In this case, the cabinets are to go to big box retailers such as Home Depot and Lowes, therefore the best structure is to have teams for each customer just as Whirlpool does for their customers. In addition, it is important to have a motivated sales force, therefore the compensation will be designed to reward the best salespeople with commission and new account bonuses. Lastly, an efficient sales team will also enable for higher sales, therefore steps will be taken to increase selling time. As the manager, all these goals will be achieved to ensure the company has a successful end customer launch of the