Abstract
The Consumer Products Division of Cole National Corp. sells keys, pocket knives, and plastic letters, numbers, and signs to 56,000 retailers who then sell them to consumers. The case describes Cole's marketing strategy, sales organization, turnover problem, and typical sales call patterns. The issue in the case, as management sees it, is either to reduce turnover in the field salesforce or to change the firm's marketing strategy. A rewritten version of two earlier cases.
Keywords: Marketing Strategy;
Sales;
Salesforce Management;
Employee Relationship Management;
Consumer Products Industry;