Edgybees, formerly a drone gaming company, is applying augmented reality (AR) technology from gaming uses to public safety uses, with applications for the military and emergency first responders. New fifth-generation (or 5G) cellular technology has opened doors for companies like Edgybees to overlay real-time drone video feeds with geo-information layers such as maps, building layouts, and other data. Edgybees recently raised $6 million in venture capital funding. One market it wants to target is first responders. These business customers need more than just a product—they need a relationship with Edgybees to ensure that the latest technology is meeting their needs. Thus, Edgybees would need to visit customers at least twice per year, often for hours at a time. If Edgybees decides to go with its own sales force, each salesperson will earn $80,000 plus 8 percent commission on all sales. Refer to the Increase Distribution Coverage heading in Appendix 2: Marketing by the Numbers to answer the questions.

How many salespeople does Edgybees need if it wants to obtain 400 first-responder customer accounts, such as fire departments and police stations, which need to be called on twice per year? Each sales call lasts approximately 3 hours, and each sales rep has approximately 1,250 hours per year to devote to customers.
Data from appendix 2

Wise Domotics also wants to consider hiring more salespeople in order to call on new retailer accounts and increase distribution through more outlets. Even though Wise Domotics  sells directly to wholesalers, its sales representatives call on retail accounts to perform  other functions in addition to selling, such as training retail salespeople. Currently, Wise  Domotics employs 60 sales reps who earn an average of $100,000 in salary plus 10 percent  commission on sales. The product is currently sold to consumers through 1,800 retail outlets.  Suppose Wise Domotics wants to increase that number of outlets to 2,300, an increase of 500 retail outlets. How many additional salespeople will Wise Domotics need, and what  sales will be necessary to break even on the increased cost?

One method for determining what size sales force Wise Domotics will need is the workload method. The workload method uses the following formula to determine the  salesforce size:

where

                                     NS = number of salespeople
                                     NC = number of customers

                                    FC = average frequency of customer calls per customer

                                    LC = average length of customer call

                                   TA = time an average salesperson has available for selling per year