The O'Brien Company

The O'Brien Company manufactures and markets a wide range of luggage, including

suitcases, handbags and briefcases. The company is organised into two divisions -

consumer and industrial. The consumer division sells mainly through retail outlets,

whereas the industrial division markets direct to companies which buy luggage

(especially briefcases) for use by their executives.

You have recently been appointed as a salesperson for the industrial division and

asked to visit a new potential client with a view to selling him briefcases. The potential

customer is Brian Forbes, the Managing Director (and owner) of a medium-sized

engineering company in the Midlands with subsidiaries in Manchester, Leeds and

Bristol. They employ a salesforce of 20 men selling copper piping. In addition, it is

estimated that the company employs around 40 marketing, personnel, production

and accountancy executives.

The O'Brien Company markets two ranges of executive briefcase. One is made

from good quality plastic, with imitation hide lining. It is available in black only and

priced at 25 for the lockable version and 22 for the non-lockable type. The other, a

deluxe range, is manufactured from leather and real hide and priced at 95. Colours

available are black, brown, dark blue and claret. Additional features are a numbercoded

locking device, a variable depth feature which allows the briefcase to be expanded

from its usual 87.5 mm to 137.5 mm, individual gilt initialling on each

briefcase, an ink-resistant interior compartment for pens, and three pockets inside

the lid to take different sized papers/documents. The plastic version has only the last

of these features and is 75 mm in depth. Quantity discounts for both ranges are as

shown below:

Quantity Reduction %

10-19 2

20-39 3

40-79 4

80 or more 6

Very little is known about Brian Forbes or his company apart from the information

already given. However, by chance, an acquaintance of yours who works as a salesperson

for a machine tool company visited Mr Forbes earlier in the year.

Discussion questions

1 What are your sales objectives? What extra information would be useful?

2 do sales presentation for the briefcases.

3 do list of possible objections and your responses to them.