Book: Sales Management: Shaping future sales leaders, 2nd edition: by Tanner, Honeycutt, and Erffmeyer.

Questions:

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of working through a sales agent network?

2. Who has the power in this case study? The manufacturer or the sales agent? Why?

3. Why would Ashworth want to have all corporate sales representatives?

4. What would you do in Barbara Tice's situation after she received the e-mail?

5. If Sally and Jack Reynolds can no longer sell the Ashworth brand what should their next move be?

6. From an end-customer viewpoint, where do your loyalties lie? Can Sally Reynolds "unsell" them?

7. Why would a change in the alignment of the sales representation save the TaylorMade-Adidas money in this case?

8. What are some of the repercussions for the Ashworth brand if this change in representation moves forward?

9. Before being dropped by TaylorMade-Adidas, do you believe that Sally and Jack Reynolds were loyal to the Ashworth brand, given that they had also represented other product lines?

10. Is there an advantage to having a blended sales force of company salespersons and independent reps? Explain your answer.
 
 

It was a postcard-perfect, early September day for watching the Senior Tour Championship at the Tournament Players Club (TPC) of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Sally Reynolds and her husband, Jack, had positioned themselves in a premium spectators' viewing area on the right side of the 193 yard, par three, seventeenth hole. It was also the side of the green where the players exited before heading to the difficult par five 18th hole. It was late Sunday afternoon, and the year-end PGA Senior Tour championship was heating up between Fred Couples and Tom Lehman. Both players were at 12 under par and playing the 17th in the final two-some. As the couple watched each of the competitors par the hole, the players were tied, heading into the final hole of the four-day competition. No one around the 17th green was going to give up their spot, because everyone was anticipating a playoff if neither broke the tie. The playoff would start on the 16th hole, so there was an excellent chance the two would show up on the same green in about 30 minutes. As the players walked off the side of the green, Fred Couples caught a glimpse of a familiar face in the crowd. As soon as he saw Reynolds, he paused and leaned into the crowd of spectators and gave Sally a peck on the cheek and said, "Good to see you, Sally. Let's see if I can get home in two and birdie the final hole to win this thing." She said, "I have no doubt you will, Freddy; by the way, you are looking fabulous in your Ashworth shirt today." Reynolds was so proud to be an independent sales representative for the Ashworth apparel brand. She felt her affiliation and longevity with the brand made her part of a very special family that represented one of the most popular apparel brands in golf. Little did she know that, in only a few short weeks, a phone call from her sales manager would drastically change things! Background Sally Reynolds started her sales career in 1987, after being a stay-at-home mom and raising three boys. All three sons were avid golfers and played golf at the nearby Rancho Park Golf Course one of Los Angeles' finest 18-hole public courses. She and her husband never played golf, so it was a bit odd that all three of their boys gravitated towards the game. The golf course is in close proximity to the family home, so the boys could ride their bikes there, and it was nice that they had something they loved to do during the summer months when school was out. It was a chance meeting at a local junior golf tournament the boys had entered that got Reynolds started in her sales career. She noticed a man at the event wearing an attractive navy-and-white, horizontally striped shirt. Never one to be shy about anything, she approached the man to ask where he had purchased the shirt. The gentleman's name was John Ashworth, and she learned that he was one of the founders of Charter Golf, Inc. He and his partner were in the process of raising money for their business venture, and were looking to hire their first salesperson. Call it serendipity or divine intervention from the golf gods, but Reynolds and Ashworth hit it off, and she became an independent sales representative for Charter Golf. She was also one of the company's first customers to have bought the same shirt Ashworth was wearing the day they met-for her husband and three sons. Reynolds watched the company grow very rapidly from its original location in the garment district of Los Angeles. The partners at Charter Golf were keen observers of golf fashion, and added much-needed style to the golf fashion world. With her help as the company's only independent sales representative, sales revenues began to grow modestly-reaching $500,000 in the first full year. After attending the annual PGA