Procter and Gamble case study

Procter and Gamble case study

Procter and Gamble case study: Selling through
Customer Business Development
When it comes to personal selling, the term win-win gets thrown around so much that it has become a cliché. But at Procter and amp; Gamble, the selling concept that the company benefits only if the customer benefits has long been a way of life. Since William Procter and James Gamble formed a family-operated soap and candle company in 1837, P&G has understood that if the customer doesn’t do well, neither will the company. So although P and G boasts a massive sales force of more than 5,000 employees in the United States alone, P&Gers rarely utter the term sales. Instead, at P&G, they call it customer business development, or CBD. The title pretty much says it all. Rather than just selling detergent or toothpaste, P&G’s philosophy is to grow its
own business by growing the business of its customers, the thousands of retailers and wholesalers that distribute P&G’s brands throughout the world. To these customers, P&G isn’t just a supplier. It’s a strategic business partner. “We depend on them as much as they depend on us,” says Jeff Weedman, a CBD manager.

Questions for Discussion

1. Which of the sales force structures discussed in the text best describes P&G’s CBD structure?
2. From the perspective of team selling, discuss the positive as well as possible negative aspects to the customer business development sales organization.
3. Discuss ways that the CBD structure may be more effective than a single sales rep for each step in the personal selling process.
4. It seems that P&G has the most effective sales force structure of any company in its industry. Why have competitors not been able to match it?

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