Mark Caffrey, Vice President of Sales at Samson Pharmaceuticals, Manages

Mark Caffrey, vice president of sales at Samson Pharmaceuticals, manages a sales team of ten employees. Members of Mark's sales force vary in experience level. Four members of the sales team have worked at Samson for less than one year. The other six salespeople have been with Samson anywhere from three to seven years. Mark recently received the annual sales report and noticed that sales have been dropping steadily over the last year. Mark is considering the idea of providing training to his sales team as a way to boost sales. Which of the following most likely undermines the argument that the drop in Samson's sales can be solved through training?

A) The newest members of the Samson sales force are unfamiliar with the procedures used by the firm to measure the effectiveness of new drugs.
B) Samson recently eliminated its long-standing policy of paying salespeople commissions on top of base salaries, which angered employees.
C) Samson's most experienced salesperson retired after working at the firm for more than twenty years.
D) Samson sales team members recently received their annual performance appraisals.