Abstract

This case is about Marriott International, Inc., the leading lodging development, management, and franchising company based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. In 2007, the company was faced with tough market conditions and a need to improve its sales force effectiveness.. David Marriott, who was then the Sr. Vice President Global Sales, decided to launch a new sales force strategy. The initiative, named Sales Force One (SFO), was an effort to centralize its sales organization structure - it aimed at placing the sales associate where the customer was, rather than at individual Marriott properties. The case describes the challenges before Marriott which led to the conceptualization of SFO. It gives an account of the implementation of the SFO strategy and describes the basic structure of the SFO organization. The case goes on to examine the responses that SFO received from various quarters in the hospitality industry. It ends with a look at Marriott’s position in early 2009 and the challenges faced by Stephanie Coleman Linnartz, who succeeded David Marriott as the Sr. Vice President Global Sales, in carrying forward the initiative and rolling it out through out US and later globally.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the various issues and challenges in revamping a sales force strategy. Understand the issues which led to the implementation of the Sales Force One strategy by Marriott in 2007. Appraise the SFO strategy and its significance in increasing sales

Keywords

Sales force strategy, Strategic account management, Sales force effectiveness, Sales Force One, Sales organization, Competitive advantage, Customer relationship management, Customer service, Customer-centric, Marketing Distribution channels, Hospitality industry, First-mover advantage