Marketing Channels 8th Edition by Bert Rosenbloom

Exercise 2

Bill Harding, the national sales manager for a major appliance maker, realized that the company would have to add more wholesale distributors in at least a half-dozen major territories on the East Coast and in the Midwest to keep up with the growth in those markets. Bill knew he needed good distributors who were financially sound, with strong selling skills and offered high service capabilities. To zero in on these potential, new distributors, Harding decided to use the company's outside sales force covering those territories. He sent out memos to the district sales managers, who in turn informed the field sales force to call on potential distributors in their territories and send back written reports. One month later, Harding was very disappointed with the lukewarm response he got. The reports he received were skimpy and superficial. Harding was a little befuddled with the situation because all of the salespeople who were asked to prospect for new accounts were high producers.
Why do you suppose Bill Harding did not get the enthusiastic response he wanted?