A mid-level sales manager has created a tactical plan, setting goals for her division and establishing the program for her team to follow. Three months have gone by
Now she is in the phase of controlling and evaluating the program. She is measuring the performance of her sales staff by comparing the original goals and objectives with actual achievements. She looks at the number of sales calls, the number of deals closed, the number of days worked, and the amount of sales in terms of money collected. One salesperson, Deeanna, has far exceeded her monthly quotas for the past three months, whereas a co-worker, Mark, has fallen under his quotas for the same period. Mark has repeatedly pointed out that Deeanna's successful sales are due to an advertising campaign that promotes only her product line. From looking at the performance measures, the manager knows, however, that Deeanna has made twice as many sales calls as Mark and has not missed a day of work all year. Mark, on the other hand, is frequently absent, especially around holidays and the day after big Sunday night football games. What does Mark assume when he claims that Deeanna's high sales were caused by the advertising campaign?
A) Mark's sales will increase next quarter if an ad campaign is put out for his product line.
B) The ad campaign was designed specifically to help Deeanna meet and exceed her sales objectives.
C) The sales manager favors Deeanna over Mark and so discounts the fact that the ad campaign is only for Deeanna's product line.
D) Deeanna's sales call efforts and good attendance contributed nothing toward meeting and exceeding her sales objectives.
E) Mark is the better salesperson but customers just like Deeanna's product line better.
Answer: D
Explanation: D) Salespeople do not have total control over their sales success, as in the case of an advertising campaign affecting one salesperson's products and not another's. However, the manager has set the objectives of making sales calls, closing deals, having good attendance, and collecting money from sales. It would therefore follow that achieving these goals as set by the manager would lead to success.
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