“At Longaberger Baskets we have a great deal to make us proud,” indicated Tami LongabergerKaido, President of Marketing and Sales, reflecting in her office at corporate headquarters in Zanesville, Ohio, on company progress over the past ten years and the objectives for 1990. “We have an enthusiastic sales force, talented craft people working in our manufacturing operation, and a hand-crafted product of excellent quality. But right now, however, we’re having to say to our sales consultants, ‘come into direct sales and be all you want to be, recruit and grow, make the money that you want to make, you own your own business, but don’t sell too much, because we can’t fill the orders.’” The home office had just instituted another “recruiting freeze” which eliminated altogether the recruitment and acceptance of new sales consultants for an indefinite period of time.

Keywords: Direct Selling, Marketing, Sales