ASSIGNMENT 4
BM410 Sales Management & Practices
Directions: Be sure to save an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to
Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences,
and be sure to use correct English, spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA
format. Your response should be four (4) double-spaced pages; refer to the "Assignment
Format" page located on the Course Home page for specific format requirements.
Part A: You were recently promoted to a sales manager position for ABC Company,
which offers customized software for physicians, dentists, and veterinarians.
Unfortunately, you are now the sales manager for one of your company’s least productive
regions. After several weeks on the job, you become concerned about the high rate of
turnover. Three salespeople have resigned within the last two months. Replacements are
needed and there is little time to hire, train, and deploy them in the field.
Upon further review of the situation, you discover that two of the salespeople resigned
because they felt the sales organization was structured unfairly. They had been assigned
to geographical areas that were difficult, and their sales quotas were not adjusted
accordingly.
You know quite well that replacing a sales person can be costly. In fact, the cost to the
company can be as high as $300,000 per bad hire because time and money are lost in the
process of recruiting, hiring, training, missed sales, bad relationships, and firing. Before
you begin your search, you want to be certain that you have a well thought-out
organizational plan and that you attract the right people for these positions.
To help you prepare your hiring plan, answer the following questions.
activities into a specific structure.
2. Describe one (1) disadvantage of the current structure. Describe one (1) advantage
and one (1) disadvantage of a geographical sales structure.
3. Which sales structure do you recommend and why? Provide two (2) supporting
facts. Part B: Realizing that the right people for these positions could come from a variety of
places, you decide to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of hiring from within the
organization, through referrals, and by using advertising methods. What are your
opinions on the following?
1. What are two (2) advantages and two (2) disadvantages of hiring internal
candidates for sales positions?
2. What are two (2) benefits of hiring people referred to the company by friends or
relatives?
3. Discuss one (1) difference between the kinds of applicants that will come in from
a newspaper ad versus postings on online job boards. Does this difference indicate
anything about future job performance?
Part C: You have just finished a series of interviews with a person who you feel is an
excellent candidate for one of your firm’s open sales position. She has a 3.4 grade point
average and a marketing degree. The candidate has excellent communication skills, held
a part-time sales job throughout college to help pay for school, and was an officer in the
sales fraternity on campus. She will definitely make a great entry-level salesperson at
your company. Your only concern is that another company will offer her a job before you
do! Before the candidate is offered a job, your company requires that a few of the
applicant’s references be checked. During the process, you discover that your ideal
candidate lied on her resume and application. She was never an officer in the sales
fraternity; she was only a member.
1. Given the difficulty in finding excellent candidates, would you hire this
candidate? Provide two (2) supporting facts to justify your position.
2. Would your decision change if you also find out this candidate has several
speeding tickets? Why or why not?
Grading Rubric
Please refer to the rubric on the next page for the grading criteria for this assignment. This is the end of Assignment 4.
