Product details

In 1988, Optical Distortion, Inc was ready to reintroduce its only product, contact lenses for chickens. Tests had shown that the lenses significantly reduced bird aggression and feed costs, leading to potentially huge cost savings for egg producers. In the years since the (A) case, margins for egg producers had become so small that if a large producer could sustain a significant cost advantage, many small producers could be forced out of business. In this case the company's only salesperson must decide whether to concentrate on closing a sale to an aggressive major producer who may demand all the company's capacity for the next year, or to spend time spreading the word to smaller more vulnerable producers. In doing so, he faces the difficulty of convincing the farmers that cost savings which appear 'too good to be true' are, in fact, real. The case is short and can be used in conjunction with Optical Distortion, Inc (A). In addition to the ethical issues, it also raises issues of sales strategy and the diffusion of innovations, and can be used to examine negotiation strategies.