Publications
Publications
- October 2015
- HBS Case Collection
Clef Company: Turnover
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Abstract
Clef Company sells keys and other products to retail outlets, which then sell these products to consumers. The case concerns turnover in Clef's sales force in the context of company strategy, financial performance, and a day in the life of a Clef salesperson. Among other things, the case is about managing people but also a certain aggregate call capacity. It illustrates important links (in many companies, not just Clef) between consumer buying behavior, a firm's strategy, and the role of personal selling in that strategy. In turn, analysis of those links places the turnover issue in a new light while raising additional issues concerning the human-resource implications of management's (very profitable) sales policies.
Keywords
Sales; Marketing; Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States
Citation
Cespedes, Frank V. "Clef Company: Turnover." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 816-046, October 2015.