You are the sales manager of a large company that produces and distributes fresh baked bread to grocery stores. You have a sales staff of 83 field reps. Which of the following methods would be best suited to maximize your information gathering process?
A) review of the expense accounts (gasoline receipts and so forth) submitted by your field reps.
B) initiate a system of daily call reports.
C) use the bakery department records to monitor the sampling activities of the sales force.
D) periodically travel with the field reps.
E) capital market structure.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Initiation of a system of daily call reports would allow for frequent updating of sales activities and potential roadblocks encountered by the field reps. This method would also allow for real-time adjustments to be made in response to current market trends and customer demands. Review of expense accounts and bakery department records can provide additional information, but may not provide as comprehensive data as daily call reports. Periodic travel with the field reps may be beneficial, but could be time consuming and may not provide as much data as the other methods. Capital market structure is not relevant to the information gathering process in this scenario.

You Are the Sales Manager of a Large Company That