Charles Renner has been considering the implications of senior management’s new growth strategy. As head of sales for Integrity Building Supplies, he had been responsible for a sales force of more than 300 salespeople that sold building supplies to contractors and large developers around the country. He, and more importantly, his sales force, knew how to sell the company’s products and services in a business-to-business setting. They had a great reputation in the home-building business and for many contractors Integrity had become their supplier of first choice for many basic building supplies.

Senior management at Integrity, however, had determined there was a real opportunity for company growth by creating a retail (business-to-consumer) channel to target the homeowner wanting to take on home repair projects. The managers believed that they could not compete directly with Home Depot and Lowe’s on price or selection but they could compete successfully on service. Charles agreed that the home do-it-yourself market was huge and Home Depot and Lowe’s often did not provide adequate postsale service or guidance to individuals wanting to take on these kinds of projects.

The company’s board of directors had approved Integrity’s move into retail operations and targeted two cities, Atlanta and Dallas, as test markets for the concept. They were both large cities with a significant number of homeowners who enjoyed do-it-yourself projects; in addition, Dallas was the headquarters for Integrity.

Among the many challenges facing Charles as he pondered the future was the sales culture at Integrity. The company had been a B2B organization for its entire 60-year history. Everyone in the organization, including him, knew how to sell to other businesses (contractors, developers) but had no experience selling to consumers who had much less understanding of the products or how to use them. He knew that becoming a B2C company would require a number of changes to the sales culture.

Questions

1. What are the major differences Charles will encounter between a B2B selling environment and a B2C environment?

2. As head of sales for Integrity, what are the two most significant challenges Charles will encounter in putting together a retail sales force?