| Course | MKT-3100 Principles of Sales |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Module 6 written assignment: sales management |
| Length | About 451 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Bachelor of Science in Professional Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MKT 3100 Module 6
From Seller to Sales Manager: Recruiting, Paying and Coaching a Four-Person Team
Student Name
Bachelor of Science in Professional Studies, Thomas Edison State University
MKT-3100: Principles of Sales
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
From Seller to Sales Manager: Recruiting, Paying and Coaching a Four-Person Team
The Team
Our distributor's northern New Jersey team has four territory representatives covering about 560 accounts and $9 million in annual sales. One position is open because I was promoted. Sales vary widely by representative, and one has lost several accounts in the past year. The team's challenge is to keep its best accounts while finding new ones as restaurants close.
Recruiting and Selection
Churchill et al. (1985) found in a meta-analysis of salesperson performance that role perceptions, skill and motivation were stronger predictors of performance than personal characteristics such as age or appearance. Verbeke et al. (2011), updating that work, found that selling-related knowledge, adaptiveness and role ambiguity were among the strongest predictors of performance, reflecting a shift toward salespeople as knowledge brokers. I will therefore recruit for knowledge and adaptiveness rather than for an outgoing personality alone. Candidates with restaurant or culinary experience bring product knowledge; the interview will include a role play in which the candidate must adapt to a skeptical chef.
Training and Coaching
New representatives will spend two weeks learning products in our showroom and at installations, then ride along with me for a month. For the whole team, I will make one joint call per representative each month, followed by a short debrief covering one strength and one change. Coaching on real calls reduces role ambiguity, which Verbeke et al. identified as harmful to performance.
Compensation
Manning et al. (2018) describe compensation plans ranging from straight salary to straight commission, with combinations in between. Straight commission rewards sales but can encourage representatives to neglect service and push high-margin items customers do not need. Straight salary supports service but weakens motivation for new business. Our plan will combine a base salary of about 60 percent of target pay with commission on gross margin, not on sales, so representatives are not rewarded for discounting. A quarterly retention bonus will reward keeping accounts, reflecting Module 5's evidence on the value of retention.
Evaluating Performance
I will evaluate representatives quarterly on sales and margin against targets, account retention, new accounts opened and a customer satisfaction survey of a sample of accounts. Including retention and satisfaction prevents the evaluation from rewarding short-term sales at the expense of relationships. For the representative who lost accounts, the first step is a review of each loss and joint calls on at-risk accounts, not a warning.
Conclusion
Managing a sales team means building the conditions in which salespeople succeed: hiring for knowledge and adaptiveness, coaching on real calls, paying for margin and retention and evaluating on more than sales. The same partnership principles that guided my selling now guide how I manage.
References
Churchill, G. A., Jr., Ford, N. M., Hartley, S. W., & Walker, O. C., Jr. (1985). The determinants of salesperson performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marketing Research, 22(2), 103-118. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378502200201
Manning, G. L., Ahearne, M., & Reece, B. L. (2018). Selling today: Partnering to create value (14th ed.). Pearson.
Verbeke, W., Dietz, B., & Verwaal, E. (2011). Drivers of sales performance: A contemporary meta-analysis. Have salespeople become knowledge brokers? Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(3), 407-428. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-010-0211-8
Reading the MKT 3100 Module 6 assignment instructions
The sixth written assignment covers sales management: recruiting and selecting salespeople, training and coaching, compensation and performance evaluation. Expect to apply these concepts to a sales team, real or realistic, and to justify each choice. Research on the determinants of sales performance is especially useful for recruiting and coaching decisions. Explain how compensation and evaluation shape salespeople's behavior, and make sure they reward what the company actually wants. Treat each management decision, hiring, training, pay and evaluation, as a choice with alternatives, and explain why you chose as you did. Use research on what drives sales performance to justify recruiting and coaching. Make sure compensation and evaluation reward the behavior you want.
How this MKT 3100 Module 6 example is built
The paper introduces the team and its problems. A recruiting section uses two meta-analyses to justify hiring for knowledge and adaptiveness. A training section sets out onboarding and monthly joint-call coaching. A compensation section compares plans and designs one that pays on margin with a retention bonus. An evaluation section sets four measures and explains how to handle an underperformer. The conclusion connects management to partnership selling. Each section of the plan is linked to a predictor from the research or to a lesson from earlier modules, such as the value of retention. The underperformer is handled with coaching first, which reflects the paper's evidence-based approach. The plan also sets dates for review.
Reading the MKT 3100 Module 6 grading rubric
The sales management paper is judged on correct use of management concepts, justified decisions, research support and clear writing. Papers that tie recruiting and coaching to evidence on what drives performance show sophistication. Designing compensation to reward the behavior the company wants, such as margin and retention, demonstrates understanding of incentives. Evaluation that goes beyond sales volume shows a balanced view of performance and its long-term drivers. Mentors also value attention to unintended incentives, such as commission on sales encouraging discounting. Clear organization and accurate citations complete the paper. Measures beyond sales volume, such as retention and satisfaction, show a balanced view of performance, and mentors credit that balance.
Common MKT 3100 Module 6 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students lose points by describing compensation plans without choosing one, by evaluating salespeople only on sales or by recruiting on personality alone. Others ignore coaching. Justify each choice with research or reasoning. Make sure pay rewards what you want. Include measures of retention or satisfaction. Plan how you will coach, not only hire. Consider how your plan would treat a representative who sells a lot but loses accounts; the evaluation should catch that. Keep pay plans simple enough for salespeople to understand. Write the plan so a new representative could understand how they will be paid and judged. A free first sample on your own MKT-3100 Module 6 assignment is available on request.
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MKT 3100 Module 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MKT 3100 Module 6 sample paper?
Recruiting, coaching, compensation and evaluation for a four-person sales team are set out in the assignment above.
What predicts salesperson performance?
Meta-analyses point to role perceptions, skill, motivation, selling knowledge and adaptiveness more than personal characteristics.
What are the main types of sales compensation?
Straight salary, straight commission and combination plans that mix the two.
Why pay commission on margin rather than sales?
So salespeople are not rewarded for discounting or for selling unprofitable items.
Why evaluate salespeople on retention?
Because short-term sales can come at the expense of relationships that sustain a territory.