Product organization

Two conditions are conducive to the use of a product basis in organizing field sales. One is that the firm markets a diverse range of products or product lines. By limiting the product types he is accountable for, a salesman can become more of a product specialist. This may be especially important from a competitive standpoint when products are technically complex in nature. The second is the determination that product knowledge is the primary marketing input for the salesman.

While a product division appears ideally suited to industrial marketers, several prominent consumer-good marketers use this basis of organization for field sales. General Foods, for example, divides up the field sales organization by brands. Another large marketer of essentially grocery products separates its field sales organization into food and nonfood.

A major disadvantage of the product organization is the duplication of effort. Two or more salesmen from the same company will travel in the same geographical area, possibly calling on the same accounts and purchasing contacts. Another disadvantage is the added expense of hiring product or brand managers to provide staff assistance. Still an-other disadvantage is the possible development of insularity among salesmen causing them to lose sight of the other products marketed by the firm.